whats with the viking influence

[GrimGrimoire]

what other identifiable fighters were there in Europe at that time? You pretty much got knights and vikings. Maybe bandits, but those are usually the ones you beat up.

Well, there were also the Mongolian warriors.

I've kinda noticed recently that any game, especially RPG's that are set in the northern region of a world always have viking influence. the earliest game ive seen do this was warcraft 3: the frozen throne. is this everyone cashing in on blizzards idea or did someone do it before them?

Not just games, movies as well:
"How to train your Dragon" and "Thor" were viking influenced (although "Thor" was more part of the superhero fad, I think).

Mongolians?
Try Asia.

Also, Thor was a god in scandinavian mythology, the second most powerful after Odin.

 

[irani_che]

if you live somehwere cold and mountainy you wear thick furs and probably grwo a beard to keep warm
thats the viking influence right there

Hell, I do it just for fun.

beards are multipurpose

also, i noticed that alot of things we link with viking culture, dress and weapons are common with peoples across scandinavia and russia as far as the mongols

 

[Neocavo]

Now, I think you might be confusing things with Wrath of the Lich King, the third expansion to World of Warcraft, in which we were indeed introduced to the Vrykul, who were indeed heavily based upon Norse and Viking myth and culture.

yea your right about that my bad

it would just be nice to see a different cultural influence from the abominable snow people, perhaps take on a feudal Japanese influence or perhaps even an aboriginal influence of super high skepticism and xenophobia. gives them an excuse to be violent and what not but instead of renaming Thor and Odin you have a chance to use a different mythological backround. :/

 

[Phas]

And it's just a culture, other games have copied ninja's and central european medieval themes.

Well, technically it was a job, not a culture.

 

[Neocavo]

And it's just a culture, other games have copied ninja's and central european medieval themes.

Well, technically it was a job, not a culture.

nah the whole ninja thing was a culture. you couldnt exactly rock up to an interview and get hired to be a ninja they were generally trained from early childhood to be assassins and theives.

 

[HardkorSB]

Mongolians?
Try Asia.

By the year 1250, they were already invading Eastern European countries.

 

[Phas]

And it's just a culture, other games have copied ninja's and central european medieval themes.

Well, technically it was a job, not a culture.

nah the whole ninja thing was a culture. you couldnt exactly rock up to an interview and get hired to be a ninja they were generally trained from early childhood to be assassins and theives.

I was talking about the viking culture thing, look above your post for a longer explanation.

 

[ThreeWords]

Because Vikings are awesome. They are like Spartans, but with beards.

This. Is. OSLO!

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Because Vikings are awesome. They are like Spartans, but with beards.

And with none of that pansy "I live in a warm temperate region" nonsense.

 

[Wayneguard]

is this everyone cashing in on blizzards idea or did someone do it before them?

High Fantasy as created by Tolkien (and C.S. Lewis) borrowed much from Norse mythology and tradition. "Viking" and fantasy have gone hand in hand since the beginning.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Vikings were just plain awesome. Best barbarians ever. Screw the landbased, boring barbarians! I want a barbarian with the ability to raid a huge area of land and still come home with a boatful of wenches!

 

[Grakyl]

The people who lived in Dark Ages Scandinavian Europe were not Vikings. That is not the correct name for them at all. They were Norse. The games you're talking about have been inspired by Norse culture.

Vikings were the Norsemen who decided to go out on boats and either trade with other countries or pillage and burn them. The term literally means "To go out on an expedition", and in later Norse culture implied "To go out raiding".

Thank you, I learned something important today. Knew that Viking and Norse were the same group of people, but I foolishly kept using the wrong terms without fact checking, I'll be sure to use the right ones from now on.

OT - One reason they have to keep using Norse culture for the cold, northern people is that the entire culture is, for the most part, a result of that cold climate. I know someone mentioned 'Why not base it on Japanese or even Aborigine culture/mythology' but the truth is that, for the most part, the reason they became hardened fur wearing sea raiders was that the cold climate forced them to for survival, and a lot of their mythology was heavily influenced by the culture that was forcefully created by that environment. While not every culture put in those circumstances wouldn't turn out exactly the same, but you'd definitely see some glaring similarities.

 

[rokkolpo]

To add: Because many of us Europeans actually share our roots with the Vikings.

The rest, read what everyone else said^

 

[technoted]

Because J.R.R Tolkein studied Norse and Germanic literature which is what Lord of the Rings took a great deal of inspiration from. And let's be honest so much fantasy is based around what Tolkein wrote. And there is your answer.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

well, it's either them or the Inuit/Eskimo/whatever PC term someone's come up with for them now.
and lets face it, they didn't go around murdering people. they're just... there. doing nothing to anyone. the Norse went around murdering the fuck out of people. then they stole all of the fuck, because why not.

come home with a boatful of wenches!

well, kidnap and rape is really easy when you have battleaxes. peados can do it with a van and some sweets[footnote]i am not supporting child rape, kidnap or falsely promising people sweets. all three things are horrible.[/footnote].

 

[Something Amyss]

No-one's mentioned LOTR? Most western fantasy games/films etc. are hugely influenced by Tolkien who was in turn hugely influenced by Norse mythology, so it's a common theme.

Seriously surprised it took as long as it did for someone to nail it.

 

[KingGolem]

It's all because of our euro-centric culture. Truth be told, I'm pretty sick of it myself. It's as if vikings are the only people ever to live somewhere cold! How about base a culture off of, say, the Tatars? I hear they were pretty horrible. There are also Russians in general, who are awesome, and Eskimos. Or, better yet, maybe they could use the opportunity to create a new culture not taken whole cloth from a real world culture. I know it can be done! What with all those artists and writers they have, coupled with their apparent willingness to create an entire language, Bethesda seems abundantly equipped to do just such a thing. But no, vikings and dragons again...

 

[The_Deleted]

Because Vikings are awesome. They are like Spartans, but with beards.

This is BEAAARD!

Okay, point taken. They are like Spartans with better beards.

And not rubbish.