Cosmogenesis of the 3E

[ShapeShifter]

I was thinking about the beginnings of D&D and fantasy RPGs in general, observing that the worlds "Blackmoor" and esp. "Greyhawk" (as seen in published literature) were strongly based on the home campaigns of Arneson and Gygax, respectively, but what is the origin of the Third Imperium? Is the published canon on the 3E a reflection of Marc Miller and Friends' home campaign(s) or was it solely developed as a product without a kind of organic evolution? Are there any articles or interviews of GDW employees which can shed light on this?

 

[HiverLord]

I was thinking about the beginnings of D&D and fantasy RPGs in general, observing that the worlds "Blackmoor" and esp. "Greyhawk" (as seen in published literature) were strongly based on the home campaigns of Arneson and Gygax, respectively, but what is the origin of the Third Imperium? Is the published canon on the 3E a reflection of Marc Miller and Friends' home campaign(s) or was it solely developed as a product without a kind of organic evolution? Are there any articles or interviews of GDW employees which can shed light on this?

There are a number of sources that they used for inspiration. You can see a little Star Wars influences, as well some other classic sci fi (no lists in front of me, alas). The big one, as least as far as the Imperium AFAIK is Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. That series is, of course, based off of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" histories.

Not sure about any interviews or articles about this topic, although I'm sure the (much more) knowledgeable folks here will have a better answer for you.

 

[Dragoner]

Star Wars for sure, but the "Galactic Empire" meme in sci-fi was strong before Star Wars gave such visuals, such as from Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, etc., etc. . There is a list in the back of LBB3 I think.

 

[BytePro]

I recall an interview with Marc (had early pic) where the inspiration of Star Wars and the influence of sci-fi staples were discussed. Don't remember anything regards the actual development of the 3I.

Digest Group did playtest and Joe mentioned some of the influences from games that made it into their publications for GDW...

 

[andromalius]

In the GURPS Traveller book, there are several side bars that discuss the inspiration of various aspects of the Traveller universe, such as using an "i" at the ends of names of peoples (from Latin), Ine Givar (made up nonsense words), Psionics, the Phoenix Project, and so on. I find it quite interesting the diversity of sources the original creators used to construct their game.