Warcraft is European

[Deleted]

I had people complaining that I called Warcraft a European game.

I sincerely wish to know what your problems are. Warcraft is European at its core. The major themes and the cultures involved at European. The Human race is European. Their architecture, music, clothing and more is perfectly European. Same goes for many other parts. Naturally, there are non-European elements, such as neutral fantasy elements, or that taken from cultures such as Uldum from Egypt or Pandaria from China, but none of those are part of the core narrative of Warcraft. You have Warcraft without Uldum and Pandaria or other minor areas, but you don't have Warcraft without Stormwind, the European humans, most of the music, to name a few things.

Exactly wherein lies the issue?

[Thimagryn]

I had people complaining that I called Warcraft a European game.

I sincerely wish to know what your problems are. Warcraft was European at its core.

Fixed for you. Hope you understand the flaws in your argument now.

[Darkeon]

Exactly wherein lies the issue?
In some people's heads, as it appears to be one of the most non-issues of the year.

[Deleted]

Fixed for you. Hope you understand the flaws in your argument now.

The thing is, the non-European elements aren't really part of the core. Will the game be different without Pandaria? Not at all. Or Uldum?

Would it be different without Humans, who are European without a doubt? Would it be different without most of the music, which is European? Or the architecture? Or the lands, such as Northrend?

Yes, it would. It would be a wholly different game at that point.

[schwarzkopf]

Warcraft = Romans(Humans) vs Hannibal(Orcs) ...

[Katchii]

It's a fantasy game, so it's not European. It draws some inspiration from the European age where knights in armor and such existed however the same could be said of ANY game or movie that uses those aesthetics.

Second, Warcraft as a game is made by an American company and therefore it is an American game.

Basically the label is far too broad and doesn't capture the actual games description. It's a high fantasy game with knights and wizards, not a "European" game.

[Deleted]

It's a purely fictional setting that takes inspiration from numerous cultures all over the world, and while it's heavily inspired by traditional high fantasy tropes as exist in this post-Tolkien world, which does indirectly lend it some extra European-ness, it is not European per se and I would consider it grossly oversimplifying the game to try to define it as such.

It is European in its skeleton/core and most other areas. But there are non-European elements, which I do like, but they aren't part of the core.

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Warcraft = Romans(Humans) vs Hannibal(Orcs) ...

Humans are not Romans. They are Medieval Europeans primarily.

[Spiffums]

I have all the Explorer titles........and I never seen Europe on the map.........are you sure you're playing the same game as the rest of us?

There are no Orcs or goblins or gnomes or space goats or hot elves in Merry Ole England.

[Deleted]

It's a fantasy game, so it's not European. It draws some inspiration from the European age where knights in armor and such existed however the same could be said of ANY game or movie that uses those aesthetics.

Second, Warcraft as a game is made by an American company and therefore it is an American game.

Basically the label is far too broad and doesn't capture the actual games description. It's a high fantasy game with knights and wizards, not a "European" game.

The knights, wizards, lore, architecute, music, and so on, draw heavily from European culture and history. That makes it European.

An American company made it, but that doesn't mean it isn't European. Those who made it were technically European as well

[Deleted]

As I just said, that's grossly oversimplifying the game in the name of pushing your really weird Europhilic agenda.

It isn't oversimplifying. Do you agree or not that most core elements are inspired by Europe?

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I have all the Explorer titles........and I never seen Europe on the map.........are you sure you're playing the same game as the rest of us?

There are no Orcs or goblins or gnomes or space goats or hot elves in Merry Ole England.

There are Undead.

[Cruor]

It's an American game made by Americans in America. There are ideas similar to Europe in the middle ages. Claiming it is an European game is stupid.

Europe uses electricity and some of them have nukes, both of these were made in America so you are American right?

[chazus]

Humans are not "European". They didn't come from Europe. The armor and music could have come from anywhere where those were popular at those times.

Also, the place they actually came from is fiction but I think we're ignoring that for now.

[Sunseeker]

It's a purely fictional setting that takes inspiration from numerous cultures all over the world, and while it's heavily inspired by traditional high fantasy tropes as exist in this post-Tolkien world, which does indirectly lend it some extra European-ness, it is not European per se and I would consider it grossly oversimplifying the game to try to define it as such.

Indeed, it's more stereotypical fantasy than particularly European fantasy. There are some decidedly more American elements woven into the fantasy that turn it into a more generic "Western" fantasy (with the Pandaria exception) as opposed to more strict European fantasy. (which tends to be darker, more mature and more intrigue driven)

[Deleted]

Humans are not "European". They didn't come from Europe. The armor and music could have come from anywhere where those were popular at those times.

Also, the place they actually came from is fiction but I think we're ignoring that for now.

They are inspired purely by Europe.

The armor and music are all from Europe. What game are you even playing? Are you telling me the knight in the OP and the music "could have come from anywhere"? lol

[Thimagryn]

The thing is, the non-European elements aren't really part of the core. Will the game be different without Pandaria? Not at all. Or Uldum?

Would it be different without Humans, who are European without a doubt? Would it be different without most of the music, which is European? Or the architecture? Or the lands, such as Northrend?

Yes, it would. It would be a wholly different game at that point.

European was never the core. None of it is based on realistic history. It's the loosest connection considering the only thing European about it is the style and look of armor that the humans wear and the technology and architecture they used. Even then, that's only limited to Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, the original game.

Even at the beginning, the genre of the game is high fantasy, a genre that borrows from European history but is not built around nor exclusive to that. Warcraft isn't a European game because there is no connection to European history at all. It's not even heavily influenced by it, considering the presence of fantasy heavily outweighs any resemblance to medieval history and throws itself completely into Fantasy. It's well beyond something like Arthurian legend, which has magic but is still rooted in European history.

The thing is, Warcraft has grown and evolved well beyond the classic portrayal of european-based medieval fantasy. At one point in its history, yes, it was heavily based on that as a core, but that was really only limited to the first game. Even by Warcraft 2 we've had plenty of other cultures and fantasy elements incorporated that broke from tradition.

While the universe is still heavily drawn out through a western perspective of fantasy, it's by no means European in nature. That would be misappropriation to the level of saying Star Wars is European because Jedi are 'Knights' and Sith have 'Lords'. It wouldn't be wrong, but it isn't right either.

[Shibito]

Mirkzat is really on fire today.

[Lex Icon]

*cough*Warhammer*cough*

[ParanoiD84]

Waaaaaaaagh.

[Deleted]

European was never the core. None of it is based on realistic history. It's the loosest connection considering the only thing European about it is the style and look of armor that the humans wear and the technology and architecture they used. Even then, that's only limited to Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, the original game.

Even at the beginning, the genre of the game is high fantasy, a genre that borrows from European history but is not built around nor exclusive to that. Warcraft isn't a European game because there is no connection to European history at all. It's not even heavily influenced by it, considering the presence of fantasy heavily outweighs any resemblance to medieval history and throws itself completely into Fantasy. It's well beyond something like Arthurian legend, which has magic but is still rooted in European history.

The thing is, Warcraft has grown and evolved well beyond the classic portrayal of european-based medieval fantasy. At one point in its history, yes, it was heavily based on that as a core, but that was really only limited to the first game. Even by Warcraft 2 we've had plenty of other cultures and fantasy elements incorporated that broke from tradition.

While the universe is still heavily drawn out through a western perspective of fantasy, it's by no means European in nature. That would be misappropriation to the level of saying Star Wars is European because Jedi are 'Knights' and Sith have 'Lords'. It wouldn't be wrong, but it isn't right either.

I never said it is exclusively European. I said most core elements are European-inspired, which cannot be denied.

[HumbleDuck]

Probably because a story inspired by European mythology doesn't make the game European.
By that logic US is European, Europe is middle Eastern and Nazis were Iranian ...