3D I, Week 6, Part 1: Assignment 3, Worldbuilding

For assignment 3, we will be modeling characters. This week, we designed our characters and, rather than starting on the model ourselves, we were instructed to hand our character over to someone else in the class. In this we are effectively clients, while the people who will be modeling our characters are the artists.

To ensure that the artist can model out their assigned character with accuracy, we were instructed to create both visual and written references. The visual references include an action pose, and turnaround, as well as any necessary anatomy or material references. The written references include an in-depth character summary, as well as information about the theoretical game they would belong to, and its setting.

For this assignment, Jenny Grip will be working on the character I designed. In this blog post I will try to briefly describe the world which my character inhabits.

A painting of late 18th century Paris, a reference for architecture in the bigger cities of this setting.

Time and Setting

The setting of the game is a light-hearted fantasy world with close parallels to our own. The game takes place in what would be the equivalent of the early 18^th century, before the industrial revolution. Geographically, the country in which the story takes place would be somewhere around southern Europe. The country’s architecture is based on countries around this location and time in our world, particularly France.

Country and People

The country the game takes place in is located along the southern coast of a continent. Across the ocean are two other continents to the southeast and southwest, this has made the country a center for both trade and transport across the three continents.

There are many big, developed port cities along the country’s coast. The further in towards land you travel in the country, the smaller, more rural and spread out the settlements become. Along the northern border of the country, there are mostly small, isolated villages. The protagonist of the game is from one of these villages.

There is a huge mix of ethnic groups within the country due to its geographical location as a connection point between three continents. The country is governed by parliament, and while there is no central unified religion, there are many popular beliefs spread among the country’s many different folk groups. The most widespread religion in the country is one with moral beliefs similar to our Buddhism.

The town from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a good example for the more rural settlements in this setting.

Magic

In this world, magic and supernatural phenomenon are commonplace.

Magic is a force of nature present in the world which can be studied and, with practice, manipulated, to do things such as move objects from a distance, and start fires out of thin air. Anyone can perform magic without any tools necessary, but executing it requires intense willpower and is incredibly straining.

There’s no limits to what magic can do in this world, but it takes years of practice to master anything more complex than making a candle blow itself out. As a result, entire professions have been based around the act of doing very specific things with magic. For example, there are architects who spend years of their lives training their minds to make buildings construct themselves.

Supernatural creatures

Many creatures from our myth exist in this world. This includes absolutely any myth, from Nordic, to Egyptian, to Aztec myth. Generally, the mythological creatures that exist in this world are ones that more resemble animals such as unicorns, phoenixes and qilin.

There are limitations on which mythological creatures can exist in this setting. In general, more humanoid creatures, especially ones that are commonly presented as “races” in fantasy, are not present. This means no elves, dwarves or trolls. Religious deities and mythological figures, and anything associated with the afterlife other than apparitions such as ghosts and certain youkai, don’t exist either.

Supernatural creatures generally coexist peacefully with humanity, but might cast curses or misfortune on people who harm or otherwise upset them.

Magic and Civilization

While magic has always existed in this world, humans only learned proper methods of controlling it about 500 years before the game’s start. Magic knowledge has aided in the advancement of civilization, and helped reduce instances of accidents where people use magic with no idea how to control it.

While most civilizations embrace the usage of magic, some cultures and religions abolish it. Some out of respect for a religious higher power, and some out of fear. These beliefs are less popular in big developed cities, but are not uncommon.

The protagonist of the game is from a village where magic is abolished out of fear.