Appendix N — Inspirations
While I include some works of fiction & nonfiction alike here for reference in comparison to the game, I must note that the vast majority of the inspiration has derived from my personal life & from research into matters far beyond the scope of any particular work. In a real sense, the philosophy that undercuts the design of Glass Empires is a reflection of my own psyche, and the system is a way of mapping the real world to my personal satisfaction. There are very few works of art, I find, that deal with the blunt knife’s edge that is power & its expressions. For this, the Dune series is unparalleled.
Books, Fiction
- Guanzhong, Luo — Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Herbert, Frank — Dune series
- Ryan, Patrick — The Empath
Books, Nonfiction
- Girard, René — I See Satan Fall Like Lightning
- Girard, René — Violence & The Sacred
- Machiavelli, Niccoli — The Prince
- Nietzsche, Friedrich — Beyond Good & Evil
- Nietzsche, Friedrich — Thus Spoke Zarathustra
- Scott, James C. — Seeing Like a State
- Tuchman, Barbara W. — A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
- Xenophon — The Education of Cyrus
Movies & TV Shows
- Thunderbolt Fantasy (2016)
Music
- Arditi — Bloodtheism (2020)
- Carpenter Brut — Leather series (2018–2026)
- Mosh — Empire (2013)
- Perturbator — New Model (2017)
- The HU — The Gereg (2020)
Tabletop Games
- Crawford, Kevin — Godbound
- K, Arnold — Goblin Laws of Gaming
- Macris, Alexander — Adventurer, Conqueror, King System
- Rejec, Luka — Ultraviolet Grasslands
- Stolze, Greg — REIGN
Video Games
- Meier, Sid — Civilization series
- Paxton, Derek — Fall From Heaven modifications
- Ōta, Jun’ya — Touhou Project series
- Paradox Interactive — Crusader Kings series