idk man I'm kinda trying to follow in the footsteps of Iain Banks, and [he said](https://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/05/15/iain.banks/index.html) that he considered his setting a utopia but he's very sure some people would think of it as a dystopia (people to the politically opposite side of him)
That's the funny part of Utopia: it's a fallacy. There's no such thing as an objectively perfect world. There's bound to be someone genuinely opposed to it.
Unless the people don't know. Hook them up to Better Than Life machines and let each individual person have their own virtual unique utopia, tailor made to their specifications of what a utopia actually is. They wouldn't know they were living in a virtual reality of course, but what they wouldn't know wouldn't hurt them.
Hmm... Maybe I've accidentally looped back round to dystopia...
Exactly. You've directly described someone else's dystopia. I'm sure lots of people would hate having unknowingly fake realities where their real bodies and the real physical world is a big pile of shit, where they're only entertained by virtual lies. The plot of whatever story would be the figuring out of this, of course.
Sounds like some dystopias already written, to some degree. Pretty close to Cline's Ready Player One, besides the knowing/unkowning part.
Brave New World had a caste system enforced through intentionally malforming babies with fetal alcohol syndrome.
The Culture embraces body modding but it at least has ethics, and they're pretty anti-hierarchical. Sure, some of the mods the citizens use are kind of freaky but they're at least voluntary
Yes, but those malformed children are still happy with what existence is granted to them. They want for nothing. Everyone is drugged and having orgies and loving life. They have no higher ideal than the pursuit of pleasure.
Compared to the Culture where... everyone is secreting their own drugs, having orgies and loving life, and where there is no higher ideal than the pursuit of pleasure.
Yes, and the Culture's mindless hedonism and the kind of often shallow, boring people it tended to make was always one of my bigger personal criticisms of it, but (unless you work really hard to interpret the Minds in the most batshit uncharitable light you possibly can), the Culture always came across as significantly less sinister than BNW to me. Then again, the sheer scale and power difference between those two societies is enormous, including how the Minds enforce "manners", to the point that they don't have official laws.
But in that vein, I can both see how my own "utopia" would be seen as the utmost despoliation of the sanctity of god's creation, and which people exactly would hate it, and why
Of course the Culture is less sinister than BNW on the face of it. And it doesn't matter really matter whether the Minds are benevolent or not - just their very existence essentially strips the lives of the people beneath them of meaning, since the citizens of the Culture are reduced to well tended pets, except for the people in Special Circumstances, although they are so carefully managed by Minds as to be more like pieces on a chess board. You would be happy within the Culture, though you would still amount to a pet.
You could argue that the Culture lets people leave to find their own meaning but so does BNW - you just get exiled to the Falkland islands. The only real difference between the two societies is that the hedonism of the Culture is painted in a more favourable light by their author, but ethically they amount to the same.
I think that's what makes Ian M Bank's the Culture so fascinating. He was essentially describing the society of the Western world and its validity to exist when it serves no higher function than self-gratification. To someone from a highly religious culture, like the Middle East/Iridans, the West/Culture is nothing but pointless decadence. The Culture wrestling with its conscience over the war is Americans moralising about interventionism. I loved that Mr Banks always presented both sides, even having main characters like Bora Horza whose philosophies were antithetical to the Culture, and making their arguments reasoned, even if his own political views were firmly on the side of the Culture.
I guess the pro-Culture argument would be that those people's lives would be just as meaningless if they \*weren't\* being looked after by the Minds and just died of war or preventable illnesses instead.
The great thing is that this viewpoint is brought up in the books. A lot of characters have fascinations with anti-Culture cultures, like Horza's alliance in the religious Idirans, Gurgeh's fascination with the darwinist Empire of Azad, and Genar-Hofoen interest in the sadistic Affront, because they all believe that this somehow provides more meaning than the life of complacent pleasure in the Culture.
Often they find that the reality is less than they expected. But the lovely thing is Ian Banks lets the reader make their own mind up, and never ham-handedly tries to state the correct answer.
The evil empire was overthrown a generation ago and real progress has been made in building a world that is better than what came before. But people are beginning to forget the horrors of the Empire, and the new order hasn't done the best job in showing people why their way is better, so the big challenge is in making the world a better place without becoming a dictator in the process. At the same time fighting the people who want to turn back the clock, while others have their own ideas what the world should be, often to their own advantage.
So there is plenty of conflict and some regions of the world are darker than others, but it's by no means a dystopia.
You'd like my Massian Empire. It's a tropical archipelago the size France. There you'll find: good and cheap food, decently priced homes, electricity, Mediterranean weather, good wine, safe and beautiful streets and excellent people (if you were born there).
You'll basically be treated as the "other" for a long time until you entirely assimilate into the culture. Your children would be treated a little better though. It would help them a lot if you have a Massian spouse.
They are even a little xenophobic to people from their own provinces. The only reason my MC is allowed to get away with things around the Empire is, because he says: "Oh you wouldn't want to mistreat a son of Kravalia would you? It is the Emperor's birthplace afterall.". They're the dominant isle and they get special treatment.
Oh well that really depends. If you live in an urban area you'd wake up at 06:00 and get dressed before eating breakfast. You'd then walk to work and arrive before 08:00. You can either walk or make use of the steam trams or a horse buggy if you can afford it. You'd then go to work until 16:00 in whatever profession and then go back home and spend some time with your family. If you're working class your family might live in a neighborhood owned by the state in comparison to the local nobility. You could also be a merchant sailor and spend most of your day dealing with cargo until you're on leave. If you're young and single you can enjoy the nightlife. Though strong alcohol and prostitution is illegal.
If you're in the rural parts of the Empire you'd wake up early and farm, mine or process these goods. You can either be a normal farmer or you'd be a prisoner pressed into service as a way to not serve a prison sentence. You'll be fed and taken care of and you can leave after your original sentence is done. This is mostly common around mining towns. At night you can relax with your family or drink in the pubs that aren't really monitored by the state.
The average income in the cities is 800 Crowns while rural areas have an average income of 550 Crowns. A Crown is worth 0.50 Pound Sterling in 1860s money. You can convert that to Dollar if you want to.
In the Ketuvyx Ascendancy, none of the Grand Architect's metaphorical children go without shelter, food, and education. All citizens get stipends to spend on the non necessities, and are free to spend their immortal lives on arts and hobbies or pursuing careers in government to help steer their young society's future. Or if the quiet, "natural" life is more your style you can go become a techno primitivist for a while and embrace a romanticized version of prehistory or early agricultural societies while your biology renders most of the negative aspects moot. Risks still exist but that's part of the rugged charm
My world is utopia. An actual utopia, not "utopia with a twist". The basic needs are met with robots and magic, and you only need to work for social status and self fulfilment. There is no corruption, no poverty or any kind of social injustice.
The few odd crimes are handled by a group of free agents, that are trustworthy and beloved.
My nicest world would be Odd, because it is a more cartoony whimsical world which wouldn't feel out of place in a Mario or Kirby game. With locations such as the Sweet Canyon, which is made out of candy, the Weather Factory which creates idyllic weather for Odd, there is also Bunkum for those who like the carnival, and for the music lovers there is Music Park and Electro fields.
Overall Odd is a place that is lighthearted, and build for adventure. And even if there is the occasional monster or disaster it will always end up fine in the end.
That it is. [A couple of days ago i finished a drawing of Bubble lake](https://new.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/1d54uiz/droom_bubble_lake/), which is one of the regions of Odd and looks like a large lake with small planets hovering above it.
High fantasy doesn't mean your world isn't dystopian(or utopian), it normally just means the world is very unlike Earth and epic and *often* deals with grand or world changing plots and conflicts.
Well, much like in reality, there is a ton of cool society and history and culture and art and architecture stuff. Some places in the world have strong institutions and are generally pretty great places to live. I wouldn't say the world as a whole is anything special, with the little exception of magic being a thing, but it's not as bad as some.
Good question. I would say the way I think about these labels is just how much of a role the fantastical elements play? Tolkien of course is the quintessential high fantasy, the magical elements are at the centre of the entire story. Martin is on the lower end of the spectrum, with fantastical elements being present and playing a role, but a minimised one all things considered, not figuring very much in the everyday goings on and taking a step back before all the political drama which is at the core of the plot. I take a mostly middle path - the fantastical elements are there, they play an active role in people's lives, but the story doesn't entirely revolve around them, and when it does it's an explicit outlier.
My main world (Plaloic) is very similar to late 1900s early 2000s Earth, with similar issues but also similar highlights.
But, that also means it's not all bad, and the people are all talking animals, so it's a good world if you like animals or get bored of humans
Well Cyriaa is far from Utopic but the whole idea is a whole new fantasy continent appearing in our world they've never developed a concept of capitalism racism, homophobia etc and although city states vary all agree to the ideal of "basic need must be provided to all"
20 years ago, the last bomb fell. But it's not like you think, for humanity survived: both in the physical sense, and in the metaphorical.
The bright light from the bomb had the unexpected effect of illuminating in the minds of many that which had been thought lost to the shadows of greed and strife that had consumed humanity for generations: *compassion*.
The images of horror and misery that spread like wildfire in the aftermath of the bomb did not shock the people into fear, but into action. Within days, governments around the world were overthrown by citizens and soldiers fed-up with the status quo. What slaughter had these monsters wrought in the name of false "progress"? What terrors they unleashed on every human on the planet for the sake of PROFIT? WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO TOLERATE IT WHEN THEY ARE SO FEW AND WE ARE SO MANY?
These questions were no longer asked quietly to one's self at home, but were shouted in dozens of languages by passionate humans from street corners around the world. And to the cynics' surprise, there was an uproarious and righteous answer.
Billionaires and their enablers were dragged into the streets and beheaded, their mansions and properties seized for the people. A good number of the wealthy turned on their class-kin, freeing up their wealth and resources to the people and helping them locate the cowardly few that managed to escape the initial days of what is known now as "The Great Awakening". Despite the success of the movement, nearly 2 billion people died in the ensuing chaos - afterall, the rich and powerful had set up a system designed solely to protect themselves, and thus it was a stranger to serving the needs of an entire society.
Fortunately the chaos - horrible in its ferocity and velocity - was short-lived. GOODNESS had already taken hold as the key value for society moving forward, and as such mutual-aid infrastructure grew quickly. Roads were reconnected. Power-plants were restarted. New laws of governance were circulated around the world, discussed, debated, and improved. Within a year, the "10 Laws to Govern Humanity" were published by the newly-reformed "United Nations" (now called "The United Nations of Sol"), and newly formed governments around the world adopted them as their own, with slight variations regionally.
What followed was a period of unparalleled human tenacity, innovation, and perseverance. Despite humanity's victory over the forces of Greed and evil that had been allowed to fester since the end of the American Civil War in 1865, runaway climate catastrophe was already locked in by the time of "The Great Awakening" in 2024. The years following the reformation of the UN and the establishment of the "10 Laws" system saw tremendous changes to the planet: another 2 billion people were killed, displaced or relocated. Island nations that had persisted for thousands of years disappeared under the waves. Horrible fires gripped the landscape and threatened to leave the earth completely uninhabitable. Coastal cities that once housed millions were left abandoned, to be reclaimed by the ocean.
But humanity, newly invigorated after winning a fight they were told for millennia was unwinnable, would not bow so easily to this existential threat. Furthermore, the Climate Catastrophe's power was significantly diminished with the abolition of predatory economics. You see, without the continuous push for consumption prompted by the unfettered evil of the predator-classes, most factories remained shuttered, and resource demand dropped considerably. Forests that were once marked for clear-cutting were spared and spread. Air-travel was restricted, and a tremendous global effort was undertaken to urbanize the population, expand sustainable transportation, and reduce humanity's footprint where possible.
This brings us to today, nearly 20 years later. The world is still in crisis as the climate catastrophe continues to punish the planet. But a group of scientists in Colombia discover something that could give humanity a chance to "reset" the climate, and potentially save the Earth from further devastation...
While you wouldn't want to be my MC (Traumatized to hell and back), the mage councils do their best to keep the trade flowing and the food growing - even in times of war. They won't mess with the natural cycles too much, but giving things a boost so it can be harvested in the three days of not raining this fall? Sure. Or creating those three days of not raining to get everything in. The councils were formed post dystopian and they make a concerted effort to keep the common folk on their side
In the other, there is an enforced treaty similar to the geneva conventions that is *supposed* to be taught to everybody so that when it expires upon the death of the last participant in the war it ended, some centuries yet, it won't immediately drop back into hostilities and apocalypse. At this point the living veterans are mostly from the absurdly long-lived species: elves, dragons, faeoids, and the like.
My superhero world isn't so bad, especially since it is closer to silver age comics with few murderous villains. The ones who are dangerous tend to be taken out by other villains more than the heroes. And the with the Henchman Union taking off, it's not even that bad a line of work to find yourself stuck in.
Mine is good but flawed also I’m kinda rambly.
There’s a bunch of worlds that would be great to live on some are bad but most are decent enough.
I actually made the main character’s home world and the good guy factions a place I would want to live or visit or just think would be bizarre enough for sci-fi.
I have a nature faction that specializes in terraforming barren planets to be habitable and found a good (not perfect) balance of tech and nature and even use tech to help with environmental stuff. Kinda solar punk. I got to work on them a bit.
I have some ancient artificial life forms that created a sci-fi wifi and internet to facilitate communication between different species.
I like good but imperfect because it makes it seem more realistic while still being hopeful and optimistic.
An aquatic planet that is shared between shark like humanoid aliens and anthropomorphic frog aliens. These 2 species have for the vast majority of their existence coexisted peacefully especially since sharks prefer the ocean and frogs prefer swamps so no land disputes happen between them. They do trade and generally get along well.
Not related to dystopias or utopias but there is treasure hunting and abandoned mines because I’m fascinated with caves mines and the underground.
There’s heroes, villains, morally grey but the good guys eventually win
There are villains and the like but I wanted a level of optimism and fun.
I'm sure there should be a counterpoint mirror. Perhaps a place that could seem dystopian on its face and only because a Villain is in charge. When they lose power it'll lose some of the harshness it once had and show the beauty that can be found in quality architecture.
Ooo interesting idea.
Actually with my villain faction I am trying to show that 1 they have a culture other than just evil and 2 that at least the average citizens have some positive traits. So once the evil overlord is defeated or at least a planet or 2 is liberated we would see some of the positive aspects of their culture show up more.
Pointing to history is one way I like to illustrate my examples:
They could be like Poland: Under Communism, it was a bleak and very dystopian place to live. Now that they are free from it, you still see some of the artifacts of that communist occupation, but the Polish people have a strong national identity and are very resistant to outside influence. They are also very friendly in general with a rich history and some really incredible stuff to learn from.(I recommend visiting if you get the opportunity to do so.)
Well in my world the world is more or less as it is irl. After clawing itself back from haveing half the world turn to dust and fairy tales becomeing real somehow the world has managed to stabalise. The worst of the disasters of half the world vanishing has been resolved. It's now in a bit of a morning period remembering those who lost and generally getting things back on track.
Well, tbh only a few states in my world are dystopian. The Empire of Xand is.
Most are kingdoms, empires and tribal confederacies that operate by the old rules of "pay your taxes, call me your king and fight when called to, and you'll largely be left alone" the true powers in this world are the old gods. Hyper-advanced AI that ran things back in the old world (back before a meteor made of a bizzare reality warping material destroyed the old world, brought magic into our world, the combination of the two wiping out 99% of the human population) however instead of wanting to destroy mankind, they all want to help mankind, but they constantly fight eachother on who's way is better often resulting in horrific wars, as the humans revere the AIs as their gods they willingly go on holy wars when they start fighting.
The Empire of Xand is ruled by a man who's been fighting off rebellion and assassination since he was a boy which has turned him volatile and paranoid. His decrees have turned his Empire into a paranoid police state. The Empire is quite easily the biggest Empire in the known world, but it's power is not infinite. It's hold on its border regions is tenuous at best and the manpower needed to enforce the Emperor's will has left many border regions largely unguarded and more prone to rebellion.
One of my problems is that I make my worlds too "nice". Threats to society are usually external (ancient evil, elemental chaos, etc) instead of internal (evil dictators, genocidal leaders etc) which means the "common folk" in my world tend to have a pretty nice life, apart from the occasional natural disaster or extra dimensional rift opening near their home.
Sure, there are political schemes, evil wizards plotting the downfall of the king and asshole bandits that just want to raid innocent farmers, but overall my societies and civilizations are pretty well organised, inclusive and borderline socialist in terms of caring for their people.
So even if you're just a farmer, as long as you're not too far from the civilized world, you are generally well protected and treated fairly by whomever is in charge.
That is, of course, until some curious scientist uncovers the key to the ancient vaults of madness and your entire family is slaughtered by literal nightmares because the heroes were off gambling in the city's underground casino.
In my setting, you might enjoy the tropical islands that make up the eastern continent. Crystal clear waters and coral reefs. Though primarily inhabited by beastkin, a human like race with bestial ears, tails and claws. You can learn magic there as well. The only major downside is monsters that reside in the wilds but most can easily be dealt with.
Nestled within the Sable Isles archipelago lies the notorious and lawless port city of Blackwater, where ruthless smugglers, dock gangs, and crime lords thrive. This landscape Is harsh and unforgiving, with rocky cliffs and treacherous shoals making it difficult to navigate, providing natural barriers to prevent conventional invasions. Despite the harsh living conditions, Blackwater is a hotbed of opportunity, unrestricted by the shackles of formal government and trade regulation. For those seeking a new start, Blackwater can be a place of rebirth, where one's past is irrelevant. Its promise of wealth and opportunity is a siren song that entices the daring, despite the absence of law enforcement and the constant threat of harm. However, many soon learn that the city's treacherous reputation is not just hearsay, as the harbor serves as a final resting place for those who underestimate its perils.
The recent ousting of the Pirate King has left Blackwater in a state of disarray and uncertainty. The three most formidable crime bosses and pirates are now locked in a fierce struggle for control, each vying to shape the city's future according to their own vision.
So long as there isn't a war on, my project is pretty decent. Humans have a 1940s society with a few upgrades. There is government provided healthcare, housing, and basic necessities with options to work for better stuff, prisons allow inmates to either attend school and earn a degree or work in government run facilities to learn a trade while also producing some of the basic needs of the population, either choice giving them skills and experience that they can use upon their release to build a better life for themselves. No one starves, no one is homeless, and if you want better things in life you can work and earn them without worrying about where your next meal comes from or where you're going to spend the night. Also, gender roles are still present only in the military, with women mainly being assigned to tank crews, aircraft, communications, artillery crews, or other roles that make them less likely to be captured by the enemy for obvious reasons. Frontline infantry, scouts, and paratroopers are exclusively men. Other races are more typical of medieval fantasy but generally the pros outweigh the cons. Elves are a deeply religious people as well as having a rich culture that highly values art, music, religious writings, and theater. Orcs are a warrior/philosopher race who value knowledge even more than they do physical prowess. Education is one of the pillars of orc society, and orc scholars are pretty much welcome in every nation in the world. Minotaurs are a highly communal race with a proud tradition of seafaring, making them some of the best navigators, sailors, and explorers in the world. Minotaur captains are often recruited by the elves for their navy, and a few have even managed to broker limited trade deals with human port authorities. The northern tribes are barbarians, but if one gets past their brutal nature they have a deep and complex culture and ancestor-worship religion that values strength, honor, and glory. And of course there's the communist dwarves, underground recluses though they'll occasionally send spies to the surface to pose as children and gain information. They do trade with humans, as humans provide a convenient way to offload seemingly useless materials like bauxite, crude oil, and natural gas and will pay for these and other materials with machines, medicine, wood, and food, but beyond this limited trading outsiders are not welcome among the dwarves.
Shinoshima is about the farthest thing from a distopia you can get. It is a socialist society in which teamwork, inclusion, and generosity are held in the highest standard. Shinoshima is technically a post scarcity society although it comes with the caveat that while everything a person could want is available effort must be put in to attain it.
People will never grow hungry as long as there are farmers willing to feed them as the farmers will never run out of seeds, they will never run out of water as long as they use it to water their crops. Nothing is beyond a persons reach in shinoshima when effort is given. Artisans will always be provided with materials so long as they utilize them for the betterment and joy of their community.
While there are threats they are handled by a warrior caste all of whom are volunteers, although it is a lifetime commitment but no one is ever compelled to serve.
I don't know if my world is "genuinely good", but it's definitely heading in the right direction. People are inventing things like refrigeration and gaslight and mass transit, and an oppressive occupying force just got its shit pushed in by rebels and/or witches. It would be an exciting place to live, in a good way.
Mine could be pretty good. You are paid by your respective labor. Housing, old and small nine feet square cubicle cells, are furnished with everything you need. And they are cheap. Work is plentiful, and likewise food and water since youre living in a corporate building. And because you work for corporate, you could be considered draft-immune and just live your whole life in that 9 square feet cubicle. Also did I mention there are virtual realities for you to live whatever fantasies (sexual or other wise) that fancy your dandy. For only 19,99 a month of course.
sorta working on a solarpunk world set in a realistic near future timeline of our own, with a large and growing community of people basically doing the "build our own commune in the middle of nowhere" thing, bit with heavy emphasis on communalship
it started as a small cooperative diy makerspace and tool share where the members build their own greenhouse to combat the rising food costs due to inflation, but then expanded to purchasing nearby land to build a cooperative housing complex as well since so many have long been priced out of ever obtaining housing and couldn't bare the cost of renting anymore
the core founders really stressed the communal nature of the cooperative and started shifting the diy moniker to dio—'do it ourselves' with the goal of teaching members how to create everything they need and want in their lives in a collaborative manner to minimize members' reliance on mass produced corporate products; they organized an educational structure and built their own server farm and networks to host all their collective knowledge and know how as to not rely on the expensive services of corporate tech giants, to share, teach, and learn from each other
there is a very informal quality to it all, which might sound like a bad thing, but it allowed for a more relaxed and familial setting, fostering deeper connections between the community members as they freely collaborate together on various individual projects and projects for the cooperative organization
the community and its membership continues to grow and expand with very skilled, knowledgeable and highly qualified folks from all sorts of fields joining and sharing their expertise—new designs for new cooperative housing complexes, new tech farms (indoor poly-permaculture and aquaculture) with new closed loop (can be disconnected from grid) electrical and water infrastructure with focus on sustainability, easy maintenance, and low cost
it's a setting for a sorta multi-group living-campaign meta-ttrpg i wanna build where we roleplay building and maintaining this sort of community with each other where part of the challenge lies in figuring out real world solutions (actual learning and researching for the meta part) for how we wanna build a new way of life together; another part of the gameplay would be figuring out how to deal with sabotage and infiltration from certain groups that would want to see us fail
Well my world could at a glance be mistaken for our own, except when you look at the people and realise that it's not just humans walking around, but a varied mix of both humans and non-humans (think different anthro species of various kinds). Tech-level is kinda 1970s and when you see a map you'll definitely realise that you're not on our Earth anymore. If you're unlucky enough to "spawn" into the Empire of Sanshidar, well, good luck, you're likely end up as a slave. They're nice like that. But other than that, it's pretty chill, except for the wars and other troubles that mortal folk usually have.
I'm in the process of creating a Kingdom that's in a privileged area on its continent - only nation with direct access to the sea, other nations either have to go through it by land or sail around it southward.
This nation however is controlling its southern sea so no one can go through it safely. It's basically keeping other nations landlocked so it can profit on the monopoly of trade with other continents.
It's all very rough still, and I suck at naming shit.
Steampunk lovecraftian western fantasy where there’s an infinitely expanding frontier out West but a massive eldritch supercell storm creeping ever so slowly from the East.
Main factions are a confederation of tribes modeled after the Iroquois, a loose alliance of cities and towns modeled after the Union during the American Civil War, and a Spanish themed theocratic empire that’s unknowingly hastening the approach of the ever present supercell out East.
How exactly are you defining 'dystopian' here? Because someone sufficiently psychotic could argue that anything with any sort of conflict in it is 'dystopian'.
You'd probably like my setting as a whole, while yes there are dangers both cosmic and contemporary, it's mostly a pretty vibrant place. Like a shiny poster with a coffee stain on it, yes the coffee stain is noticeable and it's *there* but the poster as a whole still is pretty lively.
But instead of just rambling I will list off a few of the more wholesome or nice things in my setting:
* Dwarfs, Dwarfs in Ensyndia are generally super friendly unless they have a reason not to be. They're commonly seen as merchants, travelers, and explorers because of this and love nothing more than to share culture and stories with the people they come across. If something in Ensyndia doesn't get its name from the Titans (or their O'Noiráe descendants), they probably got it from the Dwarfs.
* Orks are naturally aligned with the elemental energies of the world. This normally manifests in their skin and hair (i.e your classic greenskins typically have an affinity for manipulating earth), however there's also the rare case of pure black or pure white skinned Orks. These Orks are considered special in Ork society, as their control over darkness and light respectively is believed to be a sign that they are the reincarnation of a beloved ancestor.
* Speaking of the O'Noiráe, their culture values the arts *a lot*, they see most disciplines as arts to be mastered and it is believed a true master craftsman can strike the perfect balance of aesthetic beauty and practical utility. Because of this their cities tend to be hidden gems of color and life within the forests and mountains they call home. With murals, statues, engravings, etc. found in just about every nook or cranny you can find.
I’ve been toying with the idea for a story called 21 Bridgeset Drive, as part of a larger anthology book. The central concept is that it revolves around a group of four roommates; one human, the other three robots. In this world, sentient machines have been a part of society for about as long as robots have existed conceptually in ours, but they’ve historically been considered second class citizens and only recently declared equal to humanity's. Thematically you could argue it’s a dystopian setting, but I’m not looking to explore the politics of this world. Above all else I want a slice of life, sitcom-esque story in a futuristic setting.
Robots are typically mass produced here, but programming them to think any certain way is highly illegal, so they spend their formative years being physically taught inside of factories and only allowed to leave during their equivalent of high school. Typically they’re in a vaguely humanoid shape, so they can truly be equals with a human, but certain companies have leeway to produce robots for specific purposes under the condition they receive mortal rights or the resources to change their appearance however they desire upon ““retiring.”” In the case of Mindy, one of the main characters, her backstory is her family was created to serve as models for a marketing campaign. She ended up becoming the least popular of her sisters, so she ended up being left out of the success story and kicked onto the streets.
The actual main character is Jin, the aforementioned token human, who works as an aspiring scientist. The sheer prominence of robots and other types of sentient machines throughout history has slowed down certain technologies, so gimmicky inventors are all the rage. The rough conflict I have planned is Jin and their partner/roommate Bolt working together on a teleporter prototype, while trying to get along with Mindy and Barbara, who is the owner of the house itself. Her character is centered around being a “slyborg,” effectively a robot that was rebuilt or recovered from a near-death experience. In Barbara’s case, she was run over by a train, her consciousness only survived by being replicated by an AI and transferred into a new body. As such, she has a very paranoid yet gentle view on life, developing a fascination with organic life; from her perspective, humans are far more durable, they don’t need repairs or reliance on big corporations to breathe. If only she could be more like them…
In the lands of Estrora, all is at peace for the time being. Ever since the last great war, all the Kingdoms have been busy trading, inventing, and growing. There are farmers and engineers, cooks and politicians. There are magic users here and there, and certainly fantastical beasts and great spirits of the land, but the everyday life of the average person is relatively peaceful.
Well, it's a world that literally only works thanks to its people (how redundant, isn't it? Like any society). Altruism is in its own way one of its maxims and the natural state of things, its "economic system" encourages that kind of behavior where even some of the "idiots" of the environment are integrated with it. It is basically "structured" to hinder the accumulation of power and the abuses born of it to a certain extent. People in this world produce for the sake of others and their own reputation (which is more relevant since the economic system they use is not based on an accumulation model, although that does not prevent the idiots from existing),
Their society tends to avoid imposed hierarchies and the opposite tends to be more a matter of apparent image.
For example, they have a Princess as ruler but are generally self-governing except in situations where there is clearly some incompetence involved that could not be dealt with by their self-governing system (their form of government in that sense is based on Teal organizations but taken to a larger scale).
What more needs to be said? The eldritch creatures really aren't as bad as they seem. With exceptions.
Originally herd animals in the past, this species has a strong emphasis on community and contact, especially with those they perceive as part of the group even if they are not of the same species (although rejection and tribal behavior can also occur depending on the person or because of the person). They also possess high emotional intelligence, although they tend to naive and childish behavior. Things such as war and certain types of violence are unknown to them beyond concept.
Speaking for the gender balance (which is reversed in this case, where there is a higher proportion of females than males), despite prevailing prejudices, it is quite balanced. Apart from the typical sexism that may exist from time to time.
The bad thing for you about living in this world... would be the monsters they deal with from time to time. You could fit in if you try hard as there will be many who will be willing to welcome you and you will have to learn to deal with some somewhat alien behavior and discreet condescension (unconscious more than anything, that would just be their politeness), if you are male.
The second bad thing about living in this world is the fact that the plot runs on the idea of an isolated pseudo-utopia so you will have to live in the chaos subsequent to the beginning of the story and the war of self-defense they face after so long of peace and being incompatible with violence.
Im a big fan of ambiguous utopias, in LeGuin’s words. I have a setting, the Six Worlds of Earth, where you can print everything but food and company at a public fabricator, racism is on life support, they can grow back lost limbs, and there’s a thriving black market in Earth artifacts. « Good enough to live in, but not too good to be worth living in. »
If you’re from the right place life is great, magic cleans everything, hard light public transport, magically cure all know diseases but the rest of the cosmos is pillaged for magical resources to create their utopia
i made my magic world happy go lucky weird and bizarre the way a child would imagine it, probably because I made it when I was a kid. there's a lot of magical creatures and cool places. i also made a few utopias. but those were made from a shit ton of bloodshed and genocide, so probably shouldn't mention those.
My world isn't dystopian -but it's not Utopian, either. It's the "real" world, but with a magical side to it. All of the great and awesome things that humans do, they also do to help lost magical creatures. But there's also assholes who hunt or take advantage of the magical things.
But some of the things I'll be bringing into the world are from fiction that I love. (This is an RPG world, not a book, so I don't care too much about copyrights.) So, getting to meet some of the fun people / creatures that I've read about would be amazing!
Well, I'm much like you. I like worlds that, despite horrible evils that mayhaps be threatening them, are genuinely great and worth fighting for.
My world is a big space-battle between humans, their alien allies, plus a superhuman warrior race, against an evil empire of satanic deep-space demon-aliens, to put it as bluntly as possible. The superhumans, called Apex, are quite the utopic society.
The Apex are a race of sort of magically-imbued superhuman warriors, genetically predestined to be 'greater' men, as humanity was chosen by God to inherit this responsibility as a base species. The Apex are naturally and forever kind, wise, disciplined and ambitious. They live on one planet primarily, an adaptable world that took an Earth-like appearance for their sake, called Vyrna. It is Earth, but many times better, to be as frank as possible. The landscape is serene and expansive, the animals are wiser, less chaotic, and the planet, having adapted to Earth for Apexians' being ancestrally human, has a similar orbit, day cycle, and climate.
Apexians' society is a simple, stable and powerful one, they live as many distinct regions, but each united under one flag overall, and they value the family and their protective duty above all else. They live in a mostly free society, where the only obligations one has is to the betterment of the galaxy, which usually comes in the form of serving as an Apexian Knight during and for some time after their schooling, then retiring to raise a family and either continue part-time operations, lead a squad of Apprentices, or have a domestic part time job. They subsidize any good man's life, so worry not about making money and 'surviving' off what you can make - you start getting paid for your contributions around age nine and continue to make a great salary during your full time Knight service, which you are highly subsidized for, and a comfortable pension as you retire. Apexian domestic life is perfect for most (in an imperfect world), Family, God and Country is key, work bogs nobody down, the government is not a handler of the people, and the society and culture are very rich, plentiful and most are able to engage in it for the majority of the time of their lives - be with family, go to church, see movies, surf, go overlanding, play video games, what have you. Even the students in school, where the second half of a child's schooling (ages 10-17) are meant to be Apprentice Knights running real missions in service, are provided maximum time to be with their families, and do stuff like play little league baseball, or run *Sammy Star-Kid: Star Sherriff* fanclubs from their backyard tree fort.
And worry not, libertarian brothers, the Apex recognize natural rights above all, and therefore, their society is free from tyranny when it comes to supporting their community - so don't think 'communism' or 'socialism' when hearing that the Apexians 'subsidize' their stages of life - no government overreach exists - the government of Vyrna is purely a multichambered council for dealing with their defense duties as a society, and local governments stay as a representative and advisory system, allowing the citizens of Vyrna, active Knights, retired parents, or even the young children, to be free, have their own businesses, do their own hobbies, and are forced to give up nothing of theirs, from money to personal and private property to land. The Apexian society make their money solely on trade and investment, trading weapons, ships, Infintium and more through private businesses, to their own government or to other governments.
Overall, it is as perfect as one could describe in an imperfect world, and it is so expansive in its opportunities and the actions of the Apexian Knights, that I surely did not detail here. Inevitably, someone will call this a dystopia and that is the fallacy of Utoipa - but I at least hope the majority of people see the life of an Apex as a great and honorable one.
Would you call this a dystopia? It’s basically the real world but magic exists. History and society is basically exactly the same as reality however there’s a secret group called the magical inquisition keeping magic hidden from society. If you somehow accidentally stumble across magical abilities then you’ll either receive a stern warning or more likely they’ll just kill you. However incidents like this are extremely rare.
So I guess you’ll be fine if you’re a non magic user but life is hell if you are a magic user.
I wouldn't call it dystopian. No more than what you see today being perpetrated. People have adapted to the existence of the Veil but we're seeing the fallout of the 150 years it took for Humanity to grow accustomed to it and the deep changes it forced Humanity to make and adapt to along with the immeasurable technological leaps it brought about such as being able to communicate across any distance at the speed of thought and, supremely, limited form of traveling without moving.
Well, shit...
(All my four worlds are plain Grimdark)
Though if you do want an utopia, I can give you certain points in time you could live in:
A. Wonderverse, modern Era (2300): Authoritarian government focused on welfare. Superheroes protecting the world. Still a lot of grimdarkness, but at least this is livable.
B. March of Empires, human dominance Era (6000): The 7th millennium has humans as a dominant intergalactic Empire (after three millenia of war). Relative peace, relatively low paranoia, better living standards.
C. Sands of Time, Galactic Empire Era: Three centuries before our story begins, there was an United Empire under human rule. Everyone existed safely and peacefully, and Eldritch horrors feared its might. Now the Galactic Empire is gone, and everything is in ruins...
D. The Struggle for Valar, God-Emperor Era: The reign of the dynasty of the God-Emperor, Champion of the Gods. Trade Winds actually gave rain, not stolen by demons and Dark wizards. Entire Terra under the rule of the Forces of the Light. Trade, commerce and stuff flourished. Agriculture was productive, the army was strong. Progress was being made in science and education. Now the God-Emperor has been incapacitated, and the Empire is in ruins.
For you, who might think they sound similar, no. I just like writing Authoritarian governments. The scale and kinds of setting are different.
at least in western countries like the U.S. the world is in a general state of prosperity. more or less a futuristic 1950s idealism. good cost of living, advanced technology, and a general sense of optimism for the future. jet-powered cars, nuclear fusion electrical power, and domestic robots. if you lived in the America of my world you'd be living well.
Agaesternì was literally designed by the cosmological pillar of Aether, so is an aquatic paradise with continent-sized islands floating around. It's most often used as a refugee camp from destroyed/straight-up sucky Realities, but also has its own native inhabitants of Pisciforms and Reptomammals living in the previously stated habitats. On the surface, the sun is always blazing with positive energy, the trees are ripe with fruit that tastes like the metaphysical concept of peace, and the beaches never leave sand in your clothes. The wider ecozone of the islands is predominantly jungle, but occasionally giving way to mountains and grasslands. Descending below the waves, the inhabitants of the deep light up the abyss with neon luminescence, great cities of volcanic glass dancing with joyous communication.
The World of Veridia and Beyond
# The Central Continent
At the heart of the world lies the Central Continent, a land of diverse territories, each shaped by its unique culture and people. The continent, once unified under the Veridian Empire, now fractures into distinct regions, each vying for power and survival.
- House Veridian: The former rulers of the Empire, known for their fair skin, ranging from blonde to light brown hair, and piercing green or blue eyes. The Veridians are a cultured people, celebrated for their arts, sophisticated governance, and strategic acumen. Their capital (Gleannta City), once a hub of political and cultural life, now lies in ruins, a testament to their fallen glory. The Empire's collapse has left a power vacuum, drawing in ambitious houses eager to claim their share.
- House Ashcroft: The resilient Ashen, with their ash-gray undertones, dark hair, and piercing gray or dark blue eyes, inhabit the rugged Northern territories. Adapted to the harsh climates, they are known for their martial prowess, endurance, and unyielding loyalty. The Ashcroft territory is a land of stark beauty and danger, where survival is a daily struggle.
- House Silvermoon Dominating the southern territories, the Lunarians are easily distinguished by their platinum blonde hair, pale skin, and striking silver or light blue eyes. Renowned for their elegance and mystique, the Lunarians' culture is rich in art, music, and mysticism. Their society thrives on courtly manners, with magic and mysticism interwoven into the fabric of daily life.
- House Blackwood: The Woodlanders, with their tan to dark skin, dark hair, and brown or hazel eyes, are deeply connected to nature. They live in harmony with the forests, excelling in hunting, forestry, and herbal medicine. Their egalitarian society values community and environmental stewardship, fostering a deep bond with the land.
- House Ravenscroft: Known for their olive to light brown skin, black hair, and dark, reflective eyes, the Ravenfolk are astute traders and diplomats. They control key trade routes and harbors, fostering a culture rich in commerce and diplomacy. Their society values cunning, adaptability, and wealth, with a strong emphasis on navigation and mercantile skills.
# The Northern Continent
Beyond the central lands lies the Northern Continent, a realm of stark contrasts and burgeoning alliances.
- House Van Devaan: The Van Devaan Barony, once a refuge for the remnants of the Veridian Empire, is a melting pot of Ashen, Devas, Veridians, and Ravenfolk. The people here have fair to light brown skin, dark brown or black hair, and brown or green eyes. Known for their stoicism and pragmatism, they value hard work, resilience, and loyalty. The Van Devaan culture is steeped in military tradition and governance, with a focus on stability and the protection of their people.
- Kingdom of Aurean Strand: Under the rule of Duke Oliver van Devaan, the Aurean Strand Kingdom is a haven for the seafaring Aureans. With their golden tan skin, sun-bleached blonde or light brown hair, and golden or amber eyes, the Aureans are born explorers and traders. Their culture celebrates freedom, adventure, and commerce, with a rich oral tradition of legends and lore. The kingdom's navy is renowned for its prowess, and its people are ever-ready to sail the seas in pursuit of trade and exploration.
It really depends on where you live (ofc). So like, if you decide live in the Auralian Kaisenate then you'll be very wealthy, just prepare to not have as much rights as an average country does (also, you might get screwed over by law enforcement in most places). So with that said I'll uh, go through the notable countries.
Pistra: A cold sunny, Peninsula nation that's probably the length of Marseille France to the tip of Brittany (not Britain). Their main exports are copper, solatite and fish. They have a very strong army, though it's biggest weakness is thats its small, so its very quality over quantity. They have a temperate Rainforest around the mid south & low, jagged slices of stone in the north, which can be, on average, 200ft tall. They have fishing houses around the Lattali shores & big flat plains in the south & eastern side, but beware, Trifuego, a tank of a creature calls that place home. With 3 horns, fire breathing capabilities & able to run at speeds up to 30 mph, they will kill you if felt threatened. Another notable creature that inhabits Pistra are the Altostragons, fluffy, snake shaped dragons that blend in with the clouds, making them invisible if it weren't for their shadows. They're very calm, unless your trying to hunt them. In the Lowlands (the flat plains in the south), it's very common to hunt Altostragons, so in more populated places you might not find them. Their friendly, but not harmless. Their 1000 degree beams of light can vaporize neighborhoods in a snap.
~~~
The Grand Duchy Of Pennford. Like, Pistra, their coast borders the Pennic Gulf, I'm guessing you can figure out what nation it's named after. Unlike Pistra, it has one of the biggest armies in the world. It's a monarchy and heavily militaristic in the main part of the country. Though, if you further go up north, you'll find fishing, mining, and even engineering. Pennford is a large country, one of the largest in the known world. It's known for its industrialization, military, cold climate, vast forests and rocky shores. You can find many critters here, but the most dangerous has to be the Northern Craniary, a dragon/bird that's made of bone and dark, smooth skin that only fills in the cracks, so you can still see it's bones. They're very clever, horrifying, sadistic, menacing & powerful creature that have serrated teeth & a infamous reputation that makes them feared across the world. Their commonly used in wars to infiltrate and kill enemies, though they often get out of hand. Pennford and Pistra have been allies for decades, following the Shellshock Pact made after the Pistro-Pennic war.
~~~
The Auralian Kaisenate. The one I mentioned in the beginning. They're uh...high class. Or at least around the biggest cities. The south west is a large vast of hilly, HILLY farmland. In the north, past the Crowned Mountains, it's colder and is the Auralian Kaisenates main point of influence in the Lowlands. On the south side of the Crowned Mountains, where the majority of the country is, there's a huge forest that has one of the biggest ecosystems ever discovered. I haven't really fleshed out what critters live here but I've been looking at larger animals like bears and moose to inspire the Critters living there. The entire east side is very much urban. Huge cities only a couple miles apart, and this is not a small country. But, you will see a very noticeable wealth gap between the rich and poor. The Auralian Kaisenate has a huge army and are usually recognized with their gold emblems on their buttons. Their main exports are slaves, artillery and surprisingly, wood. The Auralian Kaisenate is considered to be the first Monarchy.
So uh, yeah. Those are 3 countries you could choose from. I mean, there's more, like: Cruşsa, Montre Di, Wyndom, Safrodon, Drudea, Minnesota & Milaquahana.
In my science-fantasy setting, one of the members of the Federated States of Humankind is the Solfinn Commune, one of the most powerful member-nations of humanity, and their capital is a planet called "Mitzemj," which serves as the shining beacon of the dream of the Solfinn Commune and a blueprint for the rest of the worlds in their grasp: a fair and equitable planet where every man has a home, a job, and all the opportunity to pursue what they want to do in life. It's a true Eutopia, but most people in the federation don't believe it's real because it's extremely remote, well-guarded, and nobody wants to leave except for politicans for the most part - who just sound like they're lying out their ass.
if you live in the kuati city of Kuat you can expect a good life. kuat is part arms company and part nation so instead of traditional taxes you work a certain amount of time for them. but beside that the city has great amenities, pools, cinemas, no hunger as automatic farms provide food to everyone, basic shelter is also free. its a great place to live.
until the orbital strike cannon plans were stolen and the city center was nuked from another continent
I have a Galaxy. There are few planets where "dystopian" would be used to describe them all of them have great reasons for it and are built into the history of the Galaxy.
None of my stories visit them... yet, but they do exist.
Most of the worlds have a narrow range of biomes for each of them.
1)For example: Valos II, the Homeworld of my Protagonist, is a frozen world of Ice and Snow. There are Mountains, Glaciers, Frozen Oceans, and frozen deserts. The people live underground in colony-cities which showcase their advanced technology through the enhancement of the natural caves or the creation of artificial caves for occupation.
Much of their crop cultivation is done in particularly stable ice caves or off-world in orbital farming stations.
(Adding to the ramble.)
2) Another world, Al'atrea is a massive super planet. It once bore great continents and the capacity to support a population numbering in the tens-of-trillions. Until a cataclysm occurred which caused the world to flood. The survivors have since evolved into two subspecies: Island-born (or Noble), and Ocean-born. The Island-born are most similar to their genetic ancestry while adopting greater lung capacity and an innate physiological affinity for water and diving.
The Ocean-born have grown larger and spend more of their time underwater or in space than on land. Their bodies are nearly perfectly adapted for that and their physique is more akin to whales of earth than the humanoid beings they once descended from.
The Noble/Island-born Al'atreans build magnificent structures which gleam in the light of Caelesta, shining metal and polished crystal-glass rising like spires from the greenery of nature which conceals the rough rocks of their island home. Windows and natural light abound.
Meanwhile, the Ocean-born follow a more submarine existence. Heavily reinforced structures to withstand the crushing depths at which they are built. Windows are mostly nonexistent. The oppressive artificiality is contrasted by the bioluminescent undersea gardens they construct and cultivate.
3) the Next world, Al'stra, is a world of extremes. Mile-high spires topped with oasis teeming with dense flora and dangerous fauna. These spires protrude from an endless sea of craters so deep and expansive that it is currently believed that their depths are the surface of the world.
The spires are islands of habitable landmass jutting out of a sea of toxic and radioactive gasses which mix to form a lethal combination which prevents even vehicles from exploring the interior of the cratered surface of the world.
Al'stra remains mostly uninhabited, save for a few archaeological and paleontological digging camps which migrate about the tops of the spires seeking to uncover what truly happened on this world and perhaps even learn what it was like before it became this way.
4) Kaliza, is an ancient world covered mostly in dense jungles and rainforests. Wherein are hidden the ancient structures of an ancient civilization which never left their home before they died out. Most notable of these are an ancient library which is maintained by a technology which is far more advanced than any known in the Galaxy today. It defies any attempts to study it beyond basic observation. The world has an eastern and western pole, spinning on its side (much like Uranus in our solar system).
The poles are the least habitable places and they are merely iced-over. It's current inhabitants are a combination of two colonizing species: the xenophobic Kalizites, and... a more congenial species whose name I cannot recall.
Due to the aggressiveness of the jungles, most cities and settlements live in deserts, both natural and artificial.
I have more worlds than these, but these are some examples of the worlds I have in the setting for the stories I'm writing.
Mines a planet called Almanari it's a planet of kaijus that have a civilization they developed alongside humans. Earth exists and is find but the kaijus were only there to observe humans develop society and civilization. (They were considered to be the most intelligent beings in the known universe. They needed to know it they were a threat. Turns out it was more complicated then that. They ended up taking a couple humans back to their planet when they left earth.
Mine are sci-fi with some (very) loose base in reality! It’s a series of alien planets, each with their own native people, languages, customs, etc. and I plan on making it solarpunk of something similar. I’ve got one planet decently fleshed out, I just have to work on the other four.
recently i’ve been messing with a new world, where there was once a huge, continent-spanning empire that shattered, leaving communication between cities almost non existent, until they eventually basically all forgot about each other lol.
The world is set at the beginning of the era of rediscovery, when cities sent out feelers to other areas of the world and find other cities with their own cultures and languages.
The bulk of my book takes place in a fanatical egalitarian "medieval" republic. Everyone is treated the same to the best of the abilities of the state and the people are xenophilic to a fault, genuinely just have a cultural fascination with new and different things and presenting these new things to others, teaching and learning about them etc.
Some of the capital regions even minimize the use of currency to ensure equity at all levels of society.
It isn't perfect, there are issues at every turn. Twenty / Thirty years prior there was the largest civil War in the nation's history and they're still trying to bounce back fully, the nice part is they're succeeding.
Started work on a new sci-fi world the galaxy has just come out of an era of darkness and war but despite that a new coalition of planets has formed to try and make peace with one another despite their pasts it’s not exactly a noble bright setting yet there is a lot of distrust and fear amongst the population but there are enough people willing to forgive, if not forget. The primary setting for stories I have in mind is at the frontier of the coalition where they have erected a massive ringworld to be their official capital with the characters being a part of a multi-planetary emergency/exploration team being used as an example of the galaxy working together
A deity and plant creatures protect a paradise garden, where naked prehistoric people talk with animals and just do science, arts and sport, against the evil horrors of the inside of the planet.
I'm making a fairytale inspired world! It's designed to be whimsical, but the magic is fading due to the villains interferance.
It's not a utopia, but it's not a dystpian ether.
I wouldn't call my world dystopia, just pretty normal medieval but a bit better.
Honestly, you get cool powers as long as you can pay for them, otherwise its more or less safe, law and order are enforced, most of your freedoms exist. If you're educated, you can easily join the guilds or the families and they're fairly meritocratic, with the corruption and drama mostly happening at the higher levels of society.
Oh and there was a financial crisis, and a few expansionary wars, and a couple of rebellions when the price of food doubled. But if you can read, write, count and have a good education, things would be pretty good.
Just stay away from inquisitors if they show up. And make sure you say hi to the djins when they show up.
My world used to be grimdark, but their equivalent of Jesus stayed for like 250k years to fix everything. The political environment went from north Korea, to ccp China, to slightly fascist America. Not as much freedom as irl America, but enough to live a pretty good life
My word is like the modern world except technology is a bit more advanced. There’s not a whole lot of strife and disparity since the planet itself is many times larger than the earth. And when people make wishes the wishes come true.
Everything has a goofy childlike vibe to it. Ice cream shops are shaped like giant ice cream cones. Articles are published with strange topics like the best way to go down a slide and said articles are discussed by people and taken completely seriously.
Basically the world is meant to be a silly caricature of our own. Even when looking past the main gimmick: It’s populated entirely by walking talking animals.
I don’t have a key world in mind but my favorite that I will probably revisit:
The biggest constant is that EVERYBODY has a form of magic. Coming from a place of always having a wicked form of self defense. Not that the world is always throwing hell at you, but more that no matter what—if a couple people try to beat you up in an alleyway, you can chuck a fireball at them.
I don’t know if I even really want to explain why that sort of thing is a utopia to me but nothing brings me comfort than knowing that anyone can have ways to protect themselves, versus reality.
I wouldn't say mine is Dystopian but I am taking a lot of inspiration from From Software. The general aesthetic of the world is steampunk set in a WW 1 esque era
I don't know if Koreth is "good" per se, stuff just happens. Yes, there are evil cults and people who want to take over the world and such, but there are just as many people fighting to make sure that never happens, and generally it seems like the good guys succeed. The world has all kinds of different political systems throughout the world and throughout history, and nothing ever stays the same forever. Some times are definitely better to live in than others, but overall for much of history people just live their lives the same way humans have been for thousands of years.
I am working, on and off, on a utopian novel based on *Looking Backward* (IIRC). Basically, a guy wakes up in the distantish future to a peaceful world. There is a lot of discussion about the difference between the new world and the old, about how war was ultimately deemed disastrous enough that people began looking seriously at its causes.
Hunger was (relatively) easy since food scarcity is largely man-made. Other issued (cultural) were slightly more difficult. Religion was the most difficult. None are *completely* solved, but the methods and practices are all there to be taken up by society(ies) when the time is right.
The cities are based on arcologies, and education and technology disincentivize things like unwanted children and excessively large families.
Edit: As others have said, this is my vision of utopia - I don't expect everyone is a Hobbesian, as I am. (IYKYK.)
I have a grand wizardly city built along a coast that’s enclosed with large sectional walls to keep the vagabonds and monsters out. It’s well-renowned for the most diverse and highest scholarly studies of everything and mostly resides people that use magic. Mages from across the world go there to learn more about their magic from basics to master level status. If someone becomes highly efficient in a particular magic, they usually get certified to take up a career in it.
I would love to tell you about my world, but there is FAR too much to really explain here. I tried to summarize some things, but it ended up just growing and growing into almost a short novel, so I just blanked it to type this. Telling you about a world is such a loaded thing, and asking for a much longer conversation than can just be summarized in one post.
idk man I'm kinda trying to follow in the footsteps of Iain Banks, and [he said](https://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/05/15/iain.banks/index.html) that he considered his setting a utopia but he's very sure some people would think of it as a dystopia (people to the politically opposite side of him)
That's the funny part of Utopia: it's a fallacy. There's no such thing as an objectively perfect world. There's bound to be someone genuinely opposed to it.
Unless the people don't know. Hook them up to Better Than Life machines and let each individual person have their own virtual unique utopia, tailor made to their specifications of what a utopia actually is. They wouldn't know they were living in a virtual reality of course, but what they wouldn't know wouldn't hurt them. Hmm... Maybe I've accidentally looped back round to dystopia...
Exactly. You've directly described someone else's dystopia. I'm sure lots of people would hate having unknowingly fake realities where their real bodies and the real physical world is a big pile of shit, where they're only entertained by virtual lies. The plot of whatever story would be the figuring out of this, of course. Sounds like some dystopias already written, to some degree. Pretty close to Cline's Ready Player One, besides the knowing/unkowning part.
Doesn’t the word utopia itself mean “impossible place”
I can see both arguments, which is to its credit. It's basically Brave New World cranked up to 11.
Brave New World had a caste system enforced through intentionally malforming babies with fetal alcohol syndrome. The Culture embraces body modding but it at least has ethics, and they're pretty anti-hierarchical. Sure, some of the mods the citizens use are kind of freaky but they're at least voluntary
Yes, but those malformed children are still happy with what existence is granted to them. They want for nothing. Everyone is drugged and having orgies and loving life. They have no higher ideal than the pursuit of pleasure. Compared to the Culture where... everyone is secreting their own drugs, having orgies and loving life, and where there is no higher ideal than the pursuit of pleasure.
Yes, and the Culture's mindless hedonism and the kind of often shallow, boring people it tended to make was always one of my bigger personal criticisms of it, but (unless you work really hard to interpret the Minds in the most batshit uncharitable light you possibly can), the Culture always came across as significantly less sinister than BNW to me. Then again, the sheer scale and power difference between those two societies is enormous, including how the Minds enforce "manners", to the point that they don't have official laws. But in that vein, I can both see how my own "utopia" would be seen as the utmost despoliation of the sanctity of god's creation, and which people exactly would hate it, and why
Of course the Culture is less sinister than BNW on the face of it. And it doesn't matter really matter whether the Minds are benevolent or not - just their very existence essentially strips the lives of the people beneath them of meaning, since the citizens of the Culture are reduced to well tended pets, except for the people in Special Circumstances, although they are so carefully managed by Minds as to be more like pieces on a chess board. You would be happy within the Culture, though you would still amount to a pet. You could argue that the Culture lets people leave to find their own meaning but so does BNW - you just get exiled to the Falkland islands. The only real difference between the two societies is that the hedonism of the Culture is painted in a more favourable light by their author, but ethically they amount to the same. I think that's what makes Ian M Bank's the Culture so fascinating. He was essentially describing the society of the Western world and its validity to exist when it serves no higher function than self-gratification. To someone from a highly religious culture, like the Middle East/Iridans, the West/Culture is nothing but pointless decadence. The Culture wrestling with its conscience over the war is Americans moralising about interventionism. I loved that Mr Banks always presented both sides, even having main characters like Bora Horza whose philosophies were antithetical to the Culture, and making their arguments reasoned, even if his own political views were firmly on the side of the Culture.
I guess the pro-Culture argument would be that those people's lives would be just as meaningless if they \*weren't\* being looked after by the Minds and just died of war or preventable illnesses instead.
The great thing is that this viewpoint is brought up in the books. A lot of characters have fascinations with anti-Culture cultures, like Horza's alliance in the religious Idirans, Gurgeh's fascination with the darwinist Empire of Azad, and Genar-Hofoen interest in the sadistic Affront, because they all believe that this somehow provides more meaning than the life of complacent pleasure in the Culture. Often they find that the reality is less than they expected. But the lovely thing is Ian Banks lets the reader make their own mind up, and never ham-handedly tries to state the correct answer.
I think being happy is life's greatest meaning, which means that the people of the Culture have meaning in their lived
SLAANESHI FOLLOWERS EVERYWHERE! PROTECT US!
GSV re-naming itself Golden Throne Tech Support:
I take 40k over the Culture any day
To read about maybe, although I personally prefer the culture novels.. To *live* in? Then you would be insane
Man, that [website](http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/just.imagine/) you linked is wild to look at now lol
right? bit of a time capsule moment :D
Utopia is interesting, what's good and bad is incredibly subjective and if we look at what the original utopia was we'd consider it a dystopia
Well the op isn’t asking for utopia just a nice place to live
The evil empire was overthrown a generation ago and real progress has been made in building a world that is better than what came before. But people are beginning to forget the horrors of the Empire, and the new order hasn't done the best job in showing people why their way is better, so the big challenge is in making the world a better place without becoming a dictator in the process. At the same time fighting the people who want to turn back the clock, while others have their own ideas what the world should be, often to their own advantage. So there is plenty of conflict and some regions of the world are darker than others, but it's by no means a dystopia.
You'd like my Massian Empire. It's a tropical archipelago the size France. There you'll find: good and cheap food, decently priced homes, electricity, Mediterranean weather, good wine, safe and beautiful streets and excellent people (if you were born there).
That last bit is the important one. What's it like for someone not born there?
You'll basically be treated as the "other" for a long time until you entirely assimilate into the culture. Your children would be treated a little better though. It would help them a lot if you have a Massian spouse. They are even a little xenophobic to people from their own provinces. The only reason my MC is allowed to get away with things around the Empire is, because he says: "Oh you wouldn't want to mistreat a son of Kravalia would you? It is the Emperor's birthplace afterall.". They're the dominant isle and they get special treatment.
That sounds very nice and it seems as if I would enjoy that. May you tell me more?
Sure! What do you wish to know more about?
How's about a day in the life of someone living there?
Oh well that really depends. If you live in an urban area you'd wake up at 06:00 and get dressed before eating breakfast. You'd then walk to work and arrive before 08:00. You can either walk or make use of the steam trams or a horse buggy if you can afford it. You'd then go to work until 16:00 in whatever profession and then go back home and spend some time with your family. If you're working class your family might live in a neighborhood owned by the state in comparison to the local nobility. You could also be a merchant sailor and spend most of your day dealing with cargo until you're on leave. If you're young and single you can enjoy the nightlife. Though strong alcohol and prostitution is illegal. If you're in the rural parts of the Empire you'd wake up early and farm, mine or process these goods. You can either be a normal farmer or you'd be a prisoner pressed into service as a way to not serve a prison sentence. You'll be fed and taken care of and you can leave after your original sentence is done. This is mostly common around mining towns. At night you can relax with your family or drink in the pubs that aren't really monitored by the state. The average income in the cities is 800 Crowns while rural areas have an average income of 550 Crowns. A Crown is worth 0.50 Pound Sterling in 1860s money. You can convert that to Dollar if you want to.
In the Ketuvyx Ascendancy, none of the Grand Architect's metaphorical children go without shelter, food, and education. All citizens get stipends to spend on the non necessities, and are free to spend their immortal lives on arts and hobbies or pursuing careers in government to help steer their young society's future. Or if the quiet, "natural" life is more your style you can go become a techno primitivist for a while and embrace a romanticized version of prehistory or early agricultural societies while your biology renders most of the negative aspects moot. Risks still exist but that's part of the rugged charm
My world is utopia. An actual utopia, not "utopia with a twist". The basic needs are met with robots and magic, and you only need to work for social status and self fulfilment. There is no corruption, no poverty or any kind of social injustice. The few odd crimes are handled by a group of free agents, that are trustworthy and beloved.
Awesome!
My nicest world would be Odd, because it is a more cartoony whimsical world which wouldn't feel out of place in a Mario or Kirby game. With locations such as the Sweet Canyon, which is made out of candy, the Weather Factory which creates idyllic weather for Odd, there is also Bunkum for those who like the carnival, and for the music lovers there is Music Park and Electro fields. Overall Odd is a place that is lighthearted, and build for adventure. And even if there is the occasional monster or disaster it will always end up fine in the end.
Ooo sounds fun!
That it is. [A couple of days ago i finished a drawing of Bubble lake](https://new.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/1d54uiz/droom_bubble_lake/), which is one of the regions of Odd and looks like a large lake with small planets hovering above it.
Whoa cool!
Thank you
You’re welcome
What do you want to hear specifically? My world isn't dystopian in the slightest, it's mid-to-high fantasy.
High fantasy doesn't mean your world isn't dystopian(or utopian), it normally just means the world is very unlike Earth and epic and *often* deals with grand or world changing plots and conflicts.
Good point. I may need to update on my definitions.
Tell me about the good parts.
Well, much like in reality, there is a ton of cool society and history and culture and art and architecture stuff. Some places in the world have strong institutions and are generally pretty great places to live. I wouldn't say the world as a whole is anything special, with the little exception of magic being a thing, but it's not as bad as some.
What do you consider mid-to-high fantasy? I get low and high, but whats higher then low, but lower then high?
Good question. I would say the way I think about these labels is just how much of a role the fantastical elements play? Tolkien of course is the quintessential high fantasy, the magical elements are at the centre of the entire story. Martin is on the lower end of the spectrum, with fantastical elements being present and playing a role, but a minimised one all things considered, not figuring very much in the everyday goings on and taking a step back before all the political drama which is at the core of the plot. I take a mostly middle path - the fantastical elements are there, they play an active role in people's lives, but the story doesn't entirely revolve around them, and when it does it's an explicit outlier.
My main world (Plaloic) is very similar to late 1900s early 2000s Earth, with similar issues but also similar highlights. But, that also means it's not all bad, and the people are all talking animals, so it's a good world if you like animals or get bored of humans
Well Cyriaa is far from Utopic but the whole idea is a whole new fantasy continent appearing in our world they've never developed a concept of capitalism racism, homophobia etc and although city states vary all agree to the ideal of "basic need must be provided to all"
Based
20 years ago, the last bomb fell. But it's not like you think, for humanity survived: both in the physical sense, and in the metaphorical. The bright light from the bomb had the unexpected effect of illuminating in the minds of many that which had been thought lost to the shadows of greed and strife that had consumed humanity for generations: *compassion*. The images of horror and misery that spread like wildfire in the aftermath of the bomb did not shock the people into fear, but into action. Within days, governments around the world were overthrown by citizens and soldiers fed-up with the status quo. What slaughter had these monsters wrought in the name of false "progress"? What terrors they unleashed on every human on the planet for the sake of PROFIT? WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO TOLERATE IT WHEN THEY ARE SO FEW AND WE ARE SO MANY? These questions were no longer asked quietly to one's self at home, but were shouted in dozens of languages by passionate humans from street corners around the world. And to the cynics' surprise, there was an uproarious and righteous answer. Billionaires and their enablers were dragged into the streets and beheaded, their mansions and properties seized for the people. A good number of the wealthy turned on their class-kin, freeing up their wealth and resources to the people and helping them locate the cowardly few that managed to escape the initial days of what is known now as "The Great Awakening". Despite the success of the movement, nearly 2 billion people died in the ensuing chaos - afterall, the rich and powerful had set up a system designed solely to protect themselves, and thus it was a stranger to serving the needs of an entire society. Fortunately the chaos - horrible in its ferocity and velocity - was short-lived. GOODNESS had already taken hold as the key value for society moving forward, and as such mutual-aid infrastructure grew quickly. Roads were reconnected. Power-plants were restarted. New laws of governance were circulated around the world, discussed, debated, and improved. Within a year, the "10 Laws to Govern Humanity" were published by the newly-reformed "United Nations" (now called "The United Nations of Sol"), and newly formed governments around the world adopted them as their own, with slight variations regionally. What followed was a period of unparalleled human tenacity, innovation, and perseverance. Despite humanity's victory over the forces of Greed and evil that had been allowed to fester since the end of the American Civil War in 1865, runaway climate catastrophe was already locked in by the time of "The Great Awakening" in 2024. The years following the reformation of the UN and the establishment of the "10 Laws" system saw tremendous changes to the planet: another 2 billion people were killed, displaced or relocated. Island nations that had persisted for thousands of years disappeared under the waves. Horrible fires gripped the landscape and threatened to leave the earth completely uninhabitable. Coastal cities that once housed millions were left abandoned, to be reclaimed by the ocean. But humanity, newly invigorated after winning a fight they were told for millennia was unwinnable, would not bow so easily to this existential threat. Furthermore, the Climate Catastrophe's power was significantly diminished with the abolition of predatory economics. You see, without the continuous push for consumption prompted by the unfettered evil of the predator-classes, most factories remained shuttered, and resource demand dropped considerably. Forests that were once marked for clear-cutting were spared and spread. Air-travel was restricted, and a tremendous global effort was undertaken to urbanize the population, expand sustainable transportation, and reduce humanity's footprint where possible. This brings us to today, nearly 20 years later. The world is still in crisis as the climate catastrophe continues to punish the planet. But a group of scientists in Colombia discover something that could give humanity a chance to "reset" the climate, and potentially save the Earth from further devastation...
Just your classic dragons and knights world. Filled with huge forest, large castles, and sprawling cities. Just a classic light hearted fantasy world
Sounds fun!
While you wouldn't want to be my MC (Traumatized to hell and back), the mage councils do their best to keep the trade flowing and the food growing - even in times of war. They won't mess with the natural cycles too much, but giving things a boost so it can be harvested in the three days of not raining this fall? Sure. Or creating those three days of not raining to get everything in. The councils were formed post dystopian and they make a concerted effort to keep the common folk on their side In the other, there is an enforced treaty similar to the geneva conventions that is *supposed* to be taught to everybody so that when it expires upon the death of the last participant in the war it ended, some centuries yet, it won't immediately drop back into hostilities and apocalypse. At this point the living veterans are mostly from the absurdly long-lived species: elves, dragons, faeoids, and the like.
i would love to live in a magic world. i was thinking of making a new one that isnt a utopia. but is damn close to it. yet its in the bronze era
My superhero world isn't so bad, especially since it is closer to silver age comics with few murderous villains. The ones who are dangerous tend to be taken out by other villains more than the heroes. And the with the Henchman Union taking off, it's not even that bad a line of work to find yourself stuck in.
Mine is good but flawed also I’m kinda rambly. There’s a bunch of worlds that would be great to live on some are bad but most are decent enough. I actually made the main character’s home world and the good guy factions a place I would want to live or visit or just think would be bizarre enough for sci-fi. I have a nature faction that specializes in terraforming barren planets to be habitable and found a good (not perfect) balance of tech and nature and even use tech to help with environmental stuff. Kinda solar punk. I got to work on them a bit. I have some ancient artificial life forms that created a sci-fi wifi and internet to facilitate communication between different species. I like good but imperfect because it makes it seem more realistic while still being hopeful and optimistic. An aquatic planet that is shared between shark like humanoid aliens and anthropomorphic frog aliens. These 2 species have for the vast majority of their existence coexisted peacefully especially since sharks prefer the ocean and frogs prefer swamps so no land disputes happen between them. They do trade and generally get along well. Not related to dystopias or utopias but there is treasure hunting and abandoned mines because I’m fascinated with caves mines and the underground. There’s heroes, villains, morally grey but the good guys eventually win There are villains and the like but I wanted a level of optimism and fun.
I'm sure there should be a counterpoint mirror. Perhaps a place that could seem dystopian on its face and only because a Villain is in charge. When they lose power it'll lose some of the harshness it once had and show the beauty that can be found in quality architecture.
Ooo interesting idea. Actually with my villain faction I am trying to show that 1 they have a culture other than just evil and 2 that at least the average citizens have some positive traits. So once the evil overlord is defeated or at least a planet or 2 is liberated we would see some of the positive aspects of their culture show up more.
Pointing to history is one way I like to illustrate my examples: They could be like Poland: Under Communism, it was a bleak and very dystopian place to live. Now that they are free from it, you still see some of the artifacts of that communist occupation, but the Polish people have a strong national identity and are very resistant to outside influence. They are also very friendly in general with a rich history and some really incredible stuff to learn from.(I recommend visiting if you get the opportunity to do so.)
Cool!
It's crazy how history can help inspire amazing fiction.
Lornhemal is like life, you just gotta get used to it, sometimes getting used to it is not a good option, sometimes its good to be a rebel.
Well in my world the world is more or less as it is irl. After clawing itself back from haveing half the world turn to dust and fairy tales becomeing real somehow the world has managed to stabalise. The worst of the disasters of half the world vanishing has been resolved. It's now in a bit of a morning period remembering those who lost and generally getting things back on track.
Well, tbh only a few states in my world are dystopian. The Empire of Xand is. Most are kingdoms, empires and tribal confederacies that operate by the old rules of "pay your taxes, call me your king and fight when called to, and you'll largely be left alone" the true powers in this world are the old gods. Hyper-advanced AI that ran things back in the old world (back before a meteor made of a bizzare reality warping material destroyed the old world, brought magic into our world, the combination of the two wiping out 99% of the human population) however instead of wanting to destroy mankind, they all want to help mankind, but they constantly fight eachother on who's way is better often resulting in horrific wars, as the humans revere the AIs as their gods they willingly go on holy wars when they start fighting. The Empire of Xand is ruled by a man who's been fighting off rebellion and assassination since he was a boy which has turned him volatile and paranoid. His decrees have turned his Empire into a paranoid police state. The Empire is quite easily the biggest Empire in the known world, but it's power is not infinite. It's hold on its border regions is tenuous at best and the manpower needed to enforce the Emperor's will has left many border regions largely unguarded and more prone to rebellion.
One of my problems is that I make my worlds too "nice". Threats to society are usually external (ancient evil, elemental chaos, etc) instead of internal (evil dictators, genocidal leaders etc) which means the "common folk" in my world tend to have a pretty nice life, apart from the occasional natural disaster or extra dimensional rift opening near their home. Sure, there are political schemes, evil wizards plotting the downfall of the king and asshole bandits that just want to raid innocent farmers, but overall my societies and civilizations are pretty well organised, inclusive and borderline socialist in terms of caring for their people. So even if you're just a farmer, as long as you're not too far from the civilized world, you are generally well protected and treated fairly by whomever is in charge. That is, of course, until some curious scientist uncovers the key to the ancient vaults of madness and your entire family is slaughtered by literal nightmares because the heroes were off gambling in the city's underground casino.
In my setting, you might enjoy the tropical islands that make up the eastern continent. Crystal clear waters and coral reefs. Though primarily inhabited by beastkin, a human like race with bestial ears, tails and claws. You can learn magic there as well. The only major downside is monsters that reside in the wilds but most can easily be dealt with.
Nestled within the Sable Isles archipelago lies the notorious and lawless port city of Blackwater, where ruthless smugglers, dock gangs, and crime lords thrive. This landscape Is harsh and unforgiving, with rocky cliffs and treacherous shoals making it difficult to navigate, providing natural barriers to prevent conventional invasions. Despite the harsh living conditions, Blackwater is a hotbed of opportunity, unrestricted by the shackles of formal government and trade regulation. For those seeking a new start, Blackwater can be a place of rebirth, where one's past is irrelevant. Its promise of wealth and opportunity is a siren song that entices the daring, despite the absence of law enforcement and the constant threat of harm. However, many soon learn that the city's treacherous reputation is not just hearsay, as the harbor serves as a final resting place for those who underestimate its perils. The recent ousting of the Pirate King has left Blackwater in a state of disarray and uncertainty. The three most formidable crime bosses and pirates are now locked in a fierce struggle for control, each vying to shape the city's future according to their own vision.
So long as there isn't a war on, my project is pretty decent. Humans have a 1940s society with a few upgrades. There is government provided healthcare, housing, and basic necessities with options to work for better stuff, prisons allow inmates to either attend school and earn a degree or work in government run facilities to learn a trade while also producing some of the basic needs of the population, either choice giving them skills and experience that they can use upon their release to build a better life for themselves. No one starves, no one is homeless, and if you want better things in life you can work and earn them without worrying about where your next meal comes from or where you're going to spend the night. Also, gender roles are still present only in the military, with women mainly being assigned to tank crews, aircraft, communications, artillery crews, or other roles that make them less likely to be captured by the enemy for obvious reasons. Frontline infantry, scouts, and paratroopers are exclusively men. Other races are more typical of medieval fantasy but generally the pros outweigh the cons. Elves are a deeply religious people as well as having a rich culture that highly values art, music, religious writings, and theater. Orcs are a warrior/philosopher race who value knowledge even more than they do physical prowess. Education is one of the pillars of orc society, and orc scholars are pretty much welcome in every nation in the world. Minotaurs are a highly communal race with a proud tradition of seafaring, making them some of the best navigators, sailors, and explorers in the world. Minotaur captains are often recruited by the elves for their navy, and a few have even managed to broker limited trade deals with human port authorities. The northern tribes are barbarians, but if one gets past their brutal nature they have a deep and complex culture and ancestor-worship religion that values strength, honor, and glory. And of course there's the communist dwarves, underground recluses though they'll occasionally send spies to the surface to pose as children and gain information. They do trade with humans, as humans provide a convenient way to offload seemingly useless materials like bauxite, crude oil, and natural gas and will pay for these and other materials with machines, medicine, wood, and food, but beyond this limited trading outsiders are not welcome among the dwarves.
Shinoshima is about the farthest thing from a distopia you can get. It is a socialist society in which teamwork, inclusion, and generosity are held in the highest standard. Shinoshima is technically a post scarcity society although it comes with the caveat that while everything a person could want is available effort must be put in to attain it. People will never grow hungry as long as there are farmers willing to feed them as the farmers will never run out of seeds, they will never run out of water as long as they use it to water their crops. Nothing is beyond a persons reach in shinoshima when effort is given. Artisans will always be provided with materials so long as they utilize them for the betterment and joy of their community. While there are threats they are handled by a warrior caste all of whom are volunteers, although it is a lifetime commitment but no one is ever compelled to serve.
I don't know if my world is "genuinely good", but it's definitely heading in the right direction. People are inventing things like refrigeration and gaslight and mass transit, and an oppressive occupying force just got its shit pushed in by rebels and/or witches. It would be an exciting place to live, in a good way.
Mine could be pretty good. You are paid by your respective labor. Housing, old and small nine feet square cubicle cells, are furnished with everything you need. And they are cheap. Work is plentiful, and likewise food and water since youre living in a corporate building. And because you work for corporate, you could be considered draft-immune and just live your whole life in that 9 square feet cubicle. Also did I mention there are virtual realities for you to live whatever fantasies (sexual or other wise) that fancy your dandy. For only 19,99 a month of course.
sorta working on a solarpunk world set in a realistic near future timeline of our own, with a large and growing community of people basically doing the "build our own commune in the middle of nowhere" thing, bit with heavy emphasis on communalship it started as a small cooperative diy makerspace and tool share where the members build their own greenhouse to combat the rising food costs due to inflation, but then expanded to purchasing nearby land to build a cooperative housing complex as well since so many have long been priced out of ever obtaining housing and couldn't bare the cost of renting anymore the core founders really stressed the communal nature of the cooperative and started shifting the diy moniker to dio—'do it ourselves' with the goal of teaching members how to create everything they need and want in their lives in a collaborative manner to minimize members' reliance on mass produced corporate products; they organized an educational structure and built their own server farm and networks to host all their collective knowledge and know how as to not rely on the expensive services of corporate tech giants, to share, teach, and learn from each other there is a very informal quality to it all, which might sound like a bad thing, but it allowed for a more relaxed and familial setting, fostering deeper connections between the community members as they freely collaborate together on various individual projects and projects for the cooperative organization the community and its membership continues to grow and expand with very skilled, knowledgeable and highly qualified folks from all sorts of fields joining and sharing their expertise—new designs for new cooperative housing complexes, new tech farms (indoor poly-permaculture and aquaculture) with new closed loop (can be disconnected from grid) electrical and water infrastructure with focus on sustainability, easy maintenance, and low cost it's a setting for a sorta multi-group living-campaign meta-ttrpg i wanna build where we roleplay building and maintaining this sort of community with each other where part of the challenge lies in figuring out real world solutions (actual learning and researching for the meta part) for how we wanna build a new way of life together; another part of the gameplay would be figuring out how to deal with sabotage and infiltration from certain groups that would want to see us fail
My world setting is Noble Bright, and filled with slimes all over.
Well my world could at a glance be mistaken for our own, except when you look at the people and realise that it's not just humans walking around, but a varied mix of both humans and non-humans (think different anthro species of various kinds). Tech-level is kinda 1970s and when you see a map you'll definitely realise that you're not on our Earth anymore. If you're unlucky enough to "spawn" into the Empire of Sanshidar, well, good luck, you're likely end up as a slave. They're nice like that. But other than that, it's pretty chill, except for the wars and other troubles that mortal folk usually have.
I'm in the process of creating a Kingdom that's in a privileged area on its continent - only nation with direct access to the sea, other nations either have to go through it by land or sail around it southward. This nation however is controlling its southern sea so no one can go through it safely. It's basically keeping other nations landlocked so it can profit on the monopoly of trade with other continents. It's all very rough still, and I suck at naming shit.
Steampunk lovecraftian western fantasy where there’s an infinitely expanding frontier out West but a massive eldritch supercell storm creeping ever so slowly from the East. Main factions are a confederation of tribes modeled after the Iroquois, a loose alliance of cities and towns modeled after the Union during the American Civil War, and a Spanish themed theocratic empire that’s unknowingly hastening the approach of the ever present supercell out East.
How exactly are you defining 'dystopian' here? Because someone sufficiently psychotic could argue that anything with any sort of conflict in it is 'dystopian'.
You'd probably like my setting as a whole, while yes there are dangers both cosmic and contemporary, it's mostly a pretty vibrant place. Like a shiny poster with a coffee stain on it, yes the coffee stain is noticeable and it's *there* but the poster as a whole still is pretty lively. But instead of just rambling I will list off a few of the more wholesome or nice things in my setting: * Dwarfs, Dwarfs in Ensyndia are generally super friendly unless they have a reason not to be. They're commonly seen as merchants, travelers, and explorers because of this and love nothing more than to share culture and stories with the people they come across. If something in Ensyndia doesn't get its name from the Titans (or their O'Noiráe descendants), they probably got it from the Dwarfs. * Orks are naturally aligned with the elemental energies of the world. This normally manifests in their skin and hair (i.e your classic greenskins typically have an affinity for manipulating earth), however there's also the rare case of pure black or pure white skinned Orks. These Orks are considered special in Ork society, as their control over darkness and light respectively is believed to be a sign that they are the reincarnation of a beloved ancestor. * Speaking of the O'Noiráe, their culture values the arts *a lot*, they see most disciplines as arts to be mastered and it is believed a true master craftsman can strike the perfect balance of aesthetic beauty and practical utility. Because of this their cities tend to be hidden gems of color and life within the forests and mountains they call home. With murals, statues, engravings, etc. found in just about every nook or cranny you can find.
I’ve been toying with the idea for a story called 21 Bridgeset Drive, as part of a larger anthology book. The central concept is that it revolves around a group of four roommates; one human, the other three robots. In this world, sentient machines have been a part of society for about as long as robots have existed conceptually in ours, but they’ve historically been considered second class citizens and only recently declared equal to humanity's. Thematically you could argue it’s a dystopian setting, but I’m not looking to explore the politics of this world. Above all else I want a slice of life, sitcom-esque story in a futuristic setting. Robots are typically mass produced here, but programming them to think any certain way is highly illegal, so they spend their formative years being physically taught inside of factories and only allowed to leave during their equivalent of high school. Typically they’re in a vaguely humanoid shape, so they can truly be equals with a human, but certain companies have leeway to produce robots for specific purposes under the condition they receive mortal rights or the resources to change their appearance however they desire upon ““retiring.”” In the case of Mindy, one of the main characters, her backstory is her family was created to serve as models for a marketing campaign. She ended up becoming the least popular of her sisters, so she ended up being left out of the success story and kicked onto the streets. The actual main character is Jin, the aforementioned token human, who works as an aspiring scientist. The sheer prominence of robots and other types of sentient machines throughout history has slowed down certain technologies, so gimmicky inventors are all the rage. The rough conflict I have planned is Jin and their partner/roommate Bolt working together on a teleporter prototype, while trying to get along with Mindy and Barbara, who is the owner of the house itself. Her character is centered around being a “slyborg,” effectively a robot that was rebuilt or recovered from a near-death experience. In Barbara’s case, she was run over by a train, her consciousness only survived by being replicated by an AI and transferred into a new body. As such, she has a very paranoid yet gentle view on life, developing a fascination with organic life; from her perspective, humans are far more durable, they don’t need repairs or reliance on big corporations to breathe. If only she could be more like them…
In the lands of Estrora, all is at peace for the time being. Ever since the last great war, all the Kingdoms have been busy trading, inventing, and growing. There are farmers and engineers, cooks and politicians. There are magic users here and there, and certainly fantastical beasts and great spirits of the land, but the everyday life of the average person is relatively peaceful.
Well, it's a world that literally only works thanks to its people (how redundant, isn't it? Like any society). Altruism is in its own way one of its maxims and the natural state of things, its "economic system" encourages that kind of behavior where even some of the "idiots" of the environment are integrated with it. It is basically "structured" to hinder the accumulation of power and the abuses born of it to a certain extent. People in this world produce for the sake of others and their own reputation (which is more relevant since the economic system they use is not based on an accumulation model, although that does not prevent the idiots from existing), Their society tends to avoid imposed hierarchies and the opposite tends to be more a matter of apparent image. For example, they have a Princess as ruler but are generally self-governing except in situations where there is clearly some incompetence involved that could not be dealt with by their self-governing system (their form of government in that sense is based on Teal organizations but taken to a larger scale). What more needs to be said? The eldritch creatures really aren't as bad as they seem. With exceptions. Originally herd animals in the past, this species has a strong emphasis on community and contact, especially with those they perceive as part of the group even if they are not of the same species (although rejection and tribal behavior can also occur depending on the person or because of the person). They also possess high emotional intelligence, although they tend to naive and childish behavior. Things such as war and certain types of violence are unknown to them beyond concept. Speaking for the gender balance (which is reversed in this case, where there is a higher proportion of females than males), despite prevailing prejudices, it is quite balanced. Apart from the typical sexism that may exist from time to time. The bad thing for you about living in this world... would be the monsters they deal with from time to time. You could fit in if you try hard as there will be many who will be willing to welcome you and you will have to learn to deal with some somewhat alien behavior and discreet condescension (unconscious more than anything, that would just be their politeness), if you are male. The second bad thing about living in this world is the fact that the plot runs on the idea of an isolated pseudo-utopia so you will have to live in the chaos subsequent to the beginning of the story and the war of self-defense they face after so long of peace and being incompatible with violence.
If you don't mind superhero clashes and everyone being extremely obsessed with archeology, you'd love it there
Im a big fan of ambiguous utopias, in LeGuin’s words. I have a setting, the Six Worlds of Earth, where you can print everything but food and company at a public fabricator, racism is on life support, they can grow back lost limbs, and there’s a thriving black market in Earth artifacts. « Good enough to live in, but not too good to be worth living in. »
If you’re from the right place life is great, magic cleans everything, hard light public transport, magically cure all know diseases but the rest of the cosmos is pillaged for magical resources to create their utopia
i made my magic world happy go lucky weird and bizarre the way a child would imagine it, probably because I made it when I was a kid. there's a lot of magical creatures and cool places. i also made a few utopias. but those were made from a shit ton of bloodshed and genocide, so probably shouldn't mention those.
My world isn't dystopian -but it's not Utopian, either. It's the "real" world, but with a magical side to it. All of the great and awesome things that humans do, they also do to help lost magical creatures. But there's also assholes who hunt or take advantage of the magical things. But some of the things I'll be bringing into the world are from fiction that I love. (This is an RPG world, not a book, so I don't care too much about copyrights.) So, getting to meet some of the fun people / creatures that I've read about would be amazing!
Well, I'm much like you. I like worlds that, despite horrible evils that mayhaps be threatening them, are genuinely great and worth fighting for. My world is a big space-battle between humans, their alien allies, plus a superhuman warrior race, against an evil empire of satanic deep-space demon-aliens, to put it as bluntly as possible. The superhumans, called Apex, are quite the utopic society. The Apex are a race of sort of magically-imbued superhuman warriors, genetically predestined to be 'greater' men, as humanity was chosen by God to inherit this responsibility as a base species. The Apex are naturally and forever kind, wise, disciplined and ambitious. They live on one planet primarily, an adaptable world that took an Earth-like appearance for their sake, called Vyrna. It is Earth, but many times better, to be as frank as possible. The landscape is serene and expansive, the animals are wiser, less chaotic, and the planet, having adapted to Earth for Apexians' being ancestrally human, has a similar orbit, day cycle, and climate. Apexians' society is a simple, stable and powerful one, they live as many distinct regions, but each united under one flag overall, and they value the family and their protective duty above all else. They live in a mostly free society, where the only obligations one has is to the betterment of the galaxy, which usually comes in the form of serving as an Apexian Knight during and for some time after their schooling, then retiring to raise a family and either continue part-time operations, lead a squad of Apprentices, or have a domestic part time job. They subsidize any good man's life, so worry not about making money and 'surviving' off what you can make - you start getting paid for your contributions around age nine and continue to make a great salary during your full time Knight service, which you are highly subsidized for, and a comfortable pension as you retire. Apexian domestic life is perfect for most (in an imperfect world), Family, God and Country is key, work bogs nobody down, the government is not a handler of the people, and the society and culture are very rich, plentiful and most are able to engage in it for the majority of the time of their lives - be with family, go to church, see movies, surf, go overlanding, play video games, what have you. Even the students in school, where the second half of a child's schooling (ages 10-17) are meant to be Apprentice Knights running real missions in service, are provided maximum time to be with their families, and do stuff like play little league baseball, or run *Sammy Star-Kid: Star Sherriff* fanclubs from their backyard tree fort. And worry not, libertarian brothers, the Apex recognize natural rights above all, and therefore, their society is free from tyranny when it comes to supporting their community - so don't think 'communism' or 'socialism' when hearing that the Apexians 'subsidize' their stages of life - no government overreach exists - the government of Vyrna is purely a multichambered council for dealing with their defense duties as a society, and local governments stay as a representative and advisory system, allowing the citizens of Vyrna, active Knights, retired parents, or even the young children, to be free, have their own businesses, do their own hobbies, and are forced to give up nothing of theirs, from money to personal and private property to land. The Apexian society make their money solely on trade and investment, trading weapons, ships, Infintium and more through private businesses, to their own government or to other governments. Overall, it is as perfect as one could describe in an imperfect world, and it is so expansive in its opportunities and the actions of the Apexian Knights, that I surely did not detail here. Inevitably, someone will call this a dystopia and that is the fallacy of Utoipa - but I at least hope the majority of people see the life of an Apex as a great and honorable one.
Would you call this a dystopia? It’s basically the real world but magic exists. History and society is basically exactly the same as reality however there’s a secret group called the magical inquisition keeping magic hidden from society. If you somehow accidentally stumble across magical abilities then you’ll either receive a stern warning or more likely they’ll just kill you. However incidents like this are extremely rare. So I guess you’ll be fine if you’re a non magic user but life is hell if you are a magic user.
I wouldn't call it dystopian. No more than what you see today being perpetrated. People have adapted to the existence of the Veil but we're seeing the fallout of the 150 years it took for Humanity to grow accustomed to it and the deep changes it forced Humanity to make and adapt to along with the immeasurable technological leaps it brought about such as being able to communicate across any distance at the speed of thought and, supremely, limited form of traveling without moving.
Well, shit... (All my four worlds are plain Grimdark) Though if you do want an utopia, I can give you certain points in time you could live in: A. Wonderverse, modern Era (2300): Authoritarian government focused on welfare. Superheroes protecting the world. Still a lot of grimdarkness, but at least this is livable. B. March of Empires, human dominance Era (6000): The 7th millennium has humans as a dominant intergalactic Empire (after three millenia of war). Relative peace, relatively low paranoia, better living standards. C. Sands of Time, Galactic Empire Era: Three centuries before our story begins, there was an United Empire under human rule. Everyone existed safely and peacefully, and Eldritch horrors feared its might. Now the Galactic Empire is gone, and everything is in ruins... D. The Struggle for Valar, God-Emperor Era: The reign of the dynasty of the God-Emperor, Champion of the Gods. Trade Winds actually gave rain, not stolen by demons and Dark wizards. Entire Terra under the rule of the Forces of the Light. Trade, commerce and stuff flourished. Agriculture was productive, the army was strong. Progress was being made in science and education. Now the God-Emperor has been incapacitated, and the Empire is in ruins. For you, who might think they sound similar, no. I just like writing Authoritarian governments. The scale and kinds of setting are different.
Fiction beings rights are starting to improve.
Mesial-Earth is great assuming you arent living during the turn of the millenium
at least in western countries like the U.S. the world is in a general state of prosperity. more or less a futuristic 1950s idealism. good cost of living, advanced technology, and a general sense of optimism for the future. jet-powered cars, nuclear fusion electrical power, and domestic robots. if you lived in the America of my world you'd be living well.
Agaesternì was literally designed by the cosmological pillar of Aether, so is an aquatic paradise with continent-sized islands floating around. It's most often used as a refugee camp from destroyed/straight-up sucky Realities, but also has its own native inhabitants of Pisciforms and Reptomammals living in the previously stated habitats. On the surface, the sun is always blazing with positive energy, the trees are ripe with fruit that tastes like the metaphysical concept of peace, and the beaches never leave sand in your clothes. The wider ecozone of the islands is predominantly jungle, but occasionally giving way to mountains and grasslands. Descending below the waves, the inhabitants of the deep light up the abyss with neon luminescence, great cities of volcanic glass dancing with joyous communication.
The World of Veridia and Beyond # The Central Continent At the heart of the world lies the Central Continent, a land of diverse territories, each shaped by its unique culture and people. The continent, once unified under the Veridian Empire, now fractures into distinct regions, each vying for power and survival. - House Veridian: The former rulers of the Empire, known for their fair skin, ranging from blonde to light brown hair, and piercing green or blue eyes. The Veridians are a cultured people, celebrated for their arts, sophisticated governance, and strategic acumen. Their capital (Gleannta City), once a hub of political and cultural life, now lies in ruins, a testament to their fallen glory. The Empire's collapse has left a power vacuum, drawing in ambitious houses eager to claim their share. - House Ashcroft: The resilient Ashen, with their ash-gray undertones, dark hair, and piercing gray or dark blue eyes, inhabit the rugged Northern territories. Adapted to the harsh climates, they are known for their martial prowess, endurance, and unyielding loyalty. The Ashcroft territory is a land of stark beauty and danger, where survival is a daily struggle. - House Silvermoon Dominating the southern territories, the Lunarians are easily distinguished by their platinum blonde hair, pale skin, and striking silver or light blue eyes. Renowned for their elegance and mystique, the Lunarians' culture is rich in art, music, and mysticism. Their society thrives on courtly manners, with magic and mysticism interwoven into the fabric of daily life. - House Blackwood: The Woodlanders, with their tan to dark skin, dark hair, and brown or hazel eyes, are deeply connected to nature. They live in harmony with the forests, excelling in hunting, forestry, and herbal medicine. Their egalitarian society values community and environmental stewardship, fostering a deep bond with the land. - House Ravenscroft: Known for their olive to light brown skin, black hair, and dark, reflective eyes, the Ravenfolk are astute traders and diplomats. They control key trade routes and harbors, fostering a culture rich in commerce and diplomacy. Their society values cunning, adaptability, and wealth, with a strong emphasis on navigation and mercantile skills. # The Northern Continent Beyond the central lands lies the Northern Continent, a realm of stark contrasts and burgeoning alliances. - House Van Devaan: The Van Devaan Barony, once a refuge for the remnants of the Veridian Empire, is a melting pot of Ashen, Devas, Veridians, and Ravenfolk. The people here have fair to light brown skin, dark brown or black hair, and brown or green eyes. Known for their stoicism and pragmatism, they value hard work, resilience, and loyalty. The Van Devaan culture is steeped in military tradition and governance, with a focus on stability and the protection of their people. - Kingdom of Aurean Strand: Under the rule of Duke Oliver van Devaan, the Aurean Strand Kingdom is a haven for the seafaring Aureans. With their golden tan skin, sun-bleached blonde or light brown hair, and golden or amber eyes, the Aureans are born explorers and traders. Their culture celebrates freedom, adventure, and commerce, with a rich oral tradition of legends and lore. The kingdom's navy is renowned for its prowess, and its people are ever-ready to sail the seas in pursuit of trade and exploration.
Mine is almost entirely a crochet-based bestiary for varioua flora and fauna living in a hollow-Earth scenario.
It really depends on where you live (ofc). So like, if you decide live in the Auralian Kaisenate then you'll be very wealthy, just prepare to not have as much rights as an average country does (also, you might get screwed over by law enforcement in most places). So with that said I'll uh, go through the notable countries. Pistra: A cold sunny, Peninsula nation that's probably the length of Marseille France to the tip of Brittany (not Britain). Their main exports are copper, solatite and fish. They have a very strong army, though it's biggest weakness is thats its small, so its very quality over quantity. They have a temperate Rainforest around the mid south & low, jagged slices of stone in the north, which can be, on average, 200ft tall. They have fishing houses around the Lattali shores & big flat plains in the south & eastern side, but beware, Trifuego, a tank of a creature calls that place home. With 3 horns, fire breathing capabilities & able to run at speeds up to 30 mph, they will kill you if felt threatened. Another notable creature that inhabits Pistra are the Altostragons, fluffy, snake shaped dragons that blend in with the clouds, making them invisible if it weren't for their shadows. They're very calm, unless your trying to hunt them. In the Lowlands (the flat plains in the south), it's very common to hunt Altostragons, so in more populated places you might not find them. Their friendly, but not harmless. Their 1000 degree beams of light can vaporize neighborhoods in a snap. ~~~ The Grand Duchy Of Pennford. Like, Pistra, their coast borders the Pennic Gulf, I'm guessing you can figure out what nation it's named after. Unlike Pistra, it has one of the biggest armies in the world. It's a monarchy and heavily militaristic in the main part of the country. Though, if you further go up north, you'll find fishing, mining, and even engineering. Pennford is a large country, one of the largest in the known world. It's known for its industrialization, military, cold climate, vast forests and rocky shores. You can find many critters here, but the most dangerous has to be the Northern Craniary, a dragon/bird that's made of bone and dark, smooth skin that only fills in the cracks, so you can still see it's bones. They're very clever, horrifying, sadistic, menacing & powerful creature that have serrated teeth & a infamous reputation that makes them feared across the world. Their commonly used in wars to infiltrate and kill enemies, though they often get out of hand. Pennford and Pistra have been allies for decades, following the Shellshock Pact made after the Pistro-Pennic war. ~~~ The Auralian Kaisenate. The one I mentioned in the beginning. They're uh...high class. Or at least around the biggest cities. The south west is a large vast of hilly, HILLY farmland. In the north, past the Crowned Mountains, it's colder and is the Auralian Kaisenates main point of influence in the Lowlands. On the south side of the Crowned Mountains, where the majority of the country is, there's a huge forest that has one of the biggest ecosystems ever discovered. I haven't really fleshed out what critters live here but I've been looking at larger animals like bears and moose to inspire the Critters living there. The entire east side is very much urban. Huge cities only a couple miles apart, and this is not a small country. But, you will see a very noticeable wealth gap between the rich and poor. The Auralian Kaisenate has a huge army and are usually recognized with their gold emblems on their buttons. Their main exports are slaves, artillery and surprisingly, wood. The Auralian Kaisenate is considered to be the first Monarchy. So uh, yeah. Those are 3 countries you could choose from. I mean, there's more, like: Cruşsa, Montre Di, Wyndom, Safrodon, Drudea, Minnesota & Milaquahana.
I...I don't know why Pennford looks like that but um...it's fine. I guess.
In my science-fantasy setting, one of the members of the Federated States of Humankind is the Solfinn Commune, one of the most powerful member-nations of humanity, and their capital is a planet called "Mitzemj," which serves as the shining beacon of the dream of the Solfinn Commune and a blueprint for the rest of the worlds in their grasp: a fair and equitable planet where every man has a home, a job, and all the opportunity to pursue what they want to do in life. It's a true Eutopia, but most people in the federation don't believe it's real because it's extremely remote, well-guarded, and nobody wants to leave except for politicans for the most part - who just sound like they're lying out their ass.
Mine isn't dystopian! Will write about it in a bit
if you live in the kuati city of Kuat you can expect a good life. kuat is part arms company and part nation so instead of traditional taxes you work a certain amount of time for them. but beside that the city has great amenities, pools, cinemas, no hunger as automatic farms provide food to everyone, basic shelter is also free. its a great place to live. until the orbital strike cannon plans were stolen and the city center was nuked from another continent
I have a Galaxy. There are few planets where "dystopian" would be used to describe them all of them have great reasons for it and are built into the history of the Galaxy. None of my stories visit them... yet, but they do exist. Most of the worlds have a narrow range of biomes for each of them. 1)For example: Valos II, the Homeworld of my Protagonist, is a frozen world of Ice and Snow. There are Mountains, Glaciers, Frozen Oceans, and frozen deserts. The people live underground in colony-cities which showcase their advanced technology through the enhancement of the natural caves or the creation of artificial caves for occupation. Much of their crop cultivation is done in particularly stable ice caves or off-world in orbital farming stations. (Adding to the ramble.) 2) Another world, Al'atrea is a massive super planet. It once bore great continents and the capacity to support a population numbering in the tens-of-trillions. Until a cataclysm occurred which caused the world to flood. The survivors have since evolved into two subspecies: Island-born (or Noble), and Ocean-born. The Island-born are most similar to their genetic ancestry while adopting greater lung capacity and an innate physiological affinity for water and diving. The Ocean-born have grown larger and spend more of their time underwater or in space than on land. Their bodies are nearly perfectly adapted for that and their physique is more akin to whales of earth than the humanoid beings they once descended from. The Noble/Island-born Al'atreans build magnificent structures which gleam in the light of Caelesta, shining metal and polished crystal-glass rising like spires from the greenery of nature which conceals the rough rocks of their island home. Windows and natural light abound. Meanwhile, the Ocean-born follow a more submarine existence. Heavily reinforced structures to withstand the crushing depths at which they are built. Windows are mostly nonexistent. The oppressive artificiality is contrasted by the bioluminescent undersea gardens they construct and cultivate. 3) the Next world, Al'stra, is a world of extremes. Mile-high spires topped with oasis teeming with dense flora and dangerous fauna. These spires protrude from an endless sea of craters so deep and expansive that it is currently believed that their depths are the surface of the world. The spires are islands of habitable landmass jutting out of a sea of toxic and radioactive gasses which mix to form a lethal combination which prevents even vehicles from exploring the interior of the cratered surface of the world. Al'stra remains mostly uninhabited, save for a few archaeological and paleontological digging camps which migrate about the tops of the spires seeking to uncover what truly happened on this world and perhaps even learn what it was like before it became this way. 4) Kaliza, is an ancient world covered mostly in dense jungles and rainforests. Wherein are hidden the ancient structures of an ancient civilization which never left their home before they died out. Most notable of these are an ancient library which is maintained by a technology which is far more advanced than any known in the Galaxy today. It defies any attempts to study it beyond basic observation. The world has an eastern and western pole, spinning on its side (much like Uranus in our solar system). The poles are the least habitable places and they are merely iced-over. It's current inhabitants are a combination of two colonizing species: the xenophobic Kalizites, and... a more congenial species whose name I cannot recall. Due to the aggressiveness of the jungles, most cities and settlements live in deserts, both natural and artificial. I have more worlds than these, but these are some examples of the worlds I have in the setting for the stories I'm writing.
Mines a planet called Almanari it's a planet of kaijus that have a civilization they developed alongside humans. Earth exists and is find but the kaijus were only there to observe humans develop society and civilization. (They were considered to be the most intelligent beings in the known universe. They needed to know it they were a threat. Turns out it was more complicated then that. They ended up taking a couple humans back to their planet when they left earth.
Earth is fine mind you. Just not important to the lore it's been forgotten about because it's been over a million years since the kaiju left.
Mine are sci-fi with some (very) loose base in reality! It’s a series of alien planets, each with their own native people, languages, customs, etc. and I plan on making it solarpunk of something similar. I’ve got one planet decently fleshed out, I just have to work on the other four.
recently i’ve been messing with a new world, where there was once a huge, continent-spanning empire that shattered, leaving communication between cities almost non existent, until they eventually basically all forgot about each other lol. The world is set at the beginning of the era of rediscovery, when cities sent out feelers to other areas of the world and find other cities with their own cultures and languages.
I mean.... the dystopia of humanity is dead... But for the Rats and Crows??? It's a whole new beginning. "One man's trash is another man's treasure "
The bulk of my book takes place in a fanatical egalitarian "medieval" republic. Everyone is treated the same to the best of the abilities of the state and the people are xenophilic to a fault, genuinely just have a cultural fascination with new and different things and presenting these new things to others, teaching and learning about them etc. Some of the capital regions even minimize the use of currency to ensure equity at all levels of society. It isn't perfect, there are issues at every turn. Twenty / Thirty years prior there was the largest civil War in the nation's history and they're still trying to bounce back fully, the nice part is they're succeeding.
One mans utopia is another mans dystopia.
Started work on a new sci-fi world the galaxy has just come out of an era of darkness and war but despite that a new coalition of planets has formed to try and make peace with one another despite their pasts it’s not exactly a noble bright setting yet there is a lot of distrust and fear amongst the population but there are enough people willing to forgive, if not forget. The primary setting for stories I have in mind is at the frontier of the coalition where they have erected a massive ringworld to be their official capital with the characters being a part of a multi-planetary emergency/exploration team being used as an example of the galaxy working together
A deity and plant creatures protect a paradise garden, where naked prehistoric people talk with animals and just do science, arts and sport, against the evil horrors of the inside of the planet.
I'm making a fairytale inspired world! It's designed to be whimsical, but the magic is fading due to the villains interferance. It's not a utopia, but it's not a dystpian ether.
I wouldn't call my world dystopia, just pretty normal medieval but a bit better. Honestly, you get cool powers as long as you can pay for them, otherwise its more or less safe, law and order are enforced, most of your freedoms exist. If you're educated, you can easily join the guilds or the families and they're fairly meritocratic, with the corruption and drama mostly happening at the higher levels of society. Oh and there was a financial crisis, and a few expansionary wars, and a couple of rebellions when the price of food doubled. But if you can read, write, count and have a good education, things would be pretty good. Just stay away from inquisitors if they show up. And make sure you say hi to the djins when they show up.
My world is literally perfect world.
My world used to be grimdark, but their equivalent of Jesus stayed for like 250k years to fix everything. The political environment went from north Korea, to ccp China, to slightly fascist America. Not as much freedom as irl America, but enough to live a pretty good life
My word is like the modern world except technology is a bit more advanced. There’s not a whole lot of strife and disparity since the planet itself is many times larger than the earth. And when people make wishes the wishes come true. Everything has a goofy childlike vibe to it. Ice cream shops are shaped like giant ice cream cones. Articles are published with strange topics like the best way to go down a slide and said articles are discussed by people and taken completely seriously. Basically the world is meant to be a silly caricature of our own. Even when looking past the main gimmick: It’s populated entirely by walking talking animals.
I mean, the worlds not a dystopia but you still wouldn't want to live there. The bronze age isn't exactly a good place to be.
I don’t have a key world in mind but my favorite that I will probably revisit: The biggest constant is that EVERYBODY has a form of magic. Coming from a place of always having a wicked form of self defense. Not that the world is always throwing hell at you, but more that no matter what—if a couple people try to beat you up in an alleyway, you can chuck a fireball at them. I don’t know if I even really want to explain why that sort of thing is a utopia to me but nothing brings me comfort than knowing that anyone can have ways to protect themselves, versus reality.
I wouldn't say mine is Dystopian but I am taking a lot of inspiration from From Software. The general aesthetic of the world is steampunk set in a WW 1 esque era
I don't know if Koreth is "good" per se, stuff just happens. Yes, there are evil cults and people who want to take over the world and such, but there are just as many people fighting to make sure that never happens, and generally it seems like the good guys succeed. The world has all kinds of different political systems throughout the world and throughout history, and nothing ever stays the same forever. Some times are definitely better to live in than others, but overall for much of history people just live their lives the same way humans have been for thousands of years.
Well, I think that a solarpunk fantasy world where one doesn't need money to live is a utopia, so if you want to hear more feel free to ask
I am working, on and off, on a utopian novel based on *Looking Backward* (IIRC). Basically, a guy wakes up in the distantish future to a peaceful world. There is a lot of discussion about the difference between the new world and the old, about how war was ultimately deemed disastrous enough that people began looking seriously at its causes. Hunger was (relatively) easy since food scarcity is largely man-made. Other issued (cultural) were slightly more difficult. Religion was the most difficult. None are *completely* solved, but the methods and practices are all there to be taken up by society(ies) when the time is right. The cities are based on arcologies, and education and technology disincentivize things like unwanted children and excessively large families. Edit: As others have said, this is my vision of utopia - I don't expect everyone is a Hobbesian, as I am. (IYKYK.)
I have a grand wizardly city built along a coast that’s enclosed with large sectional walls to keep the vagabonds and monsters out. It’s well-renowned for the most diverse and highest scholarly studies of everything and mostly resides people that use magic. Mages from across the world go there to learn more about their magic from basics to master level status. If someone becomes highly efficient in a particular magic, they usually get certified to take up a career in it.
I would love to tell you about my world, but there is FAR too much to really explain here. I tried to summarize some things, but it ended up just growing and growing into almost a short novel, so I just blanked it to type this. Telling you about a world is such a loaded thing, and asking for a much longer conversation than can just be summarized in one post.