I remember vividly playing Morrowind when I was a teenager. This game is massive, apparently before voice acting, it was real easy to populate a world with a lot of people you can actually interact with. These people had interconnected stories that spanned the whole game map. You just had to be willing to read it all, and I was.
There was this amazing feeling of discovery as you explored this world. Stuff you would read in books, would be relevant to the world. There was history, mythology, culture, racism, class hierchies, guilds, a crab with money and a whole world to explore. What really sucked me in is how realistic it all felt. The more you played, the more Tamriel was revealed to you.
One of the things that made Bethesda amazing (until Starfield) was the way they invested not just in world building, but in context and lore.
Lore is the history
Arguably lore is a part of world-building. It’s the folklore, and less defined characteristics of the world. Well done lore will leave hidden glimpses and snapshots that imply things, but leave more questions than answers. It’s also the clearly define history on a subject, as recorded by people.
When looking at the history books in Skryim, there are actually conflicting reports based on the source. There is poetry and religious texts. There are legends and all kinds of unsubstantiated claims. There is probably some master document over at Bethesda but what we get is conversations and text in game.
What makes it crazier is as you play the game, you will encounter things from those books. Maybe there is a Daedric God that is described to be awful in folklore. Then you find their temple and there are clues to their personality. Maybe even a quest. It is often just something you can stumble into, although as time goes on, the more games make sure you find it all.
World building is all kinds of stuff that makes it believable. There may be definitive characters and questlines with clear answers. There are cities and structures. There are cups on the table and food vendors. The way people dress and stuff needs to be cohesive.
Then there is lore. This is often less visible. It would explore why the people dress that way. It’s stuff you can discover and put together that makes a world more believable. This may include things like the history and geography, and the world-bulding in general. Now as a game gets more shallow (as arguably newer Bethesda games are) the lore is more transparent and less mystery surrounds it. I stole that idea from this guy.
Ultimately lore is history. Both confirmed fact and urban legend, that make up the universe. Juicy lore will leave mysteries that can be debated.
Your brand needs to have lore and a history
There should be some story behind what you represent. Some of the greatest acts in music are mysterious. There are hidden elements and clues that may, or may not represent something. Successful artists will often say nothing on the topic, leaving their fans to wonder.
Whether it be discoveries in a game, or hidden layers behind a lyric, having that extra layer of depth gives people something to scratch below the surface for. In my case there is this phenomenon with pickles, which has an organic timeline that played out. There is confirmed fact.
There is also a lot of ambiguity. It’s just randomly sprinkled into things I do. I share pickle related content. It’s something where at this point, so much time has passed, you are probably very far removed from the song this used to promote. Now I sell pickle related clothing items, stuff you can find on this very site in the shop.
Some people think I like pickles. Some people know the truth. Either way, the whole pickle backstory is another layer to the onion that is my brand. As I really branch out into my artistic vision I want to create a world for my protagonist, that is my musical persona. While it is based on me, I want to play with storytelling and drop Easter Eggs. I want people to be able to comb through my stuff and notice subtle things that were deliberate.
I think one of the best examples of this is the ARG (Alternate Reality Game). This is a multi-media phenomenon that captivates puzzle-solving communities. Check out this video and prepare for a rabbit hole.
A lot of this turns into detailed marketing campaigns. However the deeper the lore, the more lit the reddit and YouTube community that surrounds it. Just look at famous artists with a lot of history to unpack.
Real life plus fantasy life equals a good brand
You need to take time and dream. Understand where you are going over the next 10 years. Is it yachts and ho’s? Bet, that’s a focal point for your brand. Are you a social activist? Are you going to disappear and be a hermit? Are you just trying to unstick your brain?
Your current life presents a status quo. Within that, there are things you do, experiences you get that other people aspire to be. Tapping into that is a proper foundation for your brand. This is the real deal history side of your lore. The stories you witnessed or experienced that you can share with the world, so they can relate with you.
Simultaneously, you need to have some fantasy sprinkled in. Talk about the person you will become and the experiences you dream about. Doing this will make it less clear what parts of your bars are real deal and which parts are conjecture. Basically, you’ll give them some stuff to talk about.
When you present yourself online, take some time to consider what you are really trying to say. Whether it be with images/videos or text. Try and find ways to callback to classic moments of your past or establish new trends for the future. It’s on you to paint the canvas with things people will latch onto.
Basically try a little harder than just looking good. Make it mean something.
I really encourage people to explore some of the lore behind successful video game franchises. Even if you never play the games, you’ll start to see the kinds of things that make people gravitate towards a community for years. Ultimately that is what you are trying to achieve to become commercially viable.
Hope you found some new stuff to look into with this one.
Live Long and Prosper Everyone
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