Meeting the Worldbuilders — James

This is the second of a series here on Universe Factory, where we look at the people behind the Worldbuilding. This is a number of short interviews with people who have been using our site to try and get some insight into who they are and how it is being used. This interview is with James, one of our founding members.

Hi James, and thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for the Worldbuilding Blog.

Hows it goin’? Happy to be here.
Can we start with a little bit about you? What part of our world are you from and what do you do for a living?
I am from the US, Nebraska specifically but I have lived in Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Utah as well. Right now I am in IT, configuration engineer, prior to that though I was in the Air Force for 6 years where I ran logistics, good times.
So you were one of our founding Worldbuilders, what brought you to this site in the first place?
I was one of the first people to commit to the site when it was a proposal for a new site on the Stack Exchange network and we were working on the definition phase. The proposal was actually shut down for a time and we got it opened back up.

I like the process of world building…there is something fascinating about…well, playing god.

I have been working on my own world for the better part of 15 years now, it has been used in some table top gaming and I am working on a novel in the setting I am creating. Its a fun and challenging process to create a world so the idea of having a place to get input and share what you have learned immediately grabbed my interest.
Yes, I’m sure many of us on the site would agree with you there. It’s very satisfying feeling a world take shape. So you are active on Area 51 then? Have you participated in many beta sites?
This would be one of…three I believe. I was in the private beta for Software Recommendations and Philosophy, I also jumped into the Woodworking public beta. I haven’t had as much time lately so I haven’t been keeping up with new proposals, though I have been keeping a distant eye on the metal working one.

None of the other active sites have really kept my interest the way world building has though.
So you are into building things with your hands as well as with your mind?
It keeps me from getting into trouble, idle hands and all that. Wood working I have done for a long time, refinishing hardwood furniture, a few building projects here and there. Metal working is pretty new for me though, its fun to hit glowing hot metal though. I also received my BA in philosophy.
Moving back to Worldbuilding, which would you say is your personal favorite answer or question that you’ve written?

I think my favorite answer I have written thus far would probably be: How can I ensure my cities don’t all look the same?

Though this may be the most bizarre answer I have had the pleasure to write: Would ritual cannibalism of the dead lead to issues with disease?

As far as questions go I really liked how a few turned out:

• How would multi-race humanoid evolution happen?
• Cataclysmic event resulting in a region of glass?
• And the follow up: How much destruction could be wrought with the chemical and atomic energies in 30,000 humanoid bodies?

So can you share any information about the world you are building, or is it all under wraps for now?
At its most basic it is a medieval fantasy world. I have multiple races, most predominantly elves and humans, though there are gnomes, dwarves and a few other…not entirely defined actors. Magic is present but its an uncommon system, there are no words to cast a spell…no well of arcane energy to pull from, its mainly about the willpower of the individual casting the spell.

Deities exist, and the history of how and why they created the world…especially when compared to what mortals believe is a major theme in the stories.
Were any of your worldbuilding questions related to building of that world or were they coming from other interests or even just general curiousity?
A bit of both. The region of glass questions are both directly related to a cataclysm that ended an era in the storyline/history. The religion series was also related to building one up in my world. The levitating temple is also a setting I plan to use in the world.
Is there any particular question, answer or person here on Worldbuilding that you would say has really inspired you?
Bowlturner…he constantly answers questions in a way that make me re-think how I approach things…it’s both infuriating and at the same time very helpful. Green is also very helpful when I am floating an idea.
Can you think of an example answer of Bowlturner’s that illustrates that?
The one that immediately came to mind, which is ironically not tied to my world was this answer: A world with far more mobile continents? It was one of those questions that just popped into my head and seemed interesting so I asked. The idea I started with was a planet where the crust was a bunch of large…gears for lack of a better term. I was looking for a way to have two people cyclically come into view and conflict.
In the end he had me thinking about a designed planet that had plates floating on lava where people ‘crash’ landed and the entire planet ended up being a giant arena.
Is there anything else you’d like to add or say?
Worldbuiling Stack Exchange is an amazing place, it keeps me thinking and that is amazingly beneficial when you are trying to write a story. The things you think you know…well you learn just how much you do not know. Its a great group of people to bounce ideas off of, and group creativity is a very powerful tool.

And lastly…

You never know what you are going to get on a given day…and that is somewhat unique among SE sites. Where most sites are very specific, world building is much more general and the range of topics is amazing, it keeps me coming back.
Well hopefully we’ll continue to see many more contributions from you in the future. Thanks for taking the time to do this short interview for us today.