On my end, I adore worldbuilding and lore. It gives so much to a story if it is executed correctly. I don’t care if this is in a novel, a video game, or an interactive story. I would say, as far as my personal interests rest, knowing the lore and the world of your game/story is very important within fantasy and science fiction.
Writing what you know is easier in areas that are based on real-life or off of revisioned life experiences. Having magic, fantasy worlds, a train that goes between realities? Those are things that are harder to “know” as they don’t actually exist within our world.
I think part of my love of lore and worldbuilding lies in the fact I can’t actually visualize a scene I’m reading, so the extra lore and worldbuilding weaved into the story help draw me in deeper because it tells me more about what’s going on.
When it comes to exposition, remembering scenes are hit-and-miss. Sometimes it’s just thrown into our faces and jars me from the story. It’s usually better when the “remembering” parts come from conversations or from subtle observations that might be made.
Time Dilation. Now that’s a fun, new turn of phrase. And one I enjoy.
Flashbacks can provide a very good push forward in a story, I feel. Again, if done correctly. Fallen Hero did it well, from what I can recall. I’ll have to go back and read it again to be sure, though. I remember enjoying that particular story quite a lot.
As MeltingPenguins had stated, the three sorts of knowledge are also important. I have documents of stories I’ve worked on that are 40-70 pages filled with information about the world, the plot, characters – and most of it no one but me would know. I’m a heavy plotter, and it’s because of this I’ve taken a step back from my own Interactive Stories.
I was having a hard time figuring out how to actually plot an IF story, and my brain crashed rather spectacularly. Now I’m working on figuring out how to plot an IF story that has multiple, branching pathways – I’ve tried Twine, but I don’t like it.
I think the largest thing to consider, as far as lore and worldbuilding go, is the sort of story you’re telling. Some don’t need a lot of it (or much at all) while others would do with a lot more in it. I’m a fan of Wayhaven, for instance. Not for the characters or the romance, but for the way Wayhaven, the town itself, is made ‘real’ to me.
Bits and pieces of the town itself are sprinkled in with enough detail that I can think, ‘Yeah, that sounds like what I would recognize as a police station.’ Sometimes worldbuilding lies in the small details, from what I’ve experienced.
And with all the above done and said, I’ll leave this ungodly long post as is.
Have a wonderful day! 