#big dumb objects

[prokopetz]

Big Dumb Objects are of course essential to fantasy worldbuilding, but I feel like a lot of settings needlessly limit themselves in terms of what they can be shaped like. Ooh, it's an enigmatic monolith. Oh, it's a giant inexplicable human face. Wow, it's a really big tree. Next time give your setting a mountain in the exact shape of a coffee mug – that'll really make 'em wonder.

[espanolbot2]

Trope Talk: Big Dumb Objects

[bkfrgr-blog]

Friday Fives: MacGuffins!

Art credit: Sxwx at 123RF.com (to the best of our knowledge, this art is not AI-generated).   I love a MacGuffin/Big Dumb Object (and yes, I’m using these terms interchangeably for the purposes of this list), as described by Alfred Hitchcock: “the thing that the characters on screen worry about, but the audience don’t care”, or the mysterious thing that sets a plot going, keeps things ticking…

Friday Fives: MacGuffins!

[frothlad]

So this is probably obvious, but mega dungeons in D&D are very similar to BDOs in science fiction.

Inscrutable in purpose, exploration centered, unexpected antagonists, mysterious puzzles to solve in order to advance or escape.

I’m not sure what to do with this inference. Reskin a BDO SF novel as a D&D adventure? Something like that.

[ingmar-albizu]

What's Behind Our Fascination With Big Dumb Objects?

What’s Behind Our Fascination With Big Dumb Objects?

Megastructures in Space The monolith from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey Big Dumb Objects (BDOs) is a beloved science fiction trope in which humans encounter an abandoned giant structure in outer space of unknown origin. What could be scarier to humans than finding actual aliens? How about finding giant pieces of advanced technology created by god-like beings? Not quite a first encounter…

View On WordPress