Create Your Own World (#23)

exploring and answering what ifs

Everyone has a way to mentally escape their reality. Some people read books. Some people watch shows. And some people enjoy falling into delusion. Each has their own positives and negatives.

When we interact with films & stories, we are interacting with someone else’s world. A world that the author/creator has ideated and brought to life. We get transported into their mind and enjoy the adventures of these characters in a world that has been crafted from their thought & imagination. It’s a beautiful thing.

There are countless amount of stories out there exploring the worlds within the minds of people spanning all of history. It’s pretty insane to think about. Some are bad, some are good, but the quality of story didn’t deter them from writing it anyway. So let’s make our own!

Let’s build a world.

When building a world. The first thing I like to do is switch one rule within the world that can change the dynamics of how we live. You can see this within many worlds. It all begins with a “what if.”

For Game of Thrones, “what if dragons and other folklore actually interacted with medieval era politics?”

For Toy Story, “what if toys were sentient?”

For Marvel, “what if superpowers were real?”

For the Boys, “what if superpowers were really real?”

Decide on what rule you would like to change.

Now, take a few minutes and let your mind explore possibilities. Don’t say no to your thoughts. Write down each and every thought. List them out. Stop when one of the ideas further increases your curiosity.

What if trees had eyes that could be accessible? What if minds could be seamlessly be switched between bodies? What if the hierarchy of the world was determined based on basketball skills? What if transportation was focused underground instead of above ground?

Once we land on our “what if,” let’s go down the rabbit hole.

Ask more questions surrounding the main rule change.

“What if transportation was focused underground instead of above ground?”

How would neighborhoods evolve? How would communities connect? Would there be front doors? How would houses look like? Would separate continents be connected at all? How would countries ally with each other? Why are they building transportation underneath instead of above ground?

Each question you ask helps you really take into consideration what that situation could potentially be like.

Answer your questions.

Why are they building transportation underneath instead of above ground? There are more obstacles in the way if we were to develop transportation above ground.

How would neighborhoods evolve? They would probably develop into pods. Where a group of families would work together to create a safe space within the environment in order to better defend themselves from the obstacles.

How would communities connect? There would probably one main station per neighborhood that would connect with the other surrounding neighborhoods.

Would there be front doors? There still would be a front door for each house, but there is not outside entrance to the neighborhood.

How would houses look like? I would think houses would be more vertical in order to have better vision on the outside world. Space would be limited horizontally due to the outside space. The wealthy would hold multiple stories, while the poor would have basements.

Would separate continents be connected at all? I think at this time, civilization has control over how they interact with the environment. Travel between neighborhoods and different communities across the nation is now viable. Wider infrastructure is being built. Communication between different continents are now beginning.

How would countries ally with each other? I’m not sure there would be countries, but clusters of allied neighborhoods. Clusters grow depending on their connections within the transport system. New connections between neighborhoods are considered treaties.

Once you begin to answer your own questions the world you are building becomes clearer and clearer. You begin to see this world that you are creating right in front of your eyes.

Put it all together.

In this world, transportation dictates the rules of the land. Due to obstacles found above ground, the safest way to travel is below ground. Communities sprout out of the ground and work together to tame the area they want to live in. They border themselves inward and the only way to move outside of the community is to use the underground transportation system. Building connections to neighboring communities is a big deal. With a connection, you are allowing people from either neighborhood access to the homes of community.

We are living in a time where these connections have been passed down and relations between communities have been built and reinforced for generations. Each neighborhood gains strength by their connections and who they are allied with. Borders only exist on the micro level.

You’ve created a world.

Questions can be further asked and answered. Answers to some questions can be changed to better fit the answers of others. With each question and answer you further your understanding of the world you are creating.

Getting lost in a different world is fun. You get introduced to different circumstances that may not be a reality within our own world and you get to see how people interact with those circumstances that were put in place. You can get that from reading a book, watching a film, or getting engrossed into a series.

But, you can also do it yourself.

Now the world you make doesn’t need to make perfect sense. While writing about the world I was creating, more questions arose. Like how do they even find the other communities? Instead of viewing these questions as foils to your world, think of ways that can make it work. Maybe through the materials found underground, technology develops based on how explorative a community is. As they further explore, technology develops and they make it easier to find surrounding communities.

Create a world. Ask yourself what if. Go through different what ifs until you find one that you want to explore more of. Then begin to question that what if further. Once you have a good amount of questions, begin answering those questions. Then see what world you have created.

What you do with these worlds after this is completely up to you. You can keep exploring them or you can just let them be a part of a fun little exercise. I’m going to leave mine as is. I may come back to these underground people. I might not.

Give it a shot and see where you end up. Have fun exploring!

If you’d like to share the different worlds y’all are coming up with write it out, post it on your story, and tag us on IG! @simplexcreativeclub