DF: Does the world matter?

[Ulairi]

I'm a big believer in the world being created bottom up when it comes to gaming. I have had too many experiences when the world is created top down that players can get in the way of what the DM wants out of the world (if they created it) or if it is a well established world, not leaving enough room for the players to make their mark (I'm look at you Forgotten Realms).

I have been running a DF campaign since last fall and we didn't even have a world when we started. We have a city, that we didn't name (and I named Bywater just on a lark during life play) and we as a group are filling in the world as we go. It's actually a pretty cool world and it is growing from my players going from town to town, region to region, and I'm just aping how earth works as we build.