World Building – Physical Aspects

Good morning, afternoon, or evening from my neck of the woods to yours.

My name is Mark, and this is an Amazing Gaming Productions writing blog.

Today’s topic is Physical World Building aspects.

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First things first, world’s have to be something we are at least familiar with. Every world will have something of a day and night cycle, and a yearly cycle.

And worlds usually have moons.

So, you need to make some decisions on solar and lunar aspects of your story. Everything from eclipses, lunar penal colonies, solar flares, to super nova. The nastier the better.

In Pixar’s 22 rules for storytelling, all surprises must complicate matters, not make them easier.

So, let your imagination go wild when you think about the lunacy of moon madness!

After all, Pitch Black is a movie that the day an night cycle is literally life or death for every person.

Questions –

• What impacts could their sun have on a world?
• What impacts could their moon have on a story?
• What impacts could asteroids and comets have on a story?

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The next aspect geography and geology.

The chemistry that makes up life is created in the churning of materials that is created by tectonic shifting. Without volcanos, there wouldn’t be life. But that also ensure life is in constant fight for survival.

With Earth Quakes, volcanic eruptions and everything from geysers – geology is both deadly and beautiful.

This also leads to every kind of environment imaginable, because it creates geography. Before mountains, there’s forests, but behind them, there are plains.

This changes the kinds of culture and life everyone lives. People on the coast are different than those near forests, or live near or in mountains, or live on the planes.

This can have a profound change in your story.

And catastrophic geological events can create a very interesting story!

At this point, you should start making some maps of the world or worlds your story takes place in – remembering that coasts lead to forests, that lead to mountains, that lead to plains.

Questions to ask –

• What are industries that sprang up because of where the story takes place in? How has this affected the people there?
• What is the climate?
• What kind of geological instability could add tot he story?

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Weather and atmosphere are also important aspects.

You can have the Volus, who live in such a high pressure environment, they would explode if they don’t have live in their pressure suits. Thinking about what kinds of possible atmospheres would lead to what kinds of lifeforms is an important task.

And crazy movies like Sharknado can emphasize what weather is all about. Weather can play an important part in a man vs nature story, so keep that in mind when you start writing.

Questions to ask –

• What impacts does the atmosphere have on the world?
• What kinds of weather patterns are common?
• What kinds of dangers do these patterns create?

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After you make these decisions, you can finally start on what kind of life you’re writing about. And the first would be flora.

Plant life is important, it’s a food source, helps us build shelter, and can aid us with medicines, and used as weapons with poisons. And then there’s weeds.

Sci-fi stories like invasion of the body snatchers are all about plants.

And fighting things like the Thorian in Mass Effect is also a great example of deadly plants.

Not to mention all kinds of science fiction stories about plants and their properties.

Take some time to think about how plant life can impact on your stories.

Questions –

• What kinds of crops do your sapients grow?
• What kinds of trees and forests are around the area your story takes place in?
• What kinds of properties do beneficial plants have?
• What kinds of properties do dangerous plants have?

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And finally we have animal life

Everything from dangerous wild animals, to live stock, herding and work animals, and pets. The more advanced your sapients are, the more they will start using animals to make their lives easier.

The human race’s technological ability started with horses, because it increased the sheer mileage of trade – and because of that, we shared knowledge, ideas, and materials that made all of our lives better.

But that doesn’t prevent dangerous animals from still harming your sapients.

Questions –

• What animal revolutionized your sapients into the dominant life form?
• What animals are used as livestock?
• What animals are dangerous?
• What kind animals do they keep as pets?

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