Canonical References to other Westwood Games

When designing settings for their games, Westwood Studios frequently built upon existing intellectual properties, both original and licensed. For instance: *Lands of Lore* was introduced when Westwood broke away from their *Eye of the Beholder* series based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons properties, *Dune II* inspired further development of RTS games which led to the *Command & Conquer* universe, and *The Legend of Kyrandia* series was originally pitched to Sierra On-Line as a compliment to their *King's Quest* games.

One creative artifact of Westwood's cumulative approach to worldbuilding appears to be that in-game elements and motifs are shared across the different game series. Additionally, Rick Gush served as lead writer and Rick Parks as lead artist on fantasy Westwood games during this period, which may have contributed to overlap in storytelling and in-game universes. Alternatively, the following examples may simply be considered company Easter Eggs.

## Investigative Gemology

   In the Draracle's Halls, an exhibit of a massive faceted gem is described as the last Stone of Basar, which was one of several stones distributed throughout the early kingdom. Such gemstones are used as funnel magic from various lands. Other examples of magical stones cited are the Kyragem and the Nodules of Mirvar. The Kyragem is a reference to the Kyragem of *The Legend of Kyrandia* series, which is of similar appearance and also used as a way of drawing magical power from the natural world.

## Tiberium

   In real-world English usage, the linguistic root *tiber* is derived from a river in Roman antiquity. It is also used as a storytelling archetype in various Westwood Studios games.

At the Huline Monastery in *Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny*, the groundskeeper Brother Morgan (performed by Gary Marshal) reveals to Luther that he was once known as General Velkar of the Tiberium Forces.

In the *Commands & Conquer* universe, Tiberium is a natural crystalline resources, used by extraterrestials to terraform distant planets. Like the gemstones of *Lands of Lore* and *The Legend of Kyrandia*, Tiberium may be considered yet another example of esoteric worldly power harnessed through gemstones, and can be employed for benevolent or evil purposes. In *Command & Conquer*, the origin of the word "Tiberium" is itself ambiguous, with one faction attributing its name to the Tiber river, and the other claiming to have named it for the Roman Emporer Tiberius. Although the name is never attributed to a Tiberium army as mentioned in *Guardians of Destiny*, the branching timelines of the *Command & Conquer* universe employ alternate histories liberally.

Behind the scenes, it is speculated that Tiberium was a gameplay element designed as a substitute for the valuable resource "spice" used in the Dune universe. Early in development, the sequel to *Dune II* was originally titled *Command & Conquer: Fortress of Stone*, and possessed a medieval setting. It would have been released in 1993, contemporaneously with *Lands of Lore* and *The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate*. Instead, Command & Conquer debuted two years later in 1995 with a near-future warfare setting.

Additionally, one creature type encountered in the City of the Ancient are called Visceroids, which also routinely appear throughout the *Command and Conquer* series. Visceroids are uncontrolled, irregular mutations that sometimes form when organic life dies to Tiberium exposure.

## Hand of Fate

In *Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos*, Hand of Fate is a spell that willfully manipulates a giant hand for self-defense. This hand can shove, pound, and crush a victim in its grasp. In *The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate* (released the same year as *The Throne of Chaos)* a Hand of Fate controlled by a magician is the chief antagonist of the story, and can kill the protagonist Zanthia by tossing, pounding, and crushing her during a boss sequence. Other magically-constructed disembodied appendages are also referenced in *Hand of Fate*, including a giant foot.

In *The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate*, the player can find a letter from one “Professor Jones” to Scotia recommending that she share her archeological interest in the Nether Mask with King Richard of Gladstone, suggesting their collaboration. There was no follow-up to this offer in either final game.

## References

1. ↑ Corcoran, Cate. *Lands of Lore*. InfoWorld. Volume 15, issue 51. Published 20 December, 1993. Retrieved in October 2020 at https://books.google.com/books?id=IDsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85#v=onepage&q&f=false.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Work In Progress." *TheOne Magazine*, issue 52. Page 40. Accessed in October 2020 at https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-52/page/n39/mode/2up.
3. ↑ Dickens, Evan. "Rick Gush, designer of the Kyrandia games." Adventure Gamers. Retrieved in October 2020 from https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/17522.
4. ↑ Legend of Kyrandia Game Manual. Westwood Studios. Distributed by Virgin Games. 1991. Page 17.
5. ↑ Hand of Fate Instruction Manual. 1992. Westwood Studios. Accessed on September 2020 at https://www.gog.com/downloads/legend\_of\_kyrandia\_hand\_of\_fate/.
6. ↑ Lands of Lore Instruction Manual. Westwood Studios. Distributed by Virgin Games. 1993. Page 17.
7. ↑ Lands of Lore II: Guardians of Destiny Instruction Manual. Westwood Studios. Distributed by Virgin Games. 1997. Page 62. Accessed in October 2020 at https://www.gog.com/game/lands\_of\_lore\_1\_2.
8. ↑ Westwood Studios, *Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny*. Narration: Draracle's museum. 1997.
9. ↑ Legend of Kyrandia Game Manual. Westwood Studios. Distributed by Virgin Games. 1991. Page 1.
10. ↑ No Strings Prd, "What is Tiberium? REMASTERED - Command & Conquer Lore." YouTube. Published 10 October 2020. Accessed in October 2020 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu9LprKJ9Po.
11. ↑ Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer. Animation: tiberium info 1, tbrinfo1.vqa. 1995.
12. ↑ No Strings Prd, "The Chronology of Red Alert - Command & Conquer Lore." YouTube. Published 15 November 2019. Accessed in October 2020 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmP\_\_MTS8PQ.
13. ↑ Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos Clue Book. Westwood Studios. Distributed by Virgin Interactive Entertainment. 1994. Page 104.
14. ↑ Hutsko, Joe. The Legend of Kyrandia: The Official Strategy Guide. Prima Publishing. 1995. Pages 135-6, 153.