I do like the lore of Warcraft but...

[Deleted]

BUT as they say there is no such thing as new ideas

That's wrong.

[Wikiy]

I don't mind WoW having gods but it does cheapen it when said gods share the same name, role and even story from other sources

They take the basics (the names/general lines of character) and put them in a completely different environment. So for example, in Ulduar we got Norse mythology breeding with Lovecraft's. I really like that. In fact, World of Warcraft is the reason why I both love Norse mythology and enjoy reading Lovecratian stories.

As for Blizzard's capability for being original - it obviously is (or was) there. Warcraft III is proof. While it may be heavily influenced by LotR in some of the basics (but heck, what high fantasy isn't?), the story itself is, in my opinion, among the best stories of a game in the history of games, especially Arthas' arc. It's very similar to the story of Anakin Skywalker, in a way.

[yetgdhfgh]

That's wrong.

Care to elaborate?

[Deleted]

Well Draenei (Eredar) are original (at least to my knowledge)

[Deleted]

i think they doing ok

[Eurhetemec]

As for Blizzard's capability for being original - it obviously is (or was) there. Warcraft III is proof. While it may be heavily influenced by LotR in some of the basics (but heck, what high fantasy isn't?), the story itself is, in my opinion, among the best stories of a game in the history of games, especially Arthas' arc. It's very similar to the story of Anakin Skywalker, in a way.

I mean, I like Warcraft's setting and the stories of the various games, but jesus wept, that is an amazing thing to believe. It's like believing "Big Bang Theory" is the among the funniest comedies ever written.

[Frumpy Frumpy Frak]

Someone name me one fantasy property that is original. Even Tolkien drew significant "inspiration" from European mythology.

[Eurhetemec]

Someone name me one fantasy property that is original. Even Tolkien drew significant "inspiration" from European mythology.

Gene Wolfe's Executioner series. NK Jemisin's Fifth Season series. I could go on, there are many, many others, but I suspect you've heard of neither and will now desperately Wikipedia them in an attempt to debunk their originality.

And if you think Tolkien drawing inspiration (with your ridiculous hate quotes rofl) isn't relatively original, then you have no concept of what originality is.

[Eurhetemec]

See Everquest and try again.

I mean as an army, not playing an individual one. That predates EQ.

[Salty Maud]

Truly original art is exceptionally rare. I can't quickly even think of any. Everything is more or less an adaptation of preexisting work.

[Eurhetemec]

You said, "finally someone doing wood elves in a video game!" It had been done before. I don't remember anyone who was hyped because of it.

If you don't remember people being hyped for the Night Elves, I suspect you don't remember the run-up to WC3 very well.

[Evangeliste]

Originality in this day and age is unlikely. For two reasons in my opinion.
Firstly, being original is hard. We have had several thousand years of literature - an idea that seem original will most likely have been thought up before because out pools of knowledge have been largely consistent really.
Secondly, it's inevitable because the amount of information that is accessible really, even just simply reading it or being exposed, subconsciously you will create an idea because of our brains with short and long-term memory coupled with creativity and simply repeat and recreate it.

But calling a parody is a bit harsh if you ask me. None of the lore points or jokes at the original content it adapts and changes to World of Warcraft. Unless you mean that it feels so close to the original that it should be a parody to that original content.

I enjoy some of the Warcraft things they made, even with the adaptation but there is some originality to be had to some degree, it's not always consistent. I think what makes it much more... disagreeable at times is because it's been going on for like 20 years now? - it's had so many years of being able to "copy and paste" other media to interject into their universe and their universe is so vast now that they will quite naturally include a very wide range of sources that in some cases are very glaring...

If point in fact, what tickles me is the whole Odyn and Helya thing. That one is very, very obvious but there is one close by that people completely overlook and ignorant to: Eyir. The reason I bring this up, is though people are aware of the direct copy and paste of those two individuals, in ignorance and just not aware, people overlook ones who are also there and exclude them from the plagiarism argument believing its original in a way.

Eir is the original concept of Prose Edda, has 3 conflicting entries to reveal who she is. It was eventually agreed that that she was at least attached to the Valkyries and could waken the dead. Sound familiar right?

The reason why I bring it up is because probably the sole reason that Blizzard choose to copy and paste, so it's repeatable and gives that character a presence without nearly any ground work. Eyir/Eir is a prime example of being overlooked and its original source not even known to a very large base of it's players, because other media have already created that ground work on certain characters, Blizzard are using that opportunity to further their own narrative. In relation it also proves that Blizzard aren't original, but it also proves that originality has to be observed as much as plagiarism.

[yetgdhfgh]

Even Classics like Frankenstein and Dracula aint really original when you peel back the layers

Frankenstein is just a zombie film/book IE a person comes back to life from the dead and so is Dracula another person who comes back to life from the dead but with added cannibalism IE blood drinking and was based on a nut case who impaled his enemies to scare the shit out of the turks!!!

Anyway lets just sit back and enjoy the storylines ok?

[Queen of Hamsters]

At this point in history, everything's a "carbon copy" of something done before.

They went down trying to write their own lore in MoP, but they were heavily lambasted by the "lol pandas too childish!"-kids and all of their storylines still reflected something that'd happened IRL or in other stories.

[yetgdhfgh]

At this point in history, everything's a "carbon copy" of something done before.

They went down trying to write their own lore in MoP, but they were heavily lambasted by the "lol pandas too childish!"-kids and all of their storylines still reflected something that'd happened IRL or in other stories.

Thing was they didnt what they did was take Chinese lore like things like the Monkey King and make it there own but retards could never see past the pandas!

Yaungols was so obviously Mongols, Grummles sherpas, etc etc

[Queen of Hamsters]

Thing was they didnt what they did was take Chinese lore like things like the Monkey King and make it there own but retards could never see past the pandas!

Yaungols was so obviously Mongols, Grummles sherpas, etc etc

Yes, but they still wrote entirely new story for this game. As I said, nothing they do will be 100% original, it's all been done before or is inspired by real life.

[yetgdhfgh]

Yes, but they still wrote entirely new story for this game. As I said, nothing they do will be 100% original, it's all been done before or is inspired by real life.

And that is my point and your point and everybodys point on this thread!

There is nothing wrong with taking old ideas and building on them something wow has done quite well

I dont mean to say that in a mean way but there is posters in this thread who iam looking at!!

[Queen of Hamsters]

And that is my point and your point and everybodys point on this thread!

There is nothing wrong with taking old ideas and building on them something wow has done quite well

I dont mean to say that in a mean way

I 100% agree! :3

[Deleted]

I can't ignore the fact that Blizzard continuously avoid using original concepts. I mean it's evident that Warcraft is a carbon-copy Warhammer (party due to the original plan) and Blizzard even use names from Warhammer. Then there's the other aspects, Old Gods being a parody of Lovecraft with lazy play-on-word name changes. Then there's the numerous RL mythology thrown in with once again lazy name alterations such as the Titans. Now take this criticism with a grain of salt because as I say I do enjoy the lore overall it's just when it's presented as a parody I struggle to take it serious

To be honest 90% of modern fantasy is based of tolkiens work

[Deleted]

Care to elaborate?

It is wrong that there can be no new ideas.