Yesterday I went on Steam and downloaded a game called South Scrimshaw, Part One and I loved every minute of it.

(There might be spoilers ahead, so heed caution).

South Scrimshaw is a blend of both a game and a Planet Earth documentary that focuses on a young alien whale’s voyage. Much like voyages, this is filled with mourning, isolation, and a sense of found family. It’s profoundly deep.

I know what some might be saying “J, we’re talking about whales?”.

Yes. Yes, we are. Just because it’s whales doesn’t mean it can’t be profound. Whales are deeply loved here and we especially love the whales from this visual novel.

This documentary follows the birth of a young Brillo whale male calf. A Brillo whale is a fictional species of whale created by N.O. Marsh. They form symbiotic relationships with a whole variety of other species. The calf’s mother forms relations with several botanical species, and venomous worms, and looks like several barnacle types. A true wonder of a living, breathing ecosystem.

Each Brillo whale has a unique ecosystem as well as a complex system of the whale society.

(I like Curious Archive’s video discussing the anatomy and a better breakdown than I can provide.)

The journey is long and much like our nature, it is brutal and unforgiving. Luckily our calf survives the journey and we are left waiting to see how nature is to our little (or not so little) calf. The visual game gives us five chapters to connect with our little whale.

Humanity is not the main focus of this story, other than scientists of Kronos VII are monitoring our calf. Marsh feeds us bits of human interactions, such as a heated argument about human interference. I’ve seen people watch nature documentaries and complain when the camera person doesn’t stop a big cat from killing a deer or a snake killing a bird. You can’t intervene because that’s just how nature is.

A big cat doesn’t get fed if we intervene. Who knows if the mother is nursing cubs or is critically endangered? Every predator and prey have their role in the ecosystem, much like the whales and sharks in South Scrimshaw.

I haven’t seen any announcements for part two other than that it is being worked on. This is free on Steam and I highly recommend taking a look. If you like it then there’s an art book that you can purchase.

(You can support N.O. Mash here and follow them here.)

There are so many worlds that are being built and I hope that as time goes on people will share their worlds with us. Another story that I’ve written about is All Tomorrows, the weirdest and wildest speculative biology story that I’ve read. If you like a story that spans millions of years and sadistic aliens, then this is up your alley.

Another example is the project of Serina, a World of Birds by Dylan Bajda, which goes hard. There are phases of evolution and phylogeny. It covers over 250 million years of this plant. Over 250 million years. Covers completely. I am in awe, truly.

That’s devolution to a project that’s admirable.

There’s a whole website check it out! Support it them here!

These worlds should be admired due to both the creativity and passion put into them.

I even build my worlds. Something is encapsulating about seeing how someone would build a world. It’s personal. Almost intimate, not to sound corny. For myself, I get nervous about sharing my words.

I’ve been self-conscious about it since I was younger and many adults I knew would be hyper-critical of me wasting my time doing it. I had one teacher who encouraged it but always pointed out biological flaws with my creatures, which allowed me to design them better.

Worldbuilding provided me an outlet from issues in my own life as a means of peaceful escapism. I could control these worlds. They could be peaceful. Calm. They could be chaotic, a hellscape. It was up to me to decide their fictional fate.

If you have a world that you would like to share then please reach out! I’d love to see it.

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Have a happy Friday! – J