Veronica Roth’s Divergent: Bad Worldbuilding

Many a teenager were swept up by Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, having finished The Hunger Games and looking for something of a similar tone. Eerily similar, some might observe – a diminutive but badass teenage girl in a dystopian future with a complicated love interest fighting for a better world. Except Roth made a crucial mistake that many authors make in their worldbuilding: assuming that all readers would be too lazy to actually figure out whether things would work or not. Most readers are generally too lazy to investigate potential worldbuilding slip-ups, but some of the ones featured in the Divergent series are distractingly obvious:

1.     The entire plot revolves around a society that segregates itself into different factions, each with an individual trait: selflessness, honesty, intelligence, peace, and bravery. But the characters in the book clearly exhibit many of these traits, so the entire foundation of being “divergent” – i.e., not fitting into just one category, falls apart. Maybe the system is based on what people value the most – but then the aptitude test wouldn’t work. Not to mention, we discover in the last book that the whole thing is designed by the government to correct people’s damaged genes. But genetically damaged people don’t make non-damaged people; that’s not how reproduction works. Also, if the whole point was to create Divergents, why does the government let them be killed?

2.  “Working together, these five factions have lived in peace for many years, each contributing to a different sector of society. Abnegation has fulfilled our need for selfless leaders in government; Candor has provided us with trustworthy and sound leaders in law; Erudite has supplied us with intelligent teachers and researchers; Amity has given us understanding counselors and caretakers; and Dauntless provides us with protection from threats both within and without.”                                              

Okay, that’s great, but where do low-skilled labourers fit in then? Who become the janitors, the sanitation workers, the factory workers – you know, people essential to a functioning society? Who makes everyone’s everyday wares, clothes and cans and toilet paper? The Factionless would have been a perfect option, but instead they’re just used as a poor representation of homelessness.

3.     Geographically, there’s a lot to unpack. The area in which the series takes place is supposed to be a fenced-in post-apocalyptic Chicago, with Amity growing their food beyond the fence. Except their location is vague at best. Also, the Dauntless are supposed to patrol the fence – but there’s not nearly enough Dauntless to cover that much ground. Here is a handy detailed map of the proposed area; see if you can find anything out of place.

What really grinds my gears is Roth insisting that Lake Michigan – that deep, enormous body of water – has turned into a marsh. The process for large bodies of water to acquire enough sediment to become marshes takes millions of years. Not to mention, this would massively affect the climate of the region. There would be colder winters, hotter summers, and less precipitation, which makes the whole farming-for-the-entire-city thing increasing unlikely.

Those are just some of the particularly egregious worldbuilding screw-ups in Divergent. A passionless attempt, I see it as The Hunger Games’ younger, lazier distant relative; nothing more than a cheap knockoff looking to profit from the trend. 

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Nicoline A.

I’m a 22 y.o. Mess in the Professional Writing program. I love video games, half-assed home exercise, and going for walks. Different universes have always been an escape for me, but what is it about a fictional world that submerges you so completely?

Undertale: A World of Puns, Cute Dogs, and Judgement for your Sins

Undertale is a deceptively simple-looking RPG created by Toby Fox in 2015. The worldbuilding of Undertale expands beyond the world itself by directly including the player.

The main principle is this: your actions have consequences. Every playthrough you make of the game, even when you load a new save, remains canonically part of the story. Deciphering its history takes multiple playthroughs, and beneath the cutesy characters and charming pixel art style is a dark tale woven with bloodshed, banishment, and betrayal.

You begin by falling through a hole into the Underground, the subterranean realm where the monsters were banished after losing their war against the humans long ago. There are six distinct levels in the Underground.

Ruins:

This is essentially the tutorial level, where you first find yourself after your fall. Toriel, a kind monster, instructs you to stay on the path and shows you how to show mercy to monsters you encounter. The fighting is turn-based and primitive, but with scarily realistic penalties.

Ruins is an odd place. You fall into a cluster of golden flowers. Red and auburn leaves are everywhere in small piles, though the only tree to be found is in front of Toriel’s home. Her house is warmly lit and pleasant, a place to pause and reflect before the onslaught of the remainder of the game. Though comfortable, it has an indiscernible eeriness. A child’s room without a child to occupy it. Locked doors. Mirrors that reflect you. A chained-off staircase.

But you press on.

Snowdin:

Snowdin is cold and icy, home to creatures who can bear it, like skeletons in hoodies and sweatered wolves. The vibe is anything but gloomy, though, with adorable dog bosses and snowball shenanigans. It has a shop, an inn, and even a diner where a certain someone might invite you for a date. There are many puns and clever easter eggs that don’t make sense on the first playthrough. Exploring the character’s houses sheds light on their quirky personalities. The further you progress, the more you notice the kind nature of these supposed monsters.

Oh yeah, and there’s a mysterious door that you can’t open.

Waterfall:

This level is dark, glowing with geodes and aquamarine torches, echo flowers and exotic fungi, waterfalls and glimmering pools. The soundtrack is tinkling and enigmatic. The deeper you delve into the game, the more evident it becomes that it’s absolutely chock-full of secrets. Before the room with dimming crystal lights is a difficult-to-find room known as Temmie village, a place which will surely give you a giggle. Again, there are houses you can explore and secrets you can discover – just not on the first playthrough. Either way, you’ll be enamored with the Ferry Dock, the River Person, and the Wishing Room.

You continue with determination.

Hotlands:

This is where things heat up and tension begins to build. The Hotlands are arid and punctuated by flowing lava. The lab you must pass through is home to a nerdy scientist who litters her space with comics and anime figurines. There are suspicious letters scattered over the floor, a hole in the wall she claims is the bathroom (it’s more horrific than a bathroom). Staying at the swanky MTT Resort, all golden tiles and flowing fountain and overwhelming sense of foreboding, you’ll sense the end is near. The world itself creates a sense of nervous anticipation with its sheer strangeness, with closed doors and puzzle pieces from previous levels finding their place.

You enter the elevator to the final level.

New Home:

Everything is grey, somber, and quiet. Long corridors occupy the foreground with a cityscape in the distance. Taking an inconspicuous path leads you to a room of coffins with a chilling secret. You encounter Asgore’s home, a grey mirror-image of Toriel’s. By contrast, the Last Corridor is bathed in yellow light that catches you off-guard (cue Megalomania; feel your heart drop). The Throne Room is a natural oasis, filled with greenery and yellow flowers. It is like being in the eye of a storm.

Undertale is one of the most atmospheric games I’ve ever played, proving that you can do so much with so little. It shows aspiring worldbuilders that tiny details and intricate connections are not to be overlooked, and that secrets only make the experience more rewarding for the person who uncovers them.

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Nicoline

I’m a 22 y.o. mess in the Professional Writing program. I love video games, half-assed home exercise, and going for walks. Different universes have always been an escape for me, but what is it about a fictional world that submerges you so completely?

Perfect Dystopian Worldbuilding - Delirium

Our lives revolve around love, connection to one another, emotion. But what if you lived in a world where love was considered a disease?

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver, is the first in a trilogy about a girl growing up controlled by the idea that love – Amor deliria nervosa – is a disease, and an infectious one at that. The story of Lena, Alex, and Hana is gripping, heartbreaking, and incredibly moving, but it’s impossible to ignore the incredible world it’s set in.

Portland, Maine, 2091. Americans live in areas untouched by the bombings decades earlier. Life is fraught with tension – electric fences separate the cities from the Wilds – unregulated land –  and inter-city travel is restricted. Feeling the wrong way can get you hurt. Contact between people is monitored. Music, books, movies – all entertainment is regulated. All exist in fear of deliria. Not to worry, though, the government has developed a surgical cure – similar to a lobotomy, everyone is required to undergo the infamous procedure at eighteen.

Why go through all this trouble?

People believe love is the cause of all problems in society – wars are fought out of love, order is disrupted because of love, otherwise mild-mannered citizens do the unthinkable when they catch love. The Cure doesn’t just prevent love – it dulls passionate emotions, which are all just different shades of love. And when people can’t be passionate, they can be controlled.

The phones are tapped, eyes are everywhere. People’s entire lives are planned out for them – their husband or wife (homosexuality isn’t permitted), their job, how many children they can have.

What about those who resist?

Alex is such a person. He is an Invalid, as in not-valid, someone who hasn’t gotten the Cure and lives in the Wilds. He is part of a group of resistors who aim to infiltrate and destroy this oppressive, totalitarian way of life. This path is a difficult one fraught with mortal peril, and made harder by the fact that the people being oppressed are so brainwashed by anti-love propaganda that even they try to stop them. Living in the Wilds means living in ashes. It means living with the constant threat of discovery, and death.

The beauty of this world carefully built by Lauren Oliver is the possibilities it creates. It allows us to explore the intricacies of human connection, the reason we risk everything over love. The best part is: it convinces us, just a little bit, that love is a disease, that things would be so much simpler without it. It lets us step back and wonder why we willingly endure so much pain for a scrap of love. It echoes of Romeo and Juliet and the myths of Helen of Troy – battles waged for love, death for love, any price for love.

We get to watch from Lena’s perspective as her character shifts from being a strict follower – and believer – of the laws, to getting a taste of love and wondering how she ever lived without it. We watch with heartbreak as she loses people, both to death and to the Cure – reduced to mindless zombies. Sometimes she catches a flicker of who they once were, and we are reminded once again the extent of which our lives are defined by who we love, our passions, our anger.

The world of Delirium, from the streets of futuristic Portland to the obliterated Wilds, is tactfully unfolded through the eyes of the characters living it. This sort of futuristic worldbuilding that grants such exploration of the human condition is rare, but wonderful.

I encourage you to check it out. Download the e-book here.

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Nicoline A.

I’m a 22 y.o. Mess in the Professional Writing program. I love video games, half-assed home exercise, and going for walks. Different universes have always been an escape for me, but what is it about a fictional world that submerges you so completely?

A Skyrim Travel Guide

If you feel like taking a break from the main quest, why not visit some of the fascinating locations Skyrim has to offer? In no particular order, here are a few of my favorites:

1.       Markarth

Markarth is widely known as being one of Skyrim’s nine major cities, split by a river and built around the intricate drops and waterfalls. Formerly a Dwarven city, it has some incredible architecture, and challenging side quests you can undertake involving the infamous Silver-bloods family. Visit the Dwemer museum to learn a thing or two from the intriguing ancient civilization. If you take a liking to the bulky, functional architecture, you can even purchase a house in Markarth with a stunning view.

2.       Throat of the World

The highest mountain in Tamriel, rich with lore and mystery, the Throat of the World is bound to astound you. People travel from across the land to behold its majesty, climbing the Seven Thousand Steps to the ancient monastery of High Hrothgar. There, the enigmatic Greybeards dwell in complete silence in their mission to become attuned to the Voice of the Sky. Just don’t run into any dragons.

3.       Blackreach

If you enjoyed the Dwemer museum, you’ll like the Dwarven ruins of Blackreach. Aglow with bioluminescence and towering fungi, this is a truly mesmerizing location. Flog and floating spores permeate the air, and you feel almost underwater. Veins of geodes spread between pools of blue water. Make it through the puzzles and unlock Dwemer mechanisms and there just might be an Elder Scroll in it for you...

4.       Ancestor Glade

Located high in the mountains, an oasis of green pierced by pillars of light, the Ancestor Glade is fiercely protected by three Spriggan Earth Mothers. If you don’t die, scavenge for some of the many plants that grow in the area, and gather some Canticle bark. Take a dip in the shallow waters and the hot springs. There are many valuable items to be obtained here: Ancestor Moths, soul gems, a rainbow bow, and another Scroll. This area is challenging but highly rewarding.

5.       Forgotten Vale

A vast glacial valley tucked behind Skyrim’s peaks, the Forgotten Vale should not be, well, forgotten. You feel uniquely isolated due to the towering walls of icy mountain around you. It’s a great place to find special Wayshrines: huge, dome-like structures made by Snow Elves long ago. Besides looking super cool, Wayshrines are also a way of fast-travelling. Here, the Wayshrines of Resolution, Illumination, Sight, and Radiance can grant you even more.

These are just a handful of magical, wondrous places there are to explore in Skyrim. It’s freeing to take a breath and wander the game like a tourist or an explorer. The amount of detail and the hundreds of minute storylines all woven together is an example of amazing worldbuilding.

New to Skyrim? You can experience Skyrim with enhanced graphics by purchasing it here.

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Nicoline A.

I’m a 22 y.o. Mess in the Professional Writing program. I love video games, half-assed home exercise, and going for walks. Different universes have always been an escape for me, but what is it about a fictional world that submerges you so completely?

Welcome to Orbis Aedificium!

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Bored of our world? So are we. Let’s slip into another one!

Here, we will explore the ins and outs of different realities, from the throes of theatre to the art of anime, digging for answers to questions like: What does it take to build a world? To break it? What is a solid foundation? Which would you live in? Which would crush you?

At Orbis Aedificium – a pretentious Latin title that translates to “world building” – we’re determined to find out. We are six Professional Writing students who may be as obsessed with fictional world creation as we are with language!

Worldbuilding means something unique to each of us, but we all share this: at one time or another, every one of us has entered a world so enthralling that it became a part of us forever. We emerged, dazed, blinking, having travelled a great distance. As we returned to reality, we knew we had left some small piece of us behind, buried in some ancient forest, scattered amidst distant planets.

IMAGINE with us: You’re playing Bioshock. Adorned on red drapery as you enter Rapture, a mysterious city submerged beneath the Atlantic, are the words:

No Gods or Kings. Only Man.

But what is more godlike than creating a universe?