Things inspired or influenced by 40k

[grailkeeper]

40k wears it's influences on its sleeve. Much of the Grimsdark tone is lifted from 2000AD and much of the universe is taken from Dune. Many of the individual factions bear strong resemblances to other fiction - Aliens, Terminator and Hellraiser are just some obvious examples.

 

40k has been around a long time now and is growing from just a niche hobby to a global brand. Are there any art works inspired or influenced by it?

 

Early examples might be Event Horizon or Starship Troopers. Starcraft and Warcraft had a history involving warhammer. More recently Lady Gaga lifted 40k aesthetics pretty strongly in one of her videos.

 

Has anyone else been obviously influenced by 40k? I'm talking about more than just a cheeky reference but more of a copying of style or ideas.

[Gederas]

Stellaris currently has the Warp and Chaos Gods.

 

The Shroud is "a realm of pure psionic energy that existed since the dawn of time. It is the place from where psionic species and individuals draw their power, and a place where those who awakened their psionic potential could see in their dreams. The realm is inhabited by powerful beings of pure psionic energy that can be communed with through great effort."

 

Hmmm....

 

And you can form a covenant with tone of the beings in the Shroud. There are 5 incomprehensibly powerful beings in the Shroud an empire can form a Covenant with given the right vision. Forming a covenant grants a permanent empire modifier but also comes with recurring drawbacks as well as stops you from forming a covenant with the others.

 

The beings are:

1. Composer of Strands = Tzeentch
2. Eater of Worlds = .... Do I have to say it? :lol:
3. Instrument of Desire = Slaanesh
4. Whispers in the Void = Nurgle
5. End of the Cycle = Malal

 

Additionally, in the new update there's a "fantasy theme" update. One of the new civics is Pleasure Seekers. Which is pretty clearly a reference to pre-Fall Eldar (and Paradox said yes, that's the intent)

 

The "clone army" origin, while stated to be a Tolkien reference, also works for 40k orks

[No Foes Remain]

From Dragon Age Origins and 2 the aspect of the Fade appear to be similar to Fantasy/40k Warp with demons and possession within Dragon Age also appearing quite similar to what Warhammer has.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

The US Army held a vote last year on naming one of their new missile armed Stryker variants the Manticore after the AM tank. Still no word on how that vote went however.

[Brother Tyler]

40k has been around a long time now and is growing from just a niche hobby to a global brand. Are there any art works inspired or influenced by it?

 

Early examples might be ... Starship Troopers.

The only defense for this statement is that you're talking about that terrible movie that claimed to be based on a great 1959 science fiction novel, but which simply borrowed some names and root concepts in what was an inexcusable insult to the dean of science fiction. 

[Raktra]

Kentaro Miura cited 40k/Warhammer as a huge influence on Berserk as time went on.

[ThePenitentOne]

 

The only defense for this statement is that you're talking about that terrible movie that claimed to be based on a great 1959 science fiction novel, but which simply borrowed some names and root concepts in what was an inexcusable insult to the dean of science fiction. 

 

 

When you don't judge the movie through the lens of the book, it's not bad. I've found this to be true of most movies that started as books- if you can separate the book from the movie, more often than not you'll enjoy both. If you cant separate the two things, the book is almost always better. And it makes sense when you think about it- a movie is a single sitting that rarely exceeds two hours. A book, even a fast read, is usually a multi-session engagement.

 

I'm trying to keep this in my mind moving forward- we have new versions of both Dune and the Foundation Trilogy on the way, and those are tall orders to fill.

 

The TV series format has potential though. 

 

To get back to OP, I think Mutant Chronicles was fairly derivative of 40k; it was basically 40k + Cyberpunk. The combat also had a similar cross platform bravery; they simultaneously released a miniature game, a role-playing game and collectible card game.  

[Sword Brother Adelard]

What about Halo? The Flood bear some similarities to Tyranids: an extra galactic multiplying hive mind which converts all biomass to more flood.

 

The Forerunners also have some Necron/Old One vibes to them.

 

And of course, Spartans are in effect space marines.

[Guest]

 

40k has been around a long time now and is growing from just a niche hobby to a global brand. Are there any art works inspired or influenced by it?

 

Early examples might be ... Starship Troopers.

The only defense for this statement is that you're talking about that terrible movie that claimed to be based on a great 1959 science fiction novel, but which simply borrowed some names and root concepts in what was an inexcusable insult to the dean of science fiction. 

 

I am so glad I am not the only one that feels that way... The film was an abomination.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Third for Starship Troopers (film) garishness.

I mean .. I get that it .. was attempting to do something - but that's the thing. It was subverting the original premise rather than 'translating' it (and I don't say that's a good or a bad thing, only that it's a different thing); and more to the point, did so in a manner which significantly changed the military side of things. Instead of the pretty intriguing ideas around powered armour and its prospective employment (not merely as an augmentor of infantry in that particular combat role - but also, in effect, redefining the role itself through fundamentally changed firepower, mobility, and survivability) - we get what a situation of light infantry acting significantly without support who'd potentially literally do better with Napoleonic tactics.

Although having said that, I suppose a fair argument can be mounted that this (latter) kind of  approach *does* inform how certain Imperial Guard deployments appear to go, so your mileage may vary.

What I actually came here to say was another Starship Troopers property - namely, the Roughnecks 3d animation of yesteryear. I don't know that it's directly influenced by 40k - but there's rather better resonancy in various particulars, and some of  the innovations depicted therein would definitely be of inspirational value. 

[MegaVolt87]

One of the best 40k films that isn't a 40k film- Event Horizon. I should really watch it again, its been a while. 

[Schurge]

I'm offended that someone would imply Starship Troopers owed anything at all to Warhammer. Warhammer wasn't even an idea when the book was written. (Movie you say? What movie?)

 

@ThePenitentOne I'm going to pretend the new Dune film doesn't exist. I'm not even convinced it will be bad, but I know it won't even approach the book in terms of quality. Why set myself up for disappointment when the best possible outcome is coming out of the theater thinking, "it was good for what it was."

 

@OP I dunno about inspired by 40k but the Berserk comic does Warhammer better then Warhammer. I would probably avoid the movies though. Dark Souls in the video game sphere is a solid Warhammer style experience as well.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Schurge

[MARK0SIAN]

I’m going from memory so I’m not sure if it stands up to a rewatch or closer inspection but when I first watched the Ghosts of Mars film many years ago I remember thinking that it seemed quite 40k. The local population are possessed by daemons/ghosts and begin mutilating themselves and killing everyone. It reminded me of a 40k chaos cult and how they’re often described/depicted as mutilated and using rudimentary weapons.

 

Like I said though, if I watched it again now it might seem totally different.

[lansalt]

Come on guys, Verhoeven's Starship Troopers movie was a fun satire of the book, and perfectly in line with his previous movies Robocop and Total Recall.

You can see his style of hilariously over the top state/corporate propaganda creeping in many places in 40k, like the Regimental Standard or the The Imperial Infantryman's Handbook.

[lansalt]

Back to the topic, DOOM (1993) and and Quake 1 (1996) took a lot from 40k: scifi portals to hell, "marines" fighting daemons, the plasma gun...

[Wulf Vengis]

I'd like to suggest that the "Gears of War" series shares a certain visual aesthetic with space marines scouts crossed with a number of imperial guard units. As well as the need for every soldier to carry a fully automatic assault rifle with chainsword bayonet. Likewise the societal background of Serra (the homeworld of the "Gears" franchise) looks and feels as if it belongs in the 40k-verse. With its almost saint-like reverence to war heroes and it's military and political history (attained via hidden items throughout the series) this world and it's people would most definitely work as a lost human planet during the great crusade or as one of the many worlds out on the galactic fringes where imperial control is forgotten or hard to enforce. Edited August 23, 2021 by Wulf Vengis

[Dark Shepherd]

One of the best 40k films that isn't a 40k film- Event Horizon. I should really watch it again, its been a while.

I know the visual effects director for that movie, more a Hornby guy :)

 

It is very 'warp' like though

[Special Officer Doofy]

What about Halo? The Flood bear some similarities to Tyranids: an extra galactic multiplying hive mind which converts all biomass to more flood.

 

The Forerunners also have some Necron/Old One vibes to them.

 

And of course, Spartans are in effect space marines.

I don't see it. The covenant and flood are based on religious ideas (hence the names). Forerunners are not robots, and some are still alive and the are fleshy. I guess if you think Warhammer has a monopoly on space soldiers then yeah, Spartans have similarities to space marines. But then I'd argue 40k stole the space marine idea from Bob Olsen, who wrote about space marines as far back as 1932.

 

"The space marine, an archetype of military science fiction, is a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds.[1] Historical marines fulfill multiple roles: ship defence, boarding actions, landing parties, and general-purpose high-mobility land deployments that operate within a fixed distance of shore or ship. By analogy, hypothetical space marines would defend allied spaceships, board enemy ships, land on planets and moons, and satisfy rapid-deployment needs throughout space."

 

There is a reason GW could not trademark space marine, because they did not invent it.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Putrid Choir

[MegaVolt87]

 

One of the best 40k films that isn't a 40k film- Event Horizon. I should really watch it again, its been a while.

I know the visual effects director for that movie, more a Hornby guy

 

It is very 'warp' like though

 

 

For the uninitiated, its the easiest reference point to answer with when asked whats wrong with warp travel. 

[Sword Brother Adelard]

 

What about Halo? The Flood bear some similarities to Tyranids: an extra galactic multiplying hive mind which converts all biomass to more flood.

 

The Forerunners also have some Necron/Old One vibes to them.

 

And of course, Spartans are in effect space marines.

I don't see it. The covenant and flood are based on religious ideas (hence the names). Forerunners are not robots, and some are still alive and the are fleshy. I guess if you think Warhammer has a monopoly on space soldiers then yeah, Spartans have similarities to space marines. But then I'd argue 40k stole the space marine idea from Bob Olsen, who wrote about space marines as far back as 1932.

 

"The space marine, an archetype of military science fiction, is a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds.[1] Historical marines fulfill multiple roles: ship defence, boarding actions, landing parties, and general-purpose high-mobility land deployments that operate within a fixed distance of shore or ship. By analogy, hypothetical space marines would defend allied spaceships, board enemy ships, land on planets and moons, and satisfy rapid-deployment needs throughout space."

 

There is a reason GW could not trademark space marine, because they did not invent it.

The wider lore for the Flood established that they arrived from outside the Halo galaxy, and their origin is largely unknown. They are a hive mind which converts biomass into more flood? That's Tyranids!

 

The Forerunners weren't robots, sure. And really I was referring to the feel of the architecture and creating shield worlds to hide from galactic cataclysm. But neither were the original necrontyr robots they downloaded their consciousness into the robotic bodies and lost their souls in th process. Which is pretty similar to what happened to the Prometheans, in order to fight the flood the forerunners uploaded their consciousness into the robotic bodies, but were unable to reverse the process when it changed them.

 

And yes, space marines are a pretty generic concept, but space marines genetically enhanced and hypno trained from a very young age?

 

Oh, and I didn't even mention the covenant! A super religious intergalactic empire intent on searching for lost technology, wiping out unbelievers and who brand failures as heretics?

 

Yeah, none of this is ringing any bells.

[Special Officer Doofy]

 

 

What about Halo? The Flood bear some similarities to Tyranids: an extra galactic multiplying hive mind which converts all biomass to more flood.

 

The Forerunners also have some Necron/Old One vibes to them.

 

And of course, Spartans are in effect space marines.

I don't see it. The covenant and flood are based on religious ideas (hence the names). Forerunners are not robots, and some are still alive and the are fleshy. I guess if you think Warhammer has a monopoly on space soldiers then yeah, Spartans have similarities to space marines. But then I'd argue 40k stole the space marine idea from Bob Olsen, who wrote about space marines as far back as 1932.

 

"The space marine, an archetype of military science fiction, is a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds.[1] Historical marines fulfill multiple roles: ship defence, boarding actions, landing parties, and general-purpose high-mobility land deployments that operate within a fixed distance of shore or ship. By analogy, hypothetical space marines would defend allied spaceships, board enemy ships, land on planets and moons, and satisfy rapid-deployment needs throughout space."

 

There is a reason GW could not trademark space marine, because they did not invent it.

The wider lore for the Flood established that they arrived from outside the Halo galaxy, and their origin is largely unknown. They are a hive mind which converts biomass into more flood? That's Tyranids!

 

The Forerunners weren't robots, sure. And really I was referring to the feel of the architecture and creating shield worlds to hide from galactic cataclysm. But neither were the original necrontyr robots they downloaded their consciousness into the robotic bodies and lost their souls in th process. Which is pretty similar to what happened to the Prometheans, in order to fight the flood the forerunners uploaded their consciousness into the robotic bodies, but were unable to reverse the process when it changed them.

 

And yes, space marines are a pretty generic concept, but space marines genetically enhanced and hypno trained from a very young age?

 

Oh, and I didn't even mention the covenant! A super religious intergalactic empire intent on searching for lost technology, wiping out unbelievers and who brand failures as heretics?

 

Yeah, none of this is ringing any bells.

The title of the thread is things inspired or influenced by 40k, not things that are similar and came out after therefore we just assume it's inspired or influenced by.

 

The Flood is inspired by Christopher Rowley's the vang series (Starhammer, The Vang: The Military Form and The Vang: The Battlemaster) which predates 40k, and they are physically based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. The flood infects in the form of a parasite and transforms the host into the flood, it doesn't just consume it. The flood has a known origin, the flood comes from the Precursors, the alien race that seeded the Halo universe. After angering the Forerunners by announcing that the Mantle of Responsibility was to be handed down to ancient humans, Forerunners commited a genocide against them, to which the Precursors did not defend themselves. Some that escaped turned into a dust, that eventually became corrupted. Upon awakening from the sleep, and seeing what had become of them, they vowed revenge on the creatures who ruined them, and wanted to unite the universe. Does not sound like tyranids to me.

 

The covenant is just religious groups of aliens led by a race of "prophets" who want to go on the Great journey (mass suicide by detonating the halo rings). They worship the Forerunners who before them fought with humanity.

 

And most supersolider stories have them take kids from a young age. Spartans are genetically engineered with extra hormones, some chemicals and augmentations like reinforced bones, but they don't have the 15+ extra organs and over the top sillyness the 40k marines have.

 

Any further discussion would feel even more off topic, I'm just saying as someone else also immersed in Halo's lore and history of the games inception, I don't see it. I feel like there is some similarities sure, but that doesn't mean it was inspired or influenced by it at all.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

I'm only theorising? How can you say they aren't influenced by 40k? The similarities are very plain to see, and the game is yif an age for the designers to have been 40k fans. I can't see how you can definitively say that there's no way 40k influenced that universe? Particularly the wider universe.

[Trokair]

I don’t know if there is any inspiration from or even tangential connection with Warhammer/40k lore but when reading the The Vagrant Trilogy (The Vagrant, The Malice and The Seven) by Peter Newman I kept on thinking this is very Chaos in a 40k sense, and arguably other 40k/Warhammer elements are also there. Especially the first and last book.

[Special Officer Doofy]

I'm only theorising? How can you say they aren't influenced by 40k? The similarities are very plain to see, and the game is yif an age for the designers to have been 40k fans. I can't see how you can definitively say that there's no way 40k influenced that universe? Particularly the wider universe.

Using interviews with bungie developers, artists and designers I can more accurately say halo was not influenced by 40k more so than you can theorize it is. They go as far as to say what influenced them and their designs. Like I said with the example of the aesthetics and lore of the Flood. Robert McLees invented the concept of the flood (unused from a previous bungie game) and most of the fiction and I already mentioned inspirations for it in my last post (all said during an interview). Nothing like the tyranids other than it's an alien from space with a type of hive mind. It's more of a parasite host relationship like the aliens from Alien (which I think tyranids are influenced by). So maybe a case of similar inspirations?

 

40k has been around a long time now and is growing from just a niche hobby to a global brand. Are there any art works inspired or influenced by it?

 

Has anyone else been obviously influenced by 40k? I'm talking about more than just a cheeky reference but more of a copying of style or ideas.

I answered based on the OP's questions. I don't see halo copying styles or ideas more than the very general Scifi idea "humans (some super soldiers) in space in the future fighting aliens". I was just posting a rebuttal to your statement halo was influenced by 40k.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Putrid Choir

[Plague _Lord]

Unpopular opinion but in the movie "Showtime" with Robert DeNiro and Eddy Murphy the bad guys obviously have bolters. Edited August 24, 2021 by Plague _Lord