(Okay, so I clearly missed some drama that went down here (probably on purpose...I'm too old and too tired nowadays...) but a word of advice: curiosity is not a crime. But curiosity without consideration is called harassment. ^^; It's okay to ask questions, but if you actually listen to the answers you're given, over time you will understand why some of your questions come off as malicious or insensitive...most of the time it's not because people were willfully misunderstanding you; it's because you missed some very important socio-cultural context that colors questions like yours in a certain light.
People here tend to be very helpful, even when they're pissed off. ^^; Use their feedback wisely, and you will learn a lot.)
Okay, so now for the main topic: I don’t want to say yes, but technically the answer is yes…I have followed a few series where the worldbuilding is really their only attractive quality.
But, have I liked them? Would I consider them ‘good’ despite that? Usually the answer is no. ^^;
Like some others have said, I think worldbuilding is inextricably connected to the other aspects of a story…you can’t fully build a world without building the things that go inside it, like the people and the lives they live and the problems they face. These story elements support and accentuate each other, and considering them separately usually leads to chaos.
Xenoblade is probably the prime example of this in my life– which is almost worse, because as a game series, it has easy opportunities to deliver worldbuilding that non-interactive mediums don’t get to have. And despite that, the worldbuilding is extremely hit or miss, mostly miss, and getting steadily worse with each game. =_=
Oddly enough, I think the main issue is that the character writing is so poor that it makes the worldbuilding impossible to enjoy or even to take seriously. XC3 in particular has very heavy worldbuilding that’s a clear allegory for modern life; the characters spend absurd amounts of time explaining it…yet it amounts to nothing, because none of them seem to actually believe in it.
The main characters are supposed to be child soldiers from a hyper-militarized society…and they just act like normal modern-day teens. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ When they suddenly lose the order and structure they’ve known since the second they were born, they barely react…no guilt, no anger, no denial, no desperation or fear. Just mild trepidation, like kids moving away to college for the first time (hell, even less than that…new college students cry and get homesick, these MCs don’t even show that much emotion). It’s like a switch flips, and all of a sudden they’re ‘freedom fighters’ who can easily shun and ignore everything they were taught growing up…not only does this invalidate the worldbuilding, it makes the MCs feel less human.
Similarly, the villains are supposed to be maintaining an eternal status quo through endless war, quietly enforcing a world without a future…and they are some of the most disruptive, unhinged, chaotically-incompetent characters in the entire series. o_O
They don’t seem to know how to keep order, uphold an idea of ‘normalcy’, or even just crush dissent predictably…it's difficult to see them as the authoritarian menace the worldbuilding implies, when all they do is spam mind control and blindly throw themselves at the heroes like lambs to the slaughter. It is deeply unsatisfying to watch their “oppressive system” collapse simply because the entire ruling class decides to self-destruct, while the average citizen doesn’t even know what’s going on.
On top of that, we are repeatedly shown people joining their ranks throughout the game. Despite the fact that we’re beaten over the head with the ‘unchanging world’ mantra, in practice the villain system becomes a symbol of change, as character after character gains a position on the evil team in order to solve their problems or improve themselves.
You'd think a world like this would discourage the idea of ‘upward mobility’ in favor of strict caste distinctions to ensure that everyone knows their place…but like I said, the worldbuilding doesn’t even matter to the people who are living it. And if they don't care, then why should I...?
Now, in the game’s defense– it tries, it really does. ^^; In concept, I prefer it to the fanservice-ridden clown show that is XC2…I can tell what kind of message XC3 thinks it’s delivering, and I appreciate it. But the story is still horribly written and can’t stand up to scrutiny, and unlike XC2 it’s not even fun to experience or think about. It’s just a giant lore-dump with occasional boss fights, and it's boring and doesn’t make sense. =/ I think it’s a prime example of how trying to prioritize worldbuilding over story and character ends up failing all three.
