Teorier från andra håll
Om man googlar lite så finner man snabbt att ämnet även har diskuterats utomlands... fast en del teorier verkar troligare än andra.
CgMonkey hävdade detta på CGtalk för ett par år sedan:
did you know that it was Blizzard who made the orcs green. And now everyone define orcs as green.
(Menar han Blizzard Entertainment -- World or Warcraft..? Me feel doubtish.)
Moonbiter på GameBanshee Forums släppte ifjol följande långa rant i ämnet:
The History of The Green Orc:
Way way way waaaaaayyyyy back in history, a certain über-nerd named Gary Gygax (I've met him, and that guy NEVER got laid until he became a millionaire) developed a certain roleplaying game called Dungeons & Dragons, incorporating Orcs and Hobbits. Like any young geekboy, enthusiasm was much more present than common sense, and the schmuck made the mistake of trying to copyright his creation, including those two names. Needless to say, he got into one hell of a legal battle with the Tolkien Estates. Since Tolkien used the terms "Orcs" and "Goblins" loosely, and the word "Halfling" is a mythological term, Gygax was allowed to use "Orc" and "Halfling" under certain rules. Christopher Tolkien, being the avaricious turd that he is, wanted money to license out the Orcs and the description thereof. Gygax refused. Hence, in the first D&D and even the first AD&D books, Orcs are actually described as being pink(!!!!) and having "piggish" features. They are also (poorly) drawn that way. Later, AD&D moved away from Tolkien's idea of Orcs being mutated Elves, and put them in the "Goblonoid" family, making them green. By the time Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay came along, "Goblonoids" had become a household term amongst roleplayers, incorporating Kobolds, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs and even Ogres. This was adopted by Games Workshop and further developed by them, creating their own version of Tolkien's "Uruk-Hai" in the guise of the "Black Orc." Then Warhammer Fantasy Battle came along and changed everything. Split into 2 separate gaming worlds, The Old World and the Warhammer 40 000 sci-fi setting, they shared a common mythology in the utterly brilliant Realm Of Chaos sourcebooks, and even managed to incorporate the roleplaying game for a while. It was a game publishers dream. Not only could you peddle endless rulebooks of tables and nonsensical drivel, you could quadruple your income by selling countless miniatures. Old geezers like me recoiled in horror and cried "sacrilege!" at being presented with "Space Orks" wielding plasma bolters, calling themselves "Da Boyz" and, to further the insult, being exceptionally green and proud of it!
The game(s) were such a success that the miniature-producing company Citadel bought Games Workshop and licensed the Fantasy Roleplay to a publisher named Flame, which kept the fire burning for a few years until going belly up. By this time however, Warhammer Fantasy Battle had become a phenomenon that dwarfed all expectations. GW put an entire development team into expanding the Orc race, and it became a monster success. Orcs went from being despicable villains to being a super cool race, speaking their own well developed lingo and becoming the heroes of both games and fiction. This led to TSR and AD&D switching focus away from the Orcs, using their resources to create a success of their own: The Drow. Today, in 3rd Ed D&D, they have completely dispersed with and split up the "Goblonoid" family tree. After being bought by WOTC, and they again being swallowed by toy-giant Hasbro, they have enough clout and cash to use Tolkien's Orc in it's true guise: brown, ape-like and unique. Meanwhile, the "free" version of the green Orc is available to any game developer and author who wants to use it.
(Någon mer detaljbevandrad i D&D Lore som kan bekräfta eller dementera hans utsaga att TSR myntade "goblinoids"?)
Och tidigare i år sa Richard Hutnik så här på the GeekList:
In games where Orcs are green, and there are elves, what color should the elves be? People have fumed when elves were made green, and Orcs red.
Och fick svar från Dick Jarvinen:
Well... elves aren't really green, they are really pinkish. They only be wearing the Green. Hmm... I never realized until now that Elves are Irish.
Och därifrån kan man förstås bilda en ny tråd om ifall det är okej för alver att ha kläder i andra färger. (-:
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Åke