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MYTHOLOGY IN FICTION WORKS
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DungeonDevDude
1237
DungeonDevDude
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CloseWe all know that Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology is often used in RPGs and Jrpgs as a basis for story telling. This extends often to mainstream fiction and media as well.
What are some rarely used mythological stories and tales that you would like to see used more in gaming and fiction? What games have you played that may have used these rarely heard of works? Bonus points for no Shin Megami Tensei.
Or would you rather that games that use mythology come up with entirely original works?
Edit: As suggested by Pianotm bonus points for not using final fantasy as an example or mentioning Christian lore and mythos.
What are some rarely used mythological stories and tales that you would like to see used more in gaming and fiction? What games have you played that may have used these rarely heard of works? Bonus points for no Shin Megami Tensei.
Or would you rather that games that use mythology come up with entirely original works?
Edit: As suggested by Pianotm bonus points for not using final fantasy as an example or mentioning Christian lore and mythos.
Of the stories in Arabian Nights, Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves are probably the most well-known. Aladdin was Disnified, and has a SNES game based on that instance. Not sure if there's something similar in regards to Ali Baba, but, it wouldn't entirely surprise me.
There's the The Epic of Gilgamesh, which kinda speaks for itself in regards to subject matter. I might know a few things about Gilgamesh, and the strong-walled city of Uruk, but not much. The screenshots on the gamepage clearly uses FF5 assets, and I would not be surprised at all if "The Battle at Big Bridge" was included somewhere in the game. Saying that, I haven't played it to see how it's all put together.
RedMask has two games under their belt concerning African myths/traditions. This is a subject matter I know even less about than Gligamesh, so I can't really comment in that regard. Of course, I haven't actually played those games either, so, that's a second reason I can't comment!
*Edit: I think I have to mention Ōkami. It's, like, a tour-de-force of Japanese tradition in the form of a game. I can't really explain it any other way because Amaterasu's journey in-game touches upon a bunch of stories of the Japanese tradition, and the game interweaves them pretty nicelyeven if it's sometimes too blatty about it.
China's myths/traditions can probably be boiled down to Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Dynasty Warriors, the game-series of the same name), Journey to the West (the Dragon Ball series, among other things), and Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh (Suikoden).
There's the The Epic of Gilgamesh, which kinda speaks for itself in regards to subject matter. I might know a few things about Gilgamesh, and the strong-walled city of Uruk, but not much. The screenshots on the gamepage clearly uses FF5 assets, and I would not be surprised at all if "The Battle at Big Bridge" was included somewhere in the game. Saying that, I haven't played it to see how it's all put together.
RedMask has two games under their belt concerning African myths/traditions. This is a subject matter I know even less about than Gligamesh, so I can't really comment in that regard. Of course, I haven't actually played those games either, so, that's a second reason I can't comment!
*Edit: I think I have to mention Ōkami. It's, like, a tour-de-force of Japanese tradition in the form of a game. I can't really explain it any other way because Amaterasu's journey in-game touches upon a bunch of stories of the Japanese tradition, and the game interweaves them pretty nicely
China's myths/traditions can probably be boiled down to Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Dynasty Warriors, the game-series of the same name), Journey to the West (the Dragon Ball series, among other things), and Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh (Suikoden).
DungeonDevDude
1237
Thanks for the reply!
African Myths and Traditions are something that I wish were touched on a lot more in fiction (outside Egyptian). Africa has a such an incredible amount of mythos and they are all very interesting (particularly the Yoruba and their Orishas) but in understand why many may not be aware due to the history of the continent.
I find that Asian mythos and legend is becoming more and more popular as more anime and things of that nature become more mainstream in western culture.
African Myths and Traditions are something that I wish were touched on a lot more in fiction (outside Egyptian). Africa has a such an incredible amount of mythos and they are all very interesting (particularly the Yoruba and their Orishas) but in understand why many may not be aware due to the history of the continent.
I find that Asian mythos and legend is becoming more and more popular as more anime and things of that nature become more mainstream in western culture.
You give bonus points for not usimg Shin Megami Tensai, but you should also give bonus points for not using Final Fantasy. They touch on a little of everything. You probably would of done well to also mention Christianity, which is so prevalent that creators often use its symbolism without even realizing it.
The Tomb Raider series makes a habit of having Lara exploring some incredibly obscure religion. I can't even identify a lot of the myths Tomb Raider touches on.
The Tomb Raider series makes a habit of having Lara exploring some incredibly obscure religion. I can't even identify a lot of the myths Tomb Raider touches on.
DungeonDevDude
1237
author=pianotm
You give bonus points for not usimg Shin Megami Tensai, but you should also give bonus points for not using Final Fantasy. They touch on a little of everything. You probably would of done well to also mention Christianity, which is so prevalent that creators often use its symbolism without even realizing it.
Fair points, I’ll add those. Although I figured that the big ones would be obvious enough :)
Oh, yeah, Final Fantasy summons are absolutely everywhere. Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, they slot into an ice summon. Leviathan, a biblical monstrosity, they slot into a water summon. Ifrit is from Abrabic tradition, and was slotted into a fire summon. Quetzalcoatl, one of the thunder summons, is from Mesoamerican culture. Odin, famously of Norse tradition, appears as a one-hit-kill summon. I'm kinda surprised at the origin of Bahamut.
Totally did not look some of this up.
Totally did not look some of this up.
Oh yeah! Fish god that created the world? That's totally a dragon that shoots pillar lightning out of his mouth, right?
DungeonDevDude
1237
If I recall correctly Golden Sun summons are kind of all over the place as well.
Moving on to the anime/manga side, One of the things I loved about Shaman King is that it pulled from a ton of mythological sources as well: Christian, Japanese, Chinese, Norse, Egyptian, Sumerian, you name it Shaman king has it.
Moving on to the anime/manga side, One of the things I loved about Shaman King is that it pulled from a ton of mythological sources as well: Christian, Japanese, Chinese, Norse, Egyptian, Sumerian, you name it Shaman king has it.
There's more than enough untapped magic in history and folklore, whether or not it's well-known in pop culture. Heck, with pop culture tweaks in stuff like Dungeons and Dragons, the original versions might get muddied, or become something new and exciting.
Probably the most well-known are based off the Abrahamic faiths (even then, mainly Judaism and Christianity), as well as Greek myth. I'd give Japanese myth a strong third-place to this, as all sorts of Japanese pop culture blend its myth and legends seamlessly into modern works. Honestly, if you point me to lesser-known myths and legends (even in well-known mythos like Greek stuff), or even folk stories and urban legends, I'll be a happy camper.
Some of my favorites actually occur in Pathfinder RPG, for some of its monster entries which extend beyond D&D's adaptations. In their Bestiary supplements beyond the core book they include cryptids, Slavic house spirits such as Domovoi (which work well in place of the Germanic kobolds, which are already redefined in D&D lore), Cthulhu mythos entities, and more.
Speaking of D&D? Iconic monsters and myths aren't just limited to historical records. Some of my favorite monsters and species in the game -- liches, gnolls, mimics, flumphs and more -- came from ideas such as cheap plastic toys. Even so, gnolls were based on an old short story, and mimics were probably made to punish the first murder-hobo players. As for liches, the lore of powerful necromancers turning into sapient undead was expanded upon with characters such as the horrific Acererak.
To quote my man Mark Twain: “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”
tl;dr There's plenty of untapped inspiration to pull from in myth and legend, existing stuff can be tweaked to suit one's needs, and new stuff can come from anywhere.
Probably the most well-known are based off the Abrahamic faiths (even then, mainly Judaism and Christianity), as well as Greek myth. I'd give Japanese myth a strong third-place to this, as all sorts of Japanese pop culture blend its myth and legends seamlessly into modern works. Honestly, if you point me to lesser-known myths and legends (even in well-known mythos like Greek stuff), or even folk stories and urban legends, I'll be a happy camper.
Some of my favorites actually occur in Pathfinder RPG, for some of its monster entries which extend beyond D&D's adaptations. In their Bestiary supplements beyond the core book they include cryptids, Slavic house spirits such as Domovoi (which work well in place of the Germanic kobolds, which are already redefined in D&D lore), Cthulhu mythos entities, and more.
Speaking of D&D? Iconic monsters and myths aren't just limited to historical records. Some of my favorite monsters and species in the game -- liches, gnolls, mimics, flumphs and more -- came from ideas such as cheap plastic toys. Even so, gnolls were based on an old short story, and mimics were probably made to punish the first murder-hobo players. As for liches, the lore of powerful necromancers turning into sapient undead was expanded upon with characters such as the horrific Acererak.
To quote my man Mark Twain: “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”
tl;dr There's plenty of untapped inspiration to pull from in myth and legend, existing stuff can be tweaked to suit one's needs, and new stuff can come from anywhere.
Ahhh... that's a good question. I may be biased, but I don't think Egyptian mythos has very deep representation. Everyone knows Ra, Anubis, and Bast in pop culture. Why not myths about Sekhmet, Thoth, Hathor, and other less-ubiquitous deities? There was at least one RM game where Ra, Isis and Set(?) fought Apep, and the free indie game Void Pyramid (made in OHRRPGCE, too) did well with it. For my Byzantine-inspired setting, each beast-folk patron deity is basically one of three Egyptian gods with the serial numbers filed off in the lore.
I am also curious to see more indigenous legends be given good representation. Even folk legends such as Germany's Der Freischutz, American tall tales, and others could be cool. Even stuff like alchemy could count, which Bloodstained (especially Ritual of the Night) makes references to. Kinda surprising the game's cure-any-ailment item is Panacea and not Azoth.
I am also curious to see more indigenous legends be given good representation. Even folk legends such as Germany's Der Freischutz, American tall tales, and others could be cool. Even stuff like alchemy could count, which Bloodstained (especially Ritual of the Night) makes references to. Kinda surprising the game's cure-any-ailment item is Panacea and not Azoth.
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