How does /lit/ feel about worldbuilding?

>>9304290
Now that it has been fetishized and is practiced on such a massive scale by every neckbeard with a word processor cranking out shit genre fiction demanded by publishers for their "throw shit and see what sticks" approach to fantasy and sci fi, only outstanding examples like Malazan stand out, and I would rather see more of a move towards plot development and prose in my genre fiction. Instead we get trash like GoT and Kingkiller.

That does not preclude the genius of Tolkien, Howard, Lovecraft, Frank Herbert, Heinlen, William Gibson, Miller (Leibowitz) and Orson Scott Card, for whom world building is probably more than half of their genius, Tolkein in particular having raised it to an art form which isnt surprising considering he was a proto-autist who saw developing languages as a hobby. Interestingly enough, the Malazan fellow is also an archaeologist by training, and I wonder if a background in classical humanities creates a better world builder.

I imagine the cosmology of the world is a very important foundation of any world. Yes it's a worthwhile endeavour to sort it out before writing anything. Gives you back knowledge of your own universe and makes it seem like you're not making it up as you go along.

>>9304290
They have their place. Worlds can do things normal narratives can't. Intricate meaningless feudalism is integral to Gormenghast, and something similar is integral to Dune. And I don't even need to explain Neuromancer.

Plus, worldbuilding has always been a big part of heavily allegorical works. Think Piers Ploughman or Dante.

Ironically, I'd argue that "worldbuilding" is not important to one of the largest influences on the whole concept, the Bible.
>>9304431
This is completely wrong. Its basic assumptions are fucked. This whole idea that if you don't sort your setting out people will find it unrealistic is bunk, and forgets that all the reader cares about in most stories is...the story.

>>9304528
>This is completely wrong. Its basic assumptions are fucked.

I'm talking about Worldbuilding as a an exercise of expanding lore for the sake of your own writing, and not for publishing. The story you write will use this insider knowledge of the universe to enrich the context (laws, morality, characters) of a story.

>This whole idea that if you don't sort your setting out people will find it unrealistic is bunk

You can use the previous method to enhance the immersion by ignoring the reader's proclivities and merely write for the sake of writing. Like writing short stories and telling a story set out in your universe. You already have the backdrop and timeline to fallback on, truths to work with to change or uphold.

>>9304290
It's pretty important in genre fiction, though you can do a lot by just giving small hints and then letting the reader use his imagination to fill the blanks.

As both a /lit/ and /tg/ poster, I'm really interested in games like Dawn of Worlds, Microscope and Shock Social Science Fiction. They're about turning storytelling/worldbuilding into a collaborative game.

The results aren't always good, but its generally a fun way to pass an evening among friends.

>>9304349
But this is why Tolkien's world is so convincing. He started by developing the languages of his world. How the deviated from one another, how pronounciation changed through the ages, how they influenced each other. This led to him imagining the history of his world: wars conquests, etc., etc. Languages are the foundations of his fantasy world.

>>9306103
I dont think we are disagreeing.

>>9304290
There's only been a handful of writers who have done world building well.

I would say most modern world building is done by weirdos looking for an outlet for their OCD