Summer Camp 2024: Let's Get Preppin'

Summer Camp Prep

Progress: 4/4

Summer Camp Progress

Progress: 3/16

Will I be able to juggle playing the Dawntrail expansion of FFXIV as well as completing the prompts for Summer Camp? Only time will tell!

— SunlanceXII

Week 1: get yourself organized!

Theme of the week: CHANGE

• Assignment 1
  Considering the kinds of change

  Change is a big part of Amalgia. For those of you that aren't familiar with the world, you can check out the Two Worlds, Colliding article for an overview. The gist is, everything has changed for the people of Amalgia - or rather, the people of Materis and Dyrethreed, who now find themselves at war on a world eerily familiar, yet wholly different to their own worlds.

  In terms of what changes would fit - well, there are a lot of players trying to create change all across the world. From vying for peace, or creating a land fit only for the survival of their fellow countrymen. And where individuals aren't concerned, the magic coming from the Rift is changing both the landscape and the people closest to it, which could well crescendo into a world ending catastrophe!

• Assignment 2
  Pledge goal

  Normally, I'd go all in for that Diamond badge. But I've taken a look at my schedule and I've planned accordingly. This year, what with a lot of my time in July no doubt being consumed by the release of the FFXIV expansion Dawntrail, I think 16 prompts is more than enough to contend with.

  Although that's not to say I might not complete more prompts! But after how well WorldEmber went last year, I'm sticking to my guns and tempering my own expectations. That way, it'll be a lovely surprise if I do end up completing more prompts than planned.

• Assignment 3
  Categories and tags

  The benefit of doing WorldEmber last year (and also this being a relatively new world) means that my categories and tags are actually organised! Hurray!

  That said, this is no doubt bound to change once the prompts are revealed, but I've got a plan in mind to keep on top of that. Unlike previous years, I want to categorise my SC articles as I'm going instead of just leaving them floating in the uncategorised worldbuilding void, so there's bound to be some new additions to the category tree.

  If you're following along, I'll link my SC articles here too, or you can look out for the following tags: challenges, summer-camp, and summer-camp-2024

• Assignment 4
  World Meta / Primer
  I really need to sort out Amalgia's meta at some point. However, you can use the aforementioned Two Worlds, Colliding primer to get a decent overview of the world and what themes to expect.

Week 2!

Theme of the week: REFUGE

• Assignment 1
  Considering the kinds of refuge

  In a world where everything has changed so suddenly and violently, displacement is common (and a theme that I have already touched upon in other articles). Naturally, it leads to trying to find refuge.

  Sometimes, that refuge might be a simple thing. A single person might find comfort out in the wilderness, with only a campfire, a tent and supplies for company. A group may be looking to rebuild a city, working against the odds, so that they might one day have a place they can call home and where the conflicts of the world are unable to penetrate the city's walls. For others, perhaps the place doesn't matter so much as the people they are with, finding comfort in that familiar companionship instead.

• Assignment 2
  Accountability

  As always when it comes to accountability with WA challenges, my personal friend group are going to be my go to. Although I'll also try and stay organised with a bit of a schedule, which should help, but if I just stuck with that then I wouldn't have an accountability buddy! I may also share progress on the WA Discord server!

What are friends for, if not to give you a gentle nudge and say "Hey, have you worked on any of those Summer Camp prompts yet?"

— SunlanceXII

• Assignment 3
  Styling

  Styling, styling, styling! I'm always conscious of making sure I break up my articles, either with an image, a quote (can't get me enough of some sweet in-universe quotes / snippets), or even just a block that's styled differently. Every little helps, even a slight colour change, to ensure that you've not just written up a wall of text.

  With worldbuilding, avoiding that wall of text can be hard some times. We're trying to write down all the important lore and exposition, after all! But I think I've done a pretty good job of breaking things up already - like in the Materian or Honourhold articles - although I'm always looking to improve upon it!

• Assignment 4
  CSS Upgrades

  Whilst I don't have any CSS upgrades in mind right now, I'm no doubt going to come across some tweaks that I want to make here or there when I start those SC prompt articles. It just seems inevitable!

  That said, I do want to do a review to make sure the CSS makes sense on mobile, but that's mainly minor bits - something I can totally work on in July leave until after Summer Camp.

Week 3!

Theme of the week: BELIEF

• Assignment 1
  Considering the kinds of belief
  The most prominent beliefs for Amalgia are probably going to be legends and tales about the past and how the world was a haven before the Coalescence. There's also going to be the belief that people have in each other, that drives them towards what they hope will be a better, brighter tomorrow. But belief in a higher power? That's tested, massively, when your whole world is flipped on its axis, because it really does look like whatever gods there may have been have foresaken you. That's not to say that some people won't start looking elsewhere for a higher power to believe in...
• Assignment 2
  Inspiration
  Below are a few musical inspirations and a couple of 'ambient' music vids that fit the vibe - those two ambient vids I've added in because sometimes having music on with lyrics can be distracting when I'm writing, but I still want help getting into the writing headspace!

• Assignment 3
  Maps & Images
  I've already got a world map, hand drawn by myself on a bit of paper, which you might have already seen. But I've dropped that below with a couple of images that I've already added to articles in Amalgia.

Map of Amalgia by SunlanceX

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Week 4!

Theme of the week: DECAY

• Assignment 1
  Consider the kinds of decay that fit in with the world

  Perhaps the major point is the decay of the world itself. With Amalgia being this tangled mess of both Materis and Dyrethreed, the two worlds not converging properly, means that each and every day sees Amalgia in decline. This one is obviously a slow decay of the state of, or rather the very fibre of the world, but definitely causes the most concern across the globe.

  Then there are other, maybe not more trivial, but either localised or specific forms of decay. For example, the good old “out with the old, in with the new” approach when it comes to organisations that existed prior to the Coalescence versus those created after it. Some of these may have fallen quite quickly, whilst others may have seen a slow decline as more and more people realised that the organisation no longer had a purpose. Though of course there will always be a few who manage to adapt and survive.

  As for the suggestion of moral decay. I’ve already noted down morality as one of the big themes of Amalgia in the Two Worlds, Colliding article, so you can bet on seeing me playing with this a lot. Especially when exploring how loose a character may let their morals become when fighting towards their personal goals, or if they might even break those morals entirely.

• Assignment 2
  Optimise your environment

  For me, I feel like ‘focus modes’ or even trying to schedule time in to do worldbuilding never works, because I just never stick to it! If I’m in the mood to write, nothing’s going to stop me, and the inverse of that is also true!

  However, as a bare minimum I can try and keep my workspace clean and clear of distractions. I’m already trying (key word here!) to get into better habits when it comes to cleaning, but those are on less of a strict schedule and more “at some point over the next week, make sure you clean / dust your desk” just as an example. Which works slightly better.

• Assignment 3
  Review your homepage
  I actually already did this for WorldEmber and am quite happy with how it is currently! Especially as I’m still ironing out some of the import lore bits, so I don’t think this one needs a review yet. If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out!

Table of Contents

Nnie's Camp Chill Guidelines

Camp Chill (ID 4574878) by Rin Garnett

- Remember the prompts are suggestions, not requirements.

- Write what you're passionate about, leave what you aren't.

- Relax when you feel tired.

- Fight off any pesky brain-squitos trying to make you doubt your work.

- Don't abandon your non-summercamp goals! Write that article you're itching to write, even if it doesn't fit any prompts.


(Shared with permission from Annie Stein. Read her thoughts on 'Camp Chill' on her Camp Pledge.)

To use this block on your own camp pages: [block:1050823]

SC 2024 Articles