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Elon Musk joined the community of Elden Ring fans and recently tweeted that the game was the most beautiful art he had ever seen. For most players, this news comes a little bit late, but it is appreciated that the CEO of Tesla recognized the magnificence of the RPG that continues to break records and set itself as the best game of recent years.
The creation of the game is mostly attributed to director Hidetaka Miyazaki and the company FormSoftware but behind it all there is another genius who reached the status of celebrity for writing A Song Of Ice And Fire . The famous and iconic author, George R.R Martin, had some initial and crucial contributions to the game and made it what it is known for today. Open World (Image: https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Elden-Ring-Lands-Between-Map-Beacons.jpg) It is not clear how Martin contributed to the idea of the game being an open world, but apparently, even though Miyazaki and the team of FromSoftware had already considered building such a map, George reinforced the plan, according to Forbes . RELATED: 10 Books For Game of Thrones fans (That Aren't George R.R. Martin's) As Martin explained on his personal blog, he isn't that much of a gamer and has only played a few strategy games in his life, so it is surprising for most players that he would understand and support the idea of the creation of an open world. It's a relief he did though, as the game undoubtedly provides one of the most astonishing open worlds of the past decade that is worthy of hours of exploration.
Backstory
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George R.R Martin is known for achieving backstories so rich and complex that they seem to be taken out of a real history book, after all, he wrote t he book canon that inspired the Game of Thrones series . As a fan of the author, Miyazaki asked Martin to write the backstory of the Lands Between.
George R.R Martin stated in his blog that after he created the world's background, he handed it over and Miyazaki started developing everything else with FromSoftware. Martin definitely succeeded in creating the „deep, dark, and resonant“ world that both fantasy masters were looking to achieve. The detailed and beautiful stories behind the world of Elden Ring could not have been better structured with anyone else.
Mythology
According to PC Gamer , besides the main work of Martin on which Miyazaki based the Lands Between on, Hidetaka was inspired by many of the conversations both masterminds had where they discussed some matters of the game. The „making of“ Elder Ring had Martin and Miyazaki brainstorming here and there, and the director decided to keep some of the ideas that were thrown in the conversations and add them to the mythology of the game.
The mythos of Elden Ring counts with amazing depth, complex characters, and genius elements that evidently forge the whole game's narrative and visuals. It is impossible to imagine Elden Ring without the mysticism that characterizes every aspect of the story, locations, environments, enemies, weapons, creatures, or the Erdtree.
Monsters
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Miyazaki explained in an interview with Game Informer how George R.R. Martin had created different human-kind characters and demigods for the Elden Ring 's lore, and based on his imagery and information, Hidetaka and his team created the monsters of the game. They may not be the initial intention of the author, but as the videogame development progressed, the game creators went to show Martin their advances in the monster designs.
The monsters in Elder Ring are transcendental in their design and backstory. Without the foundations that were given by Martin, it's hard to believe that the game would achieve such unforgettable bosses and such difficult battles. It's their main characteristics that make them unique and challenging in combat.
The Tarnished
Most of George Martin's characters were re-invented as monsters for the game, but the Tarnished were left almost as intact as when Martin created them, according to Eurogamer . Looking at the backstory of the characters it is almost evident that this was one of George's original ideas, given that it follows most of his style when it comes to historical narrative.
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It is Martin's ultimate gift and talent to convert fantasy worlds into believable realities. His convincing deep descriptions of events almost materialize any sort of universe or character. That is why it is so easy for filmmakers and video game directors to come to him for incredible settings that are comparable to Tolkien's Middle Earth.
Names And Hidden Initials
Coincidences that get misinterpreted by people who are grasping at straws on symbolisms are often, and that was the case with some G, R, R initials that were being found across the Elden Ring . The names of some creatures and characters were written by the author, but that was about it.
Although this was attributed to Martin's doings, he stated on his blog „really, why would I have to hide my name inside the game? My name is right there ON the game, as one of the creators.“ The hilarious response is just another proof of why Martin is such an amazing and relatable personality. It is hard to come up with names, but even those little details were perfectly managed by his creativity.
The Lord Of The Rings
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Miyazaki pointed out several sources of inspiration for the game in an interview with EDGE Magazine , and one of them was The Lord Of The Rings by J. R. R Tolkien, which doesn't come as much of a surprise. In fact, even Martin expressed he is a big fan of the books when he received a Burke Medal in 2019.
It is fair to guess that most fantasy RPG's based on medieval times were inspired at some level by The Lord Of The Rings and the way Tolkien used real history in the books . __ Most of its narrative style, mythology, languages, races, classes, and other characteristics were so transcendental that it set the basics of any other fantasy world creation. If anyone wants to build an effective and outstanding magical universe, it's better to follow Tolkien's steps.
The Eternal Champion
Among other literary inspirations that Miyazaki mentioned in his interview with EDGE magazine , there was The Eternal Champion written by Michael Moorcock. The trilogy follows the story of John Daker, a normal man who is reborn throughout multiple universes to fight and restore the balance between law and chaos.
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The books offer a medieval fantasy setting and also present a very complex and elaborated mythology and backstory of its lore, just as in Elden Ring. The figure of the champion and the concepts of good, evil, honor, and grace must have been a source of inspiration for the game. Needless to say, this combined with Tolkien's books must have greatly inspired the combat scenes of the game.
RuneQuest
Miyazaki took from this title some aspects of the game mechanics, according to his interview with EDGE magazine . Although he never clarified in what specific things RuneQuest was an inspiration to Elden Ring, he did mention it was one of the many titles that contributed to the director's creative process.
The mention of this game was not a surprise either for most RPG fans, given that the title lay down the foundations of many RPG video game systems. Without RuneQuest' s innovative combat mechanics players would be trapped in ineffective and probably annoying boss fights or enemy encounters. None of the fights would be tactical and gamers would never have to think about what to do or improve to kill a specific enemy,
Real Cultures
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Players have a variety of classes they can choose from in Elden Ring between Samurai, Astrologer, Confesor, Hero, and Bandit, among others. Some of them have obvious cultural references from real parts of the world, but others, even though it's not that evident, also seem to be inspired by European, Middle Eastern, and Asian cultures. (Image: https://media.defense.gov/2024/May/02/2003455986/-1/-1/0/240426-N-FK070-1020.JPG)
It would be impossible to create plausible worlds and characters without having some inspiration from the wonderful and rich cultures that humanity already has. Nothing can come out of nowhere, and even though the world in Elden Ring is pure fantasy, reality is a good thing to be based on in order to not miss any details in the creation of a varied, complex, and substantial world.
NEXT: 10 Best Weapons In Elden Ring