Category: Book Blog

The body may not seem cultural, but it is. Long ago, larger women were considered desirable due to a belief that they were more likely to survive pregnancy and childbirth. Today, many women face great cultural pressure to be thin. Read More …

Now that we’ve considered our guiding principles behind culture, it is time to invent the manifestations that reveal it. Our focus will be on elements we’re likely to use, though some of us will need items others don’t. This chapter Read More …

A social class can mean different things depending on the society, but it is a way of defining not only income levels but lifestyle generalizations and expectations. People of each class will think, dress, and act differently than those of Read More …

Culture could be divided into three types of depictions that storytellers and gamers might employ, singly or in combination: what’s only seen, what’s heard, and what’s performed. This organization is mentioned for clarity as we investigate what to invent and Read More …

Confusion can arise about the difference between culture and customs. Customs are part (italics) of culture, are a way that culture is represented, and are expected behaviors in given situations. When we invent customs, we’re also inventing culture. Since culture Read More …

There are arguably three types of cultural sources: beliefs, values, and morals, with some overlap. Deciding which of each matters to a group depends on what impression feels right to the world builder. Think about the group’s role in society Read More …

The Ideas There are arguably three types of cultural sources: beliefs, values, and morals, with some overlap. Deciding which of each matters to a group depends on what impression feels right to the world builder=. Think about the group’s role Read More …

There are so many customs and culture-related items that we could disappear down a research rabbit hole, so we’ll focus on things likely to be useful as storytellers and gamers. In addition to working out details in advance, world builders Read More …

What follows is a brief summary of what’s included in each chapter in Volume Three, Cultures and Beyond. Chapter 1 – Creating Cultures This chapter discusses the differences between a culture and a custom, and that morals, values, and beliefs Read More …

Note: this is the start of Cultures and Beyond (The Art of World Building, #3). With the creating life and places covered in volumes one and two, we turn our attention to everything else about setting that characterizes our world, inhabitants, and Read More …