Runescape and LOTR?

[Viktorkrum77]

I'm not sure if this point has been brought up once or twice before, however, well a little searching did me no good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I was rewatching Lord of the Rings, and I made a realization. Runescape seems to be influenced by most likely the books. The names, especially of the elf cities and kingdoms in Runescape seem like names right out of J. R. Tolkein's books, Isadorf, Crandor, to name a few. And that of course, is not all, but I'm in a bit of a rush, so I will leave this open ended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So anyone else agree?

[darkblade986]

There are many references to other things in Runescape. The vast majority has been Monty Python however...

[Tbfgraphx14]

Runescape takes many things from other games and movies :roll:

[DanCool999]

the light mithril armour is directly from LOTR

[Bludragon124]

Well, I can see why it would be. Lets face it, many things are affected by LOTR... J.R.R Tolkiens novels are possibly some of the most influential fantasies there are IMO.

[jemathonical]

LOTR is a fantasy type movie, runescape is a fantasy type game.

 

 

 

Of course RS would get some inspiration from LOTR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viktor, I thought you only osted in OT.....

[-------]

I think darkblade hit it on the nose. RuneScape draws from a variety of sources *cough cough Camelot cough*, and I personally notice a lot of "fantasy standards" used in RS. The tree gnomes, mad kings, evil dragons, stupid goblins, evil red-robed priests, fulfilling prophecies to defeat eeevil...that's just a few of the standards I can think of off the top of my head. As far as other sources go, it could be argued that the idea of different dragon colors comes from D&D. And mithril armor I have actually seen in fantasy outside LOTR, although Tolkien probably was the first to use it. (I think it was David Eddings, but I'd have to check on that.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then again, a lot of so-called fantasy standards are inspired by (aka lifted from) Tolkien anyway, IMO.

[Brinner]

the light mithril armour is directly from LOTR

 

 

 

mithril as far as im aware isnt a idea made from LOTR mithril has been named from alot of places one is FF2 which has mithril

[Bludragon124]

warrior, you have to realize that the original LOTR books were released in the 1950s... mithril was probably his idea, or at least he popularized it.

[Brinner]

maybe he did make it...or its another mythological metal like addy...atleast we know for certain where it came from

[tzone92]

LOTR is a fantasy type movie, runescape is a fantasy type game.

 

 

 

Of course RS would get some inspiration from LOTR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOTR is a book trilogy, not a movie! The LOTR movies are based on the books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ON TOPIC: The armors of mithril and adamantine are elements of many fantasy movies, games, books, etc., can not be contributed to any one source, Tolkien did not create entirely what mithril is in fantasy culture, that came about after many references to it in other fantasy mediums.

[-------]

Well, y'all got me curious about where mithril really comes from. Turns out, according to my quick research, it is indeed a Tolkienism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dictionary definition of mithril

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squaresoft's (the maker of the Final Fantasy games) explanation of the origin of mithril.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wikipedia article on mithril, including etymological origins (it's Elvish, FYI)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, yeah. DanCool actually was right. Hmmm, I wondered who originated other RuneScape elements now? (I still say D&D was the first to use color-coded dragons!) Also, as far as place-names go, don't forget that Tolkien's languages operated like real ones, so the thought process for naming places was hardly "Hmmm, 'Isengard' sounds exotic. I think I'll name it that." Dunno what Andrew and Paul's naming process is, but I doubt it's that sophisticated. (no offense)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and if you have issues with Wikipedia, please don't flame me about it. I did include other sources, too, after all.

[SwreeTak]

Runescape have always copied from other games, movies and books. And it will keep copiying.

[BloodfleshX]

I doubt there are very many games (of any genre really) that haven't copied from another source (LoTR being one of the most eminent sources of inspiration).

[rft]

There is almost no such thing as a completely original idea. Whenever fantasy is involved, you are likley to have orcs/elves/skeletons/magic/wizards etc involved somewhere. To suggest that Tolkein was the first to think up these ideas is pretty laughable. He got a lot of inspiration from Norse/Celtic mythology, and a lot of the names that feature in his books come directly from those stories.

[Warned]

Dictionary definition of mithril

isn't it supposed to be as strong as dragonhide instead of steel? dunno I haven't read the book in a whole. :?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for the topic, It's like albert Einstein once said: "The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

[baron8000]

Mythril or Mithril however you spell it acually comes from norse mythology, as do lots of goblins trolls and similar beasties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please dont make me post the reply to a PZOMG runescape steals everthing rant about the difference between plagiarism and outsourcing, satire and parody

[Darkluniux]

Lets just clear our minds and give to runescape its trully name: "ClicheQuest".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, to make an fantasy game about some medieval lifestyle is very hard to not copy, i mean, almost all in all game sis used, dragons, kingdoms, elfs, gnomes, dark lunatic monks, a bazooka that shoots cloured frogs at sheeps, a land plagued with vampyres...Etc..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is just very odd that our friend Andrew didint have putted in the game the Orcs, i mean, that is what will make runescape a "ClicheQuest".

[Darkluniux]

Ah yes, you're all noobs, Mithrill is a wereable computer lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/mithril/

[-------]

There is almost no such thing as a completely original idea. Whenever fantasy is involved, you are likley to have orcs/elves/skeletons/magic/wizards etc involved somewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good point, Tolkien did draw his inspiration from Norse and Celtic mythologies. His languages are all based on real-life languages within those realms. I remember reading a biography that said he chose Old Welsh to base the Mordor language on because he hated how Welsh sounds. (Sorry if anyone out there's Welsh.) Most of what Tolkien used he didn't all dream up himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super-strong and super-light metals have, of course, been around for a while. I maintain, though, based on my research, that Tolkien was the first to use mithril specifically. He also introduced the race of orcs/orks as big, very strong, ugly, brutal humanoids, though the name itself (orc) is an Old English word, and of course, he was influenced by mythology, specifically the undead creatures in Beowulf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone would like to provide counter-sources to the ones I have and continue our discussion of Tolkien, I'd be happy to talk. I was in a class that talked mostly CS Lewis, but touched on Tolkien, and I miss the discussion. I'm not sure this is the place, though. I mean, I'm new here, but wouldn't a discussion about Tolkien belong in the Off-Topic section or something?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

isn't it supposed to be as strong as dragonhide instead of steel? dunno I haven't read the book in a whole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warned, I haven't read the books in so long, I can't remember, either. I do think you're right, though; mithril is supposed to be stronger than steel. Hmph, looks like someone needs to correct the dictionary. I'll have to remember that quote, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On-topic, though, I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't think anything in RuneScape consciously draws from LOTR, but because so many of our "fantasy standards" (possibly aka "cliches" ) are drawn from ideas first written about in and/or popularized by LOTR, it draws from it indirectly. And I ain't sayin' ALL fantasy standards are out of Tolkien, by the by. Just a number of them. Again, we can further the discussion of this topic in the appropriate thread. (PM me if anyone wants to start it, or point me in the right direction if it already exists.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stealing? Well, that depends on your definition. I'd agree with Darklunix to say that RuneScape is cliched, but I wouldn't say it steals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anywho, that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. 8-)

[Schedl]

 

 

 

It is just very odd that our friend Andrew didint have putted in the game the Orcs, i mean, that is what will make runescape a "ClicheQuest".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DonÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâôt know if you are f2p or haven`t done the fairy tale quests yet (if you are p2p), because we already got orcs... they are in the Lost City, but cannot be attacked - at least yet. But they are there.

[Darkluniux]

 

 

 

 

It is just very odd that our friend Andrew didint have putted in the game the Orcs, i mean, that is what will make runescape a "ClicheQuest".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DonÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâôt know if you are f2p or haven`t done the fairy tale quests yet (if you are p2p), because we already got orcs... they are in the Lost City, but cannot be attacked - at least yet. But they are there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just did Fairy tale part II till the part when you get fairy rings to teleport, nothing else, so well...Orcs...I see... very very original..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least Jagex is original puting the Grand father fairy like the grandfathe rin the grandfather movie (yup, i like redundancy). Ok, it is at least funny.

[peterbluer]

I think darkblade hit it on the nose. RuneScape draws from a variety of sources *cough cough Camelot cough*, and I personally notice a lot of "fantasy standards" used in RS. The tree gnomes, mad kings, evil dragons, stupid goblins, evil red-robed priests, fulfilling prophecies to defeat eeevil...that's just a few of the standards I can think of off the top of my head. As far as other sources go, it could be argued that the idea of different dragon colors comes from D&D. And mithril armor I have actually seen in fantasy outside LOTR, although Tolkien probably was the first to use it. (I think it was David Eddings, but I'd have to check on that.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then again, a lot of so-called fantasy standards are inspired by (aka lifted from) Tolkien anyway, IMO.

Also, adamynte(or spelled something like that) comes from the Drow(evil under-ground elves) in DnD.

[Lord_Gromit]

The names, especially of the elf cities and kingdoms in Runescape seem like names right out of J. R. Tolkein's books, Isadorf, Crandor, to name a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the names in LOTR are elvish, and clearly you don't speak Sindarin or Quenya (the two main dialects of Elvish). In them, Crandor means wander/stray land (very awkard phrasing, very rough translation, as the full word doesn't translate properly. Isadorf doesn't translate at all, in any degree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I would disagree with those names being LOTR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Celidah, mithril originated with LOTR. In fact, I can prove it. The word "Mithril" comes from Elvish, which Tolkein developed in the 20s. Literally, it comes from "mith", meaning gray, and "ril" meaning brilliance, but better translated as true silver.

[-------]

Ah, adamantite. I was debating whether to talk about it in my last post. Adamantite (or adamantine, adymantine, or however you want to spell it) is a metal that waaay predates mithril. Although I have no doubts it's featured in D&D, Adamantite is mentioned multiple times in Old Norse mythology. In one tale, Loki is bound with chains made of the stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord_Gromit, are all the place-names in LOTR really Elvish? I would have thought at least the Dwarvish lands would have Dwarvish names. Not surprised if Man's lands have Elvish names, though, since the races are so closely related in Middle-Earth. Then again, I haven't even read The Simarallion, so that's just an educated guess. Oh, and I know that mithril is Tolkien's creation. That's what I myself am trying to prove! Did you see the post where I listed three sources saying just that and stating that the word mithril is Elvish?