Here’s a statement that should be rather uncontroversial but might be otherwise: You do not exist in a vacuum. The experiences that have shaped you have left you with a large number of unconscious perceptions regarding the nature of the world and human beings, and any world you design will naturally reflect those perceptions regardless of their veracity. That’s one of the big takeaways from a design document posted by the Seed team, which talks about the background going into the worldbuilding for the game and some of the overarching elements in worldbuilding itself.
As pointed out here, there are certain assumptions based on both simplifications for game environments and a disconnect between what players will engage in and what developers intend, citing Second Life as a case wherein developers had one sort of environment in mind and a very different one emerged. While it may not tell you much about Seed itself, it should be an interesting read for anyone interested in examining the underlying assumptions in making a game. (Which are more extensive than you may think.)
