Further Adventures in World-Building
Back in the earliest days of playing Dungeons and Dragons, I was excited to find out that the default game setting - the World of Greyhawk - was going to have a map set plus explanatory bookley published, detailing the world for the first time. I felt so excited that I began creating my own world (which I randomly generated from a table in the Dungeon Master's Guide) because I couldn't wait for the real thing to come out. Of course, what I did create didn't hold a candle to the actual product when it came out and I've mostly forgotten it - but it did set me on the path to building my own worlds.
I've made other attempts to create my own settings; I recall a notebook which mostly consisted of a map drawn on the inside cover, which got lost on the last day of middle school when I forgot the prohibition against having any paper products on that final day. Later still in high school, I created a background for a series of interactive fiction games that solely consisted of outlines on paper than any actual computer game; in a fit of cleaning out old papers, the folder full of various documents was junked and lost for good. I've also worked on more collaborative settings with the RPG groups I've played with over the years.
For my game universe, I decided to start from scratch, but I decided to continue the philosophy behind the game - a tribute to my various likes and passions throughout the years - and expanded it to designing the world. Much of it can be traced back to books, shows, movies, other games, etc. either by cherry picking components I think would work or through out-of-universe references.
In the former case, for example, the principal races of elves are 'gnomes' and 'dwarves' respectively. While the two races are traditionally (at least via D&D) short demi-humans that dwell underground, I used some variant usage. The Elder Scrolls games have 'dwarves' as a race of vanished elves that were technologically minded; whereas 'gnomes' were used as the name of the 'high elves' in Middle Earth by Tolkien right up through early editions of The Hobbit. The 'traditional' versions don't exist in my game world, at least so far.
In the latter case, there's a fine line to walk that I don't always feel I'm successful in staying balanced on. There's the independent nation of Corell, a seaside realm known for its shipbuilding and pilots; anyone with a more-than-casual knowledge of Star Wars would know that I'm drawing from Han Solo's home. In a homage to "Aragain Falls" from Zork I (spell the first word backwards), there's a caravan path across the eastern deserts known as "Nogero Trail", making it truly a double reference. I want to avoid simply making 'joke' names - aside from the pun, I want them to still have a meaning in-game. However silly the name, the path is an important trade route and plays a significant role in one of the puzzles.
Lastly, there's just the bizarre occurrences of coincidental naming. The woodlands that are at the heart of the game was given the moniker "Dawn Woods" as it stood as the ancestral homeland of the ancient elves before their separation into different cultures. Was I subconsciously thinking about Don Woods, one of the creators of Adventure? Eh, probably. Still, it fits the purposes of my story.
Right now, I'm a little stuck on actual game development as I'm looking to set up certain features (rather than continue expanding the game itself); first and foremost, creating a combat system in the game. I'm doing research to see if code exists in a system that I'm happy with; otherwise, there's the long and arduous process of development and testing. We'll see.
I've made other attempts to create my own settings; I recall a notebook which mostly consisted of a map drawn on the inside cover, which got lost on the last day of middle school when I forgot the prohibition against having any paper products on that final day. Later still in high school, I created a background for a series of interactive fiction games that solely consisted of outlines on paper than any actual computer game; in a fit of cleaning out old papers, the folder full of various documents was junked and lost for good. I've also worked on more collaborative settings with the RPG groups I've played with over the years.
For my game universe, I decided to start from scratch, but I decided to continue the philosophy behind the game - a tribute to my various likes and passions throughout the years - and expanded it to designing the world. Much of it can be traced back to books, shows, movies, other games, etc. either by cherry picking components I think would work or through out-of-universe references.
In the former case, for example, the principal races of elves are 'gnomes' and 'dwarves' respectively. While the two races are traditionally (at least via D&D) short demi-humans that dwell underground, I used some variant usage. The Elder Scrolls games have 'dwarves' as a race of vanished elves that were technologically minded; whereas 'gnomes' were used as the name of the 'high elves' in Middle Earth by Tolkien right up through early editions of The Hobbit. The 'traditional' versions don't exist in my game world, at least so far.
In the latter case, there's a fine line to walk that I don't always feel I'm successful in staying balanced on. There's the independent nation of Corell, a seaside realm known for its shipbuilding and pilots; anyone with a more-than-casual knowledge of Star Wars would know that I'm drawing from Han Solo's home. In a homage to "Aragain Falls" from Zork I (spell the first word backwards), there's a caravan path across the eastern deserts known as "Nogero Trail", making it truly a double reference. I want to avoid simply making 'joke' names - aside from the pun, I want them to still have a meaning in-game. However silly the name, the path is an important trade route and plays a significant role in one of the puzzles.
Lastly, there's just the bizarre occurrences of coincidental naming. The woodlands that are at the heart of the game was given the moniker "Dawn Woods" as it stood as the ancestral homeland of the ancient elves before their separation into different cultures. Was I subconsciously thinking about Don Woods, one of the creators of Adventure? Eh, probably. Still, it fits the purposes of my story.
Right now, I'm a little stuck on actual game development as I'm looking to set up certain features (rather than continue expanding the game itself); first and foremost, creating a combat system in the game. I'm doing research to see if code exists in a system that I'm happy with; otherwise, there's the long and arduous process of development and testing. We'll see.
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