Shared Universe - Original Settings

Original Settings

Although DC and Marvel's successful shared universe approaches to comics have set them apart from competitors in the industry, other companies attempted similar models. Valiant Comics and Crossgen both produced titles primarily set from their inception in a single, publisher-wide shared universe, known respectively as Unity and the Sigilverse.

Many other published works of this nature take the form of a series of short-story anthologies with occasional standalone novels. Examples include Robert Lynn Asprin's Thieves' World, C. J. Cherryh's Merovingen Nights and Janet Morris'es Heroes in Hell.

Role-playing games are inherently designed to include some aspects of the shared universe concept, as individual games are derived from the core material. Campaign settings, such as Dungeons & Dragons's Faerûn, Dragonlance and Eberron, provide a more detailed world in which novels and other related media are additionally set. Living campaigns, including the RPGA's Living Greyhawk or the AEG-sanctioned Heroes of Rokugan, provide an opportunity for individual games hosted worldwide to take part in a single continuity.

The influence of the Internet on collaborative and interactive fiction has also resulted in a large number of amateur shared universe settings. Amateur authors have created shared universes by contributing to mailing lists, story archives and Usenet. One of the earliest of these settings, SFStory, saw its spin-off setting Superguy cited as illustrative of the potential of the Internet. Another example is the furry-themed Tales from the Blind Pig created at the Transformation Story Archive, which differs from many amateur settings both by having an organized effort to maintain consistent canon and by having seen at least limited publication. Other early examples include the Dargon Project and Devilbunnies.

At least one publisher has introduced a division specifically for encouraging and handling shared universe fiction.