Where Did You Get Inspiration for A Story of Gylranor?
It’s the age-old question, isn’t it?
When I think about fantasy I think of all the beautiful things imagination has let me be a part of. Fantasy isn’t only the works of sorcery and sword; it includes everything from toys to film, so it is difficult to say I drew inspiration from only one source, but from a collective trove of sources growing up.
Let me take you back in time for just a bit.
We are all aware just how magical Lego is. Lego was one of the first set of toys I can vividly recall playing with alongside Thomas the Tank Engine. It was an incredible feeling using the Lego sets given to me to create a city, the little yellow minifigures placed accordingly to their tasks, some with their arms positioned in certain manners to portray them in conversation with one another and some with a broom or a police figure on its three-wheeled motorcycle patrolling my fictional version of Lego Island. Speaking of Lego Island (released in 1997), that became one of the first video games I played on a PC. This game inspired me to stylize my own lego city into an isle type.
Just as good as Lego, Thomas the Tank Engine was another huge part of my childhood. A company called Ertl created die-cast versions of the steam engines seen in the popular universe created by the late Rev. W. Awdry and adapted into television by Britt Allcroft in 1984. Many other Thomas and Friends sets were released that involved rolling stock, cars, even cranes and a water tower. I was able to make own version of the Island of Sodor, the fictional island the books and series were set in. This let me turn my playtime with Thomas and Friends toys into fantasy episodes of my own making. How could things get anymore awesome?
Moving on from the physicality aspects of Lego and Thomas, I was introduced to the world of Pokémon digitally. Pokémon Blue Version became one of the earliest video games I played on a console, the Game Boy Color. What better to catch monsters, level them up, and battle those wild mons and those of other trainers? Being a kid of only eight, I immediately got sucked into the role-playing genre of such games.
Let’s fast-forward a year to 1999. It came to be a huge year for Star Wars. Star Wars: Episode I –
The Phantom Menace rolled into theaters igniting its huge fanbase to crowding cinemas, dressing in cosplay, and holding lightsaber battles where they could. Who could forget ripping off the top of your Taco Bell soda to reveal a Star Wars character pog and placing them into a special sheet? Collecting them all made certain you’d claim a grand prize. This became my first instance being drawn to George Lucas’s galaxy.
Jump a couple years and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings welcomes me with The Fellowship of the Ring. My tia took my tio, sister, and I to view its splendor on the big screen. Truly it was ahead of its time for cinema—a masterpiece I would call it. Beautiful shots of green rolling hills filled with Hobbit homes, snow-covered mountains, and Rivendell mesmerized me. The attraction to this universe did not stop there, as I was graced with two sequels. However, this did not quench my thirst. I wanted more. In eighth grade I read The Hobbit, followed by The Lord of the Rings trilogy later in life. The Silmarillion (a great read by the way) blew me away with its poetic wording and in depth lore of the old ages. All this fueled even more excitement much later with The Hobbit trilogy and The Rings of Power. This tale of epic fantasy is what I hoped to achieve one day.
Skip a few years to 2007 and I see myself stepping my digital foot into World of Warcraft. Ah, WoW, truly the very first open world game I ever laid my hands on. I spent countless hours (even some before school) leveling up my character, grinding to find the best gear, and enjoying the at times repetitive endgame content. WoW definitely opened a few doors in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) realm. I dabbled in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and The Old Republic, each set about 4000 years before Darth Vader, and The Elder Scrolls, beginning with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which coincidentally released on my birthday in 2011.
Some honorable mentions: Guild Wars 2, Harvest Moon, and Harry Potter.
Much has led to my love of fantasy and much inspired me to create A Story of Gylranor. Such a feeling only continues to grow as many great works from the imagination keep sprouting.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN 🎃