>[!meta-dates] >- **Created:** 2025-02-16 >- **Last updated:** 2025-07-12 >- **Author:** TJ Trewin > [!info] > **Explore the world as it develops here:** > **[[Overview - start here]]** > > Get your sneak peeks before anyone else by supporting me on Ko-fi: > https://ko-fi.com/tjtrewin/tiers 🥰 ## What's all this then? In an effort to bolster my autonomy and critical thinking skills I'm choosing to learn more about the world through published scientific journals. Instead of saving & forgetting or just flinging a link to my friends, I'm adapting what I learn into making an immersive fantasy world. **Doing the research is just like finding quality reference photos for a new art piece** - it brings in parallels of believability and realism into worldbuilding, making it feel more alive and interconnected. Taking a [[Glossary#^8789a0|hard worldbuilding]] approach is a fun constraint that forces me use my noggin to solve the puzzle of how weird stuff logically fits together without breaking any pre-established lore. ### Motivations Worldbuilding has always been my favourite creative outlet because it can encompass every medium, discipline, or niche interest I'm currently fixated on at any given moment! 😄 It's not just that though, it lets me make connections between the things I enjoy - rather than keeping them in separate, dust-covered boxes. As well as learning more about Earth's physical and varied cultural history, having a long term worldbuilding project lets me explore thoughts and ideas, process difficult experiences through another lens, and share fond memories through the tales of other characters. ### Roadmap?? What roadmap? 🤣 I have a vague plan of building the physical setting & aspects of the world first (planet, landmasses, climate, etc) but it's going to be a metronome swinging wildly from [[Glossary#^051696|top-down]] to [[Glossary#^21605a|bottom-up]] worldbuilding. Even throughout the stages of reconstructing my world's tectonic plates (yes, I'm *one of those GPlates people*), I intend to stop and consider what *fantasy* aspect I can weave into it. I don't just want to make a realism-inspired Earth-like planet with fantasy slapped on top, I want it to be rooted throughout its creation. Expect to see plenty of [[Placeholder names|literal placeholder names]] as you encounter my early/WIP notes. ### Outcomes I don't have a broad end goal in mind, my worldbuilding is a creative outlet and at the moment there are no plans for what I want to *do* with it beyond that (e.g. make a videogame, write a book, design a TTRPG or campaign guide). Maybe something will naturally emerge down the line? Who knows! I do have some short-term goals though! I'll be documenting my research and worldbuilding process as I go, and I'm already working on an extensive [[GPlates Worldbuilding Tutorial]] that builds upon existing guides out there. Most of my "goals" are more like personal bets - challenging myself to make a complex thing or learn a new skill or to use a new software, just to see if I can. 😁 These kinds of [[Glossary#^bde671|intrinsic motivations]] are incredibly important to me in order to not get bitch-slapped by burnout (again).