Venturing Past the Possible: The Process of Worldbuilding

🎲 Venturing Past the Possible – The Process of Worldbuilding Many wargames unfold within a larger imagined world: a “road to war” or alternative future that gives meaning to the decisions players are asked to make. The challenge is building those worlds in a way that feels fictional, yet plausible; scoped, yet rich; abstract, yet human.

In this talk, Ian Brown walks through his personal process for constructing fictional but believable alternative futures to support nested narrative design in wargames. Drawing on his own design practice, Ian will explore how intentional worldbuilding helps scenario designers define scope, embed granularity and plausibility, and introduce human stakes that make outcomes feel real to players.

This session does not present the way to build immersive scenarios, but a way, offering a practical, adaptable framework for designers looking to deepen realism, narrative coherence, and player engagement in their games.

🗓 February 7, 2026

🕘 8:00…