IGDA executive director Kate Edwards, draws on her 20+ years of experience as a cartographer and game advisor to explain the primary factors game developers should consider in order to make their worlds seem more real, more relevant, and potentially free of inappropriate cultural cues.
Realsim vs Realization
- Realism in a game equals quality right? Not necessarily.
- Focus on realization over realism. In other words, what does the world need to be to serve the narrative and experience goals?
- Narrative goals + goals of the experience = your realization goals
Quick recipe for realizing worlds
- A suggestion of familiarity
- A hint of complex systems
- A dash of cultural evidence, not just an open biosphere
- A big chunk of logical consistency
- A pinch of topology (connectedness of things, attributes and places)
Cultural evidence
Minimal amount of content to convey the presence of in-game “culture’.
- It’s key to setting context
- Requires logical consistency to be affective
- The highest risk activity (backfilling) narrative designers write script, you know plot, assets etc, but then you let the artists loose and they fill the world. Often not checked. Can be risky because of the randomness. Don’t be lazy, create with a purpose.
- Ask questions. Why does it look that way? Why the barrels?
Logical Consistency
- Logical rules exist and are applied to space, time and all elements within that world
- A sense that the world works
- Lack of contradiction in the world systems
- Lack of conflict between content elements that comprise the world (including real world Vs Fictional world)
- Fidelity of relationships
Topology
- Essentially focused on why/how things are related, not the specific where/when/who
- Gives a sense of interconnectedness.
- How do the cultures relate to the environment?
- Applies to ideas, elements, characters etc. – not just special relationships
- Topology helps to convey the sense of a much broader universe (without actually building the universe)
Core steps to world building
- set the context: real world vs fictional world
- determine the level of complexity: degree of realization
- Create with intent: build the world’s layers
Real world and fictional world
Very strong dichotomy, but there is a broad overlap possible.
The reason for differentiating is that if we base things in the real world, it does have an effect on the content and the perception of the content.
Differences in world creation
- Real world: primary emphasis is on replication and authenticity
- Fictional world: Primary emphasis is on imagination and distinction
Differences in world consumption
- Real world: primary emphasis is on realism and experience that feels genuine
- Fictional world: Primary emphasis is on discovery and an experience that provides escapism
Real world context
Setting games in our world
Primary issues:
- Augmentation. Taking something that already exists and adding elements to it.
- Accuracy: is it accurate?
- Interpretation: how real-world people interpret events.
Augmentation
If you augment something that is sensitive. Think about presidents in media. Are they mimicking the current president? Or their own character? Then what the character says or does may offend.
Interpretation
Some countries will make changes to games, and you must always consider the appropriateness of how the content will be interpreted.
Sometimes too much accuracy can be inappropriate
Fictional world context
Primary issues
- Generalizations
- Emulation (huge issue, create something that feels like it exists here – Arabic style desert people example. Cliché)
- Allegory (suggesting something through the fictional universe
- Artifacts (might not fit)
Generalizations
Stock standard characters and cultures
Emulation
Make sure your characters don’t emulate by accident, because then their actions will upset people
Allegory
Watch the words used and if you want to attach real world political issues. Tolkien specifically said his world was not allegory. You must be careful about the allegories you use
Artifacts
Artifacts can tie into real world. Be careful
Real world / fictional world shared culturalization issues
- Logical consistency ( always an issue)
- Managing the creation of cultural evidence
- Product versioning by language / locale
- Discoverability of issues
Degree of complexity
- What level of detail is required to realize the games world for the intended experience?
- What is the minimal amount? Then you can embellish
Potential layers of a world
Cartography is a valid means of breaking into layers. In the same way, you can look at layers
- Climatology & atmosphere
- Geophysical
- Geomorphology, hydrology, tectonics. Gravity, etc
- Biosphere
- Demographics
- Species, genders, ages, ethnicities, etc
- Cultural identities
- Language, history, lore, symbology etc
- Cultural systems
- Faith, politics, economy, transportation
- You might not need any of these, you might need some of these. Every fiction is different. Can get complicated quickly
- Natural way of cartographers thinking.
- But can be helpful, because now obscure things can have an impact, like weather. Geomorphology, how mountains are formed.
Five most problematic layers
- History
- Faith
- Cultural identities
- Cultural systems
- Geopolitics
History
- Real world: historical memory is persistent and volatile – choose wisely
- Fictional world: beware of emulating or reenacting real world events
Faith
- Real world: be extremely careful about what you choose to portray and why
- Fictional world: avoid emulation of real world faith systems.
Cultural identities
- Real world: the representation of an actual culture, gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc
- Fictional world: The creation of cultures that maintain the illusion of plausibility
Geopolitics
- Real world: Governments strongly reinforce their national sovereignty and territorial integrity
- Fictional world: augmented, enhanced, borrowed geopolitical scenarios
Creative freedom & world building
- Exercise your pure creative vision, but don’t expect that vision to align with expectations in other cultures
- Be extremely conscious of decision during context, complexity and creation
- Competing goals or Art Vs Commerce: Be aware that this dynamic will affect decisions around world building.
- Artistic Freedom Vs maximizing revenue
- Some countries will not like certain things, you may have to make decisions that are not in line with creative vision.