Then and Now: A Powerful Look at Time Travel in the World

Two pictures depicting the same mountain range in 2 time periods with a blue sky and white clouds. The left shows it in springtime with a green grassy plain and the right shows it in fall with a reddish-orange grassy plain. The center mountain on the right no longer has its top whereas the one on the left does. This is an example how time travel in the world showcases 2 periods of the same world.
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Sunfire

CONTENTS

Introduction

In our previous article we explored how to feature time travel in the story in a way that kept the audience invested and not weaken the overall plot. What the audience sees is just a part of a larger world that has a lot of storytelling potential. In this one we take a step beyond, this time taking a look at how time travel in the world shapes it.

Traveling through time isn’t just for storytelling purposes; it changes the world and in many different ways, some good and bad. Though viewers are treated to seeing a different version of the world they’ve been getting to know, they learn more about it. They then use that knowledge to gain a better understanding of the present-day world.

How does time travel in the world affect the surroundings when the protagonist departs the one he knows to enter a wholly different one? Beyond the obvious such as the different appearance of the buildings he’s familiar with and meeting a whole bunch of people who may have connections to those who he knows from his own time, his presence signifies a deviation from the norm since he is not from there. This can have profound ramifications for both him and the world he finds himself in.

The main premise of journeying through time is a goldmine in terms of worldbuilding since it gives creators fertile ground to show more of their worlds. They get to explore different time periods, each one building upon the one that came before it and show how they are all connected. Think of each period as a piece of the puzzle that when you finally assemble it, you get the whole picture.

What bearing does time travel in the world have on the story? Far more than you think it does. It shapes the contours in which the plot transpires and dictates how it proceeds. The best creators use these two facets to their advantage to create a story that fits in with the vibe of the world and is an excellent part of the overall plot that spans multiple eras.

This is the fifth article in the time travel series. If you want to see what else we have, there’s many more on our blog page!

Time Travel in the World: New but Oddly Familiar Surroundings

A story takes place in a variety of environments, both inside and outside. Settings such as castles, jungles, and beaches are popular choices, appearing in many works within the fantasy genre.  These settings provide a visual backdrop to the plot as well as give characters a wide latitude of actions they can pursue to make their scenes feel more realistic.

When it comes to time travel in the world, it is not just cosmetic where one period of time in a world is merely swapped out for another. The audience gets to see a different era in all of its breathtaking glory and it’s up to creators to create an iteration that isn’t just visually appealing, it also ties in to the one the protagonist just came from.

Part of a fantasy society, this city has a castle on a hilltop above it. The city has both rectangular- and square-shaped buildings with a wavy roof on each one. The buildings come in four colors: light yellow, brown, light blue, and white. The roofs come in the following colors: dark blue, red, light black, and dark brown. Many of these buildings have windows and some have a visible door. The road itself runs down the middle of the image, swaying to the right and then the left, ending at the doorstep of the castle. The road also meets two others, one that runs to the left, and the other to the right. Behind the city is a grassy autumn-like field with blades of grass scattered throughout. A river cuts through the field, meandering from the left edge to the right edge of the image. The castle itself is white with gray shadows. It has four red turrets and diamond-shaped windows. The sky above is a bright blue with several white oval clouds.

Many creators recognize that their viewers would be as confused as the main character in this new world and endeavor to bring in as many familiar elements from the one they know in it. This includes landmarks, major geographical features like mountains or rivers. This helps acclimate people to the new era of the world they’re in but with a caveat. They will look a little different, whether they’re older or younger.

As for the folks the protagonist crosses paths with during his time there, they may have different attire unique to their time or speak in a way that he must familiarize himself with. Some will have connections to people he knows from his own time and his relationships with them will influence how he interacts with either their ancestors or descendants. They can become invaluable allies as he works to unravel the mystery of why he is there or enemies who are determined to stop him.

Since he isn’t originally from there, by virtue of his being there, the main character has already changed the period of time he is in, whether it’s in the future or the past. This can have grave effects down the road for both the world and the protagonist. The decisions he makes will have ripple effects that may cascade into something larger that he can ever comprehend of.

Exploring Different Eras With Time Travel in the World

The beauty of traveling through time is that the audience gets to see at least one more iteration of the world they’ve been spending time in. For creators, it’s a golden opportunity to expand significantly upon the world they’ve been fleshing out and many do so to great aplomb.

Just as our world is split into distinct eras, each one with their own identity and story, the same holds true for those of a fantasy world. Each era builds upon the one that came before and comes with new technologies and ways of thinking that revolutionize the world. It’s hard to make this work in just one story which is why many creators feature them in multiple stories.

Built by a fantasy shipbuilder, this brown airship is flying through the blue sky with white clouds around it. The ship itself has two sails, 5 port windows, a gray wing on each side, a spear in the front, and two propellers in the back.

To make time travel in the world work while spanning many stories, smart creators make a grand plot that lasts throughout all the eras and it becomes the guiding principle of the majority of their works. Each period of time then becomes one of several parts and creators work to differentiate them from each other, thereby making them stand out.

Doing this enables creators to focus more on the iterations of the world they’d like to explore. They can hone in on many things such as the civilizations of that time, the prevailing attitude of the people who lived in that era, how they got around, and a multitude of other factors. This personalizes each era and helps make them feel more realistic to the audience.

A benefit that comes with using time travel in the world across several stories is that the audience gets to see what life was like in different periods. They witness how people lived day-in and day-out, what they did for pleasure, the type of food they consumed, and the forms of entertainment they had, and so on. This helps them remember them long after the plot has moved on.

The Impact Time Travel in the World Has on the Story

A story has two elements: the characters and the setting. The latter is where various scenes between different characters take place. Both elements affect each other in several ways and this is exemplified when the background suddenly switches from one era of time to another.

Just as the present-day world influences how the plot progresses, both its past and future counterparts perform the same function, albeit in different ways. The former is more restrained in terms of storytelling possibilities since what happened then must lead to the present-day world but it nevertheless still has tremendous potential. For example, you can explore a transformative event such as war or the rise of a powerful kingdom that eventually fell to ruin and tie it into the events unfolding in the present.

A gray rock outcropping overlooking a lake surrounded by a white plain. Three mesas loom in the distance with a red tower sitting atop the middle one. The tower contains a yellow orb near its top. Above the mesas is a bright blue sky with oval-shaped clouds. The tower, mesas, the lake are examples of realism in fantasy.

In terms of time travel in the world, it impacts the story in two major ways. Firstly, it broadly defines the plot. By that, the circumstances for the protagonist’s presence in that specific era drives the plot. For instance, suppose he appears in the past on a mission to find a powerful object that supposedly disappeared around that time that he thinks will help save his home world from destruction. Every decision and action he takes during his time there moves the plot forward since he knows he has no other choice, not if everything he knows and loves is at stake.

The second way time travel in the world affects the story is that it influences how it proceeds. It is as if the world itself is merely another character. It has many ways in which it can shape it, whether by an enemy starting a fire with the aim of preventing the main character from succeeding or a river suddenly flooding, forcing him to find another way around. The world gives the protagonist a few options where he must choose one in order for the plot to keep going.

Combining these two elements is key to crafting a story that truly transcends time while making each era that appears in it vibrant and one that contributes to the main plot in its own fashion.

Tying it all Together

There are a lot of moving parts when composing a story and bringing time travel in the mix adds a layer of complexity and excitement. The audience will always enjoy seeing different eras of the world they know, as long as it builds upon it in a positive way. They want to see how it changes from era to era, the reason for these changes, and so on.

Time travel in the world introduces at minimum two settings: one set in the present-day and another in a different time. Smart creators work assiduously from the get-go to highlight the connections between both eras to make an environment that feels oddly familiar to their viewers but is markedly different. They take places the audience knows at first glance like castles and give them a different design, one matching the aesthetics of that time, to make them feel different, thereby distinguishing this version from the present-day one.

Regardless of how many different eras of time the story takes place in, it is imperative to make each one stand out since they all have a role to play in the grand scheme of things. Give each one something that cannot be found in the others. It could be a powerful artifact, a civilization that rose and fell, or a famine that wrought great devastation across lands. Doing so personalizes them and makes it easier for the audience to remember them.

Time travel in the world impacts the plot in two key ways. It loosely dictates the plot and determines how it proceeds. In the former, it forms the framework of it and in the latter, it pushes it with the world acting as essentially another character.

Showing multiple iterations of the same world is a superb way to see how the march of time changed it across different eras but tying them all together as if making a grand story is a stellar way to show how each era impacted it. They are all intertwined, meaning that what happened in one will influence those that come after it in both good and bad ways.

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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,

Sunfire

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