Rich Fantasy

I've always been a huge fan of fantasy RPG games...I'm also a Game Art and Design major so you can understand why I'm in this major.  One of the latest, most successful fantasy RPG games that I've played is Skyrim.  You can be humans, elves, lizard-like people, cat-like people, turn into a vampire or a werewolf depending on which guild you joined, etc...you could be a lot of different things in this world, but no matter what race you picked, you were a dragon-borne...YOU CAN SLAY DRAGONS..I was too scared to slay dragons to be honest though.  Dragons are huge!  How am I supposed to take on something so huge? I CAN'T FLY OR BREATH FIRE!  But I am dragon-borne, and so I FUS and ROH and DAH them out of the sky...I miss playing that game...anyways, time to relate it to the text!

My brother and mother watched the entire Lord of The Ring series when I was little, and I had absolutely no idea what was going on in those movies.  Seeing the hobbit part 1 last year and the hobbit part 2 this year (as a "young adult") was really exciting though!  I felt the world and story were very compelling (and the environments were beautiful from a GADs perspective).  I had completely forgotten about the LotR series, and I really loved the stories.  I want to go back and watch all the Lord of The Ring movies so that The Hobbit makes even more sense to me though!

I think one of the most important parts to mention about Tolkien's writing and why it's so successful is because of the characters and storylines he makes.  Readers are able to escape to a fantasy world full of mythical creatures and become a strong warrior who just journeys.  It's a life we shall never live nor experience.  Not only that, but I think he also uses his characters to teach moral lessons- lessons of never giving up, never running away just because something is new or different, and to accept what life throws at you.  His stories aren't sugarplums and candy canes- people die.  But I think people gravitate to these stories more partially because of that- humans naturally seek thrill.  So, if you are seeking thrill, Tolkien's books will certainly grant you that.  On an end note, I think that's why video games are so great and why I went into this major.  Video games let players escape to a fantasy world where they can empower themselves and experience another life they normally would never get to live!

...man, I wish I had my PS3 at school so I could play some Skyrim!