FromSoftware’s epic open-world adventure, Elden Ring, is a culmination of all legendary things that happened in a world that’s now riddled with mystery, monstrosity, and limitless potential. The Lands Between is a place with characters who are larger-than-life and have more to them than what meets the eye. And the inspiration for this may not be so enigmatic, after all.
As it happens, a character from George R.R. Martin’s earliest works holds uncanny similarities to one of the most important demigods in Elden Ring. It seems that Martin’s published work in 1982 somehow, somewhere made its way into FromSoftware’s studio.
Miquella, meet Joshua; another troubled yet promising soul
In 1982, George R.R. Martin had his book, Fevre Dream published. This is a book about vampire hunters, boats, and fantasy fiction that Martin is obviously famous for. In the book, there’s a character called Joshua, who is well described through these words found on Tumblr link:
Joshua is this so called pale king that seeks to free his people from the “red thirst”, a feverish obsession for blood frequently compared to actual illness bidden by rot, and to that end he makes himself an alchemist to brew a potion to free them from the control of their thirst and allow them to live and flourish as normal people.
A pale king that is troubled through illness and rot? Now, where have we seen this before? That’s right, Elden Ring throws at us the stories of Miquella, who matches the physical description as well as holds an important connection with the Heligtree.
Furthermore, the more you read into Joshua’s connections in Fevre Dream, the more you’ll see similarities between Miquella’s motivation and influences in Elden Ring. This has been pointed out at length by Redditor Nihlus11 in a post that delves deeper into this comparison. Tales of immortality aren’t too foreign to the game, and the post makes that comparison clear and informative.
The minds behind Elden Ring have always been fans of fantasy fiction
While there’s no clear evidence that the book actually had an impact on the game’s world-building, it does make sense in many ways. Firstly, George R. R. Martin’s writing process never truly had discipline for constantly new ideas. He’s known to take his time between pieces of writing and only publish something when it feels right to him.
On those lines, it’s possible that Martin picked up a few ideas from his previous works and made sure they were original enough to find a home in Elden Ring’s massive world.
Moreover, the collaboration with Hidetaka Miyazaki feels right at home. Miyazaki grew up reading pieces of fiction and fantasy, making sense of them in his own unique ways. This philosophy carried over into his knack for game design, giving the world much-appreciated works of art.
Even though many of the lore-building in FromSoftware games feel unhinged and incomplete to a few people, they’re intentionally kept that way to evoke a sense of mystery. Naturally, Martin and Miyazaki’s partnership is reflected in the dark and twisted world of Elden Ring, making for an overall engaging experience.
The comparisons will likely keep on happening, as players explore older works of both these creators. Do you think character-building can truly be original, or always inspired by works of writing in the past? Let us know in the comments below.
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