Högskolan i Skövde

This Master’s thesis in Media, Aesthetics, and Narration can be viewed as a pilot study which examines the intricacies of worldbuilding in dystopian settings, emphasizing the impact of different starting points—micro and macro perspectives—on the creation process. Given the vast scope of worldbuilding, the thesis narrows its focus to these two approaches: the micro perspective, which delves into detailed elements like character and setting specifics, and the macro perspective, which considers broader societal structures and overarching narratives. To evaluate these approaches, a visual model was developed and tested by a narrative student and a senior UX designer, and applied to two distinct dystopian video game settings. Through analysis and evaluation, the thesis aims to provide insights into the worldbuilding process, fostering understanding and discussion about micro and macro approaches in dystopian fiction and contributing to ongoing research in narratology and world crafting.