When reading, what makes a world appear generic. (In terms of worldbuilding)

[VertisGuguChalimoth]

Vertis has Vertis' own ideas of how worldbuilding should be done but it never hurts to get some opinions.

Vertis understands the "same old medieval Europe" thing so can you tell Vertis other stuff.

 

[Fairemont]

Generic is not inherently a bad way to go. There is a lot to be gained from familiarity.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Same old medieval Europe. There's nothing that makes world more generic than trying to do the same thing but with a 'spin'. Academies, medieval towns, castles, Japanese influence, same old post apoc, same old dystopias, freaking adventure guilds, and other crap. When the setting is same old crap where you substitute creativity with "Uuuh, look how much I reserached how old cities worked, I even thought of how the sewer should work ?".

Think of interesting settings, interesting combinations. Doesn't matter how crazy they sound at the beginning, you can make it work.

 

[Madmcgee]

Honestly? Worldbuilding feels generic when an author isn't interested in it.

If they rely on pre-exisitng idea's and the understanding that people will just 'get it', I find they neglect it all altogether. Not always, lots of times there's satire involved, but mostly, it's dropped by the wayside.

If an author cares about their world, spends the time and heart to have it tell a story all on its own, not through exposition dumps, but through the eyes or actions of those that live there, that's when it feels alive and interesting, regardless of how many times it's been done.

The standard small hamlet beginnings to a hero's journey, can and will repeatedly be fun and adventurous. That said, it's also going to be as successful as your willingness to bring it to life.

 

[melchi]

The world building being generic might not actually be a bad thing if the focus is not supposed to be on the world.

There is such a thing as trying too much all at once. If an author wants the focus to be on the characters, then having a generic, easily understandable to a wide audience world is a bonus.

Like if I wanted write a story about overcoming mean girls in school....

What would be best?

1.) A magic school?
2.) A normal school.
3.) A school where student have to fight each other to the death to graduate.
4.) A school full of non-humans, including a vampire girl hiding in a box.
5.) All of the above.

Eventually, having too complex of world building will end up making a story that can't be completed in a timely manner.

 

[Empress_Omnii]

I don't mind if things seem generic, but I also love unique in-depth magic systems and world building.
I don't think there is a proper way to world build. The story you tell is more than the setting and is the most important aspect.

And if I've seen the same thing multiple times before, I suppose I can consider it generic. But I don't really think about it.

 

[Valmond]

The world building being generic might not actually be a bad thing if the focus is not supposed to be on the world.

There is such a thing as trying too much all at once. If an author wants the focus to be on the characters, then having a generic, easily understandable to a wide audience world is a bonus.

Like if I wanted write a story about overcoming mean girls in school....

What would be best?

1.) A magic school?
2.) A normal school.
3.) A school where student have to fight each other to the death to graduate.
4.) A school full of non-humans, including a vampire girl hiding in a box.
5.) All of the above.

Eventually, having too complex of world building will end up making a story that can't be completed in a timely manner.

4)

I feel like I have seen this vampire somewhere before.

Spoiler

@RepresentingEnvy

 

[CarburetorThompson]

There is a difference between what makes something generic, and what makes something cliched, though I think the difference is very subjective.

Certain stories may actually benefit from a generic setting. If I’m making a story very character focused, and interaction heavy, I may not want a vibrantly unique setting to distract the reader.

 

[NotaNuffian]

The only time I care about the world is when MC is getting affected by it.

Generic european medieval? I sleep.
Generic european medieval where MC is getting buggered senseless? Real shit.

You can tell me your medieval is set like the flying world of La Puta but if the set doesn't affect MC that makes it fun to read, then what will be the point?

Same old medieval Europe. There's nothing that makes world more generic than trying to do the same thing but with a 'spin'. Academies, medieval towns, castles, Japanese influence, same old post apoc, same old dystopias, freaking adventure guilds, and other crap. When the setting is same old crap where you substitute creativity with "Uuuh, look how much I reserached how old cities worked, I even thought of how the sewer should work ?".

Think of interesting settings, interesting combinations. Doesn't matter how crazy they sound at the beginning, you can make it work.

I find it quite sad that classism and racism is only active in CN but in limited supply though.

One english work Terra Nova Titan almost did it but then MC Gary Stu so it became ehh.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

Elves and dwarves. If a story has elves and dwarves, I immediately want to put it down. Those two races scream "I have no passion for what I'm writing so I'm going to let Tolkien do all the work for me." Maybe if the author did something new with them, it wouldn't be so bad, but they never do. Elves love trees and shoot arrows, dwarves love rocks and swing axes, and that's about as far as they're ever characterized.

 

[Pulpitt]

In fantasy, I find it generic when the author doesn't even bother to establish rules for their magic.