World Creation and Technology
As a popular combined genre, science fiction and fantasy literature has been involved in the process of world building, following the traditions of epic and romance. For the purposes of this article, J. R. R. Tolkien’s work can be used as the defining world creating standard. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is comparable to Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea, George R. R. Martin’s Westeros, or the worlds which are found in various fantasy worlds in video games. For example, Albion in Fable, Morrowind or Skyrim in the Elder Scrolls series, and Azeroth in the Warcraft franchise.
World building has been a speculative tool to imagine alternate realities as well as an extended parallel to one’s own reality. The popular game series Dungeons & Dragons monopolizes on the inspiration of J. R. R. Tolkien’s work as source material for the foundations of world and game creation, as have many subsequent science fiction and fantasies creations. The Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying model is comparable to the systems that are put in place for similar game design that is intended for electronic consoles.
The purpose of world building and the relation that it has to modern technology is testament to the power of speculative thinking. The way in which humanity can imagine worlds and worlds within worlds leads the direction of the world as it is known. For example, the technology that one imagines in the future will be the technology that one will create for that same future.
A common example of speculation in world-building that led to modern technology would be the communicator that preceded the invention of the cellphone in the original series of Star Trek.
Whether the world that is created is set in the distant past or distant future (or a combination of the two), speculative fiction and media equivalents inform the consciousness of the audience. The dynamic inspiration of speculative work allows for visionary progress in the art of technology, both for form and for function. The value in engaging in speculative exercises, whether through games, fiction, or other forms of media, is a intellectual process that creates insight into humanity and the role humanity plays with the world.
Humanity is known for storytelling. Storytelling can project into the future, into the past, or into what has or will never be. The worth of storytelling is reflective in how it informs culture, society, politics, trade, and many aspects which govern the functionality of the world.
Consider Transhumanism: the fundamental objective of which is to provide technology to inform and enhance humanity. The core of transhumanism itself was directly influenced by speculative fiction. The dream of technology is what will lead the actualization of technology, as demonstrated by humanity’s imagination and desire for speculative worlds.
