One of the webcomics I like to read recently started a commented rerun, and had a comment on one of the early pages regarding exposition that fits in naturally (and I really love how well this works in the story).
Really, a full infodump simply should not happen, if it can be avoided in any way.
The reader rarely needs to know the full geography and demographics of the world during the first chapter.
If a story starts at the northern border of the Human kingdom, close to the woodland-realm of the Elves, that's usually enough to get a good first impression. The reader doesn't need to know intricacies of either of these nations or the five other nations that surround the human kingdom at that point and most characters don't have a reason to talk about them either.
They can be introduced when they become relevant and/or it is natural for the characters to bring them up.
Think of giving a brief glance at the map and zooming in as the intro to a movie, show or game.
The GoT opening in particular goes all over the stylized map and we get a general idea that there are different regions with distinct styles and where they are, but we learn the details as the come up during the story.
The story may start with a band of adventurers finishing a quest in the north and heading back to the capital, which gives more than enough chance to describe the landscape and city in narration.
Or they may have a meeting about relocating their base of operations because the monsters in the area have been dealt with, so they have a reason to bring up the different nations and their aspects regarding their jobs as adventurers. What monsters there are, how the populations treat foreigners, the currencies, ...
While an Isekai protagonist may have a vested interest to gain knowledge of the world, it may take a while for them to actually get it. To me it feels more natural to learn it alongside them instead of having it dumped on me by chapter two only to have it repeated when the protagonist learns it.
Really, a full infodump simply should not happen, if it can be avoided in any way.
The reader rarely needs to know the full geography and demographics of the world during the first chapter.
If a story starts at the northern border of the Human kingdom, close to the woodland-realm of the Elves, that's usually enough to get a good first impression. The reader doesn't need to know intricacies of either of these nations or the five other nations that surround the human kingdom at that point and most characters don't have a reason to talk about them either.
They can be introduced when they become relevant and/or it is natural for the characters to bring them up.
Think of giving a brief glance at the map and zooming in as the intro to a movie, show or game.
The GoT opening in particular goes all over the stylized map and we get a general idea that there are different regions with distinct styles and where they are, but we learn the details as the come up during the story.
The story may start with a band of adventurers finishing a quest in the north and heading back to the capital, which gives more than enough chance to describe the landscape and city in narration.
Or they may have a meeting about relocating their base of operations because the monsters in the area have been dealt with, so they have a reason to bring up the different nations and their aspects regarding their jobs as adventurers. What monsters there are, how the populations treat foreigners, the currencies, ...
While an Isekai protagonist may have a vested interest to gain knowledge of the world, it may take a while for them to actually get it. To me it feels more natural to learn it alongside them instead of having it dumped on me by chapter two only to have it repeated when the protagonist learns it.
