[ArkhanTheBlack]

Well, elves have their origins in the norse mytholgy, therefore it's not something Tolkien just came up out of the blue.
I think they were called Ljosalfar, "Light elves" and kind of related to the Vanir gods which were more into creation than the bad *** Aesir warrior gods. The evil dark elves of D&D and Warhammer were if I remember right more a product of a misinterpretation since with the dark elves were actually the dwarves meant. Of course there's no exact yes or no since a lot of things in mythology allow different interpretations.

However, with Tolkiens impact, the elves generally have more of a tendency to higher moral standards which can be more interpreted more of less as 'good'. Which in gameplay terms could mean that they are less likely to use blood sacrifice and such.

On the other side, elves could be added with neutral alignment and the player decides if he plays them more like high, wood or dark elves.