Dirt: Worldbuilding, Pt. 2

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

More people, increasingly dissatisfied by these corporate offerings, are compelled into creating their own virtual worlds. The future of the internet, as some have theorized, might consist of micro-communities, enclosed worlds with fewer but more engaged members. Through video games like Minecraft and collaborative worldbuilding projects, which are... See more

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

One question I had is whether you can build giant fictional worlds this way. Right now the NFT market is full of speculators hoping to flip their acquisitions for a quick profit. There is more than a little of the mania that fueled this winter’s meme stock enthusiasm to be found on the crypto Discords. (More than a little cynicism among the investo... See more

today people flock towards immersive

worlds in the virtual realm

more than 100 million people populate

minecraft where they can build their own

worlds and inhabit them through play

the real world predecessor for minecraft

lego has become the greatest toy company

in the world with a population of

mini-figs of 3.7 billion the largest

ethnic group on the plane... See more