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Hmmm... nope, CuddlySquig.

Event Horizon is about



Yes, it's vaguely 40k-ish. It might be drawing inspiration from the game we know and love. But then, scriptwriter Philip Eisner is also credited with the script for the Mutant Chronicles movie... And, as many of you know, Mutant Chronicles and 40k share some common ground, to put it kindly

Veerhoeven's Starship Troopers may be inspired by 40k, in both looks and feel. Though the source material predates 40k by four decades, switching the tech-using bugs and power armored mobile infantry for rough equivalents of the Tyranids and the Imperial Guard is intriguing to say the least. Also, the humor: Deliciously over the top while played with a straight face. That's a all over the place in 40k, while completely absent from Heinlein's original.

On a different note, I've just finished reading China Mièville's Embassytown. The means of interstellar travel described in this book bear a striking resemblance to "our" warp: Ships fly through the Immer, a layer of unreality below "the everyday", the material universe. And the Immer is not without its daemons, too. In a scene, an immer-thing of sorts hacks its way into a MIAB, an unmanned cargo ship. When the crews open the ship for inspection, carnage ensues.

But then, a lauded sci-fantasy writer borrowing inspiration from a lowly miniatures game? Naaaah!

DeffDred wrote:I think the Mutant Cronicles were a little more 40kish than Event Horizon.

Not surprising. The Mutant Chronicles movie is based on an RPG developed by Target Games in the early 90s. The same company would later release Warzone, a skirmish level wargame.

I used to play Warzone back in the day (97 to 99, I think). Their background bore more than a passing resemblance to 40k. The Mutant Chronicles had their own brand of Chaos (The Dark Symmetry), along with their mandatory Chaos Gods, the Dark Apostles. They also had some sort of Ecclesiarchy/Inquisition analogues.

A 40k ripoff? Hard to say. By the time TMC was published, Rogue Trader had been around for awhile. But then, by 1993 not all core concepts of 40k had been fully fleshed out. Some even go to say it was GW who actually borrowed some ideas from Target. Anyways, the issue is still a source of heated arguments between my friends.

I confess I never cared too much about the fluff, but the rules were a delight and it was a real blast to play.