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I'd like to discuss how Warhammer 40,000 may have taken from real-world events. We all know that Games Workshop liked to borrow from history, particularly taking cues from Nazi Germany, the Roman Empire, and Catholicism. But it started as Rogue Trader back in 1987, at which point the world stage was showcasing the Cold War. The Cold War came to what was understood to be an official end in 1991 with the Soviet Union collapsing and its member states transitioning to democracy. The next edition of Warhammer 40,000 to come out was in 1993, after the Cold War had ended. However, a conflict closer to home for the British producers in Games Workshop was the Northern Irish 'Troubles'. The Troubles were brought to their 'official' end in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement. The same year, the Third Edition comes out. Then the fourth edition comes out in 2004, 1 year after the invasion of Iraq. Since then, there have been 2 more editions released within the ongoing conflict of the War on Terror.

So my question is, has 40k, in any elements of the universe, reflected or been affect by the current affairs of its contemporary lifespan? And if there are any other events that might have contributed to it, feel free to share.

Unless it is something very blatant it will be very difficult to second guess something like you are wondering about. For someone of R. Priestly's generation, in England, the WWII Nazis were a pretty obvious target for ridicule so that is no surprise at all. Plus things were a lot looser with GW at the time.

Mag Uruk Thraka= Margret Thatcher

That's the only one I know.

A ha. Due to my lack of interest in Orks, that one passed me by. However, something I've thought is that surely the novels of post-9/11 would take influence from it. I've only read Nemesis from the Horus Heresy, but I did pick up a little of the paranoia of the enemy within from that novel. The concept of Chaos and corruption is so easy to make parallels out of. Heck, they've even got the wording right there for them to play with: the War on (the Eye of) Terror.

 Sturmtruppen wrote:
A ha. Due to my lack of interest in Orks, that one passed me by. However, something I've thought is that surely the novels of post-9/11 would take influence from it. I've only read Nemesis from the Horus Heresy, but I did pick up a little of the paranoia of the enemy within from that novel. The concept of Chaos and corruption is so easy to make parallels out of. Heck, they've even got the wording right there for them to play with: the War on (the Eye of) Terror.

The Eye of Terror outdates the War on Terror by 10 years or so.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Realm_of_Chaos:_The_Lost_and_the_Damned#The_Lost_and_the_Damned

I know, what I meant was how apt it is that they have that name to weave context into.

In 1995, Gundam Wing aired in Japan. It took a few years to be aired in the UK. In 2001, Tau came out.

In 1995, tyranid came out, with models based on descriptions of starship troopers. In 1998, Starcraft came out. In 2001, tyranid got a re-release, wherein the new models looked suspiciously like zerg ones.

Not quite as political as the current affairs I had in mind, but it is true that Games Workshop likes to borrow from pop-culture (if you can call Gundam, Starship Troopers and Starcraft pop-culture). I'm a Gundam Wing fan myself. Nids actually came out in 2003, and they beat the movie by 4 years (and yes, I know the novel beat Nids by 34). What's also interesting is that the original Cadians were designed as futuristic Wehrmacht, and then the Federation in Troopers were too. So maybe Troopers borrowed from Games Workshop instead.

I meant the book, rather than the movie on that one. Tyranid look nothing like the bugs from the movie, but the ones from the movie aren't like those described in the book either.

IG is like Red Army: large numbers of soldiers, good artillery.

I just remembered another connection. Storm Troopers might have been named after the German WWI Sturmtruppen (see my name), however, no doubt their design was inspired by the Special Air Service, who swung into prominence due to the Iranian Embassy Siege of 1980.



This is what they dress like for Close-Quarters-Battle counter-terrorism, and I have little doubt that the armour and masks of the Storm Troopers were based on this. However, the SAS' conventional warfare role is for deep penetration behind enemy lines, much like the Storm Troopers are used for on the table-top.

You mean GW takes elements of history and fiction and shoves them into their game? #shock