The Architect, who begins with the setting—crafting landscapes, lore, and systems until the story grows naturally from the world itself (J.R.R. Tolkien)?
The Storycrafter, who starts with a strong plot—shaping the world and characters to serve a compelling narrative arc (J.K. Rowling)?
The Psychologist, who builds from the inside out—creating vivid, complex characters whose choices shape the world and drive the story (George R.R. Martin)?
The Philosopher, who begins with a theme—exploring big ideas and moral questions through a world built to embody and test them (C.S. Lewis)?
The Engineer, who uses mechanical systems as a world scaffold - building characters, stories, and lore to support and explore those systems (Brandon Sanderson)?

Which one best describes your process? Or do you switch between them depending on the project?

EDIT: Added The Engineer thanks to CaptSatelliteJack

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[–] Zonetrooper@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Not sure I fit any?

Like, for one, if anything I'd call myself a Storyless Architect: I'm not building a setting so a story will eventually merge from it, I'm building it because I enjoy creating stuff. It's a hobby!

For the other setting, I'd say I'm somewhere between the Architect and the Philosopher: The broad concepts and major aspects of the setting were self-emergent, but the grew up in parallel with some key themes I wanted to put out there.

[–] jack_indaboks@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Well said. I really resonate with the notion of worlbuilding just for the world's sake. My wife is the Psychologist type and enjoys populating my world with meaningful characters and the stories they create, but for me the world istelf is the point. And I think Tolkien was in the same camp.