Lord of The Rings, Tolkien, and WoW

[erikrypto]

Hello everyone!
So throughout my time of playing WoW, I couldn't help myself but to notice some of the many similarities between Tolkien's works and the World of Warcraft. After awhile of noticing these, I decided to take matters into my own hand and conduct some research. My findings were pretty interesting, and I thought they would interest some of my other fellow players.
I think everyone can recognize the likeness of WoW's elves to those of J. R. R. Tolkien's. The habitat of both the high and blood elves link them to the forests of WoW, much like Mirkwood, and lavish and elaborate kingdoms are built. The elves are usually tall, thin, fair, with slanted eyes and pointed ears, much like the elves stylized in the Hobbit and the LotR. Many characters are remeniscient of Legolas and other elvish characters. The orcs are closely tied to Tolkien's as well. They appear usually as dark green and fanged, and are mighty warriors, just like Tolkien's orcs who are also described as dark-skinned warmongers. One can also find the Horde and Orc capital of Orgrimmar to be closely related to Saruman's Isengard. In WoW, the Orcs are controlled by powers to fight for them and terrorize the other races. This mirrors Tolkien's Uruk-Hai, who were once elves but are now corrupted and made to serve the Dark Lord Sauron.
I have also found elements of the Hero and Quest that Tolkien innovated within the fantasy genre with his literary works. The starting zones and the training that we receive there harks to Bilbo and Frodo being comfortable in thier position in the Shire. As a Pandaren, I start in the Wandering Isle. I gain experience as I play and am mentored by an old man, much like the hobbits did from Gandalf. These plot lines closely mirror Tolkien's, only further demonstrating his influence. We as players encounter many dangers on the way and make many allies, just like the characters of the fellowship encounter orcs, Gollum, and other foul creatures, we too encounter beasts like trolls and wargs. They are closely related! There is also lots of loot and players gain experience from their quests, just as Bilbo and Frodo do, also growing stronger.
I'd love to discuss more on the topic! What do you guys think? Do you think other works have a large impact on our favorite game as well?

[Gimlix]

Allthough i disagree with all the pandas being like hobbits etc.
It's very obvious that WoW has alot of lotr related things.

[Rivin]

Well, yeah, pretty much all modern high fantasy can be traced back to Tolkien. Games like WoW have roots in Dungeons and Dragons which was inspired by Tolkien.

[Deja Thoris]

It's not hard to draw comparisons where you are so loose with them. "something green existed in lotr = orcs!"

It's also no secret that wow "borrows" from lots of things as does most fantasy stuff these days.

[delus]

Even Game of Thrones can't really escape Tolkien's roots.

[Bosen]

Tolkien has definitely influenced all of the fantasy genre. I think World Of Warcraft is influenced by many fun things. Blizzard are big fans of everything most of us love.

[Mace]

Tolkein is an amazing writer, and a rich and engaging fantasy that has literally shaped entertainment. It's legendary.

most people relate to wow races from the LotR basis anyway, you don't need to explain dwarves, elves, gnomes etc if you've read/seen LotR. ofc Lotr is not the only thing it draws its influence from, D&D, zombies, werewolves and vamps and other fantasy icons too. but hey we don't really midn when it's thrown together in a cool way.

kinda feel the movie didn't quite give that coolness justice.. but what works for a game doesn't work for a film, you have to really write it as a film rather than as a video game.