53 - Netflix's Arcane - Worldbuilding Analysis

I think Arcane surprised everyone. Video game adaptations are seldom well received but this one exceeded all expectations and told a heartfelt story filled with interesting characters and fascinating world-building. I can count on one hand the people I know who didn't actively love this show. Let's break down what it did well, what may have missed the mark, and (most importantly) what we can learn and apply ourselves. This episode is a bit of an experiment in a new format of show where I, James, take moment to analyze content and seek to extract the gold from it.

Key Takeaways

• Factions are incredibly powerful tools to leverage in character development and a sign of a well constructed world. Take time on understanding your factions goals and motivations, assign them to your characters and you'll unlock a layer of nuance as you develop them further.
• Take your time in your setting. Arcane, possibly due to its genre, zipped through some areas of the setting I'd like to have lingered on for longer. Don't be afraid to slow down the pace to let your visitants imbibe your setting to the fullest.
• Express the uniqueness of your setting. Arcane has some distinctive features that separate it from genre but I think the show could've done more to step outside of its genre's boundaries and create a world where an audience can find themselves exploring the setting.
• Make your world four dimensional. Arcane excels at expressing the passage of time. It's world develops to accommodate time leaps that feel grounded and realistic without becoming distracting. Don't let your world stagnate, allow the natural progression to occur as time moves on.

Links and Sundry

• Schnee - this YouTuber does excellent analysis on Arcane and is criminally undersubscribed for his quality. Please take a moment to consider his work.
• Arcane and Microexpressions - Arcane broke the mold on animation and allowed deeply nuanced expressions to shine through on their characters.
• Steelstash - on our Discord Server introduced some really neat ideas here. He's part of the Black Dragon Dungeon Company and these guys are worth your time and make fantastic products. Check them out.

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