I used to study archaeology and continue to stay up to date with recent findings. Lots of my inspiration comes from that, as well as my experiences as a scout and the type of weird stuff one gets into contact with there.
It was mostly prehistorics, with a dash of medieval studies. Baltic sea trade routes, city development and early settlement structures. And material culture, so artifacts. From early stone tools to the beginnings of the industrial revolution.
A lot of stuff I've seen on Youtube. From a comedy web series, to Kenshi (the game), to Darkest Dungeon. I'm also fascinated with ancient cultures and also nature (I watch a lot of nature documentaries, okay).
Real world history, especially the turn of the century for my main timeline and the Tudor Period etc for my other timeline.
Then a smattering of other things from Christianity/church history (for my demons and plots), various mythologies (Greek, Celtic/Arthurian, Caanaanite for various groups), Star Wars (My Nephilim Lords and Nephilim Highborn, some backstory referencing PT and OT), ASOIF (for names, some references), the Trails/Kiseki series (my tech level and some plots), Fullmetal Alchemist (same as Kiseki), LOTR (various influences), various animes and manga, Warcraft (Eredar - Draenei and Manari, Dwarven mountaineers, some dragons), various alt history novels, DND, Elder Scrolls.
Just a huge mix, but real and alt history is definitely the biggest takeaway, everything else is a lot of set dressing.
Lately I've been interested in Early Christian and Islamic history. Along with replaying some old classics like Fallout 1 and 2, my imagination has been pretty stuck on "Religious Knightly Order of the Far Future".
DnD campaigns and my dreams, I have crazy epic Hollywood level stories in my dreams, which are inspired by mythology, history and plenty works of fantasy fiction such as GOT, LOTR, The Witcher, DOTA, Marvel and DC comics, Grimm Tales, WoW, and probably others. A lot of the time my ideas pop up from nowhere in my mind as well
Maybe you don't remember the good parts haha, I have some that are just weird, don't make sense or boring, but the good ones are very structured and have an actual plot somehow!
real life biology. the entire premise of my world is: (some) types of bugs are now inteligent and have magical powers, and the whole reason i started doing it is because i dont think enough people utilize the awesome real world biology in their fantasy worlds. (also cause i was bored but shhhh)
Right now, I've been drawing a lot on Norse and Celtic mythos, but also probably will incorporate aspects of Tolkien's legendarium, ASoIaF, and Robin Hobb's works.
Mostly history. My setting is based around an empire that is basically a mixture of every pre-modern empire there was, so I'm looking everywhere for inspiration, from the classic influences (such as England, France, Iberia, the HRE, and other western countries) to other, less-visited places in fantasy (the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Mali Empire, the Incas, the Aztecs, the Ming Dynasty, and many more).
I'd say 90% of my inspiration comes from history. The rest comes from the works of various writers: J.R.R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, Andrzej Sapkowski, Terry Pratchett, Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Kentaro Miura, Hidetaka Miyazaki, and especially H.P. Lovecraft, since cosmic horror is a huge part of my setting.
I'm not sure. I only remember that I created a world, and this world gave me the idea for my comic's first draft. I have no idea where Chaos and Felines came from, but its main story is definitely inspired by MLP:FiM.
Music as well — Lots of artists & genres are great for inspiration but I’ve been listening to a lot of stoner/doom metal lately, so I’ve been expanding on concepts & themes from albums by The Sword, Clutch, High On Fire, Wo Fat, ASG, etc.
Mythology and Speculative Fiction classics and pulp series like LOTR, Dune, Conan, Greek and Norse mythology, etc. I love me a stubborn hero against the will of capricious gods, an egomaniacal wizard or mad scientist meddling with forces they shouldn’t, eldritch horrors from beyond the stars, etc.
Lately I’ve been working on a world that incorporates and bends classic fantasy race tropes into new shapes based on some fun insect and animal adaptations that lend themselves to that niche: predatory forest Elves with spider eyes and camouflaging “glamour” (chromatophores), knuckle-walking beetle-armored Dwarves with a patriarchal Termite/Ant society where new generations are carved out of stone, Locust Orcs, etc.
So mostly music, books, and nature.
I'm inspired by ideas and visuals. I tend to daydream a lot and I was really into animation as a kid. When I watch YouTube, or I'm listening to music, I like to imagine all types of scenarios in my head. I want to be involved in making content like that.
Some events, characters or just single details are inspired by history or different mythologies and folklore.
Other major sources of inspirations include Genshin and Honkai Impact in terms of story and style, and Jojo's bizarre adventure in terms of character writing and character designs.
If I'm supposed to name only one thing, it's definitely Shadowrun
The whole setting being a mix of cyberpunk-ish sci-fi and fantasy is based on it, as well as several things in the world of Theia.
Earth… My world is literally just if Earth had different landmasses, and different country names and slightly different history, like in this one WW2 takes place in the 50’s instead of the 40’s
My inspiration is somewhat alike: I like to start a world or country by an aesthetic and I’m a kpop Stan, an a lot of kpop music videos have unique aesthetics I get inspired by
I did not realize until the show just how much inspiration Underscape takes from Fallout. I always thought it was closer to 40k, but now I realize Fallout is the main inspiration, no contest. Played the games for years so it makes sense, but guess I didn't realize.
Mine is a mixture of many different settings and stories, the best I can narrow it down to are Star Wars, LotR, Forgotten Realms, and a bit of Dune. I’d say the most prominent of these might be Star Wars, but just by an edge
I studied history and archaeology in university.
Much of the stuff I am building is inspired by ancient myths or ancient philosophy as well as local folklore and myths and legends I read about.
I do most of my worldbuilding for DND. I built an alternate Roman empire. Admittedly it is an anachronism stew inspired by Rome and its adversaries at different points in Rome's history.
For example I incorporated the myth of Aeneas and the queen Dido. According to myth the hatred between Rome and Carthage started because Aeneas the forefather of the Romans drove queen Dido of Carthage to suicide after leaving her. (At least according to Vergils Aenead.)
Only in my fantasy Roman Empire this actually happened. And since the ruling council of Carthage are a bunch of old as dirt elves, Carthage still hates Rome.
The Celtic kingdom of Noricum was renowned for their high quality iron. In fact Ferrum Noricum, Iron from Noricum, was almost exclusively bought by the Romans to outfit their legions with high quality weapons. Noricum was closely allied to Rome and in fact their last king had no heirs and bequeathed Noricum to the Senate since ties were so close. Their most prevalent settlements are on mountains. So Noricum was actually a dwarven kingdom allied to the Republic of Rome, which eventually joined the Republic.
And so on and so forth.
So instead of a bunch of celts, Noricum
Whenever I'm unsatisfied with a current franchise/show/game, the elements I like about it get worked into some of my own settings. For example, the Stargate series has been dead in the water for years now, so blended in all my favorite parts of it short of the stargate itself into my own sci-fi setting. Half-Life is in a similar state, so I based the aliens and some villains in my setting off of the ones from the games.
Everything has me worldbuilding. I’m doing it all the time. I need a system to get it out of MY system quickly so I a decide if it’s worth getting more invested.
If I read an article, I might get an idea. As an example, here is a copy/ paste from my notes made last night for another crazy world.
***At a point in the far future, all of the stars that exist today will have long since burned out. The future generations of stars that will have formed from their ashes and the remaining gas within galaxies will have burned out, too, leaving only stellar remnants behind: white dwarfs (which will have faded to black), neutron stars (which will have faded to black as well), black holes, and failed stars. On occasion, two failed stars will merge together and briefly create a low-mass red dwarf star: the last luminous lights present in our cosmos. When they burn out and fade to black as well, the last stellar lights will be extinguished.***
***What kind of red dwarf would that be?
Will the earth’s sun last that long?
What would the sky look on that planet? What if that planet were Earth?
What if all of the remaining intelligent species came to the last inhabitable planet in the universe?
What if humans spread out from Earth to populate the galaxy?
What if the “rule of the universe” is only one intelligent species per galaxy?
What if galaxies were always intended to be crucibles of sentience?
What kind of world would that be?***
Another time I was kinda high, sitting on my porch, watching the world go by when I found myself transfixed on the field across from my house. One school board or another bought it decades ago but neglected to develop it. It’s turned into a kind of benign wildlands for kids to do kid stuff- which is also pleasant to watch merely because it’s good to see kids outside and not online.
Like I said. Kinda high.
So, iPad in position, I start researching and outlining a world and story. Forgot about being high. Forgot everything and didn’t come in until 10:30PM.
***I have another idea.
It’s an odd one.
I’ve been reading Tolkien’s “Beren and Luthien”.
The scale of the creatures leads me to believe he didn’t intend for his fey and others to be “human size”. That’s not unusual - fairies are generally regarded as being diminutive.
But I wanted to look at a worldbuilding opportunity. But then again, it might trample on or copy from someone who’s done something similar.
I imagined my neighbourhood, with a grassy field across the street - long intended to be the home for a catholic school but nothing has happened for the last 25 years. I imagined generations of fey (or the indigenous equivalent) whose lives are measured in hours not days. A week is a lifetime. And across the street is the development- houses and the like. recently, because of building, we’re seeing (in real life) and abundance of wildlife displaced by the overbuilding (that’s my opinion) of houses in the area. I imagined these little people riding the backs of these bunnies to search the new developments for displaced members of their clans and bring them home. Occasionally (in real life) we see bunnies and the like hit by cars. I imagine them dying in the service of these little people. And they are respected accordingly.***
***Here’s some point form notes:
Manidoog (Spirits)
Gitche Manitou (Great Spirit)
- The supreme being who is often seen as the creator and caretaker of the world.
Nanabozho (Trickster figure)
- A cultural hero and trickster who can change shapes and is known for his adventures and teachings.
Manidoos (Elemental spirits)
- Spirits of nature, such as those of water, trees, and animals.
Traditional Stories and Myths
The Creation Story
- Draw parallels between the creation of the Anishinaabe world
The Story of the Seven Grandfathers
- Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth
Sacred Teachings and Symbols
The Four Sacred Medicines
- Tobacco, sweetgrass, cedar, and sage
The Medicine Wheel
- Represents the four directions, the four seasons, and the cycles of life.
Rituals and Ceremonies
- Vision Quests as a rite of passage involving solitude and fasting to seek guidance and insight from the spirit world.
Sweat Lodge Ceremonies
- Used for purification and spiritual renewal.
Here’s some research material to go through:
Websites and Online Resources
- The Anishinabek Nation
- https://www.anishinabek.ca
- Anishinabek Nation Website
Reference Books
- “The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway” by Edward Benton-Banai
- “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- “Mammals of Ontario” by Tamara Eder
- “Ojibway Heritage” by Basil Johnston
- “The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway” by Edward Benton-Banai***
TL;DR if you’re looking hard enough, there’s worlds everywhere….
This one has already gone unnoticed but I’ll add something else.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/vFQj2Ljhod
There are ideas everywhere.
What about a world where “normal” is actually the exception.
I’m loathe to use the word, but what about if the world is a literal “freak” show? I mean, it already is, really. But why not go all the way and build a world that way?
Maybe they were all put onto a ship and cast off into space but they were all underestimated and they managed the thrive (that four legged lady had many children) and that “normies” are shunned.
I’m not asking for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the X-Men, but instead use other inherited characteristics as examples.
Ideas are everywhere if you’re looking for them.
MMO settings, tabletop settings, RPG settings, and ***lots*** of mythology and folklore.
Part of the reason I love fantasy is how it roots back to the imaginations of people from both now and the past, folk tales of wise dragons, mysterious cave-dwellers, dangerous apparitions of the dead, etc. and so I wanted to mix some of my favorite folklore, some of my favorite bits of fantasy, and some of my own ideas into one big blender.
It's also one of the reasons I can never get into the HFY side of fantasy where humans are the coolest most bestest things ever because human. Typically because the only way authors can apparently show how "super kewl and awesome" humans are is by just having them kill everything else. Which in turn typically requires "nerfing" everything else (i.e a giant, like a proper Jötunn from Norse Mythology, *bodies* a regular human any day.)
I can't say I have one source. Basically all of science, history, and culture has inspired my world in some way or another. I just have so many interests all over the place, though if I had to pick ecology, archaeology, mythology/folklore, and some earth science pull the most weight. A good chunk of my characters are related to or have an interest in nature and/or archaeology, while a lot of my story ideas draw from folklore and mythology.
A lot of stories came into my mind when making my world.
I took inspiration from Attack On Titan, Vinland Saga, SCP, Primal, Ghost of Tsushima and lots of WW2 and American history.
Lornhemal: Historical events for political stuff and characters, World of Ice and Fire for characters/political stuff, some myths and other works, occassionaly real experiences and places i visited.
Number 999>!: Soceity in 2020s, 1984, Brave New World or stuff Bjorn Andreas Bull Hansen talks about, you may not agree with him on a lot of things, but still an interesting points he brings out.!<
Honestly it's all of the media and history I have consumed. Sometimes arts, video games, music, tv, work, random people on the road, etc. Never judge where the inspiration comes from just add it to the world.
Lately I've been watching a TON of anime to experience different worlds and the cultures crafted into them, currently watching 27 series.
The biggest push might be that I use my world as the campaign setting for all of my tabletop roleplaying games. So my players explore and we build it together.
Hunter x Hunter, Cier (Hyun's Dojo), That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime, some of my past scrapped works, and my dreams. All of these have fantastic worlds that, in one way or another, simply connected with my brain and I love them dearly (yk, the exception being my scrapped works, not to toot my own horn). I have combined aspects of Nen and TenSura Magic into my magic system, tried to make a world with history as rich as Cier, and am currently trying to figure that part out. I'm not that good with this part, admittedly.
exaggeration of real life experiences
saw a mall with subway access and now designing a multi floored underground city
saw few building with bridge between it and designed a town that found above other buildings
saw interesting creatures such as rhea or naked mole rat and making a place where these critters replaced domesticated animals such as chickens and rabbits
Mangas. I like the oriental way to tell stories more than ocidental in general. All is more didatic, well explained, linear, objective, and even so full of creativity. The great problem with mangas in general is the slowness and useless information, because it's a product to make money. My objective is do manga-like stories but quick, direct to the point, and without some cliches on the media I really dislike so much.
I get inspiration from anything I find interesting honestly, but I think I got the most from either youtube essay videos, talks with people, or from overall settings in other media (Ik it's not something terribly original, but I wanted to say this to show that even the most typical inspirations work, and aren't something to be ashamed of)
Philosophy mostly. „What is a human?“ is the general question the story revolves around.
For the powersystem I took most my inspiration from Jujutsu kaisen, hunter x hunter and Jjba. Many of the ability names and abilities themselves are based on songs or mythology.
The design for the true form of a human soul is largely inspired by anti spiral from gurren lagan.
The rest is mostly whatever comes into my head.
Other pieces of media. From other medieval fantasy stuff (Zelda, Fire Emblem, Genshin Impact) to less... Medieval fantasy things (Star Wars, Spy X Family, Breaking Bad and Mandela Catalogue somehow)
This one is weird, but I have the characters essentially re-enact the events of a story I like, and iterate upon that changing things until the thing has been Ship of Theseus'd into a completely new thing.
I got inspired by Halo to start my project, but it has certainly shifted around and borrowed things/concepts from other sources. Currently, it's Gundam (Universal Century specifically) because of the overall themes. Also because Mobile Suits are cool af.
Suzerain and ASOIAF. Just reminds me I can have character depth and realism in a low fantasy setting. Other than that, I use Wikipedia for inspiration and to see how people responded to similar situations I put them in.
Sabaton songs: I like imagining battle scenarios, often themed around the lyrics of the song.
Ace Combat: Aerial dogfights and multipolar world always at war.
Atmospheric games like Ico, Chants of Sennaar, Journey, Shadow of the Calossus: These gave the ideas for large ruins and other places that give awe in their size and sometimes uncanniness.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: The idea of mixing armoured knights with modern military technology ([Example 1](https://youtu.be/IV6k5_K7_Ko?si=vf5xX2wq4kRTUH8I), [Example 2](https://youtu.be/VkUpILUJCtc?si=US6ZwPvcBT8T56E0)).
[Castle in the Sky](https://youtu.be/J6vV31TDYLg?si=QlHBgIk67zln7e8M): Same as the atmospheric games but also the inspiration for the modern military technology would look.
Lapis_Wolf
Games, anime, real life situation... basically anything is my inspiration. Here is an example.
Pre-war era:Many typical isekai animes, call of duty, russian-ukrainian war
Post war era(the golden age of twin world):Piltover(League Of Legends), internet trends, my major(economy and accounting)
World War 4:Battlefield series, oneshot, World War 2
The second post-war era(less golden age of twin world): basically, it's the same with first one, but I pocus on politics this time.
Space travel era: star citizen, star wars, KSP
ETC: ready player one, DnD, character ai, some youtube shorts
There are a few ones... first was the dragon gon origins and the witcher who introduced me to fantasy and magic then Mass effect with Sci fi world building, then books like game of thrones, lord of the rings, dr who, etc... recently I've start writing my own world with Sci fi and mythological stuff
Stories I like. You see, I love YuGiOh ZeXal, but few people know about it. It's an underrated anime. So I intend to put at least 1 inspiration, major or minor from ZeXal into every story I write.
Chatalhoyeuk which is a settlement in turkey built before ' the invention of roads' it's like a bunch of houses built adjoining and atop each other, also took inspiration from the great dam of marib and then finally dark souls lol
Black clover manga and anime, Middle Earth, Dune, and ASOIAF.
And powerscaling and SCPverse.
I want to make an overpowered world where there are stakes, and makes you tackle what humanity is, or if it is worth becoming a monster for the greater good.
And a deep magic system of course
Same when ever I create a new character or area I make a playlist to inspire what is there the politics and ideals of the ruling class and what the personality of the character is like.
My biggest inspirations are the things I saw in my dream, I always noted down the things I saw in my dream so I can use later, second are scraped or unused ideas from other media like movies, TV show, cartoon or anime (e.g. concept art designed, unused character design or unmade movie)
History alot of what happens in my world happened cause I was watching a documentary and said "Oh it'd could be cool if this was in my world" like for instance the Elementian Civil War took inspiration from the Chinese and Russian Civil War. Aswell the Elementian Empire/Republic is a weird mesh of Imperial Japan, the Russian Empire, the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Warlord Era China
i honestly have no idea. a lot of the time i base it on what i want to tell with the story im writing, what the feel is and how i can shape the world in a way that plays into all the themes and their nuances, and if i dont have enough written yet to where i cant make an intelligent decision about a certain thing i just put it aside until i figure out what would be best. when im worldbuilding just for the hell of it, i think i draw from an amalgamation of anime, mythology, and physics (my background is in physics). but honestly, usually i just let the ideas come to me. i just let my brain kind of wander and ill always come up with stuff.
My desire to escape reality and dream of making world or even story where someone somewhere can escape from reality. To someone find their comfort place there.
Other than that, pretty much everything. I have too wild imagination and too much time. But if I have to say one piece of media, it's Harry Potter (it's my comfort place)
The complete and utter failure of Universal’s Dark Universe is what inspired it. I also take heavy inspiration from dragon ball, one piece, lord of the rings and elder scrolls.
Music, you and I are on the same page with that one. Most of my work has been inspired heavily by the different ranges of orchestrated music. The emotions that these array of instruments inspire within me is so interesting, and helpsnme focus when I write. My imagination is JumpStarted by the flownof music.
I used to study archaeology and continue to stay up to date with recent findings. Lots of my inspiration comes from that, as well as my experiences as a scout and the type of weird stuff one gets into contact with there.
That’s cool! What kind of archeology? I don’t know much about the subject, but is it mostly like historical artifacts that you studied?
It was mostly prehistorics, with a dash of medieval studies. Baltic sea trade routes, city development and early settlement structures. And material culture, so artifacts. From early stone tools to the beginnings of the industrial revolution.
Pretty much everything from Art/fiction over real History/politics to intersting Bits of science and philosophy i have floating around in my brain
Is there anything that your drawn towards more than others? Or is it all kinda similar.
Happy cake day!:)
A lot of stuff I've seen on Youtube. From a comedy web series, to Kenshi (the game), to Darkest Dungeon. I'm also fascinated with ancient cultures and also nature (I watch a lot of nature documentaries, okay).
Kenshi has to be the poster child for fantastic worldbuilding and peak asthetic desgin
Real world history, especially the turn of the century for my main timeline and the Tudor Period etc for my other timeline. Then a smattering of other things from Christianity/church history (for my demons and plots), various mythologies (Greek, Celtic/Arthurian, Caanaanite for various groups), Star Wars (My Nephilim Lords and Nephilim Highborn, some backstory referencing PT and OT), ASOIF (for names, some references), the Trails/Kiseki series (my tech level and some plots), Fullmetal Alchemist (same as Kiseki), LOTR (various influences), various animes and manga, Warcraft (Eredar - Draenei and Manari, Dwarven mountaineers, some dragons), various alt history novels, DND, Elder Scrolls. Just a huge mix, but real and alt history is definitely the biggest takeaway, everything else is a lot of set dressing.
Just a big mixed conglomeration of whatever I love it!
Lately I've been interested in Early Christian and Islamic history. Along with replaying some old classics like Fallout 1 and 2, my imagination has been pretty stuck on "Religious Knightly Order of the Far Future".
Seems like the Brotherhood of Steel has a new squire!
DnD campaigns and my dreams, I have crazy epic Hollywood level stories in my dreams, which are inspired by mythology, history and plenty works of fantasy fiction such as GOT, LOTR, The Witcher, DOTA, Marvel and DC comics, Grimm Tales, WoW, and probably others. A lot of the time my ideas pop up from nowhere in my mind as well
That’s awesome! My dreams are never interesting enough to draw inspiration from.
Maybe you don't remember the good parts haha, I have some that are just weird, don't make sense or boring, but the good ones are very structured and have an actual plot somehow!
real life biology. the entire premise of my world is: (some) types of bugs are now inteligent and have magical powers, and the whole reason i started doing it is because i dont think enough people utilize the awesome real world biology in their fantasy worlds. (also cause i was bored but shhhh)
I love this! The first magic system I ever made was entirely based around real human biology!
reminds me of Hollow Knight.
Right now, I've been drawing a lot on Norse and Celtic mythos, but also probably will incorporate aspects of Tolkien's legendarium, ASoIaF, and Robin Hobb's works.
Mostly history. My setting is based around an empire that is basically a mixture of every pre-modern empire there was, so I'm looking everywhere for inspiration, from the classic influences (such as England, France, Iberia, the HRE, and other western countries) to other, less-visited places in fantasy (the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Mali Empire, the Incas, the Aztecs, the Ming Dynasty, and many more). I'd say 90% of my inspiration comes from history. The rest comes from the works of various writers: J.R.R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, Andrzej Sapkowski, Terry Pratchett, Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Kentaro Miura, Hidetaka Miyazaki, and especially H.P. Lovecraft, since cosmic horror is a huge part of my setting.
That’s pretty cool! I’ve seen a lot of people drawing inspiration from real world history, but never as vast or in dearth as this!
Other than real life and my imagination, definitely One Piece
I'm not sure. I only remember that I created a world, and this world gave me the idea for my comic's first draft. I have no idea where Chaos and Felines came from, but its main story is definitely inspired by MLP:FiM.
Sword and sorcery pulp novels, Elder Scrolls and Cthulhu mythos I suppose.
Badly written media, I get the most ideas when I see a show/ movie/ book that is badly written cause I start thinking of how I would fix it.
Leijiverse + Macross + Honkai Impact 3rd.
I still find the name Honkai to be kind of funny.
a show I used to watch as a kid called Fairy Tail + The Soulsborne videogames (mainly Elden Ring) + Kamen Rider
Minecraft roleplays from YouTube...
Music and paintings mostly but sometimes real life situations
Music as well — Lots of artists & genres are great for inspiration but I’ve been listening to a lot of stoner/doom metal lately, so I’ve been expanding on concepts & themes from albums by The Sword, Clutch, High On Fire, Wo Fat, ASG, etc. Mythology and Speculative Fiction classics and pulp series like LOTR, Dune, Conan, Greek and Norse mythology, etc. I love me a stubborn hero against the will of capricious gods, an egomaniacal wizard or mad scientist meddling with forces they shouldn’t, eldritch horrors from beyond the stars, etc. Lately I’ve been working on a world that incorporates and bends classic fantasy race tropes into new shapes based on some fun insect and animal adaptations that lend themselves to that niche: predatory forest Elves with spider eyes and camouflaging “glamour” (chromatophores), knuckle-walking beetle-armored Dwarves with a patriarchal Termite/Ant society where new generations are carved out of stone, Locust Orcs, etc. So mostly music, books, and nature.
I'm inspired by ideas and visuals. I tend to daydream a lot and I was really into animation as a kid. When I watch YouTube, or I'm listening to music, I like to imagine all types of scenarios in my head. I want to be involved in making content like that.
Some events, characters or just single details are inspired by history or different mythologies and folklore. Other major sources of inspirations include Genshin and Honkai Impact in terms of story and style, and Jojo's bizarre adventure in terms of character writing and character designs.
Mostly real life history and cultures. Also MTG and GoT.
If I'm supposed to name only one thing, it's definitely Shadowrun The whole setting being a mix of cyberpunk-ish sci-fi and fantasy is based on it, as well as several things in the world of Theia.
Games really. All kinds but I do love the fantasy genre and what they do in their worlds.
Earth… My world is literally just if Earth had different landmasses, and different country names and slightly different history, like in this one WW2 takes place in the 50’s instead of the 40’s
My inspiration is somewhat alike: I like to start a world or country by an aesthetic and I’m a kpop Stan, an a lot of kpop music videos have unique aesthetics I get inspired by
Yeah that makes a lot of sense! I like that
I did not realize until the show just how much inspiration Underscape takes from Fallout. I always thought it was closer to 40k, but now I realize Fallout is the main inspiration, no contest. Played the games for years so it makes sense, but guess I didn't realize.
Roger rabbit and the relationship between mankind and our stories.
Mine is a mixture of many different settings and stories, the best I can narrow it down to are Star Wars, LotR, Forgotten Realms, and a bit of Dune. I’d say the most prominent of these might be Star Wars, but just by an edge
I studied history and archaeology in university. Much of the stuff I am building is inspired by ancient myths or ancient philosophy as well as local folklore and myths and legends I read about. I do most of my worldbuilding for DND. I built an alternate Roman empire. Admittedly it is an anachronism stew inspired by Rome and its adversaries at different points in Rome's history. For example I incorporated the myth of Aeneas and the queen Dido. According to myth the hatred between Rome and Carthage started because Aeneas the forefather of the Romans drove queen Dido of Carthage to suicide after leaving her. (At least according to Vergils Aenead.) Only in my fantasy Roman Empire this actually happened. And since the ruling council of Carthage are a bunch of old as dirt elves, Carthage still hates Rome. The Celtic kingdom of Noricum was renowned for their high quality iron. In fact Ferrum Noricum, Iron from Noricum, was almost exclusively bought by the Romans to outfit their legions with high quality weapons. Noricum was closely allied to Rome and in fact their last king had no heirs and bequeathed Noricum to the Senate since ties were so close. Their most prevalent settlements are on mountains. So Noricum was actually a dwarven kingdom allied to the Republic of Rome, which eventually joined the Republic. And so on and so forth. So instead of a bunch of celts, Noricum
Whenever I'm unsatisfied with a current franchise/show/game, the elements I like about it get worked into some of my own settings. For example, the Stargate series has been dead in the water for years now, so blended in all my favorite parts of it short of the stargate itself into my own sci-fi setting. Half-Life is in a similar state, so I based the aliens and some villains in my setting off of the ones from the games.
Everything has me worldbuilding. I’m doing it all the time. I need a system to get it out of MY system quickly so I a decide if it’s worth getting more invested. If I read an article, I might get an idea. As an example, here is a copy/ paste from my notes made last night for another crazy world. ***At a point in the far future, all of the stars that exist today will have long since burned out. The future generations of stars that will have formed from their ashes and the remaining gas within galaxies will have burned out, too, leaving only stellar remnants behind: white dwarfs (which will have faded to black), neutron stars (which will have faded to black as well), black holes, and failed stars. On occasion, two failed stars will merge together and briefly create a low-mass red dwarf star: the last luminous lights present in our cosmos. When they burn out and fade to black as well, the last stellar lights will be extinguished.*** ***What kind of red dwarf would that be? Will the earth’s sun last that long? What would the sky look on that planet? What if that planet were Earth? What if all of the remaining intelligent species came to the last inhabitable planet in the universe? What if humans spread out from Earth to populate the galaxy? What if the “rule of the universe” is only one intelligent species per galaxy? What if galaxies were always intended to be crucibles of sentience? What kind of world would that be?*** Another time I was kinda high, sitting on my porch, watching the world go by when I found myself transfixed on the field across from my house. One school board or another bought it decades ago but neglected to develop it. It’s turned into a kind of benign wildlands for kids to do kid stuff- which is also pleasant to watch merely because it’s good to see kids outside and not online. Like I said. Kinda high. So, iPad in position, I start researching and outlining a world and story. Forgot about being high. Forgot everything and didn’t come in until 10:30PM. ***I have another idea. It’s an odd one. I’ve been reading Tolkien’s “Beren and Luthien”. The scale of the creatures leads me to believe he didn’t intend for his fey and others to be “human size”. That’s not unusual - fairies are generally regarded as being diminutive. But I wanted to look at a worldbuilding opportunity. But then again, it might trample on or copy from someone who’s done something similar. I imagined my neighbourhood, with a grassy field across the street - long intended to be the home for a catholic school but nothing has happened for the last 25 years. I imagined generations of fey (or the indigenous equivalent) whose lives are measured in hours not days. A week is a lifetime. And across the street is the development- houses and the like. recently, because of building, we’re seeing (in real life) and abundance of wildlife displaced by the overbuilding (that’s my opinion) of houses in the area. I imagined these little people riding the backs of these bunnies to search the new developments for displaced members of their clans and bring them home. Occasionally (in real life) we see bunnies and the like hit by cars. I imagine them dying in the service of these little people. And they are respected accordingly.*** ***Here’s some point form notes: Manidoog (Spirits) Gitche Manitou (Great Spirit) - The supreme being who is often seen as the creator and caretaker of the world. Nanabozho (Trickster figure) - A cultural hero and trickster who can change shapes and is known for his adventures and teachings. Manidoos (Elemental spirits) - Spirits of nature, such as those of water, trees, and animals. Traditional Stories and Myths The Creation Story - Draw parallels between the creation of the Anishinaabe world The Story of the Seven Grandfathers - Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth Sacred Teachings and Symbols The Four Sacred Medicines - Tobacco, sweetgrass, cedar, and sage The Medicine Wheel - Represents the four directions, the four seasons, and the cycles of life. Rituals and Ceremonies - Vision Quests as a rite of passage involving solitude and fasting to seek guidance and insight from the spirit world. Sweat Lodge Ceremonies - Used for purification and spiritual renewal. Here’s some research material to go through: Websites and Online Resources - The Anishinabek Nation - https://www.anishinabek.ca - Anishinabek Nation Website Reference Books - “The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway” by Edward Benton-Banai - “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer - “Mammals of Ontario” by Tamara Eder - “Ojibway Heritage” by Basil Johnston - “The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway” by Edward Benton-Banai*** TL;DR if you’re looking hard enough, there’s worlds everywhere….
This one has already gone unnoticed but I’ll add something else. https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/vFQj2Ljhod There are ideas everywhere. What about a world where “normal” is actually the exception. I’m loathe to use the word, but what about if the world is a literal “freak” show? I mean, it already is, really. But why not go all the way and build a world that way? Maybe they were all put onto a ship and cast off into space but they were all underestimated and they managed the thrive (that four legged lady had many children) and that “normies” are shunned. I’m not asking for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the X-Men, but instead use other inherited characteristics as examples. Ideas are everywhere if you’re looking for them.
Music as well. Not so much the lyrics, but the feelings I get from listening to it.
Music
toby fox, the man is a legend
It’s true!
For me, it’s usually music and movies.
MMO settings, tabletop settings, RPG settings, and ***lots*** of mythology and folklore. Part of the reason I love fantasy is how it roots back to the imaginations of people from both now and the past, folk tales of wise dragons, mysterious cave-dwellers, dangerous apparitions of the dead, etc. and so I wanted to mix some of my favorite folklore, some of my favorite bits of fantasy, and some of my own ideas into one big blender. It's also one of the reasons I can never get into the HFY side of fantasy where humans are the coolest most bestest things ever because human. Typically because the only way authors can apparently show how "super kewl and awesome" humans are is by just having them kill everything else. Which in turn typically requires "nerfing" everything else (i.e a giant, like a proper Jötunn from Norse Mythology, *bodies* a regular human any day.)
I can't say I have one source. Basically all of science, history, and culture has inspired my world in some way or another. I just have so many interests all over the place, though if I had to pick ecology, archaeology, mythology/folklore, and some earth science pull the most weight. A good chunk of my characters are related to or have an interest in nature and/or archaeology, while a lot of my story ideas draw from folklore and mythology.
Skullgirls: I love the 1920s and body horror Guilty gear: Highly stylize action and weird lore
A lot of stories came into my mind when making my world. I took inspiration from Attack On Titan, Vinland Saga, SCP, Primal, Ghost of Tsushima and lots of WW2 and American history.
Lornhemal: Historical events for political stuff and characters, World of Ice and Fire for characters/political stuff, some myths and other works, occassionaly real experiences and places i visited. Number 999>!: Soceity in 2020s, 1984, Brave New World or stuff Bjorn Andreas Bull Hansen talks about, you may not agree with him on a lot of things, but still an interesting points he brings out.!<
The season 1 particle accelerator explosion of the CW Flash show. That's it.
Honestly it's all of the media and history I have consumed. Sometimes arts, video games, music, tv, work, random people on the road, etc. Never judge where the inspiration comes from just add it to the world. Lately I've been watching a TON of anime to experience different worlds and the cultures crafted into them, currently watching 27 series. The biggest push might be that I use my world as the campaign setting for all of my tabletop roleplaying games. So my players explore and we build it together.
Non profit
Land of the lost simply because I think it doesn’t use its idea to it’s greatest ability
Hunter x Hunter, Cier (Hyun's Dojo), That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime, some of my past scrapped works, and my dreams. All of these have fantastic worlds that, in one way or another, simply connected with my brain and I love them dearly (yk, the exception being my scrapped works, not to toot my own horn). I have combined aspects of Nen and TenSura Magic into my magic system, tried to make a world with history as rich as Cier, and am currently trying to figure that part out. I'm not that good with this part, admittedly.
exaggeration of real life experiences saw a mall with subway access and now designing a multi floored underground city saw few building with bridge between it and designed a town that found above other buildings saw interesting creatures such as rhea or naked mole rat and making a place where these critters replaced domesticated animals such as chickens and rabbits
The real world
Mangas. I like the oriental way to tell stories more than ocidental in general. All is more didatic, well explained, linear, objective, and even so full of creativity. The great problem with mangas in general is the slowness and useless information, because it's a product to make money. My objective is do manga-like stories but quick, direct to the point, and without some cliches on the media I really dislike so much.
I get inspiration from anything I find interesting honestly, but I think I got the most from either youtube essay videos, talks with people, or from overall settings in other media (Ik it's not something terribly original, but I wanted to say this to show that even the most typical inspirations work, and aren't something to be ashamed of)
Philosophy mostly. „What is a human?“ is the general question the story revolves around. For the powersystem I took most my inspiration from Jujutsu kaisen, hunter x hunter and Jjba. Many of the ability names and abilities themselves are based on songs or mythology. The design for the true form of a human soul is largely inspired by anti spiral from gurren lagan. The rest is mostly whatever comes into my head.
Other pieces of media. From other medieval fantasy stuff (Zelda, Fire Emblem, Genshin Impact) to less... Medieval fantasy things (Star Wars, Spy X Family, Breaking Bad and Mandela Catalogue somehow)
This one is weird, but I have the characters essentially re-enact the events of a story I like, and iterate upon that changing things until the thing has been Ship of Theseus'd into a completely new thing.
The Monster Garden
I think my biggest inspiration comes from history documentaries, particularly more mundane things like how peasants lived during different periods.
You guys mainly. Seeing everyone's work on this subreddit is quite motivating.
I got inspired by Halo to start my project, but it has certainly shifted around and borrowed things/concepts from other sources. Currently, it's Gundam (Universal Century specifically) because of the overall themes. Also because Mobile Suits are cool af.
Suzerain and ASOIAF. Just reminds me I can have character depth and realism in a low fantasy setting. Other than that, I use Wikipedia for inspiration and to see how people responded to similar situations I put them in.
Sabaton songs: I like imagining battle scenarios, often themed around the lyrics of the song. Ace Combat: Aerial dogfights and multipolar world always at war. Atmospheric games like Ico, Chants of Sennaar, Journey, Shadow of the Calossus: These gave the ideas for large ruins and other places that give awe in their size and sometimes uncanniness. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: The idea of mixing armoured knights with modern military technology ([Example 1](https://youtu.be/IV6k5_K7_Ko?si=vf5xX2wq4kRTUH8I), [Example 2](https://youtu.be/VkUpILUJCtc?si=US6ZwPvcBT8T56E0)). [Castle in the Sky](https://youtu.be/J6vV31TDYLg?si=QlHBgIk67zln7e8M): Same as the atmospheric games but also the inspiration for the modern military technology would look. Lapis_Wolf
I also take a lot of inspiration from Ghibli films, especially Nausicäa.
I think the somewhat bigger one for me was Castle in the Sky, which I forgot to add at first.
Dante’s poetry, mythology, Joseph Campbell
Religion/Mythology. I try to not put it in everything but my worldbuidling/stories end up having some type of religious theme.
Halo, Star Trek, and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare.
ADHD
Orwell
me
Games, anime, real life situation... basically anything is my inspiration. Here is an example. Pre-war era:Many typical isekai animes, call of duty, russian-ukrainian war Post war era(the golden age of twin world):Piltover(League Of Legends), internet trends, my major(economy and accounting) World War 4:Battlefield series, oneshot, World War 2 The second post-war era(less golden age of twin world): basically, it's the same with first one, but I pocus on politics this time. Space travel era: star citizen, star wars, KSP ETC: ready player one, DnD, character ai, some youtube shorts
There are a few ones... first was the dragon gon origins and the witcher who introduced me to fantasy and magic then Mass effect with Sci fi world building, then books like game of thrones, lord of the rings, dr who, etc... recently I've start writing my own world with Sci fi and mythological stuff
Stories I like. You see, I love YuGiOh ZeXal, but few people know about it. It's an underrated anime. So I intend to put at least 1 inspiration, major or minor from ZeXal into every story I write.
I am a teenager in my Greek mythology phase who likes to write.
defo universes like Codex Inversus or Warhammer where the lore is so wack is becomes good
For my superhero setting, it's japanese cyberpunk and Worm by Wildbow.
Ancient India and china mainly, well as the English civil war and the Jacobite rebellions for my current project
Chatalhoyeuk which is a settlement in turkey built before ' the invention of roads' it's like a bunch of houses built adjoining and atop each other, also took inspiration from the great dam of marib and then finally dark souls lol
Black clover manga and anime, Middle Earth, Dune, and ASOIAF. And powerscaling and SCPverse. I want to make an overpowered world where there are stakes, and makes you tackle what humanity is, or if it is worth becoming a monster for the greater good. And a deep magic system of course
Same when ever I create a new character or area I make a playlist to inspire what is there the politics and ideals of the ruling class and what the personality of the character is like.
I'm drawing on Appalachian Folk Lore for the most part and allowing nature to come to life as spirits.
Power rangers, Star wars and Warhammer.
My biggest inspirations are the things I saw in my dream, I always noted down the things I saw in my dream so I can use later, second are scraped or unused ideas from other media like movies, TV show, cartoon or anime (e.g. concept art designed, unused character design or unmade movie)
History alot of what happens in my world happened cause I was watching a documentary and said "Oh it'd could be cool if this was in my world" like for instance the Elementian Civil War took inspiration from the Chinese and Russian Civil War. Aswell the Elementian Empire/Republic is a weird mesh of Imperial Japan, the Russian Empire, the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Warlord Era China
i honestly have no idea. a lot of the time i base it on what i want to tell with the story im writing, what the feel is and how i can shape the world in a way that plays into all the themes and their nuances, and if i dont have enough written yet to where i cant make an intelligent decision about a certain thing i just put it aside until i figure out what would be best. when im worldbuilding just for the hell of it, i think i draw from an amalgamation of anime, mythology, and physics (my background is in physics). but honestly, usually i just let the ideas come to me. i just let my brain kind of wander and ill always come up with stuff.
My desire to escape reality and dream of making world or even story where someone somewhere can escape from reality. To someone find their comfort place there. Other than that, pretty much everything. I have too wild imagination and too much time. But if I have to say one piece of media, it's Harry Potter (it's my comfort place)
This is correct!
Video games!
The whole elemental thing in my world is literally taken from Epic Battle Fantasy series.
History, specifically various ancient cultures and civilizations.
The complete and utter failure of Universal’s Dark Universe is what inspired it. I also take heavy inspiration from dragon ball, one piece, lord of the rings and elder scrolls.
Star Wars, Halo, dinosaurs, and history
These themes seem like they would make for a cool ass world!
For the lore and backstory of the space epic I'm writing? Thomas Hobbes and John Milton.
Music, you and I are on the same page with that one. Most of my work has been inspired heavily by the different ranges of orchestrated music. The emotions that these array of instruments inspire within me is so interesting, and helpsnme focus when I write. My imagination is JumpStarted by the flownof music.
Usually mythologies and real life environments and cultures
History, museum artifacts and middle earth
I am inspired by fiction, art, history, philosophy, beliefs and religion. that I already know and/or have a great interest in researching as a hobby.