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 Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:52 pm
I was thinking about it today, a lot of games out today have some form of symbolism/allusions to other works. This is something I find interesting. Hence why I made a topic about it. xD
We all debate/talk about "gameplay" and "Specs" and "Graphikz", so why not try something different. Most gamers out today take a game for face value. Let's talk about symbolism, connections, allusions. Some of the most obvious are Bioshock and Assassin's Creed.Assassin's Creed The nine men assassinated were based on prominent deaths across the Holy Land around the year 1191, with considerable amount of artistic liberty applied, since most of the young men Altaïr was sent to kill are in fact rather old and sickly in real life, and some deaths occur a year or two after 1191. Below is an incomplete list of the targets' name and their counterparts in the game.
+Garnier de Naplouse - Garnier of Nablus, The Grandmaster of The Knights Hospitalier from 1190-1192
+Sibrand - Meister Sibrand, Leader of the Knights Teutonic from 1191-1192
+Talal - Prince Faisal bin Talal, an Emir who died in 1191
+William Of Montferrat - William V, Marquess of Montferrat, the regent of Acre who died in 1191.
+Robert De Sable - Robert IV de Sablé, was Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1191 to 1193. He was also Lord of Cyprus (1191-1192).
Altaïr (meaning "The Flying One" in Arabic) is a star in the Northern Sky in the constellation of Aquilla ("eagle" in Latin); this ties in well with a white eagle seen in the trailer for PS3 and Xbox 360 which is shown flying over the city of Acre, and lands on the bell tower Altaïr himself is standing on. To complete the theme the Assassin's clothes consist of white flowing robes. His hood also has a hook on the end and his lower robe features a stream on each side, therefore making Altaïr's shadow in air look like an eagle. Bioshock In response to an interview question from the gaming website IGN about what influenced the game's story and setting, Levine said, "I have my useless liberal arts degree, so I've read stuff from Ayn Rand and George Orwell, and all the sort of utopian and dystopian writings of the 20th century, which I've found really fascinating." Levine has also mentioned an interest in "stem cell research and the moral issues that go around [it]."
In regards to artistic influences, Levine told Electronic Gaming Monthly, "As a kid, I was obsessed with 1984 and Logan's Run. I love exploring what happens when good ideas fall apart."
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:58 pm
..Well..I know Legend of Zelda sort of comes from the English tales. And plus some Japanese tales as well. Mostly English because of the set of Medieval times and the one hero set out to everything right.
I also know...Final Fantansy War of the Lions usually uses many cultures for their games. Such as Roman, Greek, Persian and even Chinese as well.
There are a lot of allusions to every game. We just don't know it.
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:06 pm
It's A Wonderful World is a big Japanese Culture fest.
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:55 pm
.Hack was made from MMO couture and how hackers could bring caucus to an unprotected gaming server.
Uncharted was influenced by tails of El Dorado (city of gold). Pirates and old Spanish forts scattered on islands around South America.
COD 4 is based on our current war with terrorism. And how 1 man could create an army that could bring fear all over the world.
Mario shows what one person saw after he was high.
The future game, spore, is about how cool evolution is.
Psychonauts is influenced by how some can people read other people's minds. And I guess harry potter because it was about a school for psychics and how a madman kidnaps the students to do experiments on their brains.
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 11:12 pm
Metal Gear.
Post-Soviet politics, genetics, nuclear politics, meme, patriotism and loyalty, etc. Though that's just a trademark of typical Cyber-Punk Politico stories.
Uncharted wasn't influenced by tales of El Dorado though. It's based off of Pulp Fiction from the 1930s. El Dorado is a common theme, as are the Ark of the Covenant, Egyptian Tombs, etc.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:07 am
Folklore is so heavily influenced by Anglo Saxon... Folklore it seeps it out of every orifice.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:37 am
Well, one obvious one would have to be on the cover for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Look at the cover for the PC version of the game, and you'll see a red symbol that looks like a "W" with eagle wings. It's blatantly reminiscent of the Nazi Third Reich symbol, which has an eagle holding a circle with a swastika inside of it. An interesting thing is that this game actually deals with a fictional Third Reich conspiracy. Another game that is chock-full of references is Doom. All you need to do is play any one of the games, and you'll find enough Satanic/Hellish references to make Anton LaVey look like a p***y. Pentagrams, inverted crosses, crucifixions, mutilated bodies, human sacrifices, etc. These are also common in the original Quake (not in its pseudo-sequels), as the plot revolves around a somewhat Hellish universe.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:05 am
I would just think that all of the symbolism is just the result of total inspiration from history and such.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:34 pm
Fragments of Memories I would just think that all of the symbolism is just the result of total inspiration from history and such. It isn't all from history. If you read what I stated in there, symbolism can be religiously influenced as well (like the symbolism in Doom). Also, might I add that in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there was some religious symbolism that sparked a minor controversy with the game. The bandits in the game wore symbols that were similar to that of the symbol for the Islam religion, which offended the Muslim community. As a result, this was censored from all future releases of that game (such as the Gamecube and Virtual Console versions).
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:52 pm
all of these have underlying themes Halo has under lying themes of what is considered a classic epic a rather average person with extrodinary abilities tasked with a near impossible challange a conflict with evil all those are key epic themes if u don't count the cliff hanger the chiefs death is symbolic of a epic because in an epic the hero ususaly dies not always but usualy Halo is a modern day epic
I know that sounds fan boyish but its not these ae observations made after palaying the game then relating it to my studies in early english literature of the study of the epic story and various archtypes and what not for example the flood is an example of a wealth of great knowledge gone to a horribly wrong use thus equaling the great evil that the chief must confront
Star Wars has an underlying theme of Greek mythology reflected init such as with the force the empire is like the many invaders who tried to conquer greece while the rebels are like the city states defending it the old republic is a reflection of greece and rome before dictators came to power and those republics were destroyed much like the one in star wars
so in essence there is symbolism inalmost everything you just have to know where to look these 2 are just a few examples I have many more I could bring to the table but I thought I might spare u an even longer and more tedious post
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:59 pm
General_Cerberus all of these have underlying themes Halo has under lying themes of what is considered a classic epic a rather average person with extrodinary abilities tasked with a near impossible challange a conflict with evil all those are key epic themes if u don't count the cliff hanger the chiefs death is symbolic of a epic because in an epic the hero ususaly dies not always but usualy Halo is a modern day epic I know that sounds fan boyish but its not these ae observations made after palaying the game then relating it to my studies in early english literature of the study of the epic story and various archtypes and what not for example the flood is an example of a wealth of great knowledge gone to a horribly wrong use thus equaling the great evil that the chief must confront Star Wars has an underlying theme of Greek mythology reflected init such as with the force the empire is like the many invaders who tried to conquer greece while the rebels are like the city states defending it the old republic is a reflection of greece and rome before dictators came to power and those republics were destroyed much like the one in star wars so in essence there is symbolism inalmost everything you just have to know where to look these 2 are just a few examples I have many more I could bring to the table but I thought I might spare u an even longer and more tedious post Your Halo reference is a bit off......you may as well say any game is like that then, because almost every game out there is now like that. One hero fights through countless enemies. Also, you're forgetting that Halo (setting wise) takes a lot from its grandaddy, Quake II. Their settings were similar (as humanity fights desperately for survival after aliens attack the human race, the fight is taken back to their home world. You were part of a strike team part of the invasion. However, ground forces are soon reduced to only a few, and you must take what you have to fight for survival). Except, in Halo, rather than being an invasion, your ship just crashed, and the Halo installation is a structure rather than the Covenant's homeworld. Also, they both involve space marines, and a "plague" of some sort. In Halo, the plague is the Flood who are a parasitic race trying to spread their kind and take over the galaxy. However, in Quake, that plague is the Strogg, a race of brutal cybernetic super-soldiers trying to manifest their race into every living organism in the galaxy.
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:59 pm
Zombicide Fragments of Memories I would just think that all of the symbolism is just the result of total inspiration from history and such. It isn't all from history. If you read what I stated in there, symbolism can be religiously influenced as well (like the symbolism in Doom). Also, might I add that in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there was some religious symbolism that sparked a minor controversy with the game. The bandits in the game wore symbols that were similar to that of the symbol for the Islam religion, which offended the Muslim community. As a result, this was censored from all future releases of that game (such as the Gamecube and Virtual Console versions). And your point is? wink
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:08 pm
Zombicide General_Cerberus all of these have underlying themes Halo has under lying themes of what is considered a classic epic a rather average person with extrodinary abilities tasked with a near impossible challange a conflict with evil all those are key epic themes if u don't count the cliff hanger the chiefs death is symbolic of a epic because in an epic the hero ususaly dies not always but usualy Halo is a modern day epic I know that sounds fan boyish but its not these ae observations made after palaying the game then relating it to my studies in early english literature of the study of the epic story and various archtypes and what not for example the flood is an example of a wealth of great knowledge gone to a horribly wrong use thus equaling the great evil that the chief must confront Star Wars has an underlying theme of Greek mythology reflected init such as with the force the empire is like the many invaders who tried to conquer greece while the rebels are like the city states defending it the old republic is a reflection of greece and rome before dictators came to power and those republics were destroyed much like the one in star wars so in essence there is symbolism inalmost everything you just have to know where to look these 2 are just a few examples I have many more I could bring to the table but I thought I might spare u an even longer and more tedious post Your Halo reference is a bit off......you may as well say any game is like that then, because almost every game out there is now like that. One hero fights through countless enemies. Also, you're forgetting that Halo (setting wise) takes a lot from its grandaddy, Quake II. Their settings were similar (as humanity fights desperately for survival after aliens attack the human race, the fight is taken back to their home world. You were part of a strike team part of the invasion. However, ground forces are soon reduced to only a few, and you must take what you have to fight for survival). Except, in Halo, rather than being an invasion, your ship just crashed, and the Halo installation is a structure rather than the Covenant's homeworld. Also, they both involve space marines, and a "plague" of some sort. In Halo, the plague is the Flood who are a parasitic race trying to spread their kind and take over the galaxy. However, in Quake, that plague is the Strogg, a race of brutal cybernetic super-soldiers trying to manifest their race into every living organism in the galaxy. true true its similar in all regards but the main thing that sets it out as classified as an epic is at the end similar to in lord of the rings a much better epic to site even if u didn't like it its a good example is at the end when the hero is no longer needed he disapears in such stories the hero only exists for as long as he is needed while there are alot of games that do shar that there are not as many and definatley not many with a storyline that would be classified as epic However gears of War could still do it if they take it any farther the scope of that is looking very nice but whos to say
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:04 pm
General_Cerberus Zombicide General_Cerberus all of these have underlying themes Halo has under lying themes of what is considered a classic epic a rather average person with extrodinary abilities tasked with a near impossible challange a conflict with evil all those are key epic themes if u don't count the cliff hanger the chiefs death is symbolic of a epic because in an epic the hero ususaly dies not always but usualy Halo is a modern day epic I know that sounds fan boyish but its not these ae observations made after palaying the game then relating it to my studies in early english literature of the study of the epic story and various archtypes and what not for example the flood is an example of a wealth of great knowledge gone to a horribly wrong use thus equaling the great evil that the chief must confront Star Wars has an underlying theme of Greek mythology reflected init such as with the force the empire is like the many invaders who tried to conquer greece while the rebels are like the city states defending it the old republic is a reflection of greece and rome before dictators came to power and those republics were destroyed much like the one in star wars so in essence there is symbolism inalmost everything you just have to know where to look these 2 are just a few examples I have many more I could bring to the table but I thought I might spare u an even longer and more tedious post Your Halo reference is a bit off......you may as well say any game is like that then, because almost every game out there is now like that. One hero fights through countless enemies. Also, you're forgetting that Halo (setting wise) takes a lot from its grandaddy, Quake II. Their settings were similar (as humanity fights desperately for survival after aliens attack the human race, the fight is taken back to their home world. You were part of a strike team part of the invasion. However, ground forces are soon reduced to only a few, and you must take what you have to fight for survival). Except, in Halo, rather than being an invasion, your ship just crashed, and the Halo installation is a structure rather than the Covenant's homeworld. Also, they both involve space marines, and a "plague" of some sort. In Halo, the plague is the Flood who are a parasitic race trying to spread their kind and take over the galaxy. However, in Quake, that plague is the Strogg, a race of brutal cybernetic super-soldiers trying to manifest their race into every living organism in the galaxy. true true its similar in all regards but the main thing that sets it out as classified as an epic is at the end similar to in lord of the rings a much better epic to site even if u didn't like it its a good example is at the end when the hero is no longer needed he disapears in such stories the hero only exists for as long as he is needed while there are alot of games that do shar that there are not as many and definatley not many with a storyline that would be classified as epic However gears of War could still do it if they take it any farther the scope of that is looking very nice but whos to say I don't really understand what you're saying there........I thought epics were simply something with a huge story, a great hero, and a massive conflict.
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:36 pm
Those are correct but theres alot more to it then that and If I luanch into explaination it will just get more confusing it would literally take me an hour to write out the entire explanation of what defines a true epic so Im going to end my bit on the epic there unless theres another point u would like to bring up to disscuss then Im all for it but for now Im done
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