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General Tabletop Discussion
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Why Worldbuilding is Bad
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<blockquote data-quote="Dead Scribe" data-source="post: 3481326" data-attributes="member: 21288"><p>World-building is a pretty solipsistic activity. Most authors, and for that matter most DMs, are not really world-builders--not the kind that this guy is talking about. World-building is not just fleshing out a setting; that's a standard part of any kind of story-telling. World-building is what happens when the activity of defining the world overrides telling stories within that world. It's what Tolkien did; to Tolkien, writing novels was simply an outgrowth of having this world that he spent nearly his entire life building.</p><p></p><p>World-building might be an enjoyable act to some, like Tolkien, and there is nothing wrong with that; however, it is not particularly useful or helpful for others. It's counterproductive to storytelling and to gaming--no one should have to redefine the rules of the game just to play. It's why pre-existing settings are out there; to provide context for the players. If one is trying to create a good game or a good story, then the setting has to be subordinate to the needs of those ends.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dead Scribe, post: 3481326, member: 21288"] World-building is a pretty solipsistic activity. Most authors, and for that matter most DMs, are not really world-builders--not the kind that this guy is talking about. World-building is not just fleshing out a setting; that's a standard part of any kind of story-telling. World-building is what happens when the activity of defining the world overrides telling stories within that world. It's what Tolkien did; to Tolkien, writing novels was simply an outgrowth of having this world that he spent nearly his entire life building. World-building might be an enjoyable act to some, like Tolkien, and there is nothing wrong with that; however, it is not particularly useful or helpful for others. It's counterproductive to storytelling and to gaming--no one should have to redefine the rules of the game just to play. It's why pre-existing settings are out there; to provide context for the players. If one is trying to create a good game or a good story, then the setting has to be subordinate to the needs of those ends. [/QUOTE]
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