world-builder

noun

world-build·​er ˈwərl(d)-ˈbil-dər 

variants or world builder

plural world-builders or world builders

: someone who creates a detailed fictional world (especially within the science fiction and fantasy genres) that enhances their storytelling : someone who engages in world-building

[JooYoung] Choi … is a world-builder: over the course of a decade, she's developed … a highly detailed, imaginary world—think J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth or J. K. Rowling's Hogwarts—through film, paintings, and sculptures.

—Molly Glentzer

Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006) is a writer, creator, world-builder and genius who made room in the white male-dominated science fiction world for works with African American female leads.

—Vi Ha

It was all in the name of fostering intimacy both in the game's quiet moments and its savage ones, says Bruce Straley, the game's director and one of its key world builders.

—Todd Martens

And while [George] Lucas is a natural-born world builder, many will tell you the influence that gave the franchise its pace and tone of romantic, swashbuckling fun was co-editor, and Lucas' then-wife, Marcia Lucas.

—Drew Turney

Word History

First Known Use

1989, in the meaning defined above