Let's Worldbuild Together: Crafting a Community Zine!

[michoverse]

Hey fellow creators!

Ever dreamed of building an entire world from scratch with a community of imaginative minds? Here's your chance! I'm kicking off a collaborative worldbuilding project, and the end goal is to create a free downloadable PDF zine showcasing our collective creativity!

This is a fantastic opportunity to brainstorm, share ideas, and see your contributions come to life in a tangible publication.

Our Mission: The "World We're Building"
To make things easier and more focused, we'll be exploring one of these exciting themes. Vote in the poll below or suggest your own if you have a killer idea!

Option 1: monster collection like pokemon or digimon but darker, maybe with a certain magic system...
Option 2: a realm where a football game on a continental scale is taking place with deadly consequences, every certain time frame (decade, 4 years, could be anything) a ball descends on the realm and kingdoms fight for it...not sure where this will go but the idea is intriguing
Option 3: suggest an idea, be unique and creative.
Once a theme is chosen, we'll dive deeper into specific aspects like geography, inhabitants, lore, magic system and more!

How You Can Contribute
We welcome all levels of participation!

Idea Generators: Share your concepts for creatures, cultures, history, magic systems, technology, and anything else that sparks your imagination! Your brilliant ideas will help shape our world.
Lore Crafters: Help us flesh out the details by writing short descriptions, historical snippets, or character bios based on accepted ideas.
Artists & Designers: Help us with the art and design.

Credit Where Credit Is Due
Transparency and fair credit are super important.

Artwork: All finished art chosen for the final PDF zine will be clearly credited with the artist's name and a link to their portfolio. We encourage artists to sign their work directly.
"Super Contributors": For those who consistently go above and beyond with their ideas, writing, or organizational help, you'll receive special acknowledgment in the zine.
General Ideas: All contributors of accepted ideas will be acknowledged in a "Special Thanks" section.

Potential Timeline
Week 1-2: Theme selection and initial brainstorming (Geography, basic inhabitants)
Week 3-4: Deeper dives into cultures, specific creatures, or historical events. Art concept calls.
Week 5-6: Submission of initial art pieces and written lore.
Week 7-8: Selection, editing, and layout for the zine.
End of Month 2/Early Month 3: Zine PDF released!
This is a living project, and we'll adapt as we go! Let's build something amazing together! What do you think? Drop your initial thoughts and themes below!
to check out my work: https://www.michoverse.com/

[michoverse]

since no one seems to be interested, I will do the zine as a solo project and make it part of my universe the michoverse, and this here will be my documented journey.
Anyone could still throw ideas at me, or whatever you want...or you can just enjoy the ride...
I picked Option 1 : building a world with monster collection mechanics and a magic system that go hand in hand.

[michoverse]

Monster collecting in the Michoverse has endless methods.
1-spirit containers containing mana beasts that can materialize or used for their special abilities.
2-summoner realm from which the summoner can open a gate to summon the creature
3-so many ways to be revealed as I draw more

[SpectreFirst]

To be perfectly honest, world- or character-building for the sake of building them seems pointless because both characters and world logic are just tools for implementing a certain type of story and therefore should be designed for a specific purpose; most stories don’t need extensive world or complex logic to function properly, they need just enough to be plausible and fluent. On the other hand, too much information over-complicates things and in many cases leads to infodumps because author did a lot of work creating all that world-building and by Gods he’s gonna put it right into his story, all of it, in your face, right at the beginning!

So, if you want ideas, I’d suggest to construct something that can be utilized as a constructor for a specific purpose; for example, right now I’m working on my project by creating modules and kits for creating action stories with linear and non-linear combat so instead of making a specific story with specific characters I’m creating kits for assembling environments, logic blocks for action scenes (in other words, how characters and monsters should act in general), quests (key plot points and items), apparel for characters, monster designs and so on. This approach allows me to mix and match elements and create flexible, succinct and effective narrative where characters don’t waste time on endless talking and wondering around and just do things.
Generally speaking, I’m trying to adapt an action-shooter-survival-horror type of games into a comic medium without losing their essence while trying to keep things as variable as possible because games like DooM tend to be very repetitive in nature so direct translation leads to a lot of repetition. It takes a lot of effort, but I think this is much more interesting and rewarding than another excruciatingly boring endless stream of humanoid character designs or another history lesson about how many tons of turnips each kingdom grows each year (seriously, why the hell do you need a hundred page essay on world politics if your entire story happens in one dungeon and one town?!)

Right now I’m working on a key action scene with non-linear combat, in other words, an action scene where characters maneuver around an arena type of environment and fight monsters as opposed to linear action where characters move from one area to another while looking for key items, switches and so on and I could use some help with monster designs.
My general concept for monsters is Keith Thompson’s art and movies like Virus (1999) and Harbringer Down (2015) where monsters assemble themselves from surrounding flesh and machinery and act more like irrational omnipresent force rather than animals or humanoids, I’m trying to create more or less asymmetrical designs rather than standard symmetrical ones, it takes almost twice as much work but looks more interesting.

I’d also like to point out that this whole thing is not just for me or just for one particular project, as I usually do I’m trying to establish a set of working pipelines and designs that would allow anyone to make action scenes more variable and effective and to create a monster set that would be at least somewhat different from the usual stuff.

[CAOMouse]

This looks cool, please continue
I wonder how entire world will function with these monsters around, they are deadly weapons. How they affect human, other animals, eco system?

[jwabeasley]

Must've missed this one. I can participate, but my time is very limited.

A themed monster collection sounds fun. Do you want me to come up with monsters that could fit into your comic setting?

[SpectreFirst]

A themed monster collection sounds fun. Do you want me to come up with monsters that could fit into your comic setting?

Depending on whom you are replying to, in my case I basically need a few differently sized monsters that will fit in your standard DooM – System Shock – Dead Space type of environments, larger monsters tend to assimilate weapons that can shoot plasma blasts or lasers or something like that while smaller ones can have just heads, claws and teeth. Currently I’m trying to balance my action in a way similar to DooM – some monsters will shoot from afar and circle around while other monsters will force characters to move and look around instead of sitting in one place behind a cover or in a doorway.

I wonder how entire world will function with these monsters around, they are deadly weapons. How they affect human, other animals, eco system?

And speaking of how monsters affect the environment, in my case they basically are the environment because their primary behavioral pattern is based on Tiberium from Command & Conquer so they act similar to a common mold – if they contaminate an area they can grow and multiply until they occupy the entire place and form their own ecosystem, they don’t want or need anything in particular but they really don’t like to be disturbed so when someone starts running around, collecting crystals or shooting them they react until the threat is gone (hence why monsters can contain parts of character's bodies and weapons as well as assorted parts of machinery). I also have a logical block for a real-time strategy type of action when someone directs monsters around but right now it is not used for anything so I’m just keeping it for later.

[lizardlullabye]

Despite the long history of summoning mana monsters, there is much unknown about the realms which these monsters come from. Many theories remain unproven due to lack of conclusive evidence.

One popular theory is that mana monsters are spirits who once lived a long time ago. Fossils and other relics resembling common mana monsters have been discovered, though significant differences are present that summoners and scientists are unable to tell if these are related or a mere coincidence.

If this is true, one must wonder if you become a mana monster after death.
Some consider this a "haunting", ranging from humorous to deep horror.

[jwabeasley]

I was referring to @michoverse since I've read his comic but I could potentially do a couple for you, too. You're making a game, right? What monsters do you have already?

[michoverse]

ing to adapt an action-shooter-survival-horror type of games into a comic medium without losing their essence while trying to keep things as variable as possible because games like DooM tend to be very repetitive in nature so direct translation leads to a lot of repetition. It takes a lot of effort, but I think this is much more interesting and rewarding than another excruciatingly boring endless stream of humanoid character designs or another history lesson about how many tons of turnips each kingdom grows each year (seriously, why the hell do you need a hundred

Art is done for the sake of art...if the end goal is a story I would totally agree that wasting time on world building is detrimental but what if the goal was world building for the sake of world building...because we're passionate about it. For me my primary passion is always world building, then it's character and environment design, then finally comes the story...it's not the best thing for the story, but I am happy with it. Plus the world could lead to a table top or a videogame not a comic or a novel...or it can lead to nothing...just for fun.

[michoverse]

thank you!
the monsters could be creatures in the world captured by a person, these creatures can then be enhanced with tools, robotics, biotech, magic and other... they could be cute companions or deadly weapons or even both. Actually the idea came to me when I was discussing with friends how the monster collecting genre (pokemon, digimon,...) usually targets kids and it would be interesting if there where a darker more mature version...and it evolved into this.
now for the question of eco system, the realms of the Michoverse are varried and each has their ecosystem with different creatures and food chains, with their tech and magic.

[michoverse]

sure, anything you can contribute with will be much appreciated!

[michoverse]

I love the artwork (especially with the note under it...feels like in a scientific journal)
and I was thinking that mana beasts dissolve back into the mana sea (energy everywhere) when they die, but I like the idea for there to be fossils, so maybe some mana beasts can partially die, leaving behind a skeleton or some form of remains which could be revived...

[michoverse]

extra lore: the mana beasts could be stored in spirit containers which are like bottles that can be made in many different ways. The mana beast in spirit form can enter and exit the bottle. Outside the bottle, if there is enough mana in the air or the summoner (we need to find a cooler name for the summoners or players) can provide enough mana, then the mana beast can materialize and exert its full power.
Of course these bottles or spirit containers (also need a cool name) are only for mana beasts, but a summoner can capture other creatures in different methods.

[michoverse]

these spirit containers designs originate from the real "Endless Forest". Other designs like that in my comic Orielle, which look metallic and sleek originate from the the "Consumed Realm" aka the demon realm or Hell...

[michoverse]

If you want, sign your art with the name you want featured if we end up using your art, giving credit where it's due is very important for us!

[michoverse]

this is what a high level mana beast could look like...I love how imposing it is

[CAOMouse]

Did the world already have the mana beast in the beginning, or the mana beast suddenly appear in recent years?

[michoverse]

At first, everything was mana, and then the mana started specializing and adapting and from the mana, the mana beasts were born. Then later on some mana solidified into matter and became different creatures that evolved and we got the humans, elves,... so technically mana beasts are among the oldest life forms.

[JWZagst]

I love worldbuilding! Created quite a few for my various stories in the past XD. To give you an idea of the kind of stuff I generally come up with, I'll explain some of the aspects of the world that will be depicted in my upcoming webcomic, Kai Hexum.

The world is called Azi'alaga, and it technically had three versions that occupy the same space at different vibrational frequencies- the Mortal Realm, the Fae Realm, and the Demon Realm. The barriers between them are thinnest in the Mythwater Expanse, an extradimensional ocean. You can see the White Moon Sa'aluna from all three Realms, but each has its own smaller, secondary moon: the Mortal Blue Moon Krystaria, the Fae Green Moon Wil'demane, and the Demon Red Moon Malsuphur.

The lesser moons are ancient structures left behind by the Old Gods, and while they orbit the planet, they emit trails of Mana called the Moonweave. Magic users in Azi'alaga channel Mana from the Moonweave up above. There are also ancient runes inscribed on the moons that can be recited as incantations to achieve more complex magical effects. This is called the Arcane Tongue, but is usually reserved for scientists using telescopes and other devices to view the inscriptions on the surface of the moons.

Anyway, that's just to give you an idea of what worldbuilding. When I get gone from work I'll post some ideas for your world.