This is me all over :)

I love world building, it's probably my favourite bit. I spend so much time making sure the history makes sense, that there is a basis in fact for the magic and religion. That each culture has a history. I have another world that I've been working on since I was a teenager (primarily for use in games, but it evolved towards books too) and I have all sorts of little details worked out about the histories of various kingdoms and characters.

It is good advice about the plot holes and inconsistencies though. If they're not too major they can be sorted out in rewrites and edits, but I'm sure one of the reasons I gave up on my book was because when I'd gotten so far I realised that some of the elements I had planned didn't really make sense and it was riddled with inconsistencies that would require huge rewrites to make right.

Reading your post made me want to turn the heating up, brrrr.
Have no idea how you manage these temperatures, at least they don't last long. When you say "10 days or so that are this cold", is that 10ds in a row, or spread within January?

Sorry to hear your anxiety still hasn't let go, hope it gets better really soon. How about going outside and making a snowman when the snow arrives? ;-D


Completely OT - may I ask what happened to your GOGWiki wishlist?

Usually they're spread out some, looks like it will last for several days this time. As far as the snowman, snow won't stick together when it's this cold. :/ Good heating systems, warm layered clothing and lots of complaining get us through. :)

I'm becoming more and more introverted .

Please, come out of your (egg)shell (colored avatar)! :-)

Edit: I used to be an introvert. Now I'm a genuine pain in the butt. ;)

Hello kiddywinks! Back from the hols, looks like not a lot has changed on the GOG storefront. Hopefully they're getting over the multiple hangovers and will have some new titles for us soon.

How is everyone's new year starting off?

Great to see you back!
A little cold and snowy here but not too bad.
How've you been, avoid the flu this winter?

No snow or flu here yet, wouldn't mind a bit of the former though. The temperate ranges from the 40s to the 70s (Fahrenheit, of course) from day to day here, with some heavy downpours as the cold fronts dance with the warm fronts.

The year is off to a fine start overall, knocking wood it continues thusly.

With those temps you must be a west coast dude. ;) -7 here this morning with lower coming. Pretty used to it around these here parts though, some have it much worse.
Glad to hear you're doing well. ;)

That's cause I'm having it for you. No need to thank me though, it was my turn anyway. :O

It probably has something to do with our programming backgrounds that we like to develop worlds, and get deep into details. I’m a retired Information Scientist, so I have a lot of project management experience too, which helps.

You’ve already done the hard part, in creating the worlds and cultures, and the history of interaction between them. How magic works in your universe can have some inconsistencies, as each culture should have some differences, but for magic, you should have a basic set of rules that applies to all things, which is also essential in adapting to game development.

It helps to have a general idea for telling a story, an overall purpose, even as simple as portraying the conflict between good and evil, or something more in depth, like the struggle between social classes or, an individual finding redemption, overcoming (or succumbing) to an impossible situation, highlighting the frailties and strengths of humanity (or non-humanity), or even the exploring horrors of inhumanity, just as examples.. stories are combinations of these as the setting in which your characters will exist, and experience along with your readers.

It also helps to have an end in mind, before you begin writing the story, as it will help give you direction. You may find that the end might change as you progress, but that is fine, because in the end, you will always know where you’re going with the story. :D

I'm sure you're right. I'm left brained, mathematical and logical through and through. I find the creative parts can be quite difficult, but designing logical systems and making maps is great.

I find magic isn't too difficult to come up with systems for, religion is where I really struggle. Being an atheist I have no belief in spirits or an afterlife, so trying to design a system which includes gods and souls and the interaction between the two is really difficult for me...

My current world isn't anywhere near finished yet, I know the general setting and some of the larger events that occur but I haven't got to the stage of individual kingdoms and characters yet. Thankfully the current game idea doesn't really require much of that so it can wait till I come up wiwth some ideas.

Believe it or not, I'm a Virginian. We have mountains though, and the Gulf Stream is very powerful offshore, so our weather tends to be rather chaotic between those two systems. Mind, it's been even moreso over the past decade or two.


Awesome to hear that, avian agent! That is indeed an auspicious start to the year, and I sincerely hope it bodes well for the days ahead. :)

As a Ghost, I was able to see another side, albeit just a glimpse, so I know there is more than meets the eye to existence and the definition of life. Still, you shouldn’t let being an atheist bar you from creatively exploring possibilities of an alien influence across the Universe and over our world (or your developed worlds), as you see it.

You can also use the political constructs that have taken over religion as we know it today, used for control, oppression and the targeting of undesirables to divide societies. It certainly is contemporary as people in this age are waking up to this realization.

Or you can use a more historical notion of the living religion, how important it was to discovery for our early ancestors, when science and religion was virtually the same thing.

Cultural development through centuries of observation and experimentation, of the sun and moon cycles, seasonal migrations of birds and beasts, edible and medicinal plants, eventually the coming of the harvests, their understanding was bound to the natural world that surrounded them, existing alongside the mysterious spirits believed to have helped and hindered their struggles.

After all, It’s always been the mythology, the stories, that influences cultures and sets the traditions in our non-fiction Universe...