the.com/worldbuilding
designing a universe so thoroughly you forget it's fake before your readers do.
means the craft of inventing a fictional setting's history, rules, geography, and culture so it feels lived-in rather than painted on.
from the term crept out of science fiction and fantasy fandom in the mid-20th century, describing what tolkien did with middle-earth's languages and maps long before anyone had a word for it.
tolkien firstinvented languages before writing the plot
iceberg rulemost built lore never appears on the page
game industryemploys full-time lore bibles and canon teams
can backfiretoo much lore can smother the actual story