After trying out just about every elf, dragon & knight featured in Western cultures, creators of popular online games are now turning to ancient Asian history and war heroes for seeking inspiration.

Significant and noteworthy among their sources is epic Chinese novel ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. Its characters are familiar to most Asians because ‘Romance’ had long existed in oral form before being put together in the 14th century in writing. It encompasses a chaotic two-century period related to ancient China that was marked by infighting between warlords after the fall of the Han Dynasty.

The tale - full of dramatic episodes about military tactics, loyalty, betrayal and ruthless ambition - gave rise to numerous war heroes and battle legends, which are still venerated by Asians. It makes for a perfect theme for TV shows and movies; the latest being ‘Red Cliff’ by John Woo expected to be released just before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

While awareness of ancient Asian and Chinese history is limited in the West, popular and critical hits like the movie ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and Jackie Chan’s latest action-flick ‘Forbidden Kingdom’ are luring Western gamers to the idiosyncrasies of Asian-based games.