Horizon - Summer Camp 2025

Alright, this is an attempt. I usually really fail at the monthly prompts and assignments thing even though I know I need to do them to better expand my world. My brain just shuts off and creativity just stops after like two times, but this time, I'm actually going to push myself.   So, we'll see how this goes.  

Week One Assignments

Assignment One

Think about ways the theme of Nourishment affects your world. Do people generally have what they need? What happens when they don’t?

This is great because I was just reading The Expanse and it was talking about food and I was like, yea, I need to think about the more mundane parts of my world. I suppose when you're working on a galaxy level though, things begin to start getting too much. Of course there's the "only show what the reader needs" but I can say as a worldbuilder and a lore-lover that always bugs me because I want to know even the things that aren't important. Enough rambling.   I definitely would like to focus mostly on the main species and their diets. Terrans aren't needed as they're just basically humans but I would like to see how maybe the Primers ended up changing their diet. Also the trarkrans, I should focus on them.   Food nourishment I think I'd like to focus on them being omnivorous with a kind of focus on water-based dishes and maybe even some fire related things. I have a few dishes already from a cafe scene (Blossom Temper and Spiced Lavia) but I really like the idea of this species diet being very hot, not spicy, hot. Something under a certain heat threshold just doesn't register and it tastes bland. Seeing that they are a volcanic species that even have a fire-like blood, maybe ash and magma don't really do anything bad to them like it would anyone else. This would also be extremely different to the raza species that grew up south of the equator where there are no volcanoes and more of a jungle, beach like environment.   Gosh, I love stuff like this, makes me want to make a map now.  

Assignment Two

Download the pledge document and fill it out with your goal for Summer Camp!

Like I said, I'm going to attempt this. Seeing that this world is part of my IF Sea of Stars, it would do well for me to try and push it and I'm always so excited to do something with it (more excited than I've been in a long time about some of my stories) so hopefully I can succeed. I wanted to both push myself but also not go TOO far and do some outlandish goal that I probably will never meet.  

Assignment Three

If you found any outdated articles in your world, update the most important ones now! Do the same with your worldbuilding meta.

This one is kinda funny as I've already been doing it. I haven't touched the meta yet as, not gonna lie, I'm still struggling to see the importance of it. Most of the folks who'll probably visit my world will do it either because of lore or purely due to the guides that will go up for the stories later. But hey, this is for all the lore-heads I guess and me. Because this site is so helpful to remember things and just feel like I am building.   But there is a lot of articles that need to be updated (especially the ones that still say trelark instead of trarkran). I've been trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Literally in alphabetical order or the more important ones (i.e. the ones that will be shown in the game). Maybe this will also inspire me to tweak some of the CSS. My other world's CSS is fine, this one always makes my eye twitch.  

Week Two Assignments

Assignment One

Look at the cultures and areas you’ll focus on for Summer Camp, and think about how their past shaped them.

Whether this assignment meant to or not, it definitely has me thinking about inter-species relations. I love writing about them but haven't really done any of the less obvious ones.

• Vetix and Zeach: Haven't done but that one is always so interesting to me. Literally, the idea of a foreign species coming to your peaceful planet and not waging war but telling you "yea, we're not leaving." The way these two vastly different species have pretty much learned to assimilate into one another's culture with no war (though there are plenty of those who didn't like this on the zeach side) and how this now effects them in the present.

• Raza and Trarkran: I haven't written much about these two but they literally developed on the same planet, and for the longest time the trarkran were using the raza as unwilling labor forces. I won't exactly say slaved, more so indentured servitude as they were being paid but treated horrendously and it led to a revolt. The trarkrans have obviously not learned their lesson but the past and present and meshing of cultures here is something I need to write about.

  There are others, many others but I should probably take baby steps with them. Get the more important species done and make sure to lay that foundation out before heading to the secondary and so far. I just realized that WA does have a faction relationship feature ... I should probably use that ... huh ...  

Assignment One

Go to your world’s homepage and imagine you’re a new reader discovering the setting for the first time. What should you change to make the experience more engaging?

Actually quite helpful. I went from "eh, nothing really besides some touch-ups here and there' but then stopped and looked back over it and literally realized "how would anyone know this world is for an interactive fiction story." Like, I always assume that the only ones who'll view it are those already aware of my IF's, not for those who stumble across it and then may say "hmm, there's stories connected" since I don't really do campaigns (one day). So definitely tweaked some CSS, added the Table of Contents back, and then put in the description some links to the story. Should probably head to my other worlds and do the same with them.  

Assignment One

Find your earliest worldbuilding project. What mistakes did you make that you want to avoid? What good ideas from those early days can you integrate into your current project? Remember to take a moment to be proud of how far you've come!

I'm gonna be honest, I don't know if this question is asking about an actual project project, or just an article. Either way, I know what I want to avoid and work on and that is mostly timelines. I can create events but placing them with enough believable space between and avoiding them overlapping with something else that definitely shouldn't be there is my issue. I have a habit of rushing forward due to excitement that I don't always slow down and look at the messed up path that I left behind for Future Tee to sort through.   I'm learning to be slower, to not make things if I have never spoken about them as well as to make an article (even if I don't fill it up) if I do say something. This way there's less confusion and less of a chance to run into plot holes. I am happy with how far I came, knowing and being able to recognize my multiple flaws and calling them out. I just gotta keep on keeping on. Wow, this is turning into a journal thing ... huh.  

Week Three Assignments

Assignment One

What transformations and adaptations have the people in your world gone through? What changes are going on right now… and who is trying to stop them?

 

Assignment Two

Choose a new genre, style, or author, and take a look at their art! Write what you learned from them and what inspired you.

 

Assignment Three

Read a couple of articles from the community, give them a like (and why not a sticker!), and write about what inspired you.