Runes Of Gallidon
This is the first post from Jason Brandenburg, who will be covering gaming for Blogstring.com.
Anyone who’s spent a good amount of time on the business end of a mouse and a web browser knows that there are a lot of fantasy gaming communities of one type or another out there. Some, like World of Warcraft, require no more imagination than the ability to come up with an interesting way to pwn n()()bs. Others, like the project going on over at www.runesofgallidon.com , are a little more ambitious. At first glance, Runes of Gallidon seems to be devoted to some kind of fantasy game setting, and while this isn’t far from the truth, it doesn’t really convey what the folks over there are trying to do.
If you’re familiar with the Lord of the Rings sage, you’re at least peripherally aware that the original author, J.R.R. Tolkein, constructed the story of Frodo and Sam, Aragorn, Gandalf and the rest, within a much larger, vast mythology, spanning hundreds of centuries, through different races of creatures, contained in many stories of deeds both great and small. In that way, he gave us a rich setting in which folks who have come since then have envisioned other stories taking place in the world of Middle-Earth. So too did Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman paint a vivid portrait of a world called Krynn in their Dragonlance novels, now staples of the fantasy gaming world, and Krynn has since been expanded upon by Weis, Hickman and a slew of other talented writers.
Runesofgallidon.com brings to the classical fantasy world an opportunity for aspiring writers, artists and others to create stories and artwork and more within a larger framework, similar to Tolkein or Weis and Hickman. We’re introduced to a general timeline of a world called Gallidon, some notable personalities, such as emperors and noble families, whose presence in the world of Gallidon is overarching, and around whom legend is already woven. Prospective writers are encouraged to expand on the broad strokes of the stories set forth in Gallidon’s “history”, to offer tales of individuals and events within the existing Gallidon general story framework. Artists submit illustrations and sketches, often illuminating short stories. Users are even encouraged to submit original digital games to the site.
It’s clear that this project is in its infancy, but growing fast, and the obvious talent present in the work already on the site promises that the World of Gallidon will soon be as well-developed as any fantasy world which enjoys mass-market status.
Filed under: gaming