So, I really can't be the only one who is noticing similarities between the new WoW expansion, cataclysm? I'm not saying they're entirely significant, but ancient dragons awakening? And of course, the WoW expansion makes a werewolf race playable, and everyone knows Skyrim is a hot spot for lycanthropes. And even though the Warcraft setting is supposed to be a version of turn of the century England, the geography is much more mountainous and filled with evergreens...like Scandinavia. http://www.wowguider.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gilneas-pvp-2.jpg

I certainly am not saying Bethesda is copying WoW, I'm guessing Skyrim has been in development since before the last two WoW expansions. So is it just coincidence, or the kind of coincidence that happens withinin industries, like when Hollywood releases two movies about 19th century magicians, (Presitge, the Illusionist) or asteroids impacting earth (Armageddon, Deep Impact)?

It's probably Tosh Raka.

Look it up on UESP or TES Library.

Dragons was always in the Warcraft lore. I'm not familiar with WoW, but highly familiar with Warcraft. I think that's the one difference between those who play the RTS and those who play the MMO. That mmo is all over the place.

Probablty just a coincidence, Aka'vir country is known as dragon country and have been there for a long time. It just so happens they used it now. Same with Deathwing, been in the lore for a long time, just so happens to be used now. So definately coinsidence, probably

Dragons and werewolves have been used by many fantasy writers.
Both games have swords and elves, too!!
I think you're just over anolyzing this "coincidence."

'Tis merely a coincidence, my boy.

Though so far, it does seem like dragons are in for 2011 (Guild Wars 2, Skyrim, Cataclysm).

I'm sure someone else can name some more upcoming games that feature them.

Dragons have been waking up and torching the landscape to wipe out any writers planning something better since long before WoW did it.

Those generally aren't coincidences, Studio A heard that Studio B is planning a blockbuster involving something and tried to hop on as well. Consider all of the underwater horror movies that came out around the same time as James Cameron's The Abyss because so many small studios expected it to be Aliens underwater.

As for Skyrim and Cataclysm, we know that Skyrim has been in developement for at least two years, chances are neither Bethesda nor Blizzard knew what the other one was working on so it probably is a coincidence. Dragons are fantasy staple, the return of an ancient evil is a fantasy staple, and Nordic elements are common in 'traditional' Western fantasy.

Well, it really is a cliche story, Look at Guildwars, they are doing very similar thing.
Cataclysm-Been in development for maybe a year.
Skyrim- 4-6 years
Guildwars 2- 4-6 years
Maybe its just the new thing.

I'm not saying there's anything sinister about it, but I think it's a little more than casual overlapping of common fantasy themes.
For each franchise to release games set in a similar geography, with a focus on the "awakening" of a dragon, and the possibility of lycanthropes...it's just funny is all.

Blasphemy! TES and WoW shouldnt be mentioned in the same sentence. :meh:

DA 2 and The Witcher 2 are just a couple. Anyway as most are stating I'm pretty sure they're not related in any way

when you break it down there is a lot less you can do with a fantasy setting than you can do with a sci fi setting. dragons, orcs, trolls, goblins, elves, magicians, ogres, warriors, thieves, knights, kings, queens, magic, potions, scrolls, books, fire/ice/lightning balls, lockpicks, temples, bows/arrows, swords/shields, battle-axes.......i could go on and on with even more examples and yet you would never guess which specific game im talking about. almost all of them have this stuff in common. fantasy games with a few exceptions like morrowind are pretty much all the same. which is probably why i prefer sci fi settings like the stalker games which will be unmatched in my eyes for quite some time for original monsters and anomalies and gameplay.

I think sci-fi movies are just as hard to be creative with: space marines, laser guns, robots, super intelligent aliens, bug-like aliens, naval space battles...

But Im really just curious if anyone noticed the similarity, not that its indicative of anything.

How, exactly, are they limited by lack of imagination? The point in fantasy is to let your mind run wild, it's pretty depressing that we've reached a state of 'standard fantasy'.

Morrowind was great for screwing all of that and doing their own thing

People are afraid to diverge from Tolkien because it's an outline that works, and has always worked.

Are you going to risk spending much of your time and money developing a game that isn't generic fantasy, and have most of the people going: "Where are the Elves!? Where are the Dwarves?! Where are the Swords, Bows, and Axes?"?

I agree that we need some new life breathed into the Fantasy Genre, but I don't blame people for sticking to it's cookie cutter worlds. They all shape and mold them to be different in the end.

Yeah, they are active participants in WoW's world. Whenever a raid takes down one of the dragon bosses (Onyxia) you put her head on a giant pike in teh faction's hub city. They area *undeniably* part hehe. Whereas in ES, they have always been a myth. Not many know of the Tiger Dragon, or how he came to be. All that is known is that Akavir has, at most, one dragon and thats in-universe rumor at this point. Akatosh's avatar. is the closest thing to a dragon anyone's seen, but their myths are all over. But of course, we KNEW there were dragons. Without a doubt, we knew where they were too:

In the words of Saint M'aiq, the Far-Seer: "Dragons? Oh, they're everywhere! You must fly very high to see most of them, though. The ones nearer the ground are very hard to see, being invisible." TOTAL WIN

Maybe if Skyrim was also announced to be an MMO it would be.

I hate to tell ya this, but..well..Tosh Raka isnt real. Not really You just have to reformat his name... "RAka, Tosh >.>;;

It's more in line with Guild Wars 2 than anything.

i was referring to games but for movies and tv shows the twighlight zone is a good example of how creative you can be with science fiction. if you take fantasy movies like conan, LOTR , the Chronicles of Narnia movies and i suppose i have to throw in harry potter. make a list of things they have in common and its really long. tv shows like hercules and the the british show merlin (which i actually like alot) all have the same storyline all the time. evil wizard creates super amry/monster or evil wizard uses spell or potion on key character etc.

science fiction movies are much more diverse than fantasy movies. you have people that kill you through your cell phones, people that kill you from your mirrors, aliens that like skittles and aliens that eat you like a skittle, even aliens that look just like you. you have people with psychic abilities and varied superpowers. in fantasy the superpowers or magic is always a flashy attack spell or changing shape or possessing someone.

You forgot the most relevant one... Dragon Age II.

Why would TES copy WoW? They are both dark fantasy (TES more so), so it's really not that big of a surprise that dragons would be in both.

Heres a twist, how long has Blizzard been working on Cataclysm? since 2008 no doubt, directly after the release of Wrath of the Lich King. And How long has Bethesda been developing Tes V? probably since 2008, a little after the release of Fallout 3. If Bethesda is copying them then they either have the ability to see into the future or a preety determined espianoge branch.

Agreed.

edit: And Klaus, they've probably worked a little bit on it since 2006, right after Oblivion was released. Even while working on FO3, they were most likely some people working on it.

Death to the infidels! :gun:


But seriously, fantasy cliches such as dragons scorching the earth, elves living in forests, dwarves wielding axes and having manly beards, etc. don't bother me anymore. We live in a world where true originality is incredibly hard to come by outside of Japan. XD