It is estimated that the land of Azeroth is around 210 square miles in its surface area
alone. That’s a huge world, one populated by many different races and cultures. So it
should probably come as no surprise that the developers used many real-life influences
in its design; to make their world feel as authentic and lived-in as possible. Some of
those influences are obvious, like the statue on Janerio’s Point, which pays homage to
Rio de Janerio’s Christ the Redeemer statue, but some are less obvious. Even inexperienced
players are probably familiar with Northshire Abbey, one of many starting areas in the game.
But did you ever notice that the Abbey bears a striking resemblance to Vincent Van Gogh’s
painting “The Church at Auvers”, which is in turn based on a real church in northern
France?
The world design isn’t the only aspect of the game that drew inspiration from outside
sources. In The Warlords of Draenor expansion you may come across an NPC in the Bloodmaul
Slag Mines that seems a bit familiar. Croman the Barbarian is an obvious nod to Conan,
but the Easter egg even goes a bit further. You will find Croman spinning a heavy wheel;
this is specifically referencing the 1982 film where Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan
is forced to turn the “Wheel of Pain” during his many years of slavery. Conan the
Barbarian was created by pulp writer Robert E. Howard, who was a close friend and contemporary
of a certain horror writer that Blizzard took even more inspiration from.
You may already know that the World of Warcraft mythology owes a great deal to the stories
of famed horror author H.P. Lovecraft. Hell, the second part of Lovecraft’s last name
can be found in the game’s title. Even the names of some of the Old Gods are direct references
to the Old Ones, the ancient gods of Lovecraft’s mythos. C’thun is obviously a nod to the
infamous C’thulu. However, some references go much deeper, perhaps one of the most interesting
allusions to Lovecraft is the Sea Giant Dagun’s eerie similarity to Lovecraft’s Dagon, an
ancient sea god. The resemblance doesn’t stop there; as it turns out, both creatures
are worshiped by humanoid fishmen; Dagun by the amphibious Murloc, and Dagon by the inhabitants
of Innsmouth. In Lovecraft’s short story The Shadow Over Innsmouth, a town trades it’s
humanity for immortality and in the process become monstrous fish/human hybrids.
Sound familiar?
Yog-Sothoth, the inspiration for the game’s
Yog-Sarron, is first mentioned in Lovecraft’s novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Another
reference to that story can be found by taking a trip to the Undercity, where you may come
across undead Rogue Trainers by the names of Carolyn Ward, Miles Dexter and Gregory
Charles. Also the undead Warlock Trainer Luthor Pickman, a reference to the title
character in Lovecraft’s classic short story, Pickman’s Model.
In fact, the NPC names in the Undercity are
a virtual grab-bag of literary and historical references. The four undead bankers named
“Montague” found in the Trade Quarter obviously refer to Romeo’s family in Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet, but a more subtle nod to the play is the low-level NPC Harbinger Balthazad,
a modified version of the name of the Montague family servant who delivered news of Juliet’s
apparent death to Romeo, causing him to commit suicide.
One of the most well-known architects of the twentieth-century, Franklin Lloyd Wright,
is also referenced in the Undercity, in the form of an undead NPC named Franklin Lloyd
Franklin trains players in the engineering profession, as you probably could have guessed.
A less well-known literary reference
is the name of the Alchemy Vendor, Algernon. Flowers for Algernon is a famously controversial
Daniel Keyes sci-fi story, to underline this connection, the character holds a flower.
There’s also two undead Innkeepers named Norman and Bates, a reference to Psycho’s
Norman Bates, a character created by Robert Bloch, who was a close friend and student
of- YOU GUESSED IT- H.P. Lovecraft.
Do you know some World of Warcraft historical
or literary references we didn’t cover here? Share them in the comment section below and
we might include it in a future episode. If you liked this show and its format, don’t forget to
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