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| Thread: Books to inspire MaM:H storyline | |
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B0rsuk
Promising
Famous Hero
DooM prophet
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posted December 25, 2011 07:49 PM |
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Edited by B0rsuk at 19:57, 25 Dec 2011.
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Books to inspire MaM:H storyline
Might and Magic: Heroes games no longer have a style of their own. They don't even take inspiration from Might and Magic games. They clearly want to break from the past - the change of the name, old factions and mythical creatures have been thrown away in favor of popular culture stuff as well as Warhammer/Warcraft ripoffs. HOMM storylines were never impressive (except IV), largely because it was meant as a strategy game, the developers understood story is secondary at best.
Ubisoft wants to shift focus to RPG aspects, to story and cutscenes. A number of people liked story of Heroes IV. It was a good writing. You were reading about events. The two last games attempt to show the story to you, instead. It is told to you via dialogue, talking heads and cutscenes.
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If they want to impress with a story so much, let it be. But they should at least draw inspiration from good sources. Let's pretend Ubisoft cares. What fantasy books would you recommend for a good story ? Please try to keep it spoiler-free.
The Broken Sword (Poul Anderson, 1954; polish: Zaklęty Miecz)
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Some people read this before Lord of The Rings, and it has made them unable to enjoy LOTR. I can see why, although I like both books. It tells a tale of a big war between elves and trolls set in a world of scandinavian myths. Various powers like gods and Jotuns (frost giants) manipulate mortals to achieve their goals. The story is full of intrigue, secrets, treachery. It's intricate and interesting without being complicated. A rare thing among fantasy books - the storyline is consistent and just makes sense (Anderson also wrote very solid SF books, and that "S" is for science, not "An excuse for big explosions, gadgets and pointy ears"). The author's style is fairly terse, but not dry and works very well. It can't put you to sleep like Tolkien's. Characters are believable and anything but flat. None of that "I'm evil, therefore I kill people ! Bwahaha !" stuff. Societies of humans, elves and trolls are based on different values. Elves are the ones from scandinavian myths, they're immortal, beautiful, agile, subtle, intelligent. However, they're also vain, arrogant, scheming, and often cruel. Trolls are as you'd expect them, only they're not so dumb, have a solid civilization and capable mages. Humans trust neither, they can't even see them.
Bottom line: I would rate it among my 5 favorite fantasy books of all time (Don't ask me for other 4, it would be a difficult choice). And I've read a lot of books.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo RSA Animate - Smile or die
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Vindicator
Supreme Hero
Right Back Extraordinaire
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posted December 25, 2011 08:10 PM |
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Does that book have a translation into English? Anyway, although I have pretty bad (or so I'm told) taste in literature, I really like Brandon Mull's work; a very creative author, his latest book, The Beyonders: A World Without Heroes is an excellent base (imho). I especially like how the villain is represented in the story.
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B0rsuk
Promising
Famous Hero
DooM prophet
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posted December 25, 2011 10:33 PM |
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Quote:
Does that book have a translation into English?
That's pretty likely considering Poul Anderson was an American SF writer.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo RSA Animate - Smile or die
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Vindicator
Supreme Hero
Right Back Extraordinaire
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posted December 25, 2011 11:04 PM |
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All right, thanks, I'll check it out.
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gnomes2169
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Duke of the Glade
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posted December 26, 2011 02:34 AM |
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A good series for intrigue and inspiration is Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series. Highly recommended. Really.
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Can't be more specific, because I suck at recommendations and I would mess it up. 
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Yeah in the 18th century, two inventions suggested a method of measurement. One won and the other stayed in America.
-Ghost destroying Fred
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Vindicator
Supreme Hero
Right Back Extraordinaire
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posted December 26, 2011 03:07 AM |
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Read the first one and started the second, cool so far. My dad said only to read the first three, that beyond that, they all suck.
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted December 26, 2011 10:37 AM |
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hmmm book sources for HoMM (I won't accept "MM:H" and don't think I will!!!!) inspiration. Somehow depends on the "for what". Great Units for example could be taken from different books.
However I personally would like ´, if they have no own ideas, them to get a bit inmspiration from one of these books/series:
"His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman
...because I think it's very creative.
Won't give a summary, read it yourself:
"Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" by Tad Williams
...because it's classical 
To give a (very!) short summory:
The High King, Leader of most lands of the known world, is old (and soon dies). His oldest son becomes king. But the times are mysterious. Soon, old artifacts, legends, and strange beings will roam the land and bring upon a war not seen by men for aeons. The cold, mercyless, ancient Norns. The hidden, secretive, no less ancient Sithi. Bukken. Qanuc. An old Prophecy, Three swords, a secret union of scholars - what role shall the kitchen boy Simon play here? And what the younger brother of the ´High King, Josua? (to name only 2 of very many important figures)
The thin I love about this book (and all Tad Williams' books...he's one of my favorite authors) is that it's so lively, that it's so classical and yt surprising and that it has similarities to our world, but clearly is not the same.
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