Influences? Now that IS tricky - it's a pretty wide field!
I'd say the things that primed me for getting into RPGs in the first place (I was 12 when I started) were, in no particular order:
- Lord of the Rings
- The Narnia books
- The King Arthur stories
- "A Wizard of Earthsea", Ursula Le Guin
- Beowulf (the Rosemary Sutcliffe version)
- Star Wars
- Star Trek
- The Time Machine
- Marvel Comics (esp Hulk, Fantastic Four)
- Doctor Who
- Enid Blyton (I know - incredible to cite, but I'm sure her "Adventure" series gave me a yen to go charging off into the blue in search of danger and adventure, and her "Enchanted Wood / Faraway Tree" books gave me a liking for elves, fairies, and Things That Live At The Bottom Of The Garden!)
Since starting RPGs, my influences have been (and this works two ways - my reading & movie-going influences my RPGs, and vice versa):
- Tolkien in general
- Conan
- Moorcock
- Cthulhu
- HG Wells
- Joseph Campbell
- Dune
- Gene Wolfe
- Larry Niven
- Blade Runner (the movie)
- history of ancient world, roman empire, mediaeval europe, Japan
- more Star Trek
- readings around religion, occult, etc
- interest in astrophysics
- interest in languages
That's all kind of weird when you try to write it down
. I would definitely say though that RPGs themselves - and the inquisitive approach to world culture that they inspire - have been a very large influence in themselves in my life. Those funny little dice have a lot to answer for!