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[Magic Zarim]

When playing through the game I noticed the game was definitely influenced by existing literature and perhaps movies.

The two things that stood out a lot to me were two, both from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time:

-The Circle of Magi Tower  <>  The White Tower which was pretty much the same concept.
-The Harrowing  <> Final test to become Ajah.

I'm sure there are more influences so post away

[II Relics II]

It has been confirmed that the game was also influenced by Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin.



Darkspawn - Others

Night's Watch - Grey Warden

Plenty others I am sure.

[Seagloom]

There are some characters and background stories in DA that borrow from Martin's novels if one is inclined to make such comparisons. Those were the most obvious to me; although I'm sure there are others.

[DarkSpiral]

Nothing is new. Everything borrows from something else.



The concept of a tower full of a brotherhood/sisterhood of magic users is far, far older than the Wheel of Time series. So while there may be similarities, I doubt that Robert Jordan's works were a direct inspiration for the Circle. The idea is just a staple of the genre.



I...didn't like The Song of Ice and Fire, and never even finished the first book of the series. So if there are any actual inspirations from it, rather than staples of the fantasy genre that boths works happen to use, I wouldn't know.



I rather thought Darkspawn took the place of the traditional Orc horde. The darkspawn aren't particularly different than Tolkien's Orcs, being as the Orcs are twisted versions of Elves, and the darkspawn are twisted versions of...well...all the races, actually. That being said, maybe the "Others" from George R.R. Martin's works are even closer in comparison.



The Harrowing is a rite of initiation. Which is also a very old concept. Did the final test to be Ajah involve being thrown up against a demon to test whether of not you were strong enough to resist it's attempts at possesion? Or something similar?

[Magic Zarim]

DarkSpiral wrote...
The Harrowing is a rite of initiation. Which is also a very old concept. Did the final test to be Ajah involve being thrown up against a demon to test whether of not you were strong enough to resist it's attempts at possesion? Or something similar?

Not necessarily a deamon, but it did involve entring a 'dream plane' where the to-be-ajah had to conquer her own fears and find a way to exit the plane or be stuck for ever. There's a difference though, the to-be-Ajah physically 'teleported' to that netherworld as opposed to the harrowing where the physical form stayed behind. Excuse the lack of explicit naming, it's been so long since I read the books.

[highcastle]

I definitely see a lot of A Song of Ice and Fire in DA, more than the Wheel of Time. You can draw several comparisons to different characters and plots if you're so inclined, though DA rightly went in a couple different directions. I think a lot of people see the links because both are darker fantasies.



There's also a lot of King Arthur in DA (especially if you have Alistair perform the ritual with Morrigan). There's even that one random encounter with the ax in the stump, mimicking the sword in the stone. I also caught a few references to the early Sword of Truth novels (before they turned into political allegories).



But really, I don't know if things were consciously inspired by other works or not. Fantasy has a lot of signature elements that get played around with in various works. It's become hard to say where certain concepts originated, and thus where the inspiration lies.

[Filton_Kingswood]

The real-world influences are Celtic mythos, ancient Rome filtered through Byzantium (Tevinter Imperium), and some Dark Ages early-Christianity-versus Pagans.



Oh, and fiction, obviously a whole lot of LotR on a number of levels, especially aesthetically. PeteR Jackson's on a percentage I guess

[axdorffe]

song of fire and ice, arthurian saga, lotr, c.s. lewis, real world celtic, ancient roman, early christianity ( beowulf), and imo a little bit of alexander dumas's the count of monte cristo at least in some of the origin stories... human noble...dwarf noble....city elf.... not directly of course but at least a little prevalent

[GmanFresh]

helms deep/ostagar

[Magic Zarim]

Just FYI, my OP wasn't a complaint by any means nor would I want to suggest aspects were ripped left and right. I'm just interested to read people's opinions on any possible influences they might have experienced.

Edit: I haven't ever read Song of Ice and Fire so I wouldn't know. Who knows, all the posts here might lead me to pick up books I've never read

Modifié par Magic Zarim, 11 décembre 2009 - 04:50 .

[AntiChri5]

Ice and Fire. So strongly

[Axterix]

Magic Zarim wrote...

The two things that stood out a lot to me were two, both from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time:

-The Circle of Magi Tower    The White Tower which was pretty much the same concept.
-The Harrowing  Final test to become Ajah.

I'm sure there are more influences so post away

To further that, I sort of viewed the Qunari as Seachan.  An honorbound group of outside invaders who do not see mages as people, only as things.

[Axterix]

DarkSpiral wrote...

The Harrowing is a rite of initiation. Which is also a very old concept. Did the final test to be Ajah involve being thrown up against a demon to test whether of not you were strong enough to resist it's attempts at possesion? Or something similar?

The test of the shawl involved a running test to weave 99 particular weaves, in order, while being distracted by a wide variety of things. 99 weaves, 99 distractions.  Experiences somewhat personalized for the candidate in question.  And failure could result in death.

So, essentially, it tested the ability to keep focus under pressure, to not give in.

[Pimpmyvanagon]

II Relics II wrote...

It has been confirmed that the game was also influenced by Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin.

I've heard that said, but I don't see it at all. ASoIaF is the lowest of low fantasy, largely driven by character interaction. Magic is extremely rare and poorly understood.

The setting of DA:O is very, very similar to Warhammer. It's a classic high fantasy setting with all the trappings of one.

[Dasher10]

Morrigan is clearly influenced by LaVeyan Satanism.

[Saurel]

Darkspawn look like a mix of Jackson's take on LOTR and the undead in Army of Darkness

[Maria Caliban]

Pimpmyvanagon wrote...

II Relics II wrote...

It has been confirmed that the game was also influenced by Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin.

I've heard that said, but I don't see it at all. ASoIaF is the lowest of low fantasy, largely driven by character interaction. Magic is extremely rare and poorly understood.

The setting of DA:O is very, very similar to Warhammer. It's a classic high fantasy setting with all the trappings of one.

If you look at the concept art and read the developer quotes from the beginning of the game's creation, you can see a strong, low magic Song of Ice and Fire influence. It changed over time. I think the inclusion of the plate mail, especially the 15th century gothic full plate with the WoW/WH giant spalders hurt that a great deal though.

[SinYang]

Area visuals..

Fade is very similar to Hellraiser 2: hellbound (Hell scenes)

Redcliffe, a mix of Evil Dead 2 / Army of darkness.. broken bridge etc.

Some sections of Redcliffe castle & circle tower had a Baldurs gate 2 atmosphere to them... (irenicus dungeon style cages etc).

Modifié par SinYang, 11 décembre 2009 - 11:43 .

[Statulos]

Dasher10 wrote...

Morrigan is clearly influenced by LaVeyan Satanism.

To me she´s more a directly Nietzchean approach or at least a more "do as you will be your only law" from Aleister Crowley.
Still, Morrigan is clearly influenced by the irish triple goddes: the maid (during the game), the mother (after the game) and the crone (Flemeth).

[Vansen Elamber]

On the original Dragon Age forum at Bioware I can remember a thread where the lead writer David Gaider actually said they were influenced by George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and from that point on I have always thought of the Darkspawn as The Others.

[Dasher10]

Statulos wrote...

Dasher10 wrote...

Morrigan is clearly influenced by LaVeyan Satanism.

To me she´s more a directly Nietzchean approach or at least a more "do as you will be your only law" from Aleister Crowley.
Still, Morrigan is clearly influenced by the irish triple goddes: the maid (during the game), the mother (after the game) and the crone (Flemeth).

1. Nietzche influenced Ayn Rand who in turn influenced Anton LaVey.
2. Crowley was also an influence on LaVey.