It seems that my intuitive definition of the term "world building" might be "the concept and/or process of conceptualization on a massive scale" (considering how a world is not just written/or captured within a narrative but also is conjured within the mind of the reader). As opposed to a linear and pragmatic narrative, a narrative featuring world building almost takes the guise of a sandbox- as if a sandbox is created by a narrative, yet, the narrative remains within the sandbox at the same time. I'm not crazy about the term "sandbox" as it pertains to a narrative- because a sandbox, despite its attributes of being limitless, aren't necessary limitless in the same way the world of a narrative could be (limits within a narrative are a whole different conversation). But as the term "sandbox" pertains to MBotF (or, arguably, any narrative for that matter), I'd say it's not much of a stand-in for the concept of world building due to the fact that MBoTF is not only a (unlimited)narrative, but also, there are still forthcoming narratives that shall take place in Wu.
Fantasy, one could argue, goes hand and hand with world building. Particularly the more grandiose fantasy narratives in which there is more to world-building than casting "a river here and mountain there" (this landscape stuff need not take place only in fantasy though) along with "elves in the east, dwarves in the west" (which is more quintessential and tradition of the sword and sorcery genre). MBoTF is doing something else which positively discombobulates the way I've perceived feats of world building in the past. Mind you, world building is something that I've been drawn to before discovering the series.
So why is it that I feel different about MBotF's "built world" than I do for built worlds found in other narratives (in the fantasy genre)? I have this weird feeling that it's got something to do with MBotF's origin in D&D campaigns- it is as if that observation can somehow modify the kind of narrative it is now. The idea of a narrative in general being limitless is an interesting question, especially when considering how the act of reading completes a narrative after the text has been produces by way of writing (again, arguable). But with world building, especially world's featuring hundreds of thousands of years of relevant history, original races, a complex systems of magic - limits in narrative come in to question more than ever.
I do feel like the length of MBotF influences the perceived magnitude of Wu- especially while reading GotM (it's a sublime feeling, like standing before a mountain,when reading the first installment and realizing how much text/world stands before you).
This post has been edited by aeneas: 20 December 2014 - 05:20 AM