Creation

The first map of Riiga in the top left, dating back to 2001. The other top left right and bottom left maps were made a few years after. The bottom right map is a more map-like representation of the oldest one.

2001-2003

In 2001, my brother and I had an idea for a world. By this time we were both in our teens and had been making up countless other worlds, pretend video games, artworks, and other creations, but this one was different. After playing Achaea for the first time, we got a taste of a brand new way of creating fantastical lands -- one section of land at a time. So we used grid paper and plotted out a small land called Riiga. Each point where four grid lines intersect represented one area, which roughly translated to the size of a house. We also made up lists of all things that could be found in this land, ranging from butterflies and fish to catch, to monsters, wildlife, towns, and people. It was designed to be explored. We even made character sheets which were filled out by hand, and took turns with one person running the world and narrating events, and the other playing as a character.

One of the old character sheets, and some examples of things found in Riiga.

A few years later, we came back to Riiga and designed what you might call "expansions" to the world. I created Jindiara, which is a jungle region and the place where the Keid first appeared, and by brother made a frosty land inspired by the Solstheim expansion to Morrowind, which included Hiiden Riiga and the Nadrock Isles. We drew inspiration from everything we knew, and many of the names and ideas exist in the current form of Riiga in some way.