Beyond Imagination: Worldbuilding for Digital Games

Abstract

The construction of universes for fictional works goes beyond mere storytelling, being a fundamental element to engage and immerse the public. Currently, the creation of worlds transcends the literary medium. Imaginary worlds are also inseparable components in the composition of cinematographic works, digital animations and comic books. It would’t be different in the process of developing worlds for digital games. But, as they say, in games, interactivity with the system and playful actions define a different form of public participation compared to other works, generating relevant consequences in the process of creating these worlds. Unlike what happens with other media, the game mechanics compete with the narrative in order to define the details of the conflict space, and in this conception specific professionals such as the level designer work. In this way, this work describes how game level design helps to make the conception of imaginary worlds something peculiar compared to other forms of expression. In this investigation, it can be seen that game mechanics, the challenges and conflicts inherent to games generate worlds that go beyond mere imagination, since the gameplay has other fun assumptions.