|
|
|
|
 |
|
RETURN OF THE KING, Part Two
Lord of the Rings Online the One MMO to Rule Them All
Vivendi dropped it; Electronic Arts exploited it; J.R.R. Tolkien devoted his life to it; and Peter Jackson, well. He just used The Lord of the Rings license to prove even guys who could pass for small grizzlies in a good light spouting crap about Ents and Uruk-hai can still charm audiences worldwide.
Now Turbine, after years of stoically hammering away on what they believe to be the next big massively multiplayer revolution, is finally ready to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Designed to be the mother of all fantasy role-playing excursions, the game - due for release later this year - not only chronicles the lore and literature set down in some of history's best-selling books. (Sorry, no excerpts from Little Women or the Gutenberg Bible, though.) It also allows you to interact with several of the scholarly universe's most iconic characters and experience what it's like to adventure alongside these hirsute midgets and octogenarians rocking stylish gray robes.
At the risk of drawing Sauron's ire, we braved adversity and hardship - OK, maybe just a dubious PR rep and bloodsucking lawyer or two - to speak with executive producer Jeffrey Steefel about the project. Below, you'll find the final installment of LQGaming Services:'s exclusive scoop on one of the hottest upcoming MMO launches of 2006.:
LQGaming Services:: What role do the signature stars of the series - Frodo, Aragorn, Legolas et al - play in the tale? How do we interact with them? And will we get slapped for asking to touch Gandalf's magic wand?
Jeffrey Steefel: You'll encounter almost everyone you'd expect, including the Fellowship and some others. In most cases, you will be participating with them in a portion of our epic story, which is itself a part of the overall story of the War of the Ring. Imagine fighting alongside Boromir or facing off with a Troll deep in the mines, with Gandalf as your only hope beside you. Or being sent on deeds of critical importance to the Fellowship from a familiar face in Rivendell. I could go on, but that'd be no fun. As for Gandalf's wand - we'll just have to see what happens when you try!
"The Lord of the Rings Online is more about protagonists than hard classes. There wasn't one member of the Fellowship that couldn't wield a sword when need arose"
LQGaming Services:: You've claimed that users will take part in important events that parallel the happenings in Tolkien's works. But, uh - why can't we play the characters we all know and follow the events we love? What are some of the great adventures we'll participate in? And why is this approach the most recommendable?
Jeffrey Steefel: As you can imagine, throughout the design and development of the game this has been a meaningful part of our discussions. We know that (especially since the movies) many people want to basically "live the movie" that they saw so magnificently crafted in Jackson's trilogy. Let's break it down, though.
What makes movies so powerful and effective is their ability to take away our control and focus us moment to moment on the things that will tell the emotional story we want to experience. MMO game worlds provide the opportunity to give control to the player of how they can explore and interact with the world and everything in it. If we are all "playing Aragorn" at the same time, not only does it necessitate essentially a single-player game embedded inside an MMO, it also asks the question, how do I put you on top of Weathertop as Aragorn and make it feel like the "real" experience? Do I force the player who is Frodo to get stabbed at a certain time? Do I determine when the Nazgūl attack? Then I am choreographing the entire experience, which by nature will rob the player of control and immersion.
Or do I simply put the players on top of Weathertop with some Nazgūl and see what happens? Then we have that special moment that doesn't happen the way we all know it should. Maybe Frodo doesn't get stabbed. It's a huge conflict and hard to solve. Or do we have you always showing up right after the Fellowship leaves.footprints in the ground at Weathertop.Gandalf's fingerprints in the dust from his last moments before sliding into the depths in Moria? Then you are playing the B-team to the Fellowship, which IMHO just plain sucks.
Instead, our approach is that you are part of an adventure that is intertwined with the Fellowship of the Ring. All of Middle-earth is embroiled in making sure the party fulfills their mission. So you'll help Strider find out what the Witch-king has stirred in Angmar, help Boromir clear the surrounding areas of Rivendell to clear a path for Frodo and the Ring, help Elrond protect a dangerous ancient artifact from falling into the wrong hands, etc. It's all part of the same big story.
And finally, let's ponder for a moment what an MMO that lets you play as the characters you know and love would really be like? Thousands of players per world, nine Fellowship members. [Runs numbers on a calculator] Okay, you'll be Frodo932 and I'll be Sam237! ON TO ADVENTURE! ;-)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
