Dirt: Worldbuilding, Pt. 1

Worldbuilding satisfies the desire to “be a real maker,” J.R.R. Tolkien remarked in his 1947 essay “On Fairy Stories.” The creator should “hope that he is drawing on reality,” for the qualities of the world should aim to capture some truth, some essence of reality.

Our collective weariness towards ever-expanding franchise universes feels potent. There is an excess of worlds to immerse ourselves in, but a dearth of meaningful connection to other humans. Popular franchises might boast massive fandoms, but there is a stark impersonality to their widespread consumption and discussion.

To contend with our ever-slimming attention spans, even advertisements are concocting persistent storylines with fictional characters and backstories to compel consumers into caring. Jake from State Farm has a mini-series on TikTok, where he performs “good neighbor deeds.” If a story becomes exhausted, a franchise can simply explore more of its set... See more

“When I first started, you would pitch a story, because without a good story, you didn’t really have a film. Later, once sequels started to take off, you pitched a character because a good character could support multiple stories. And now, you pitch a world because a world can support multiple characters and multiple stories across multiple media.”

Franchise worldbuilding is a means without a conclusive end. Contrary to its literary roots, wherein narrative details are fleshed out to push a story forward, most attempts today are predicated upon commodification. The goal is to pander and please audiences. It’s the creative equivalent of a dangling carrot on a stick in front of a donkey — and i... See more

Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin once grouped worldbuilders into two types: architects and gardeners. These days, there seem to be fewer gardeners (Martin considers himself one), creators who allow a world to organically bloom. Most franchise worlds are architected to market-researched perfection. These efforts are not exclusive to the e... See more

More recently, the concept of “worldbuilding” has come to the fore. The term describes the creation of fictional worlds with unique settings, histories, aesthetics, and characters. Our franchise-dominated media environment is rife with worlds and extended universes, straddling the physical and the virtual, the fictional and the real. There is a pal... See more

Media scholar Henry Jenkins, in his 2006 book Convergence Culture, cites a conversation with an experienced screenwriter that reflects this shift in Hollywood: “When I first started, you would pitch a story, because without a good story, you didn’t really have a film. Later, once sequels started to take off, you pitched a character because a good c... See more

The tendency to craft fictional realms is a natural human instinct, argues media scholar Mark Wolf in Building Imaginary Worlds (2012), a comprehensive study on constructed worlds. Our fascination begins in childhood. Youthful proclivities for fairy tales (“Once upon a time, in a land far, far away”) and the imaginary “[do] not change over time,” W... See more