Wednesday, 18 November 2009
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Lore: The Stories Behind the Games
Let’s start out with the definition because I love definitions. You can never know too many words.
lore [lawr, lohr] –noun1. the body of knowledge, esp. of a traditional, anecdotal, or popular nature, on a particular subject: the lore of herbs.
2. learning, knowledge, or erudition.
3. Archaic. a. the process or act of teaching; instruction.
b. something that is taught; lesson.
Every single game we play has lore behind it. From Nintendo’s Super Mario World to the games of today including World of Warcraft. And to think something like 85% of the WoW population has no idea who the people they kill in dungeons and raids are. Can you believe it?
When I do anything in life, I like to have a clue what to do, and the background behind it before I jump in. It would be like moving to France and knowing nothing of the culture or language. People need to get back in touch with what the game is! Blizzard has a HUGE following. Something like 11 Million people play this game YET 9 Million are clueless.
I am not saying everyone should wowwiki or wowhead everything so they are as knowledgeable as some of the older players, but I am saying you should at least know that Arthas was the Prince of Lordaeron, which is current day the top of where Undercity is. That is just to know your villain.
Along the lines of lore, I would also like to point out that people don’t read quests. I am guilty of this too, though I have read most of the quests at some point on one of more of my characters. Reading your quests gives insight into what the whole game is about…it might even inspire you to go after some new achievements and earn new titles (Loremaster, Ambassador, Diplomat, etc.)
If you enjoy lore, like I do, I encourage you to read outside sources (a.k.a. non-Blizzard employees). Some of the best stories come from truly talented people, who also play the game for fun. One of my personal favorite stories is found on fanfiction.net by the name of The Gravedigger (and the other GD stories) By Fros X. Socker.
Do you have a favorite lore story? Do you know the lore behind your favorite game?
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About the Author
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- From: Twisted
- Name: Twisted
- About Me: My friends are my life. I am attached to my phone as if it were another limb. I think World of Warcraft is the best thing since sliced bread. If you don't then you suck! =p
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Comments (10)
I love WoW lore, except the fact that the expansions kindof dont go with the lore... but w/e i recently quit WoW for warhammer... but WoW is so fucking great of a game. i miss it but i just cant go back lol
I'm a big time lore fan. With everything but especialllly WoW. Honestly, it's what keeps me to the game. There are so many wonderful MMO's out there, but non have the storyline like Blizz does.
Not reading quests used to buggggggggg the hell out of me. I'm all excited about the quest then someone in my party says something like "wut? read? questz r gay I dun read them"
/rageeeeeeeee
Or
"lez go kill illidan, that stupid blud elf in the black temple. he is so lame"
/wrists
NO APPRECIATION I TELL YA!! NONE!!!!
You can't compare this with moving to another country without knowing the culture or language. It's not going to adversely affect your life if you don't have a clue about the back story... It could be bad if you don't know how to communicate in a new country -- or you could inadvertently disrespect someone and get yourself in trouble. If people feel they don't need to know the stories behind the game, big deal. They paid for their experience, so let them enjoy it. :)
haha i used to be a myth and lore freak so i know a lot of the stuff. though i don't bother half the time to try and figure out where some of the stuff comes from, i often chuckle when i see the resemblance between lore and the game.
As I mentioned when commenting on another post, I used to love reading the histories of everyone and everything in SC and wc and other games.
Like who remembers that Arcturus Mengsk wasn't actually the starter of his rebellion? His parents were the original leaders, though they were non-violent. Until ghosts were sent, executed them, and nuked Korhal IV into blackened glass.Sadly, I can't remember the names of most of the characters from old school Warcraft, except Guldan. Ah well.And for an excellent story set in a gaming universe, I was a big fan of Jeff Grubb's book, Liberty's Crusade. Stays quite faithful to the game, worth reading.@shoujo@xanga - True..but usually the ones that don't bother with the lore at all start whining at the end for more content at the end especially in world of warcraft. They have never bothered to read the quests or know something about the npcs they talk to or never bother to know anything about the lore.
Maybe if they took the time to read the quests, know something about the lore or just stopped for awhile to smell the flowers..they would be more likely to enjoy the game than to rush to down the next boss after a new patch release for the next great purple epic and then just sit on their pixelated butts in Dalaran complaining all day long there is nothing to do. I say to those players.."The journey is more important than the end or the start. "
Well, you are certainly more patient and story-oriented than some of your counterparts. Some people (even myself sometimes, though not in WoW) just like to fight things, though, and some people will fall in line with their group/guild. Though I don't play it, World of Warcraft is quite the fascinating microcosm of our world.
Mario lore! Yessss! Haha.
I'd have to say I love the Elder Scrolls universe if not just for its depth. They put a lot of time into that world's history, for sure.
The Halo Lore is some of the best i think. I have read all the books at least twice and the ones by Eric Nylund even more.
And of topic anyone know when the next one comes out, its supposed to be about grey team i cant wait.
I love lore, but I'm not into MMOs. I like story-centered RPGs. When I play less story-centered games, I read a lot of stuff, but I don't enjoy them quite as much because all the lore doesn't seem to affect anything.