While Game of Thrones fans wait impatiently for the ever so elusive Winds of Winter, George R.R. Martin appears to be doing anything else but working on it. He even wrote the overarching lore for some video game called Elden Ring – not sure if you've heard of it. While director Hidetaka Miyazaki appears to have twisted the lore and characters in a way that would shock the author, it seems Martin has made sure that Elden Ring bears his stamp – almost literally.
Jonathan Bolding appears to be a big fan of the author, as well as the game, as he noticed a very interesting little detail that Martin put into the lore. In an article for PC Gamer, Bolding noted that all of the demigods from Elden Ring have names beginning with one of Martin's initials. "How's this for the big four? Godfrey, Rennala, Radagon, Marika. GRRM," he wrote.
Warning: Minor spoilers for Elden Ring ahead.
Bolding pointed out that every one of the enemies that carry one of Elden Ring's eight Great Runes have names beginning with the letter G, R, or M. "Godfrey marries Marika, and their children are Godwyn, Morgott, and Mogh," wrote Bolding. "There's also Godrick, a later descendant. Rennala marries Radagon, and their children are Radahn, Rykard, Ranni, and Renna. Then Radagon marries Marika, and their children are Malenia and Miquella."
The sheer number of characters with names starting with one of Martin's initials is too many for it to be a coincidence – it sure seems like Martin planned for it. Perhaps Miyazaki knew about this, or maybe this time he'll be the one to be "shocked" upon discovering it. However, considering the number of secrets that FromSoftware games are known to contain, nobody will be shocked to discover more references to the author somewhere along the line.
There's just so much to do, and so much to keep track of, that you might require a notebook. However, if that's a bit much for you, there's an app that could make your life simpler. Shattered Ring is an iOS app that lets you track quests, merchants, NPCs, and locations.