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The incredible visionary J.R.R. Tolkien convinced fantasy worldbuilders everywhere that every moment and every aspect of an imaginary world must be intimately detailed. However, good fiction is not "intimately detailed" purely for the aesthetic but instead, in the service of themes and story. This is what separates a master world-builder, such as Tolkien, from an amateur.
The following blog entry will explain my general processes for building out a world for the purposes of fiction--whether that be for games, writing, or other forms of art.
The Purpose of Worldbuilding
Naturally, every worldbuilder has different aesthetics and taste when it comes to worldbuilding--some seek to create worlds which are "realistic" while others simply want to throw in things they like from other cultures or works of fiction. However, ultimately, the purpose of worldbuilding is to enhance a work of fiction. If a creator becomes so enamored of their world that they never present it in an interesting or engaging way to their audience, it is worthless. Middle Earth is only of great interest because of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit were highly influential works of literature. The Eberron campaign setting is only interesting in that I, as a player or Dungeon Master, can fight a Rakshasa or be a member of a Dragonmarked House. The Elder Scrolls' lore is only interesting because it enhances my fetch quests and dungeoneering and jumping hopelessly at unclimbable surfaces. I will not claim that "no one" would enjoy reading wikia pages worth of lore for a world with no fiction attached, but I am certainly not a part of that audience and I know of no widely known worlds which exist in this space. As such, we must conclude that worldbuilding is only as good as the fiction it serves.
That being said, as a part of fiction, it is extremely important to creating an immersive, fully realized experience. Inconsistent or cliched worldbuilding can ruin a perfectly story, whereas good worldbuilding can elevate a work of fiction beyond the length of the original work.
Qualities of Good Worldbuilding
Before I attempt to quantify what I do, I should explain my personal objectives in worldbuilding in any work of fiction--which is to say, how I define "quality".
First and foremost, the worldbuilding enhances the themes and central conflict of the work. Is the central theme that one can never truly get over loss? Ensure the history of the world has multiple occasions where a country, nation, or hero lost something and never recovered from it. Is the central theme that exploring new places is a good things and sends a pro-colonial message? The heroes of the cultures of this world should be adventurers and cartographers, while those who believe in stagnation or sustainable living or whatever it is that opposes "exploring" are portrayed as disadvantageous and wrong. Is it a bildungromans showing the conflict between wanting independence and to be cared for by parental figures? Reflect this in the way that a colony wants to have independence but cannot economically manage it yet. By having the central conflict and themes echoed in the world, even if the audience does not notice this explicitly, they will feel the richness of the work. It also allows one to explore these themes from an aspect to which the protagonist may not be privy.
Secondly, worldbuilding must be internally consistent and any inconsistencies must also make sense. It is often said that the real world is strange so, "Don't worry if your world is unrealistic!" However, for example, if a child is raised in a militaristic society by militaristic and aggressive parents, the child will likely see military might as a good thing. It is unrealistic for the child to suddenly be a pacifist. If they are a pacifist and they stand against their society, then the fiction must explain why they are that way. Did they see the horrors of war firsthand? Were their parents immigrants with a pacifist religion? Even when the child moves beyond the brainwashing of their youth, there will still be effects of the greater culture on their psyche. That being said, cultures affect people, they do not frequently define them in their entirety. Making monolithic cultures is also a poor decision because it does not really reflect how cultures actually form.
This brings me to my third point, which is that realism is only important insofar that things "feel" right to the audience. Realism can add authority and authenticity to a work-- for instance, realistic fight scenes, realistic healing and recovery times, and humans acting like actual human beings and not simply serving the whims of the writers. Realism is not important just to appease the nitpicker who tells you that "leather armor does not work like that" or "physics does not work like that", especially if it is thematically appropriate or enhances the tone of the piece or is consistent with how the laws of physics have been treated throughout the rest of the work. A worldbuilder who wants to make the trees purple even on a planet where the color of the sky is not appropriate for the leaf color is just as valid as the worldbuilder who does the extra biological research. However, if the purple trees add nothing if they do not "feel" right--adding nothing to the themes or internal consistency.
One postulates it is possible to make a world that is interesting and breaks all of these rules--a world that does not enhance the themes of the work, is not internally consistent, and does not feel right to the audience. However, I find these to be the qualities for which I strive in my worldbuilding.
Themes
If it has not been hammered into your head yet, I find theme and central conflict to be the most important factor in any good work of fiction--game or otherwise. This is where I always begin with my worldbuilding and it becomes the maypole around which all other aspects of worldbuilding dance gaily about.
As an actual example, my most recent major worldbuilding project is an epistolary novel about the return of ancient heroes. As such, the central question of the work is "What does it mean to be a hero?"
Each culture in the world put a great deal of emphasis on their heroes and use stories of their heroes as a prototypical representation of what everyone in the culture should do to be a good person. Different cultures explored different answers to this questions. So naturally, then, the cultures went to war and the winner will be my answer, as the author, to this question.
Geography
Once the central theme is decided, then I begin to generate some geography. All aspects of a culture are tied directly to coping with the local geography. Whether these are cultural values reflecting the environment or the technology necessary to survive or stories and symbols associated with harvest cycles, geography shapes every aspect of life. Beyond that even, geography shapes even the development speeds of nations on an ordinary earth-like planet--to oversimplify Jared Diamond's argument from Guns, Germs, and Steel. Geography is also critical for determining biology--where form follows function. You won't see thin, whispy clothing in a frozen north (and you'll probably find furs, thick wools, and so on). At least, you will not see this without extenuating circumstances. Similarly, you won't see light-skinned people running around most deserts unless they are nocturnal and live underground.
Sometimes, I create geography to support the cultural aesthetics I want to see. Sometimes, I create geography first and then draw cultures naturally from existing geography. This differs depending on the piece of fiction I am working on. For the nameless epistolary novel, I placed cultures centered around the types of heroes I wanted to feature. But for my most recent game, The Monument, I developed the culture of the biology of the lantern people and the geography of the steep, titular Monument.
Creatures and Ecology
This is where I admit my knowledge of worldbuilding largely falters, as my biology knowledge is high-school, early University-level at best... and terrible at worst. However, this is also where I outsource my knowledge to my friends who actually study ecology. After developing my geography, I decide on ecosystems, what types of creatures inhabit them, and other ecological elements of each region of the world. To be realistic, this is where I decide on prevailing winds and calculate how weather patterns develop. I also start wondering where humans and other sentient beings evolved/were created/came into existence (if we can confirm the existence of magic/gods) and how they spread through the known world.
Culture
Cultures are my favorite parts of worldbuilding because cultures are essentially the stories that groups of people tell about themselves. In the real world, culture arises from all the previous elements discussed. Geography and technology determines how clustered humans can be, ecology and biology determine what these people have to do to survive and what they eat, and then the culture arises from trying to cope with these conditions. Then, the culture develops and changes over time with new technologies, changing climates, and renewed contact with other cultures.
I will use my epistolary novel again as an example: In the North, there is a city-state called Noveau Thuille--which can be described in popular terms as "Irish folklore meets 1750s France with aspects of Mafia culture". Noveau Thuille is elitist and isolationist, priding itself on having descended directly from Emperor Riavh d'Solais (the hero of this culture). They believe he entrusted the maintenance of order and the preservation of his beliefs and values to them specifically. With this belief, the noble houses do not allow any one Emperor--on the promise that their Emperor will return--but vie for power in his absence nonetheless, without a central figure to lead them. Isolated in the mountains, they do not do a lot proselytizing for their esteemed Emperor and thus, mostly quote such beliefs as an aesthetic but not as a deeply held value. Also due to their isolation, it has become important to maintain the status quo--including the current wealth brackets. Due the fertility in the valley combined with the richness of the mines, the economy is actually thriving and so the lower class is rising. Thanks to having access to magic, they do not need clothes with buttons, zippers, or conventional clothing methods, as magic can seal their clothes onto them--which leads to a sleek silhouette which saves fabric. Rich, warm furs supplement this sleek look in the cold weather. Women and men alike shave the sides of their heads but grow their hair long and braid it--similarly to the other cultures around. Long hair is a symbol of status, as getting the products to care for one's hair is expensive and requires trade. While this is just an overview, as you can see, each aspect of the culture has a reason it is there.
This is a good time to point out that I also use a template for all my cultures to make sure I cover all the bases for everything in each one. I try to have a general idea for each part of the template in every culture before I dig too deep. I actually base this template on the Town Building template from the pen-and-paper role-playing game Ryuutama. This includes:
--Location Name
--Size of location/population
--System of government
--Environment
--Architecture Generally
--Common sights, sounds, and smells
--Specialty items and means-of-trade
--Local history
--Local beliefs/contentious issues
Story or Work of Fiction
Now, is when I discuss how the culture then impacts the story. Usually, a good story can occur almost independently of worldbuilding--however, sometimes, a world's cultural clashes can create stories. If they haven't been decided yet, game mechanics are usually determined at this phase to fit the world.
To go back to my example of Noveau Thuille, how does this serve the themes of the epistolary novel? The protagonist herself is from this Northern city-state and is hailed as a modern hero--for overcoming her scars, killing her enemies effectively, and doing whatever it takes to survive in this cutthroat world. She is cynical and lets her trauma define her, which stands in contrast to the Emperor of the past who was noble, fair, optimistic, and is well-adjusted to the loss of his empire, queen, and son. Is she more of a hero for serving her country effectively, if brutally? Or is the Emperor, for doing so with honor? The course of the novel will answer such a question. This protagonist, while shaped largely by the equally elitist, cynical culture in which she was raised, also defies it in certain regards--she doesn't grow out her hair for the purposes of practicality, she isn't a miner or a farmer, and she also doesn't quote the Emperor or make public speeches. She just silently serves her country. She is praised for it.
What's Next?
From here, I go wild. I flesh out things as they become relevant--clothes, architecture, religion, etc. I find the most fun and most tonally consistent answer to my questions. I do research as is necessary.
But in the end, I only do what serves the story, the themes, and the fiction. As Hilari Bell, a local author of mine, once wrote, "The color of the trees is irrelevant—what matters is what happens in that purple forest. If your characters just ride through, saying, “Wow, purple trees, cool,” then purple trees are worthless. But if your characters stop in that forest because their wounded leader is dying, and even though it means their pursuers might catch them, they can’t stand to see him suffer from being jostled for one more mile, then your purple forest becomes a place of infinite sorrow and wonder... What do I think about purple trees? It depends on what they have to say."
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