World-Building

World-building is the cumulative result of the physical elements, story context and mechanics used to make an immersive environment in which a game is played.

It’s natural to live in a world

World-building is embedded into our lived experience, and it is intuitively familiar to us. We have names, careers, aptitudes and goals, as well as connections, lived experiences and heritage that act in concert to make us who we are (or at least who we “feel” we are). And we inhabit physical spaces that carry their own history, traditions and unique traits. Likewise, we recognize that others possess their own “backstories” that give context to who they are in relationship to us and the wider world.

The difference between our “real-world” experience and the world-building of a game is that the latter emerges thanks to the physical elements of the game along with the story that is “assigned” to us as players by the game designer. The mechanics we must employ as we progress navigate and progress through the game also shape the playing experience in meaningful ways.

In brief, world-building is achieved by harnessing three elements:

• The physical environment and material objects of the game
• The story, its characters, as well as the emotions and moods triggered by the combination of the physical and story elements
• The mechanics of how players “move around” in the world and achieve goals

The physical element

The physical environment includes the components of the game you can touch, feel and see, and even the manner in which these objects are arranged on a table. They form the “universe” of play that exists in front of us rather than strictly in our imaginations.

The bits and pieces of a game do much of the heavy lifting of giving our minds a springboard from which to take the leap into assuming roles as characters in the game.

Story

Why are we here in this place, what is our predicament, what must we accomplish, and how will we know if we have succeeded? The story is the driving force that makes world-building possible. While the physical components set the stage, the story is the beating heart that makes the impending journey become worthy of taking.

Characters give us clarity about what our role is in the unfolding adventure. Of course, the importance of character varies from game to game. At the two extremes we have characters who possess unique traits, abilities and weaknesses that are of material importance to the playing experience. And at the other end characters merely serve as token labels that help us differentiate one player from the next.

The story in combination with the physical environment give rise to emotions and atmosphere. If players are about to do battle, the mood may be grim and austere (but in a fun way!). Or conversely, if players are romping through cheerfully colored magical realm on an upbeat quest of some sort, the vibe will reflect this.

Mechanics

Mechanics are the rules in place that define how and when players may take a move, complete an action or otherwise exercise agency. Mechanics set the tone for the rigidity or freeness with which players go about the tasks ahead. Although mechanics may be of secondary importance in world-building, they influence how fluidly players are able to immerse themselves in the game.

Important points

Through the course of a game the built world can change, and that is often a core objective. Populate an untamed land, defeat a nefarious enemy, or build a railway empire, and the world will start to look different.

Not all games put a great deal of energy into world-building, of course. Abstract games possess threadbare storylines (if any), and players instead focus on achieving tasks without the need to identify themselves with characters. This is not to say that abstract games are deficient or inferior at creating a captivating experience. Rather, they generate excitement by means of players making decisions, facing consequences, and evoking responses from their opponents in a space that is untethered from story.

World-building probably works best when it comes about during game setup and as preparations are made for players to embark on their missions. It harms the game experience if players must divert their attention from the pursuing their goals in order to make physical modifications to the playing area in ways that are tangential and have no meaningful impact to the game’s outcome.

When done well, world-building enriches the playing experience and enhances the sense of place and purpose for players.