09 Jan Dragons: The Wild Cards in Video Games & Literature
I’m pretty sure that fantasy video games like RPGs or RTSs are a pretty natural evolution of fantasy books, even more so than movies, for example. The whole point of playing these video games is to actually be able to transfer into another plane of existence where different rules hold the pillars of the cosmos, and live through an epic story along with the characters. The same thing attracts people to the fantasy literary genre.
If we look at these video game genres, we can easily see the two elements fantasy books are made of on a global level. You have your hero and his friends who pass through an incredible ordeal and learn a lot through it, therefore becoming more powerful – that’s the first element covered by Role Playing video games. The second thing that you have to have is an element of a large scale war, a big conflict and an epic clash of two or more sides – and this is the second element covered by Real Time Strategy video games. It is not really a surprise that a lot of crossovers between RTSs and RPGs have been attempted in the past (some good, some… not so much), and thanks to this story telling element, we have lived to play through Warcraft 3 and Star Craft 3, the Spellforce series and many more.
The “epic” clichés
The fantasy genre in video games was always my favorite, ever since I’ve started playing video games some 15 years ago. I’ve had my share of gaming experiences on different consoles but I feel most at home playing on a PC. I have noticed a decline of quality of gaming genres that actually use this fantasy element and I’d like to point out that I’m not focusing on the graphics or the gameplay, since these two are usually the two things game developers focus on. The importance of the story and the way it unfolds is lacking in comparison to the advancements in other aspect of video games. I’m getting the feeling that game developing companies focus on everything but this and tend to forget the importance of the storyline. I can’t count the times I’ve started playing games that look stunning, have great graphics, beautiful music, but also a dreadfully transparent and boring storyline. I get the feeling that they just go and say:”Oh, we will just throw in some Elves, Orcs, Ogres, a bit of magic, a few artifacts and let’s be done with it”. This is not enough! Are you kidding me? Where is the suspense, the morality of things, the maturity of the story? I’m not sure if the gaming industry understands that most of their gaming audience is now between 20-35 years old and that superficial stories just won’t cut it with this kind of crowd.
The most used clichés in video games are, of course, Dragons but somehow the dragon character always fits into the entire thing rather nicely.
The dragons of the real world
Dragons draw their origin from two places. There is the European dragon that originated in Greece and then spread across the rest of Europe and the Chinese dragon that later found its counter parts in Korea, Japan and the rest of Asia. The wide spread name used for these reptilian or serpentine creatures is taken from the Greek word drakon (meaning serpent or giant sea fish) but it got its final form when it transferred into the French language in the early 13th century. An interesting fact is that the word Dragon was used to depict any large serpent creature in the English language up to the 18th century.
The differences between the oriental dragon and the European dragon are fairly obvious.
The European dragon is a serpent-like creature with bat like wings and the ability to breathe fire. It is a four legged creature and its two legged counterpart is called a wyvern. They are viewed as evil creatures that are greedy and brutal.
On the other hand, the oriental (or Chinese dragon) is a wingless creature, with the ability to fly of course. Their demeanor is a bit different. They are fierce and powerful, that much is true, but they are not necessarily evil. They have the ability to control elements and can grant power to those that are worthy of it. The five clawed version was a symbol for the Emperor of China for a long time. The thing that is peculiar is that, instead of breathing fire, the oriental dragons had the ability to control wind and water, unlike their European counterparts.
These two cultural settings widely influenced a variety of uses for dragons in modern literature and storytelling. They are, in most cases, a hybrid of the two types and sometimes there are even two conflicted sides, where one side is the European dragon (fire) and the other is the oriental dragon (water).
Modern dragon characters
This cross-cultural situation of Dragons as a concept actually works to the benefit of modern authors because it gives them the freedom to use them in a lot of different ways. Sure, they are always very powerful but their intelligence, alignment and involvement is never the same. They can perform a variety of character roles and they come with a specter of different behaviors and attitudes. As far as the “classical” pantheon of mythical creatures in fantasy fiction is concerned, you know all that Elves, Night Elves, Orcs, Trolls and all that stuff is mostly ripped off from Tolkien’s work, and the least stereotypical race are the Dragons. Sure, there are few that resemble each other in the most important features, but the evolution of dragons as a race is far from over. Dragons are constantly being rediscovered in the ways they are used to influence (or not influence) the storyline. There are some attempts to use them just because they are cool, and that’s an easy way out.
You: “Why did the whole thing happen?”
The Story:” Cuz dragons and dragons do things cuz of reasons!”
This is OK, and just OK if your intended audience is still in grade school (open for debate with any grade school gamers). Great games are being built around the storyline these days. The times of just adding a storyline on an already finished game are long gone by. You are telling a story and the story needs to be good, not just look good – this isn’t Hollywood. The same thing stands for Dragon characters. They need to be more than just cool – they need to be epic.
In order to demonstrate my point, it is only customary that I give some examples of creative uses for dragons across the modern literary and gaming world. Here are some that I find interesting but you don’t necessarily have to agree with me.
Deathwing (Warcraft)
Not many people who started their questing in Azeroth with the World Of Warcraft series are aware that Warcraft is a very, very old storyline (and one of the more massive ones, I might add). Deathwing (formerly known as Neltharion the Earth-Warder) , the main villain, is actually a very old character in the epic story of Warcraft and he has made his appearance in Warcraft II. His evolution is a long one and has gone through a lot of changes before hitting Azeroth with his earth shattering flight.
-“You will learn to show respect. You are in the presence of my glorious self, I, Neltharion. I am
the Earth-Warder. You will treat me with the reverence I deserve.”
Smaug (The Hobbit)
Tolkien has the European view of dragons. In his works, they are usually gluttonous, greedy, villainous and brutal. Nevertheless, one of the more iconic, modern dragons is of course Smaug. In one of the more popular Tolkien’s works “The Hobbit” he plays the role of the main villain and stands as a force to be reckoned with.
“My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a
thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!”
Urgash & Asha (Might & Magic)
Dragons have always been part of the Might & Magic universe. I have played Heroes of Might and Magic 2 as the first game to introduce me to turn based strategy video games and the fact that you could actually have cool looking dragon units was mind-blowing. The most interesting story in this series that involves dragons is the one in Heroes of Might and Magic 5, which takes place in the world of Ashan, created by one of the two primordial dragons. These two dragons Asha, the primordial dragon of the Order and Urgash, the primordial dragon of Chaos are the two primary Gods in the world of Ashan.
“In the beginning, there was nothing but the eternal Void. The Void spawned the Cosmic Egg, which,
upon hatching, released the two Primordial Dragons: Asha, the Dragon of Order, and Urgash,
the Dragon of Chaos.”
Elient (Malazan: Book of the Fallen)
Let me just say up front that Steven Erickson is one of my favorite writers of fantasy fiction and I hold his work in very high regard. His book series are filled with dragons, dragon-kin shifters and mages and it has one of the unique and more original story lines I have ever come across. In order to avoid spoiling this work of art to any of the readers, I’m just going to say that you are in for a treat.
“Yet you now call them players, rather than enemies,” she said. “Suggesting to me a certain shift in
perspective – what comes, yes, of being the Master of the Deck of Dragons?”
“Huh, I hadn’t thought about that. Players. Enemies. Is there a difference?”
“The former implies… manipulation.”
Songs of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones)
You must have at least heard about HBO’s Game of Thrones series based on the Songs of Ice and Fire book series written by George RR Martin. Many of my friends who watch the series complained that the dragons in Game of Thrones are too passive. They feel that they will never really see them in action. For those of your out there that have the same opinion, here is the same advice I gave to my friends: ”Read the books you lazy jerks!”. No offense, but you can’t really expect every valid piece of information from a work as extensive as this to be transferred into a series. It just can’t be done. For those of us who actually bothered to read the books, there is a lot more information about dragons present, so we don’t feel that they are lacking. The best is yet to come.
“When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me and destroy those who
wronged me! We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground!”
Daenerys Targaryen
Dovah (The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim)
I’ve been playing the Elder Scrolls series since Morrowind and I was waiting for a long time for dragons to start flying around Tamriel. When they finally arrived I was not disappointed. I love the fact that not every dragon is evil and that they are all highly intelligent and sentient. As usual with the Elder Scrolls, the whole story behind dragons is very well done and you will enjoy the whole experience very much. I very much like the fact that, at one point, a dragon is your teacher. That is truly great.
“In your tongue, the Word simply means ‘Fire.’ It is change given form. Power at its most primal. That is
the true meaning of ‘Yol.’ Suleyk. Power. You have it, as do all dov. But power is inert without action
and choice. Think of this as the fire builds in your su’um, in your breath. Su’um ahrk morah. What will
you burn? What will you spare?”
Paarthurnax
The Old Gods (Dragon Age Series)
In this game, dragons are called Old Gods because they used to be worshiped by humans before they got corrupted by the darkspawn. Within Dragon Age, it is believed that the arch demons that lead the darkspawn are Old Gods who were asleep within the earth when The Corruption reached them. They are sentient and intelligent, but refuse communication with humans and they are there as a force of ultimate evil. The only ones that can actually understand the dragons are the Wardens who are primary defenders against this force.
“Dumat was the most powerful of the Old Gods, known as the Dragon of Silence for the vows of silence
undertaken by his acolytes. Chantry lore claims it was he who taught the first magister, Archon
Thalsian, the powers of blood magic. It was Dumat’s followers who are believed to have entered the
Golden City, thereby corrupting it with their presence.”
The smoke after the fire
A lot of times, dragons are used as good “marketing products”, since we all find dragons interesting and, every time we here about a video game, a book or a movie that involves dragons, we are usually immediately interested, but dragons do not equal quality. When you pass through a story that involves dragons, you need to be battered, bruised and beaten. You need to feel like you have passed through an incredible ordeal and not every dragon story is going to give you this. I hope you enjoyed my little story and good luck dodging the flames.
