Warhammer 40k: How Blizzard is a cunning bunch..

[Pyro Paul]

Warcraft was orginally designed to be a GW 'Warhammer' game. however GameWorkshop got cold feet and pulled out of the contract. because they forcably ended the contract, Blizzard was allowed full owner ship of the units they developed thus far, and with a few name changes they produced 'Warcraft'

afterwords, Blizzard developed Starcraft... a warcraft in space which mirrored the 'Warhammer 40k' IP of Gameworkshop. some lawsuits where filed in the late 90s and a settlement was approved which allowed both sides to have their intellectual property.


everything beyond this point is just internet hear-say really.

GW is avidly protective of their IP (probably because of WC/SC) and will quite litterally acctually issue 'Cease and Desist' orders to fan based content which uses their IP. If a lawsuit could be filed, then GW would file it... but they had already gone through the courts and arrived at a settlement for all their troubles.

 

[oliveira8]

So?

Space Marines=Space Marines from Starship Troopers

Eldar= High Elfs from the WH fantasy which riped off Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons(I though everyone Tau=Protoss??)

Tyranid=Arachnid meets Alien.

Games Workshop arent knowed for their clean record of ripping off other peoples work.

 

[GothmogII]

You know I don't really see the similarities between the Eldar and Protoss. Out of everything in Starcraft they're the most original.

However the Zerg and Terran are rip offs without shame.

The zerg maybe, but I thought the Terrans were a nice take on what Colonial types would be like in space. Actually, beyond the fact that they're space marines, they don't really have all that much in common with their 40K brothers. In 40k the Space Marines are basically dogmatic religious zealots, while in Starcraft the marines are good ole' boys (technical term) and rednecks.

As for the Protoss, that always bugged me. I mean, the Eldar are almost literally just elves in space, without their armor on you'd hardly tell the difference. At least with the Protess they went and designed an alien looking race, although the tech between the two is very thematically similar, that is all curves and shine and lights.

And yes, the zerg are rather unimaginative in terms of design. Although, I will give them a plus for at least having some character. While it's true that they are mostly mindless beasts, the intelligence that controls them, the cerebrates etc. most certainly do. Which, honestly turns me off to the Tyranids of 40k, who in my mind at least, become nothing but mindless cannon fodder with little pazzazz to them. (However I haven't actually seen much of them beyond what I saw in Dawn of War 2, so maybe a 40k player could clue me in as to if there's any notable Tyranid characters or if the swarm is all they've got to them?)

 

[Loiosh91]

NO ONE HAS DRAWN THIS PARALLEL.

i hope to God that was sarcasm

Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo a ripoffs of everything, Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, Starship Troopers, D&D, whatever

this is not to say i don't like Blizzard(I voted for them in every March Mayhem session)
they are my favorite gaming franchise basically because of these ripoffs, they have taken the very best of some of the most popular sci-fi and fantasy books, games, movies and almost perfectly melded them together

besides that they're the best company at making sequels/expansions as far as im concerned

 

[Vauban]

(However I haven't actually seen much of them beyond what I saw in Dawn of War 2, so maybe a 40k player could clue me in as to if there's any notable Tyranid characters or if the swarm is all they've got to them?)

I don't play Tyranids so I can't help there, I play Space Marines and Tau.

Everything I wanted to say has already been said so has anyone else ever come across people who think that Warhammer 40k copied Blizzard, depending on the situation it can be very fun.

 

[teisjm]

And i guess games workshop came up with the whole alien concept as well as space marines and orc's?

A few examples, not neccecerily the first apprearance of said things but they came b4 40k

Alien(the movie) 1979 was before warhammer 40k which came out in 1987, and i'll bet my right nut that ailen wasn't the first movie with aliens in it.

Star wars is from 1977, and the stormtroopers are sort of space marines i guess.

Elders are space-elves (sort of) I dunno if someone has launched elves into outer space b4 but elves are not a games workshop original either, same goes for orcs.

My point is that most fantasy/sci-fi could be called rip-offs of other fantasy stuff, don't make a big deal out of it.

 

[Nova Tendril]

You know I don't really see the similarities between the Eldar and Protoss. Out of everything in Starcraft they're the most original.

However the Zerg and Terran are rip offs without shame.

The zerg maybe, but I thought the Terrans were a nice take on what Colonial types would be like in space. Actually, beyond the fact that they're space marines, they don't really have all that much in common with their 40K brothers. In 40k the Space Marines are basically dogmatic religious zealots, while in Starcraft the marines are good ole' boys (technical term) and rednecks.

As for the Protoss, that always bugged me. I mean, the Eldar are almost literally just elves in space, without their armor on you'd hardly tell the difference. At least with the Protess they went and designed an alien looking race, although the tech between the two is very thematically similar, that is all curves and shine and lights.

And yes, the zerg are rather unimaginative in terms of design. Although, I will give them a plus for at least having some character. While it's true that they are mostly mindless beasts, the intelligence that controls them, the cerebrates etc. most certainly do. Which, honestly turns me off to the Tyranids of 40k, who in my mind at least, become nothing but mindless cannon fodder with little pazzazz to them. (However I haven't actually seen much of them beyond what I saw in Dawn of War 2, so maybe a 40k player could clue me in as to if there's any notable Tyranid characters or if the swarm is all they've got to them?)

Well part of the Tyranid appeal is that they are all one massive force linked to the same mind. Though there are some notable Tyranid beats such as Old One Eye and the Red Terror.

It's true that the Space Marines difffer from the.......err Spesh Marenes in terms of personality. But come on, their power armor is nearly identical.

Also the Zerg did have personality but that personality died along with the Overmind. Now the only notable Zerg is Kerrigan and she is about as appealing as a rock.

I do find the Protoss and Eldar to be very different.

 

[Worgen]

I always thought the nids should speak with a australian accent, I mean who is to say that as the hive mind you couldnt understand what your troops were saying and them being australian would just be horribly amusing to me

 

[Weaver]

You forgot that Orks = Orcs, from Warcraft. Durr.

I'm not a huge Warhammer 40,000 fan, in that I don't play the games much and don't follow it at all, but there is a certain quality to its madness, its juvenile gothic death universe, that appeals to me. I bought Dawn of War II a few days ago, and aside from enjoying it quite a bit, what really struck me at first about the universe is that it essentially combines the best lore and gameplay elements from Blizzard's three cardinal franchises, Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. It's so completely ridiculous and nerdy while still taking itself 100% seriously that there's no way you can't love it.

hahaha except the orks!
Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!

But really, everything fantasy is pretty much Tolkien influenced, and most things space mariney were influenced by Alien.

 

[Nova Tendril]

You forgot that Orks = Orcs, from Warcraft. Durr.

I'm not a huge Warhammer 40,000 fan, in that I don't play the games much and don't follow it at all, but there is a certain quality to its madness, its juvenile gothic death universe, that appeals to me. I bought Dawn of War II a few days ago, and aside from enjoying it quite a bit, what really struck me at first about the universe is that it essentially combines the best lore and gameplay elements from Blizzard's three cardinal franchises, Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. It's so completely ridiculous and nerdy while still taking itself 100% seriously that there's no way you can't love it.

hahaha except the orks!
Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!

But really, everything fantasy is pretty much Tolkien influenced, and most things space mariney were influenced by Alien.

Yeah, but Warhammer 40k made ripping of Aliens popular.

You know Starcraft has no Orkz in it. Maybe the Xel' Naga are Orkz.

 

[burninjack4l]

I don't think this ever really "surprised" me...
There are a LOT of similarities. But, Starcraft is like the more realistic, less exaggerated, non-religious version of Warhammer 40k.
Not to mention it's on a smaller scale.
I love both games fanatically, and I don't push any blame towards Blizzard for taking what was an amazing set of ideas, to make their own franchise.

PLUS, important: Keep in mind that they made the original starcraft/warcraft computer games before there was anything on warhammer besides the tabletop, and possibly some books.

 

[Nova Tendril]

I don't think this ever really "surprised" me...
There are a LOT of similarities. But, Starcraft is like the more realistic, less exaggerated, non-religious version of Warhammer 40k.
Not to mention it's on a smaller scale.
I love both games fanatically, and I don't push any blame towards Blizzard for taking what was an amazing set of ideas, to make their own franchise.

PLUS, important: Keep in mind that they made the original starcraft/warcraft computer games before there was anything on warhammer besides the tabletop, and possibly some books.

Warhammer 40K still had a large amount of content before the video games. The table top game and books were (and still are) very popular.

 

[bodyklok]

Well the 40K universe is a great and deep one, so I can't really blame Bilzzard for ripping it off.

 

[Weaver]

I don't think this ever really "surprised" me...
There are a LOT of similarities. But, Starcraft is like the more realistic, less exaggerated, non-religious version of Warhammer 40k.
Not to mention it's on a smaller scale.
I love both games fanatically, and I don't push any blame towards Blizzard for taking what was an amazing set of ideas, to make their own franchise.

PLUS, important: Keep in mind that they made the original starcraft/warcraft computer games before there was anything on warhammer besides the tabletop, and possibly some books.

and the video game Space Hulk which came out before Warcraft: Orcs and humans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Hulk_(video_game)

 

[burninjack4l]

Warhammer 40K still had a large amount of content before the video games. The table top game and books were (and still are) very popular.

Oh sorry I didn't mean to give off the wrong impression, I meant simply that they didn't have a straightforward VIDEO game to copy.

and the video game Space Hulk which came out before Warcraft: Orcs and humans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Hulk_(video_game)

Oops. Okay well, at least that game looked literally nothing like starcraft?

 

[ZeroMachine]

I just had to tell you guys... on the home page, this subject comes up on my screen as "Warhammer 40k: How Blizzard is a cun..."

Fill in the rest

To not be completely off topic, I've heard about this many times, and although I respect Warhammer and Warhammer 40k for starting it all, I grew up on Warcraft and Starcraft and enjoy them more. To each their own.

 

[Valiance]

Makes sense... Just roll with the punches. I do like the twist that they made with the marines though... Instead of a bunch of zealots (space marines) they went completely opposite. It turned out to be really good. Not to mention, the ever-famous click-quotes... Firebats one of my favs. But, 40k's got some cool ones on its games...

Yeah, instead they made the religious zealots the Protoss. ;P

Anyhow, I love both Starcraft and DoW II, but the Zerg/Tyranid one is quite obvious.

However, many people think Starcraft ripped off Starship Troopers, which I won't contest either.

 

[The Madman]

To be fair to Blizzard, Tyranids themselves are basically just rips of the Aliens from the appropriately named Aliens movies with a dash of the baddies from Starship Troopers.

It's not as if 40k were the first to come up with the concepts themselves. Indeed just about every Warhammer faction is itself taken often directly from another source.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, just playing Devils Advocate here.

 

[LOOY]

I would spew off into a huge book-sized rant about this. I'll make it short and sweet.

Space Marines / Terrans

Eldar / Protoss

Tyranids / Zerg



If I deserve it flame me for being late on this realization..

Hmm protoss are more like tau, and tau were released after starcraft...
otherwise yeah.