Brief Thoughts on the Environment
I suppose it's finally time for me to stop lurking and say hi. If only I knew what to say . . .
My name is mage_apprentice but only because apprentice by itself was already taken (boo). I decided to join this community when I decided that I didn't want to simply lurk anymore and wanted to share some experiences and articles with the community I've been watching for a bit.
First thing I should probably say, since this is antishurtugal after all, is how I came across the Inheritance Cycle. While I was going through a phase where I thought anything I read was good fiction, I got a hold of Eragon a little before 2006 and liked it in all it's kiddish charm. When Eldest came around, there were a lot of things that didn't sit well with me. Why did Murtagh suddenly disappear in the first chapter? No one dies and leaves no body behind in the first chapter and stays dead! Why did Arya have to go out of her way to argue with a dwarven priest over religion? It didn't add much and it was just annoying. Then there's the fact that I started skipping entire chapters (all of them concerning Eragon's training with the elves) and just read through the book with Roran's chapters. At the end, as I had guessed, Murtagh came back and brought a lot more issues for me to complain about. Then there's Brisingr and how I don't want to get started on that disaster . . .
*shifts awkwardly*
I guess I'll start off by posting an article about worldbuilding that might give you some food for thought.
When it comes to world building, one thing to consider is the environment. Yes, it sounds rather obvious but it's something that can be overlooked in generic fantasy.
Take Random Peasant Village #3847829 . . . What sort of natural environment is Random Peasant Village in? Is it a forested area? Is it a grassland? Is it situated near a lake or a river or some other body of water? Is it in a desert? The natural environment can tell you what sort of natural resources the village can exploit in order to profit. Say they are in a forested area. Perhaps Random Peasant Village will profit from hunting, trapping, and logging. Perhaps there will be more emphasis on hunting than there will be for farming.
Culture can even mirror the surrounding area. For forested areas, stories of frightening bears, the importance of specific characteristics, and mythical forest creatures will become common place for such a village. In dry, arid locations, conserving resources is going to be a large part of the local population's culture. In a place where resources are going to be abundant, there won't be so much emphasis on saving natural resources and the local community is going to be a bit more wasteful and affect how wealth is displayed. Perhaps people in Random Peasant Village display their wealth by giving away their abundance. Maybe they display their wealth by hoarding.
What about how Random Peasant Village relates to the kingdom/empire/government body as a whole? Is it near the capital city? Is it situated in trading routes? This can determine population size, growth rate, and wealth. If Random Peasant Village is situated on trade routes then the village will eventually grow to larger sizes and contribute to the kingdom/empire/whatever as a whole. If the village is situated in an out-of-reach place with resources that are either near-impossible to harvest or extremely common then the population level is going to be relatively low and won't be influential to the government body in charge.
Once again, it all depends on the surrounding environment. It's worth considering and can easily be overlooked if one isn't careful, even if it does seem rather obvious when addressed.
My name is mage_apprentice but only because apprentice by itself was already taken (boo). I decided to join this community when I decided that I didn't want to simply lurk anymore and wanted to share some experiences and articles with the community I've been watching for a bit.
First thing I should probably say, since this is antishurtugal after all, is how I came across the Inheritance Cycle. While I was going through a phase where I thought anything I read was good fiction, I got a hold of Eragon a little before 2006 and liked it in all it's kiddish charm. When Eldest came around, there were a lot of things that didn't sit well with me. Why did Murtagh suddenly disappear in the first chapter? No one dies and leaves no body behind in the first chapter and stays dead! Why did Arya have to go out of her way to argue with a dwarven priest over religion? It didn't add much and it was just annoying. Then there's the fact that I started skipping entire chapters (all of them concerning Eragon's training with the elves) and just read through the book with Roran's chapters. At the end, as I had guessed, Murtagh came back and brought a lot more issues for me to complain about. Then there's Brisingr and how I don't want to get started on that disaster . . .
*shifts awkwardly*
I guess I'll start off by posting an article about worldbuilding that might give you some food for thought.
When it comes to world building, one thing to consider is the environment. Yes, it sounds rather obvious but it's something that can be overlooked in generic fantasy.
Take Random Peasant Village #3847829 . . . What sort of natural environment is Random Peasant Village in? Is it a forested area? Is it a grassland? Is it situated near a lake or a river or some other body of water? Is it in a desert? The natural environment can tell you what sort of natural resources the village can exploit in order to profit. Say they are in a forested area. Perhaps Random Peasant Village will profit from hunting, trapping, and logging. Perhaps there will be more emphasis on hunting than there will be for farming.
Culture can even mirror the surrounding area. For forested areas, stories of frightening bears, the importance of specific characteristics, and mythical forest creatures will become common place for such a village. In dry, arid locations, conserving resources is going to be a large part of the local population's culture. In a place where resources are going to be abundant, there won't be so much emphasis on saving natural resources and the local community is going to be a bit more wasteful and affect how wealth is displayed. Perhaps people in Random Peasant Village display their wealth by giving away their abundance. Maybe they display their wealth by hoarding.
What about how Random Peasant Village relates to the kingdom/empire/government body as a whole? Is it near the capital city? Is it situated in trading routes? This can determine population size, growth rate, and wealth. If Random Peasant Village is situated on trade routes then the village will eventually grow to larger sizes and contribute to the kingdom/empire/whatever as a whole. If the village is situated in an out-of-reach place with resources that are either near-impossible to harvest or extremely common then the population level is going to be relatively low and won't be influential to the government body in charge.
Once again, it all depends on the surrounding environment. It's worth considering and can easily be overlooked if one isn't careful, even if it does seem rather obvious when addressed.