Custom worlds are far more fun.
Here are some tips, from someone who’s never made a custom game yet with a custom world or anything (But I am planning on doing so).
- Name your world.
- Draw up a little map. It doesn’t have to be great. Or good. Like, at all. Here was my first, second, and final/most recent designs for my own world maps. As you can see, the first map was pretty awful. The names have also significantly changed.
- Give some names to different areas on the map. What does each place do? Is that coastal region good at fishing? Is there a barbarian horde running around rampant? Where do(es) the protagonist(s) start? If there’s a big bad guy in the game, where is he located? Does he have allies? Does the player? Write up a bit of history for each area, just write whatever comes to mind, since this is a first draft. You’ll further refine it later.
- Once you’ve thought about how everything interacts, write a basic outline for the story. What has been the history of the world, overall? Has the world been ravaged by war? Local civil disputes? Marauders destroying the land? Peace and prosperity? Don’t worry about cliches, EVERYTHING is a cliche. There is a 0.0001% chance you’ll come up with a story premise that’s new.
- Now, think about your characters. What are their backstories? Is the main lord a noble? A prince(ss)? A soldier fighting against corruption? A peasant dreaming of glory? What about the people he will meet, where do they come from? What do they wish to do? Given that FE specializes in giving each character a quirk or two to liven them up (Bartre is dumb as a rock, Canas is such a nerd that he doesn’t understand humor, the lords are all boring except Hector who’s a badass, etc) you may choose to do the same. Try not to let their quirk… define them. Everyone’s seen the clumsy inept mage, but a clumsy inept mage who has a love of flowers and is terrified of kittens could be more amusing and memorable.
The reason I suggest all of this is so you don’t just write your game as it comes to you. By giving yourself an outline, you’re less likely to fill in plot holes with bullshit and confuse the player. The point of the world map is so you have an idea of geography and positioning for story event and game maps. If a particular chapter takes part on a coastline, include the sea in the map, and make reference by the characters of the fishing exploits of the local village. It adds depth and believability to your game and world, and takes it from being “Random game about hero killing bad guys with a bunch of uninteresting companions” to a game that can wow people, get you viewers and players, and maybe even get you friends who want to make stuff for you, if you don’t know how to do that yourself.
You also avoid the pitfall of turning people off, Dr. Sholes style, by having to beg for mugs and maps.