world-building

American  

[wurld-bil-ding] / ˈwɜrldˌbɪl dɪŋ /

world building or worldbuilding

noun

1. the process of developing a detailed and plausible fictional world for a novel or story, especially in science fiction, fantasy, and video games.

   Drawing a convincing map with boundaries and landscape features is a natural starting point for world-building.

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Other Word Forms

• world-build verb (used without object)

Etymology

Origin of world-building

First recorded in 1820–25, referring to or contrasted with the Biblical creation of the world

Example Sentences

So it’s that massive, textured world-building that you hear in the background here, and the arrangement suits Preston’s crossover style between soul and pop perfectly — but in the process, it loses a lot of the grit of the original, and in doing so, subtracts most of its power.

From Salon

Animator John Whitney used an early computer to produce images for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” in 1958, but the breakthrough into cinematic world-building came in the 1990s with “Terminator 2” and “Toy Story.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Jared A. Sayeg’s crepuscular lighting and Kate Bergh’s humanizing costumes lend contrast and texture to the world-building scenic design.

From Los Angeles Times

No, but this buoyant comedy-drama combines all of his storytelling talents: the ensemble world-building of “Boogie Nights,” the shambolic misadventures of “Inherent Vice,” the domestic inquisitions of “Magnolia” and the probing psychology of “The Master.”

From Los Angeles Times

Where to watch: In theaters Nominated for: Animated feature What we said: “The most impressive part of French animated sci-fi epic ‘Arco,’ which took the top prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, is its imaginative world-building.”

From Los Angeles Times