More Than Just a Game: Worldbuilding 101 for Gamers

This camp is for the child who loves video games or creating their own stories in any format. Learners will work together to build a world unique to their vision and troubleshoot how to bring it to life. These concepts can apply for world building applicable to writing, creating games, creating videos and so much more!

Day 1 -We will research and explore what makes some of our favorite worlds recognizable and successful. We will define what world building is, and who is responsible for it during the creation of game or movie. We will brainstorm and work on a concept for a new world with a guided worksheet as we begin laying the foundation for this imaginary world. Learners will then work on a concept for their own new world as the basis for their story design. Students will be assigned worksheets to help them build first a quest and then a city in their new world.

Day 2- Students will learn about the elements of technology and magic in the world they are creating by examining how technology is used in their own environments and applying new methods for the world of their creation. We will also examine how clothing can give indicators of roles in a society, class, and region. We will discuss our own homes and study areas as a way to learn how to describe the scenes found in our new worlds. Students will be assigned worksheets to help them build a technology or magic system, clothing and homes of their choice in their world. 

Day 3- Students will focus on the history and dive deeper in to the culture of the worlds of their creation by discussing rituals, history and politics based on examples found in current media to include film, television, and gaming. Students will be assigned worksheets to help them build new rituals, history timelines and factions of their worlds with optional worksheet to develop the politics associated with these elements.

Day 4- We will learn about geography in the real world and how that impacts the geography of fictional ones. We will do mapping exercises to create the first map of the learners world. We will name our worlds and flesh regional designs with a focus on learning basic mapping techniques.

Day 5-  Learners will present to the class the world of their creation with peer review offered on how to improve design. We will finetune the elements of our world design and discuss possible issues with plot holes or even plagiarism.