Fantasy Environments: What makes Fantasy Cities so Popular?

Fantasy cities have their own character. Their attitude, their way of life, is dependent on several factors:

• How long ago a city was founded. The older it gets, the more bogged down in traditions it gets and thus more resistant to change.
• Its position on a landmass. Coastal cities are constantly exposed to new ideas. People in these places are more outgoing, more carefree as opposed to those in the interior who are more reserved and pragmatic.
• The attitude of its leader. Cities with vibrant leadership are cheerful, engaging, and full of personality. On the other hand, under the iron fist of a tyrant, they’re depressing and falling apart.
• Its people. The mood of its populace indicates how things are going at the moment. A happy, content people illustrates prosperity. A panic-stricken people means it could be war, a crime wave, or an economic downturn.
• The building style. While cities change throughout the centuries, their building styles change little. The styles used reflect what they believe in. This will be expanded more in the next section.
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In many cases, the city’s architecture matches the area it’s in. A city located on the bottom of a mountain will have quaint, cozy cottages unlike that of an warm maritime city where its buildings have an open-like feeling to bring in the pleasant breezes throughout the year.

Roads are an important component of a city’s ambience. They facilitate traffic, which brings money that eventually goes in the city’s coffers. They also help foster development which expands the city’s boundaries. As such, many locales place a heavy focus on designing and maintaining them. The type of road used also depends on the area the city’s in. Dirt roads are great for small towns out in the middle of nowhere and brick or stone roads go in large urban centers like capitals.

Fantasy cities play an important role throughout the story. They are where major events that alter the story’s trajectory occur. Murder, crowning a monarch, and a secret meeting are just some of a myriad of things that could drastically affect the rest of the story.

Capital cities are more integral to the plot than others. They are where the ruler of the kingdom dwells. Every decision he makes from his throne affects the city whether he decides to go to war with a neighboring country or if he decides to travel abroad. Capitals also are filled with intrigue as spies from other nations endeavor to find out the latest going-ons. Besides the monarch, other government leaders like those of the military call the capital home. 

As the story progresses, the city too changes. Some stories feature a changing of the guard as one ruler replaces another. Or a building that appeared in the beginning underwent a renovation throughout the story. The changes keep the city feeling fresh and keeps your audience interested in what’ll happen next. They also serve as a reminder of the passage of time.

Another purpose they serve is to introduce the audience to a larger world than the one they’ve seen up to now. This means bringing in new characters, both major and minor, who have their own quirks and personalities. The audience also learns about faraway places they’re just now hearing about for the first time and what’s going on there, as well as new characters who will appear later in the story. Hearing about all these places and characters in fantasy cities not only adds a layer of reality as everyone wants to know what’s going on in other places but it also foreshadows where the story will go, for these events will soon take center stage in the story.