The Legend of Tolkien and Computer Games

Presented by: Hashfyre

6 years ago

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The works of J.R.R. Tolkien and it’s influence on modern Computer Games through Dungeons & Dragons.

J.R.R Tolkien was more a world-builder than an author. His posthumously published works and drafts on shaping the legendarium of Middle Earth vastly dwarf his largest published and most well-known work: The Lord of The Rings.

What we often miss is how this body of work subtly and directly influenced the world-building and mechanics table-top role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons and in turn modern fantasy computer games.

This talk traces the Tolkien influence:
– How Norse, Welsh and other mythologies influenced Tolkien
– Distinctive high-level concepts of Tolkien’s world that influence games
– Races: Elves, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Hobbits, Men of West,
– Creatures: Balrogs, Dragons, Wargs, Ents
– Classes: Rangers,
– How the original D&D and other Table-top RPGs were very strongly influenced by Tolkien
– How D&D has influenced most modern computer-role-playing-games (CRPGs)
– World of Warcraft
– Forgotten Realms games
– Neverwinter Nights
– Baldur’s Gate
– Elder Scrolls (Skyrim)