It started out as an innocent comment. I had come to the Funcom offices in Oslo, Norway to do a hands-on with their upcoming new MMO, Age of Conan. On my first day in the office, Funcom's Jørgen Tharaldsen, my host and unofficial tour guide to Scandinavia, introduced me to many of the team members I'd be speaking with. While we waited for my demonstration to be set up in the conference room, I began an idle conversation with Grant Regan and Sigbjørn Galåen, two of the game's graphic artists, about the game and the fictional history behind it.

"How much do you know about the Conan universe?" Regan asked me.

"Not much." I admitted. "I know that the movie starred the chief executive of my state. I know the 'what's best in life' quote is actually ripped off from Genghis Khan, and that the secret of Crom is steel."

"Actually, you're wrong there," Galåen laughed. "That was something developed for the movie. In actual Conan lore, steel isn't a secret, it's simply very difficult to make and quite rare." With that, the two of them were off, giving me an impromptu tour through the entire history of Conan's universe and discussing how that history informed their work in developing the art style for Age of Conan.