It crystalised somewhere in the 18th century within the Romantism, Gothism arts (which themselves found in Norse mythos a good source of imagination) in Western Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothicismus
Might & Magic I to IX
Almost all the golden box era D&D games
The Elder Scrolls I, II and III
StarCraft (and add-ons)
Diablo I, II (and add-ons)
Fallout I, II and Tactics
Baldur's Gates Serie
And so many more...
Playing games since 1976 on Intellivision :rolleyes: