THE WORLD BUILDING GROUP

[Gliger]

woop woop

[Gliger]

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[appleseed00]

I wish this was its own forum section, having a thread like this will be chaos fast. on the flipside. I probably not gonna post any of my own stuff just yet cos im waiting to refine, finish it further. but if anyone is looking for a helper, i can help build your world it will be fun.

I think the Quick sketches idea is a good one Gliger.

What do you think about the time costs?

Some times i have found in my own work that this quick sketches approach can be a time sink rather than a useful tool because there is very little design information embedded within them.

Then again i can see how they are essential to getting a full picture of the world.

i think sometimes you have to push the design further in order to understand why its in your world and how it fits.

your thoughts?

EDIT: Also agree with eduardo great sketches gliger! love the cute house.

[EduardoGaray]

So much yes! I will start posting an influence map of the world i'm developing for my videogame project. I have various concepts done, but i dont want to repost stuff from my SB here, so i will only post new concepts and models from now on.

Like Appleseed says, a subforum would be so much better to keep everything organized, lets see if we can get one once this thread starts getting chaotic. 
I already like Gliger's sketches, the whole thing has a nice classic zelda vibe with a dash of shonen, you are combining those influences well!
I'm also looking forward to those sketches Gareth, since we have a few influences in common ;D 

In my case, i dont really care much about realism since i want everything in the world from the characters design to the landscape to the color palette to express something related to the story. 
Anyone familiar with these influences will inmediatly know that this isnt a happy setting. xD


Btw, this influences only apply to the art and the story of the project, gameplay wise, i would have to list games like Fire emblem or X-COM. 

[Punk-A-Cat]

Thought I'd start with an influence map too, I think I missed a few, like Socar Miles, and some books I can't remember the authors of, but it sort of describes the art that inspires me I guess.

[Amit Dutta]

Great initiative Gliger, well done! Love the look of your stuff already

I know Eduardo's project, should be some good stuff coming up.

Looking forward to seeing what all of you come up with!

Somebody get Farvus to start posting his summer pitch Oceanarium in here, that was off to a great start as well.
EDIT: I posted on Oceanarium. Hopefully he joins the party. :)

I think it is good to have support and see others build their worlds alongside you.

Gareth, that idea sounds awesome should work well for your folio :) Love the idea of Staedt, you could even put some more references to pencils or drawing tools within your world to keep with the theme...pottery made out of kneaded erasers, pencil trees. Maybe the inhabitants use creativity as their main philosophy or power or something. Just a whimsical little idea. This all sounds very stylised so it might work well as a contrast between the from-life stuff you will also have. Mind maps are a great tool.

I probably won't be posting any of my own world building here, until I get less busy with work, but I'm keen to see where everyone develops and I will hop in and provide the odd crit now and then. Carry on!

[appleseed00]

so punk i was thinking about your idea and i thought what if like there were like mage amputees. like their arms had been blown off from magic gone wrong. Like vietnam vets but with magic. Also they could have like steampunk arms for replacements.

[Punk-A-Cat]

so punk i was thinking about your idea and i thought what if like there were like mage amputees. like their arms had been blown off from magic gone wrong. Like vietnam vets but with magic. Also they could have like steampunk arms for replacements.

Heh, anything is possible, I haven't gotten deeply into the mechanics of it yet.

[Punk-A-Cat]

Some really quick stuff I’d already posted on dA, trying to build from colour swatches, up to types of environment etc, actually ended up using more orange desert in the couple of images I tried out.

So, here we have a scorpion lizard, it grows to about 6 inches long at it's biggest, most are only 2-3inches long, but they are highly venomous, each spine has a virulent neurotoxin that can kill a humanoid in the space of around 15minutes, starting with excruciating pain, followed by paralysis and then convulsions before death.
These lizards are not aggressive, but will jealously guard their nest of small blue rocks - their eggs are the same shape and colour, so they camouflage them amongst the rocks and will guard the nest whether there are eggs in it or not. They are able to curl up into spiny balls, their body expanding sideways to encase all but the tail with it's toxic stinger.

The lizards are kept as pets by some people - especially those who make a living as assassins.




A view from the edge of the Lucent Desert, looking towards the citadel of Albin, the last pocket of civilisation this side of the mountains, and also the home of Shou Ma (thief), Haven Rosenberger (Mage), Silver Potinger (Thief Lord), Aeron Pit (City Guard), Chrysanthe Jedica (Animal loving Druidess), Leopold Zheng (Cleric) and Gafar Seighin (Minor Lordling, a rising star). The River is the only reliable source of clean water for many miles.

[Caisne]

This is so fucking awesome man! Damn job wont let me hang out with you guys, sadly. Will defenately keep an eye on this theread. Maybe one day. Keep rocking guys!

Thx form making it Gliger!

[Gliger]

woop woop

[Punk-A-Cat]

I love the double moustache!
The assassins would just use the venom on blades and darts, I suppose if you were really brave you could cart one round, would be easier to use one of the more aggressive but intelligent venomous mini dragons (I have yet to draw them, but this world /has/ to be filled with dragons just because :D )

[appleseed00]

trying to reply to this thread is hell :D


Gliger: Love the cyclops community.Your style seems pretty clear so nothing to add.


Punk: Love your Linework! its got a really old school vibe like Teryl whitwatch, completely throws you. Its a nice illustrative style. In terms of design i think work on the silhouette of the creature and kind of make it more unique its a little flat at the moment. Like i was thinking about it and thought Maybe it can have one of those swivelling chameleon eyes? And maybe add scutes and make the spikes less uniform.

EDIT: Also Punk work on the composition for the environment. there is no direction or movement through the piece so it comes across as static.

K so i have some resources to share they help me a lot when worldbuiilding.

1 is a Mindmap which is basically a storybible. (so you need a free program called freemind to use this you can find this here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeMind) there are also other alternatives like docear etc that you can use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeplane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docear


the other is a pureref file whick is like a moodboard program. It has a collection of helpful images about worldbuilding.
http://www.pureref.com/

[appleseed00]

Beta: Storyworld Bible:


Intro: Year 2205

Spoiler

Its been 100 years since the mars colonists first claimed independance from the terran empire....

Seeing their grip on power fading, the EGG (earth global government) was ousted in a coup by a powerful military regime.
Democracy finally died.... and The Terran Empire was born.

So the martians would come to realize...

A heavy price would be paid for freedom.
A heavy price was always paid for freedom.

The God of War Stirred to life, slowly. Its machinations remained unknown to a species who in their thirst for knowledge and power had forgotten the gods, and forgotten the past.

Forgotten themselves.

They would remember. In time. o yes. They will remember.


Prelude:
 

Spoiler

In the beginning, humanity was reluctant to spread to the stars. They grasped reluctantly at their Barren world, full of pain, misery and neglect.

A fateful few, saw past the veil and looked towards the skies for a better future. For themselves and for all mankind.

And so they travelled. Across the empty sky, to a new home and a new beginning. There was hope again.

For those that were left behind, were not so fortunate. Famine, disease, and suffering.

They lingered on, desperately trying to climb out of the Fire they had created on their own world.

And from this, a new plan was forged. Invade the New world and conquer its resources and people. So they created a great ark. the UEF NOAH. And on it they placed all their Military, and as many of the people as they could, and set sail for a new land. Under a distant sun.

The challenges they would face would be terrible, but for the Martian Colonists, who had no idea of what was to come, the challenges would be greater still.  

Moodboard: Style Guide

Spoiler

 

Factions:

IMC: Independant Mars Colonists:

Spoiler

The original colonists of mars, who have declared autonomy after 100 years of isolated existence on the martian frontier.

Many Refugees, fleeing the devestated earth, have sought to join the mars colonists in their pursuit for new beginnings and a better life. The Martian Dream is a promising one and holds grip on the populace of earth, even though few will admit it with the Dangers of speaking out against the administration.

Some who are able to afford it, hire illegaly private contractors to create dangerous but survivable ships that are sent soaring into space and towards the martian frontier where a better life hopefully awaits them.

The Capital City: Nova Terra

Spoiler

The City Is about 150-200 Years old. Martian Colonists first set out in the year 2027 and it is now the year 2205

The City Growth can be characterized in 3 stages:

A) Original Base Settlers, or Early Stage Migration
B) Mid Migration
C) Late Stage Migration

These show different tech levels and have different characteristics. The Original Base Settlers have grown Rich from the years of unbridled productivity and lack of competition. These make up the upper class of the Martian city.

Those Who arrived in the middle stages of the migration are Commonly Viewed as the middle class of Nova Terra.

Often the poorest and most desperate due to the declining situation on earth, are the latest to arrive at Nova Terra. They have very little money and as a result tend to be viewed as the lower class of the city. When they arrive their earth credits are exchanged for MarsCoin. Which we now will Discuss briefly.

MarsCoin:

The Capital uses a currency known as mars coin that is tied to energy production. That is, for every unit of energy produced, a coin is brought into circulation.

This ensures that the City does not Use more power than it has. There is nobody to import power from, so this is strictly enforced by the military and the council.

Social Structure:

The Martian City is a strictly enforced Greek (or True) Democracy. Everyone Votes, on Every issue regarding the city. That is to say the main issues. Micromanagement is left to the relevant sector.

The Terran Empire: The United Earth Forces: UEF

Spoiler

The Earth, united under a global government, decided to declare war on the mars natives after seeing the huge potential for resources, and fearful for their grip on dominance in the kuiber belt of the beautiful vast unknown Terran solar system.

A war for resources was not unheard of in the previous centuries. Why would now be any different...

And so the factions enter total war.

Or at least thats what the general public was led to believe. The truth was, the earth was devestated, from years of mismanagement and neglect. Poverty and strife. Destruction and death. There was little left for the World but to leave. And so Project Phoenix was Born. A secretive mission to create a Earth Ship. that would carry the remnants of earth to Mars and allow them to start again at a new home.

The UEF Noah set sail in the year 2205. Everything was about to change for both sides. Forever.

[Punk-A-Cat]

Ooooo I wanna know more Appleseed, it sounds intriguing!

I'm working on learning composition - I know the theory, but putting it into practise is really hard. Many thumbnails, so many thumbnails!

[Farvus]

Amit Dutta suggested I post here my worldbuilding effort so here I am. There's already plenty of images and world info created for the project so its going to be long post. I try not to bore you with wall of text when I create these. Just enough to give you basic info.

Looking forward to see what you came up with :).

I'm building setting that is mainly going to exist as pen&paper tabletop RPG but in the end it's transmedia project. It might be applied to some other mediums as well.

Oceanarium is an sci-fi universe where humanity was forced to live under water and learned to adapt by genetically altering their bodies. Things started going in the right direction but newly created society got divided and people started fighting against each other for energy and oxygen supplies. On top of that some unkown danger is lurking beneath on deeper levels.

These are movies, books, games that I had in mind when starting project. I've read "Starfish" later just to familiarize myself with subject of underwater sci-fi. It turned out to be really good choice. I'm planning to read the rest of the Rifter's trilogy. Also to be honest life is the strongest influence here as I was scuba diving once in swimming pool and many times without equipment.




Some story beats of how it all started.




There was a large colony ship sent from Earth. It was searching for new home and after decades of hibernation people finally found new place. It had good atmosphere however it was all covered in ocean. The exception was large flat structure created by some unkown alien civillisation. There were no signs of life both on the surface and under water. People decided to land as they had no other choice. They were extremely low on supplies. On the edge of the structure the colonists created their own small houses.




Then came time for exploration. A group of scientists soon realised that this huge structure covering large part of the planet actually has some entrances under the water. The moment they opened the gates it activated some sort of planet's defense system. A swarm of nanorobots started killing everything alive. People had no chance and the only way to survive was to dive under water. Then all colony moved past the gates and found there was a huge ecosystem preserved. Some alien race abandoned a place with hundreds of aquatic animals and plants living under good conditions. All life support systems worked perfectly fine and people managed to use those systems for their own survival and even flourish a bit. However they never figured out how to disable nanorobots. They were stuck for good.




During exploration of the Nest people found large underwater areas filled with coral reefs. Those are placed on grids of special panels that support growth. Scientists managed to recreate those panels for producing food. The top light comes from ceiling which is all covered in huge automatic shades.  

Other major step in survival was building first habitat. It was positioned on the surface of large pillar supporting the structure.

Here's first map I created. I'm now sure it's going to change but it's good to have something for a start.




The round alien structure people started calling The Nest. It's enormous. You can travel inside for weeks both horizontally and downward into lower darker levels. Many years after the gate was opened people deconstructed part of the wall to enlarge the entrance. What it did was some of the wildlife got out and started swimming outside of the Nest (Which caused some undesirable effects. I'll explain that later) 

Some of the scavanged metal plates were used as a material for the first habitat. People managed to do this beacause they found that some parts of the Nest had shafts with oxygen and power lines transmitting energy from geothermal power plants. The amount of places that has those things is limited so it quickly become the source of never ending battles.

Here are first character ideas. It's still pretty basic to me.




In order to adapt people used bioenginnering to develop gills. To see sharply under water all kind of face covers are used. From typical diving masks to advanced visors or covers that are inserted under the eyelids. Some people take more radical measures and through bioengineering add membrane to their eyes which helps them see under water like fish. However when not in water the image is very distorted and blurred.


You could call it factions though I consider narrowing the choice for the players. Some wouldn't be playable.




1. (Colonists/Citizens/Technocrats) This is the most civilised group. They have the biggest amount of habitats and rely a lot on technology. Some people still believe it's possible to escape the planet or at least deactivate the nanoswarm hidden in the atmosphere. In the "field" they wear clothing similar to what the colony had in the beginning but without oxygen tanks and breathing masks. 

2. (Herders/Coral folk) This group tried to take environment-friendly route and found new home in the upper level wildlife and coral fields. They have small amount of habitats but spend more time underwater. Unfortunately some people got so used to that lifestyle that they forget to communicate and that slowly turns them into savages. People from this group change their skin to resemble fish that they find in their surrounding. They are also expert in underwater camouflage.

3. (Shark riders) Group from lower levels. Unpredictable and agressive. They take great pride from fighting and killing enormous underwater beasts that hide in the dark tunnels. Sometimes their target becomes other factions. People from this faction have pale complexion from abundance of light. They wear skins from the beasts they defeated and put paint on their scars to show their combat experience. Some wear black eye covers that give their faces a disturbing alien look.

4. (Clones) The origin of this group comes from one outcast scientist who stole some advanced technologies from the main habitat labs, escaped to his hideout in the lower levels and cloned himself. His cloned version has modified body. It's very slim to improve performance while swimming underwater and also completely androgynous. This scientist seemed to have a crazy idea on how the new society should look like. When it comes to the look they seem almost the same. Modified white lab outfit, white eye covers and for some reason blue hair.

Some more info on the creatures of Oceanarium.




People always felt like something is not right with this place. The Nest feels hospitable now in the upper levels but lower depth of the ocean covering the planet is hiding some horrible truths. About five kilometers in Snake Trench and in other deep areas of the planet aliens were disposing radioactive waste way before the surface structure was built. In the past all planet was covered in wildlife but beacause of mutations it became extremely dangerous environment to live. Eventually aliens decided to create a place to hide and preserve in it some of the animals. The rest of the planet was purged. However some of the lifeforms were moved when they should be killed. As a result lower levels are inhabited by mutated creatures that are best left alone. Some became sentient beings and even posess psychic abilities. There are stories of people meeting gigantic fish and when they look it in the eye they become insane. Some human communities even started treating lower level creatures as gods and hunt for others to sacrifice them.

Outside of the Nest there are places of high radioactivity and toxicity. When people opened the gates some wildlife got out and several years later infected fish started coming back. For the last few years people are afraid that the end is coming. Not only there is no escape but their hideout is slowly becoming more dangerous place to live. Chaos slowly spreads across the Nest. 

Here's some alternative to nanobots dominating the planet's atmosphere and keeping humanity under water. Exteremely deadly insects capable of deconstructing mechanical objects and surviving for decades without any food.

[dodeqaa]

Super inspiring guys :)

[Tristan Berndt]

This is a really cool group idea. I'm very hyped to see what all of you come up with. I hope that all of you stick with it and end up with something you can be proud of! 

I've had a little pet project that I've been working on for a while now. I though I'd start sharing some of the things I make for it. The purpose of it is mainly a creative outlet where I get to craft a wold I personally find interesting. I'll maybe make something more serious of it later. Right now I want to keep things a little vague and allow myself to change anything if I come up with better ideas. Setting something in stone early on is probably not a good idea. 

This might become my main focus of digital art in the near future (I'll be spending most of my time at the atelier) so I feel it's important to try and get it going before then. I'm currently writing up the backstory and setting of the world but I'm also working out a few visual ideas. I thought I could give a small visual taste before I make any post about "lore". 

This is one of the more "fantasy" areas. I wanted to design this thing "where not even Death walks", or at least, that's how the lore goes. It's basically a huge forrest where there's nothing. No people, no animals, just nothing. The reason I did that cheesy "not even death" part is because I wanted this place be an area where you couldn't die (there are vague lore reason why). I'm still working on the image but you get the idea. 




A nightmare demon...




So I call this character The Ruler of Nothing. Ancient royalty that has had their empire turned to dust. But why are they still alive? hm...




This was one of the first paintings I did. I might scrap the idea...




These are some ideas I started from about a year ago. That's when I started working on the "world". Again, might scrap this






And maybe there are some Draugar... I'm not too sure about them just yet. 

[appleseed00]

Piece A:

the character stance is strange and uncomfortable.
The lighting is incorrect: direction, intensity, reflections,
There are some tangents chopping off the characters head.
The sword leads out of the picture as do the branches.

i would probably place the char and the bridge on the left side leading in to the picture.

a gentler transition into the background would be nice.
Greater color variety and more contrast for the main char would help.


piece B:

man i love your style! it is extremely reminiscent of baldurs gate illustrations by manley. love the skin tones.
The cloth is also cool, the patterns etc.
Greater material indication would help this piece (metal etc)
The anatomy is a little strange...(shoulder, chest, legs) which is odd considering your anatomy skills
The design seems a little unrefined (The head area...)

Also if this is an illustration you need more detail if it is concept art you need more variations.


Piece C:

Again awesome work classic style :D

needs more detail and movement in the piece.
material indication can really help this piece
also maybe a sword at the lower area of the screen.

Piece D:

Gesture and pose are problematic.
anatomy issues: wing connection & the feet.
again the composition, its very static and fixed. considering this is a piece in water....
The color pallete is interesting but imho too monochromatic dont be afraid of colors
The trees are oddly shaped. maybe a different shape language is necessary.

Pieces E & F:

Love the silhouttes great job.
The weapon on the right in the second piece in particular is awesome.
Characters are great nothing to add

Piece G:

This guy is awesome. that is all

really hyped to see more of this :D

[Gliger]

woop woop