Looking at today's major games, fantasy is undoubtedly an important genre that dominates the gaming field. Every year, many new outstanding works of fantasy are born. Last year, "Dragon Age: Inquisition" and "Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor" were both highly notable works; while in 2015, "The Witcher 3" had already sparked the expectations of numerous players. From literature to games, the fantasy genre carries humanity's oldest fantasies. It not only nurtures numerous masterpieces but also allows its vitality to continue throughout the long course of history.
What is fantasy?
Strictly speaking, what we call fantasy is more accurately referred to as "fantasy" (Fantasy). The fantasy we are most exposed to is currently the mainstream in the fantasy world: high fantasy. If we trace the history of fantasy, it can be linked to Homer singing on the streets of Greece, or Scheherazade telling a thousand and one stories to a cruel king, or King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table searching for the Holy Grail; all of these stories contain elements of fantasy.
But in ancient times, fantasy literature was a very vague and general concept. It was not until the roar of the steam engine sparked human reflection on itself that the two siblings of science fiction and fantasy were promoted into existence. Around the late 19th century, Scottish author George MacDonald's debut work "Phantastes" was recorded in history as the first fantasy work intended for adults, earning recognition. As a result, MacDonald naturally became the ancestor of modern fantasy novels.
But in the eyes of people at the time, "Phantastes" was still just a 'fairy tale.'
In the following decades, others continued to cultivate the field of fantasy novels. However, for a long time, fantasy novels neither formed a specific concept nor were accepted by mainstream literature, only serving as leisure reading for people's spare time. The true recognition of fantasy required mentioning a milestone work. The sensation caused by this book has not faded even today.\The Glory of Epic Fantasy\ On a boring afternoon, while grading papers, a teacher discovered a blank exam paper. Facing this student determined to fail, the very humorous teacher wrote on it, 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' Then the teacher's imagination took off, and he continued writing, never expecting that the story of this hobbit would one day take the world by storm.\ This teacher's name was Tolkien, and this book was *The Lord of the Rings*.
\*The Hobbit* preserves this classic opening||\*The Lord of the Rings* remains unshakable in the history of fantasy literature, and it even holds a place in the history of literature as a whole. Speaking of the literary achievements of *The Lord of the Rings*, one cannot ignore Tolkien's other identity: professor of linguistics at Oxford University. Old Tolkien created the 'Middle-earth' based on nouns and grammar, building stories on this foundation to form a vast system (in sharp contrast to some novels that pretentiously invent strange words at random...). According to statistics, *The Lord of the Rings* created a total of 15 languages, all with grammar and alphabets, fully developed grammatically. If you want, you can find Quenya tutorials online everywhere, and the noble Elvish language will be taught thoroughly! With such an extraordinary creative approach, who could deny *The Lord of the Rings* as a literary masterpiece?\
\Always imitated? Your imitation will never come close!\ The birth of *The Lord of the Rings* not only formally made fantasy a distinct genre, but also established 'epic fantasy' as the mainstream in the fantasy world. *The Lord of the Rings* also became the template for epic fantasy creation, so later works inevitably carry traces of *The Lord of the Rings*: a complete constructed world with detailed gods, races, and magic settings; themes of saving the world, defeating evil, and protecting the earth; protagonists with an aura of immortality…\
\*The Lord of the Rings* also unintentionally started the precedent of 'epics should be trilogies,' though this was not Tolkien's original intention.\ Undoubtedly, *The Lord of the Rings* is the most successful epic fantasy and also the purest form of epic fantasy.Afterwards, there were also notable works born in epic fantasy, such as "The Wheel of Time," which fully realized Tolkien's style (although it became a huge unfinished project due to the author's unfortunate death). However, epic fantasy entered a rather awkward period. On one hand, because the template created by "The Lord of the Rings" was widely copied by many authors, numerous fantasy works were filled with a strong sense of imitation and became repetitively similar; on the other hand, publishers, in order to extract more money from readers, encouraged creators to write longer and longer works: trilogies could no longer satisfy the publishers' greedy appetite, and later, not just seven or eight volumes, but series of a dozen or more became common. Yet the length of these works did not make the stories more substantial; instead, they made the works extremely drawn out. For example, after dozens of pages of scene description, the protagonist finally enters a new city; after hundreds of pages of emotional buildup, the story finally experiences a turning point... Many long and unpleasant works were born in this way. Even today, fantasy novels on the market are mostly lengthy series. The repetitive topics and lengthy content led epic fantasy into decline; it urgently needed an injection of fresh blood. || 
\"The Wheel of Time" along with "The Lord of the Rings" and "A Song of Ice and Fire" are considered the three giants of Western fantasy, but possibly due to the lack of adaptations into film and television, its influence is inferior to the latter two.\Revival of Epic Fantasy\ In 1996, George R. R. Martin, who was struggling as a Hollywood screenwriter, returned to the literary world after nearly a decade-long hiatus, and once again amazed everyone with his work: "A Song of Ice and Fire." "A Song of Ice and Fire" inaugurated a new generation of epic fantasy and simultaneously lured countless readers into this enormous pit, which, once dug, has lasted for twenty years and has still not ended. \
\ The beloved and hated bearded author\ Today, the influence of "A Song of Ice and Fire" is likely no less than that of "The Lord of the Rings," but its greatest significance lies in breaking free from "The Lord of the Rings" framework and making epoch-defining improvements to the existing formulas: first, it changed the traditional good-versus-evil narrative, blurring notions of good and evil, making the story more realistic; moreover, it depicts the constructed world with a realist approach, rather than filling the alternate world with mythological coloring.Finally, "A Song of Ice and Fire" employs a character-centered point of view (POV) writing technique, constantly switching among protagonists. For this rather challenging writing method, Martin handles it with ease, giving the entire work a balanced pace, unlike his previous works which were drawn-out and lengthy. ||\
\"A Song of Ice and Fire" is not the first to use POV, but it uses it the best.\ "A Song of Ice and Fire" has established a new generation of epic fantasy templates and has become a method that current writers refer to and absorb. At the same time, it has also become another milestone in fantasy novels thanks to its outstanding writing skills and magnificent story. However, "A Song of Ice and Fire" makes many readers hesitant, first of all because the series has already reached astronomical length. Martin originally planned it as a trilogy, but after multiple expansions, the novel has swollen dramatically. The currently planned seven-book series (which could possibly become eight one day) has each volume nearly reaching the length of a "Lord of the Rings" book. Even more problematic is that based on Martin's writing progress, the sixth book is not expected to come out this year, so when he will finish it is indeed a major question. \
\"Good news" from the publisher: everyone doesn't have to bitterly wait for the remaining 11 months… Since the new century, great epic fantasy works have emerged. Besides Martin, many other authors have made significant contributions to expanding the epic fantasy genre, such as Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series and Scott Lynch's "Gentleman Bastards" series. Nowadays, although fantasy novels are still dominated by epic fantasy, the approach to creation has become very broad, incomparable to the era when imitation was rampant. In this talented era, who will inherit the throne of the new generation of epic fantasy remains to be seen.
Diverse Era of Fantasy
When we talk about "The Lord of the Rings" today, more people have been exposed to Peter Jackson's films rather than Tolkien's original work; similarly, the HBO television adaptation of "A Song of Ice and Fire" may not have fewer viewers than the original books.Fifty years ago, when fantasy novels were becoming popular in every household, their medium had already begun to expand into deeper and broader fields. Today, fantasy literature has widely rooted itself in electronic products, becoming an indispensable part of our lives.||\
\Not everyone knows that "The Witcher" actually has an original novel.\ Even before video games appeared, fantasy literature first dropped a bombshell on the tabletop gaming field. Role-playing games (RPGs) initially were a tabletop game concept, and the fantasy worlds created in fantasy literature were a godsend to RPGs, which at the time only had rough and simple worldviews. In 1969, Gary Gygax, with the help of his friend Dave Arneson, resigned and spent a year at home studying, designing a unique gaming system. As a result, he repeatedly hit walls when trying to sell his work to big companies, so Gygax, in a fit of anger, founded his own company to publish the work himself. In 1974, "Dungeons & Dragons" was released. At that time, "Dungeons & Dragons" could be said to be the culmination of fantasy literature. It not only achieved great success itself, ruling the tabletop game world for nearly twenty years, but also expanded into the literary field, spawning novels set in its own universe like the "Dark Elf" trilogy and the "Dragonlance" series.\
\Publishing background novels after the game becomes popular is now very common.\ "Dungeons & Dragons" has significance today far beyond what most players imagine: concepts such as levels, races, attack, defense, spellcasting, experience points, and leveling up—over a dozen now commonplace—were all original designs of "Dungeons & Dragons"! It is no exaggeration to say that all later RPGs directly or indirectly borrowed from its game system. The fame of "Dungeons & Dragons" may not be what it once was, but there is no doubt that it is the first and most successful RPG in history, and Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson rightly deserve the title of "Fathers of Role-Playing Games."||\
\The two founders passed away a few years ago, but we will always remember the contributions they made.When "Dungeons & Dragons" became popular across the country, tabletop wargames (a type of game where two sides battle using model miniatures) also gave rise to a highly influential series. Since the 1970s, the British company Games Workshop launched "Warhammer Fantasy Battles" (later called "Old World Warhammer") and the later RPG spin-off "Warhammer 40K," both achieving great success, to the point that they could rival "Dungeons & Dragons." The Warhammer series also has its own rich background novels. The setting of "Old World Warhammer" resembles a combination of Renaissance-era Germany and Tolkien's Middle-earth, while "Warhammer 40K" leans toward a gothic sci-fi style. Today, Warhammer's development is no longer limited to the tabletop gaming field: recently, the Total War series confirmed that it will develop a Warhammer-themed game, and the Tindalos Interactive studio has announced the Warhammer 40K-based game "Gothic Fleet: Armada," proving that the Warhammer series' vitality will continue.\
\Back in the day, Blizzard wanted to buy the Warhammer setting from Games Workshop but was turned down. Later, Blizzard proved through practice the saying, "Today you ignore me, tomorrow you won't be able to reach me."\?? If asked which are currently the earliest, best, and most popular trading card games in the world, the three answers are probably the same: Magic: The Gathering. Magic: The Gathering was released in 1993. Unlike ordinary people like Gill Gex, its creator, Richard Garfield, was a university math professor who loved game design. Thanks to this, Magic: The Gathering combines rigorous design with fun. Initially, Magic was set in a standard fantasy world, but starting from its expansion "The Antiquities War," Magic developed its own story and world. Today, Magic: The Gathering's setting continues to expand every year. Its unique fantasy art style and storytelling have also become major attractions for players.||\
\Magic: The Gathering has always had a tradition of putting important characters on cards, so it's not hard to imagine a "Richard Garfield" legendary card…\ Today, video games and films are the most popular fields for fantasy literature, with countless fantasy-themed games and movies released each year.Not only are new fantasy worlds emerging in new fields, but works from the older generation are also expanding into these new areas, thereby gaining new vitality. The elderly classic 'The Lord of the Rings,' though originally a novel, has recently ventured into the realms of games and films through 'The Hobbit' and 'Middle-earth'; the relatively younger 'World of Warcraft,' as a leading online game of its generation, has an adapted movie that has not even released its first trailer, yet countless players are already restless with anticipation. Any audience attracted by one link in the massive industry chain could also become the audience for another link, creating infinite economic value for the product. The phrase 'extend the industry chain and increase added value,' though a cliché, is indeed the path that cultural works in the new era should follow. \
\ 'Even if World of Warcraft's movie turns out poorly, many players will still accept it, of course, we still hope it will be done better.'\ Conclusion\ Historically, the popularity of magazines and the revolution of books once brought significant changes to fantasy, but the impact of this transformation in the internet era is unprecedented. Today, fantasy has clearly become an indispensable part of our lives. In the coming period, the media for fantasy will become even more diverse, bringing us greater impact. Fantasy, as a crystallization of human imagination, is advancing forward with vigorous vitality. 
