How to create a world

Arc’s handbook for creations

#02 Games - Making games on Roblox
Once again, I will be discussing the creation of games. This time, I will talk about how to create an immersive and intriguing world.

1. What is a world?

When we say “world”, we usually think about the planet Earth, the nature, the seas and oceans, the animals and us, the people. This isn’t wrong, after all it is a dictionary definition. But as an aspiring writer and philosopher this is too shallow for me (and honestly it get’s sort of boring after some time).

The way I see it, everything is and has its own world within itself.

  • Everything you touch, feel, see and sense is part of your world. No one else ever had the same experiences as you, no one feels the same way you feel - no one understands you as you do.

The beauty of life is that we can share moments and contemplate them, uniting a small bit of both of our worlds together, at least for some time.

  • This is what you want your players to feel when they are in your game. Bring them to your world, bring them together; tie their emotions and after they have left your game, make them desire to be part of your world once again.

  • Your game should be its own World-network.

2. Why should I craft worlds when I could just do a game?

Creating a world equally creates bonds between players & players; players & game; and players & developers. It shows you care about their gameplay and how your place was precisely built for them.

  • Creating a bond makes them spend more time on the game and bringing their friends to play along.

  • This results in more players, more revenue, more fun experiences, more encouragement for development and so much more!

3. I’m listening…

If you are interested in how to make a world, there are a few basic steps you need to know first:

i) What type of game are you creating?
This is important because it will help you to understand what you want to achieve with your world and your game.

  • For this, I would recommend you read my article “How to make a game”.
    After you have situated yourself in the style of game, you need to think about how your world is going to develop.

ii) Brainstorm ideas related to your theme
Brainstorm is one of the most effective techniques to find content. Specially if you are lost when it comes to imagination (like I usually am :smile:).

  • Creating a mindmap may also help you to find a way through the initial mess…

iii) Don’t be afraid of your ideas
Sometimes our ideas seem too wild or too unpredictable, but you shouldn’t let this put you down.

  • Usually when you have a persistent feeling, it represents how you feel. If you are connected to other worlds, this might work as a reflection of what they feel too! This is a perfect opportunity to start a world that will engage a whole community.

iv) Put everything you think about in a paper
Don’t be shy! Create your own journal, grab a piece of paper and doddle, write manuscripts, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you develop it.

  • Organizing yourself like this may help you when you set out to create your world.

4. Okay, I did everything you said. What now?

Start to plan the structures in your game. This is not as simple as just throwing things together and expect they work. Carefully plan the way your buildings interact with UI/UX elements, lighting, scripts and soundtrack.

  • Buildings are the physical world of Games, and as such it’s responsible for up to 60% of what they will remember from your game.
  • If this is nicely matched with other elements, this will be increased, as they won’t just remember the buildings, but the sensations and emotions they felt.

If you need help with this, it is advisable that you take a look at “A general guide on how to build”. Other guides offer you a similar tutorial, but with a different approach on creating a whole environment.

5. Furnishing your world.

Honestly, if you repeat the same process I mentioned above with the other elements you should be pretty much done.

This happens because you are literally creating a network of situations which will certainly trigger emotions. If these emotions are strong enough to create memories, these should be what brings players back.

To fully add immersion to your game, all you need now is players.

Listen to their demands and suggestions (remember item iii - respect their ideas as well) and see how you can implement them to your worlds. At first glance they might seem as purely cosmetics, but in reality they will add more to an in-game experience.

:hatching_chick: You found an Easter Egg! Hi, thank you for reading this, have this gift.

6. How do I know I haven’t created a game but a world?

This is quite hard to answer with a single phrase, but I will give my best.

Generally, if while you were working, you caught yourself thinking of a small lore or story on your mind for areas, structures and quests within your game, it means you were able to tie world pieces together.

The final result should be an emotion packed world-network.

7. Conclusion.

If you have questions, you can find me on discord (fly#8523). This took a few days to write, so please be sure to leave a :heart: so I can write more of these.

Be sure to follow my Arc’s handbook for creations threads:

  • The first article on game development: How to make a game.
  • New or Expert to building, ever wondered why everyone’s constructions are so amazing, while you just can’t get it right? A general guide on how to build guides you through the mastering of building harmonically.
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Beautifully written. A well crafted tutorial from the heart and mind. Thank you.

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Amazing tutorial- thank you :grinning:

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