In 1983, a British company called Games Workshop released a fantasy miniature wargame called Warhammer, which was the first miniature wargame designed to use proprietary models. Games Workshop at the time made miniature models for use in Dungeons & Dragons. Warhammer was meant to encourage customers to buy more of these models. Whereas miniature models were optional in Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer mandated their use and the battles tended to be larger. Initially, Warhammer had a threadbare fictional setting and used generic stock characters common to fantasy fiction, but as time went on, Games Workshop expanded the setting with original characters with distinctive visual designs. Games Workshop's official line of models for Warhammer eventually took on such a distinctive look that rival manufacturers could not produce similar-looking models without risking a lawsuit over copyright infringement. Although there was nothing to stop players of Warhammer from using foreign models from third-party manufacturers, doing so could spoil the aesthetic and cause confusion.