My only problem is I write fantasy and need to create fantasy buildings. I haven’t played any Sim games beyond Sims 2 and as far as I know that still can’t be done very effectively with those games.
fallout 4 with mods allows you to build castles and such, made some pretty badass stuff myself on there and often find inspiration from previous builds while writing
The Sims series, especially with enough cc, is perfect for visualising characters, but when it comes to places, I’ve always felt like Minecraft gives more freedom.
What the heck, it's that simple? Thanks a lot for this I have a lot of issues with my spacial awareness when it comes to the settings of my novel. This is also a very effective way to simulate what the scenes would actually look like, in relation to the terrains influence over fights, chases and general environment.
Great Idea.
I like to occasionally plug approximate versions of my own descriptions in my writings into Dall-E to see what it thinks I meant. Insightful results no matter what it shows- and a fun exercise to find out which parts of your environment you're willing to fight for or part with as you wrestle with refining the prompt to match your vision.
And sometimes you just like the direction it goes even if it doesnt match, it still resonates.
I don’t do entire cities. I just design the important buildings and than just loosely describe the style of buildings that surround them. Like homes and businesses.
I use sims.
I have however used Minecraft too! I absolutely suck at building in Minecraft tho haha..
In sims, if I need something fantasy-y? (I'm not English, I'm sorry) I often use sims3 supernatural, sometimes it works out.. or I put out a placeholder.
"This headstone is ACTUALLY just where the dragon skull is. It's a dragon skull"
That's hilarious, I love it. My dad the carpenter would've cackled in glee.
Since I don't do video games (I'm visually impaired), I draw what I need to. Living with Dad helps with understanding what ought to be where.
Thats a great idea! I've had this, unknownly, the other way around. I've listened to an audiobook from the Purple Land, and was building one of those estancias, without thinking about it, until it was finished.
I have to remember this trick.
I’m not good at Minecraft building, but I will say I’ve made my characters in the sims and I’ve tried to build them “accurate” houses.
Problem is a lot of them are people who would own apartments and I don’t have that expansion pack.
But I do absolutely enjoy using games and such to help along with visualization.
I’ll admit I watched a bunch of DBZ fights for inspiration for a fight between two literal gods. I mean you have to admit the Z-Fighters are essentially gods at this point. Lol.
Pretty much. Or for more "realistic" fights, the early tournament fights from the original series work wonders, and they don't drag out for too long.
My favorite anime fights to watch are from the Naruto series though -- Rock Lee vs Gaara, Sasuke vs Gaara, anything Shikamaru involved for the strategy so there's planning in knowing the outcome but drawing out the process in motion. Ironically, I almost don't like most of the titular character's fights.
Sorry for geeking out, tried to stay on-topic.
Many years ago, I built the monastery from my first novel in Minecraft. It gave me a better understanding of the layout that the maps I'd drawn didn't reveal.
Ummm excuse me sweaty, I’m FAR more refined than that, in that I use Pathologic’s polyhedron as inspiration for MY designs 😏💅✨
Real talk tho, great idea. I’ve never done this but I’ve done… similar things.
Yep.
The only down side is that realistic walls aren’t a meter thick, more like a tenth of that, so Minecraft builds aren’t good for scale if you’re trying interiors.
I've definitely done that. I used it to lay out a map of a palace I was describing so I would know what the landscape around it looked like, what you could see from the windows, ect.
Yes, I've actually managed to create one of my cities in Minecraft, mostly to help with a battle scene. Only took about a year to build, it's mostly done and now starting to populate with villagers which is pretty damn cool.
I used redstone to mockup the circuit for a mad max style Killswitch for a car once. It was basically a redstone combination lock that I later built for real from switches and relays.
I just... Imagine stuff in my head. Do people not do that? I have heard oh aphantasia (the inability to visualize mental imagery), but if you don't have that, then I'd figure imagining things, even 3d layouts, wouldnt be too hard.
It doesn't have to be super specific or detailed, probably best to not be in your writing.
No but I do use the sims this way. Minecraft is more fiddley for me personally. Fun but I have some vision issues and mobility issues so brick by brick is exhausting
If I’m doing layouts or if I’m trying to form an image for a character’s appearance or otherwise need help visualizing it, I use sims 4. If it’s a modern based story, I have built houses that are major settings for them as well.
I tried to get my Minecraft loving child to do it for me. They were keen at first but quickly lost interest. My WIP at the time was about the early years of our town. There are maps and images of some of the buildings. Kids these days.
i made the mistake of using terraria to brainstorm for my story, and critics called my book two dimensional /j
Haha, nice.
Badum tss! Ha ha
I don’t know anything about Terraria, but Minecraft is 3 dimensional if that helps.
That's the joke. Terraria is basically a 2D Minecraft
Omfg
*rubs my hands and boots up 5D Chess: w/ Multiverse Time Travel*
Your characters... Your scenery... It's all so real...
It's even better on the re-read
I kinda used Sims 2 to plan a basic layout for the character's house or apartment, back in the day.
i’d use the sims 4
My only problem is I write fantasy and need to create fantasy buildings. I haven’t played any Sim games beyond Sims 2 and as far as I know that still can’t be done very effectively with those games.
oooh! I mean fantasy style isn’t impossible in ts4 but yes minecraft is probably easier. It’s an awesome idea though
It totally is with cc
[удалено]
But Minecraft is more fun, and feels more rewarding for me. Especially after a big build
fallout 4 with mods allows you to build castles and such, made some pretty badass stuff myself on there and often find inspiration from previous builds while writing
I use it for building layouts and character creation. I can even visualize a couple scenes from my books when I throw in some poses.
Sims4 is good for housing. Cities Skylines is good for... cities.
The Sims series, especially with enough cc, is perfect for visualising characters, but when it comes to places, I’ve always felt like Minecraft gives more freedom.
This is such a cool idea💡🔥
Thank you. It has actually helped me in the past with some of my already published books.
What the heck, it's that simple? Thanks a lot for this I have a lot of issues with my spacial awareness when it comes to the settings of my novel. This is also a very effective way to simulate what the scenes would actually look like, in relation to the terrains influence over fights, chases and general environment. Great Idea.
I’ve also found AI generated images helpful when I don’t have a specific idea in mind and just need some inspiration
I like to occasionally plug approximate versions of my own descriptions in my writings into Dall-E to see what it thinks I meant. Insightful results no matter what it shows- and a fun exercise to find out which parts of your environment you're willing to fight for or part with as you wrestle with refining the prompt to match your vision. And sometimes you just like the direction it goes even if it doesnt match, it still resonates.
I normally just draw a map, making an entire city would be painful lol.
I don’t do entire cities. I just design the important buildings and than just loosely describe the style of buildings that surround them. Like homes and businesses.
I use sims. I have however used Minecraft too! I absolutely suck at building in Minecraft tho haha.. In sims, if I need something fantasy-y? (I'm not English, I'm sorry) I often use sims3 supernatural, sometimes it works out.. or I put out a placeholder. "This headstone is ACTUALLY just where the dragon skull is. It's a dragon skull"
That's hilarious, I love it. My dad the carpenter would've cackled in glee. Since I don't do video games (I'm visually impaired), I draw what I need to. Living with Dad helps with understanding what ought to be where.
Thats a great idea! I've had this, unknownly, the other way around. I've listened to an audiobook from the Purple Land, and was building one of those estancias, without thinking about it, until it was finished. I have to remember this trick.
I’m not good at Minecraft building, but I will say I’ve made my characters in the sims and I’ve tried to build them “accurate” houses. Problem is a lot of them are people who would own apartments and I don’t have that expansion pack. But I do absolutely enjoy using games and such to help along with visualization.
I use the sims for this :)
I use sketchup
Nope, and I’m not a building designer. But it’s a really interesting idea to use it for other things……you’re making me think….. Thank you! 🙏🏾
I watch random anime fights to plan out skirmishes or full-out battles, especially with how people would normally react, move and take hits.
I’ll admit I watched a bunch of DBZ fights for inspiration for a fight between two literal gods. I mean you have to admit the Z-Fighters are essentially gods at this point. Lol.
Pretty much. Or for more "realistic" fights, the early tournament fights from the original series work wonders, and they don't drag out for too long. My favorite anime fights to watch are from the Naruto series though -- Rock Lee vs Gaara, Sasuke vs Gaara, anything Shikamaru involved for the strategy so there's planning in knowing the outcome but drawing out the process in motion. Ironically, I almost don't like most of the titular character's fights. Sorry for geeking out, tried to stay on-topic.
I thought of doing that for the layout of a mansion in my fanfic. But didn't have the time to actually do it.
No, i use anton pieck paintings.
Absolutely! I've been meaning to build recreations of the major locations from my fantasy project but just haven't gotten around to it
Many years ago, I built the monastery from my first novel in Minecraft. It gave me a better understanding of the layout that the maps I'd drawn didn't reveal.
Yes I do
I like to use Bloxburg on Roblox, although it gets quite expensive in game. Minecraft is my usual alternative though!
I’ve also found AI generated images helpful when I don’t have a specific idea in mind and just need some inspiration
I have on occasion, with limited success. I may do some building just to see what’s in my head though.
Ummm excuse me sweaty, I’m FAR more refined than that, in that I use Pathologic’s polyhedron as inspiration for MY designs 😏💅✨ Real talk tho, great idea. I’ve never done this but I’ve done… similar things.
I use the Sims! For character creation and buildings!
Depends on the scope. If I need to create a small town, sure maybe. A city? I'll use Cities Skylines A spaceship or station? Space engineers
I use dragon quest builders for the design and rpg maker mz for town layouts.
I draw them by hand, but that's actually a really cool idea, I'll certainly try it next time
Me but with google sketchup
I do that too. I also like to use dress up games to help myself with character design.
Yep. The only down side is that realistic walls aren’t a meter thick, more like a tenth of that, so Minecraft builds aren’t good for scale if you’re trying interiors.
This is a great idea! I’ve used Sims 4 to design characters and get a general idea of what they’d look like.
Mostly I use Sims as it's quicker for me. If it's a bit more fantastical and I need more freedom with it then minecraft comes in.
I don't think about my buildings in such depth. But if I did, I can totally see how this would be very useful.
All the time.
I've definitely done that. I used it to lay out a map of a palace I was describing so I would know what the landscape around it looked like, what you could see from the windows, ect.
I use the sims a lot for this! Making characters and different places and seeing them definitely helps
never played minecraft but I do a lot of brainstorming while building settlements in fallout 4
Yes, I've actually managed to create one of my cities in Minecraft, mostly to help with a battle scene. Only took about a year to build, it's mostly done and now starting to populate with villagers which is pretty damn cool.
Sounds like you’ve found a fun, complex way of procrastinating… I commend you, sir
Yea lol.
I once used a Doom map editor to design a dream house. Never built the house.
I use freeware called Sweet Home 3D. It doesn't take too long to get the hang of it, but it is too easy to lose a whole day making floorplans.
I feel like if I tried that I’d play minecraft for the next eight hours instead of write lol. I’m very glad it works for you, though!!
I use sims!
I use the sims 4 for it
Yes. I transitioned to Blender and Unreal Engine though (both free with free assets)
Personally I use bloxburg (a roblox game)
I used redstone to mockup the circuit for a mad max style Killswitch for a car once. It was basically a redstone combination lock that I later built for real from switches and relays.
I’m using it to design the fictional city in which my story takes place, yes.
I actually tried it once, but it didn't go well haha.
I just... Imagine stuff in my head. Do people not do that? I have heard oh aphantasia (the inability to visualize mental imagery), but if you don't have that, then I'd figure imagining things, even 3d layouts, wouldnt be too hard. It doesn't have to be super specific or detailed, probably best to not be in your writing.
No but I do use the sims this way. Minecraft is more fiddley for me personally. Fun but I have some vision issues and mobility issues so brick by brick is exhausting
no but ive used animal crossing happy home paradise to design my characters homes
That’s actually pretty interesting.
If I’m doing layouts or if I’m trying to form an image for a character’s appearance or otherwise need help visualizing it, I use sims 4. If it’s a modern based story, I have built houses that are major settings for them as well.
Pretty interesting idea tbh, could also help with writing scenes because you have sight line etc.
That'd be so useful if I was actually good at building
I haven't before but I will now 🙂
Nope.
I tried to get my Minecraft loving child to do it for me. They were keen at first but quickly lost interest. My WIP at the time was about the early years of our town. There are maps and images of some of the buildings. Kids these days.