Sanderson's World-Building Legacy
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In the sphere of Modern genre fiction, few names spark as much excitement—or as much debate—as Brandon Sanderson. His intricate magic systems and meticulous world building have inspired countless writers to follow in his footsteps.
But as the publishing industry continues to evolve, it’s becoming clear that a new generation of writers, particularly web novelists within the “Literary Role-Playing Game,” or LitRPG, genre, have taken this foundational work and pushed it into uncharted and unintended territory.
Image: Dragonsteel Entertainment
In case you’ve just emerged from a cave, Brandon Sanderson is an author known for his highly detailed world building. His Cosmere universe, brimming with multitudinous worlds, complex magic systems, and legions of characters, has set a bar for world craft that many fantasy writers feel compelled to match.
Yet, as JBat pointed out in a recent YouTube video, this situation has changed along with the industry.
Photo: JBat
While Sanderson’s legacy is undeniable, the proliferation of indie authors, especially in the LitRPG scene, has demonstrated how the art of world building has not only advanced but diversified. These newpub creators have begun pushing the boundaries of what Sanderson pioneered, creating even more complex, interactive, and flexible universes.
And therein lies a trap …
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Let’s take a step back to understand how Sanderson became the central figure in contemporary speculative fiction.
Sanderson’s gift lies in creating magic systems that are logical and thus carry explanatory power more difficulty to convey with old-school mystical magic. These systems often operate with an almost scientific precision, adhering to Sanderson's famed Laws of Magic. And he clearly promulgates the rules governing his worlds, which maintains a degree of consistency that appeals to fans of complex, nuts ‘n’ bolts storytelling.
Sanderson's world building overabundance can be a blessing and a curse. While undeniably impressive, it also has a tendency to overshadow the characters and plot, trapping some stories in an endless loop of expansion and refinement.
Image: Dragonsteel Entertainment
As JBat mentions, world building can quickly spiral into an endless exercise. Once a writer begins to flesh out a fictional world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of constantly refining and expanding it. The allure of creating new cultures, languages, and histories is hard to resist. But the more layers a writer adds, the more he risks distracting readers from the heart of the story: the characters and the plot. This stumbling block is especially evident in Sanderson’s massive, multi-book epics, where the sheer scale of the world building can overwhelm the pacing of the story.
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However, in recent years a group of indie writers, particularly those working in the LitRPG genre, have managed to tackle the world building problem head-on. The beauty of LitRPG as a genre that combines the rules of video games with traditional fantasy is that world building becomes more than just an endless expansion of lore. It becomes a gameplay mechanic. Instead of endlessly describing the history of a nation, LitRPG authors have figured out how to make their worlds inherently engaging for readers by making them interactive.
LitRPG is an adventure fiction subgenre in which characters experience the story through a game-like interface. The form has exploded in popularity over the last decade, largely thanks to the rise of web novels and self-publishing platforms like Royal Road. Unlike traditional fantasy, which often focuses on static world building, LitRPG authors make their settings dynamic and reactive. The world isn’t just a backdrop for the story—it shapes it.
In LitRPG, magic systems and world building elements are often tied directly to the game mechanics. For example, characters gain experience points, level up, and unlock new skills or abilities as they progress. The world itself becomes a living game board, and the characters' interactions with it are governed by set rules. This shift from static, detailed world building to a more interactive, dynamic model marks a significant evolution in fantasy storytelling.
One of the most striking aspects of LitRPG world building is its accessibility. In traditional epic fantasy, the sheer intricacy of the setting can be overwhelming. Sanderson, for all his brilliance, has created worlds with histories so deep that casual readers may find themselves lost in the minutiae of the backstory.
In contrast, LitRPG authors have a built-in mechanism for making world building more digestible: the game interface. By presenting the world through the lens of a game, authors can introduce complex systems in bite-sized pieces. Readers are shown just enough information to understand how the world works, with the promise of more to be revealed as the story progresses.
One of the key areas where indie web novelists, particularly within the LitRPG genre, have improved upon Sanderson’s approach is in the integration of world building with character development. In traditional fantasy, the world is often an external force that influences the characters, but in LitRPG, the world itself becomes an intrinsic part of the character’s identity and growth.
In a traditional Sanderson novel, magic systems serve as tools for characters to solve problems or defeat enemies. While Sanderson is careful to tie his systems to the world’s history, politics, and culture, they rarely affect the characters on a deep, personal level. LitRPG authors, on the other hand, often have characters that become their magic systems. The character’s growth is directly tied to his ability to manipulate the world’s rules, and this relationship often mirrors his emotional and psychological growth.
So, where does this leave the future of world building?
It’s clear that Sanderson’s influence will remain a cornerstone of fantasy, especially for writers looking to craft intricate worlds. But the LitRPG movement in newpub has shown us that world building doesn’t have to be confined to endless exposition or towering series. By making the world interactive, dynamic, and tied directly to character development, indie writers are carving out new ways of telling engaging and accessible stories .
For aspiring newpub authors, LitRPG presents a compelling model. By blending world building with gameplay mechanics and character progression, authors can create worlds that feel vast and immersive without becoming bogged down in unnecessary lore. More importantly, they can create worlds that actively inform the story, making each read as much about discovery as it is about adventure.
Certainly Sanderson’s Cosmere has cemented its place in the adventure fiction landscape. But the future of world building may well lie in the hands of indie LitRPG authors who are taking the foundations laid by Sanderson and expanding on them in ways that are uniquely their own.
In the end, it’s not about whether Sanderson’s methodology is better or worse than that of newpub LitRPG writers. It’s about recognizing that the genre is evolving, and that innovation often comes from the fringes. The LitRPG phenomenon is proof that adventure fiction always has room for new worlds—especially ones that are as interactive as they are imaginative.
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Watch JBat’s video here: