Setting Alignment: Grimdark vs. Nobledark vs. Noblebright vs. Grimbright

Hello everyone! I’m here with a new blog post about writingcraft. Over the past few months, I've been hearing about setting alignment, along with terms associated with it. In this post, I wanted to go over what some qualities of each aesthetic are, give some examples of fiction with the aesthetics, and help clear up some misconceptions about setting alignment when it comes to series.

What is setting alignment?

So, what is setting alignment? Setting alignment refers to qualities exhibited by the characters and setting in your story. Usually, setting alignment is portrayed as a graph with one axis that spans from grim to noble while the other goes from bright to dark. Grim and noble refer to the qualities of the protagonists, while dark and bright refer to the aspects of the world around the characters. This sets up the information contained in the next slides, as each aesthetic’s name is a compound of two of these words.

The Types of Setting Alignment

Grimdark

First off, we’re visiting the term you’re probably most familiar with – grimdark. Grimdark usually involves settings where protagonists tend to be antiheroes or morally gray while residing in a hostile world where almost everyone has given up trying to make things better. There is typically a lot of bloodshed and grime in the world, brought to the forefront from gruesome street warfare in a cyberpunk city to the lichen-infested ruins of a venerated nobleman’s castle that has lain in ruins since his death. As a result, this genre tends to be oriented to more adult readers. Examples of this would be the keystone novel A Game of Thrones, which championed the aesthetic, though other media pieces would be 1984 and most zombie and post-apocalyptic fiction.

Grimbright

Next off, we have grimbright. This setting usually has characters who would exhibit qualities of a protagonist in a traditional sense, but are fundamentally apathetic, impartial to issues surrounding them, or reluctant to deal with the problems at hand. The world is a good place to live, but themes such as the growth of evil or a lack of effort to maintain the efforts built on the shoulders of past giants are explored due to the nature of the setting. Examples of this in media would be Blade Runner and Star Wars. 

Nobledark

Next is the lesser-discussed yet widely-known aesthetic of nobledark. This alignment usually exhibits a gritty world with protagonists who exhibit agency to improve the situation, or at least the lives of those close to them. While there is a chance they could fail in their mission, they continue to rise up to the challenge for the right reasons. Examples of this aesthetic would be Lord of the Rings, the Halo series of video games, the Jack Ryan series of novels, and Dune.

Noblebright

Concluding the discussion of setting alignment types with a happy ending, we have noblebright. Noblebright combines the agency and benevolence of protagonists from nobledark with a vibrant, escapist world. While there is a presence of evil forces and a level of suspense to keep readers engaged, there is always an optimistic certainty that good will triumph, creating a near-utopia for the inhabitants. Because of its jubilant vibes, most juvenile literature would fall under this category. Some examples of media with this aesthetic would be traditional fairy tales, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and most superhero fiction.

Additional Variations

As I was researching the information for this blog post, I came across some other terminology that is also interesting. Originally, I had heard of these four terms, but some people have expanded them into more categories, with additional terms to describe the traits of protagonists and the worldbuilding. One of these is a 5*5 chart with additional terms such as Knight, Gray, Bleak, Glow, Core, and Dim:

Image credit: World anvil. https://www.worldanvil.com/w/brad-icastbolt/a/tone-26-setting-alignment-article

This was the most detailed chart I have seen thus far, but may be a little much for new authors. 😅

However, the most common charts I have seen with subcategories are 3*3 charts with "neutrals" that are in-between the extremes, or are just defined with one term (Nobleneutral, Grimneutral, Neutralbright, Neutraldark; Noble, Grim, Bright, Dark).

What Alignment is Your Story?

So, what alignment does your story fall under? There are three things you should consider.

Primarily, you need to focus on the qualities of your protagonist. Are they responsible, or irresponsible? What is their background? Are their motivations driven by personal gain or selflessness? This will be the main factor that determines your setting alignment.

The second emphasis you should focus on is worldbuilding. For example, fantasy stories all share dragons, rural towns, and vast, uncharted continents. However, the way Redwall, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and the Chronicles of Narnia portray each element and the themes discussed in each story give them each a specific alignment. 

Third, common expectations within the genre or subgenre could have an impact. For example, a cyberpunk story would be best set in a grimdark or grimbright world while a space opera would be better set in a nobledark or noblebright environment. However, this one I feel does not have as much of a governing effect on alignment. For example, the Star Trek franchise has numerous television series based upon the ideas begun by Gene Roddenberry, but the feel of each one is different because of their setting alignments. 

Lastly, not every story fits nicely into one category. For example, Cixin Liu’s Three-Body Problem would likely be somewhere between nobledark and grimbright because while some protagonists are reluctant to accept their roles as heroes, they do face overwhelming odds and triumph over evil for the right reasons. Moreover, series with multiple books or multimedia franchises can sometimes span numerous alignments. As an example, let’s look at the Chronicles of Narnia. The Magician’s Nephew is a grimbright story because the new universe of Narnia is slowly being corrupted by evil; while The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian are nobledark due to the protagonists fighting and overcoming powerful antagonists; while The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is noblebright due to its focus on completing the quest of charting the oceans of Narnia rather than overthrowing an evil ruler.

That is all I have for today, and thank you for reading! I hope this helps you with your endeavors in fiction!

-Alex