GIAG: What are the pressures of writing something LOTR-related that is separate to the main canon? Did your team feel that there was a lot to live up to, or did you block out what has gone before and focus on your own vision for the universe? Because the project was inspired from the beginning to be set in Middle-earth it informed all of our decisions. GIAG: Did you feel restricted at any time by the source material, and feel you had to make concessions to please existing fans? MdP: There are a wide range of friendly NPCs and characters to help Talion and request his help, from the remnants of Gondors forces enslaved by Sauron’s Army through to travelers and adventurers drawn to Mordor, and other characters who are deeply interested in the powers of the wraith and the implications of Sauron’s return. Is the story Talion versus the World, or are their NPCs within Mordor to help him out or request his aid? GIAG: We’ve not seen any of Talion’s allies yet.
MdP: It is set entirely within Mordor, the two regions which we have shown so far are Udun and then many hundreds of miles deeper into Mordor on the coast of the Sea of Nurn. GIAG: How big is the open world? Is it set entirely in Mordor, or does it encompass other famous areas from Tolkien’s sagas?
There are also other powerful characters with a keen interest in the return of Sauron to Mordor and the powers of the Wraith. We know that Gollum is in Mordor at this time searching for his Precious. GIAG: As it is set during the 60 years between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, can we expect to see any familiar faces? They even have specific rivals who they hate or fear, they aren’t just sitting around static in the world waiting for the player to turn up. The conflicts between different Nemeses are part of what makes the world feel so alive. MdP: We absolutely embrace the conflicts between our enemies, they viciously backstab and battle against each other for supremacy. GIAG: It has been said that because of the Nemesis System, the enemies have individual memories and will react to Talion in different ways depending on his actions – has that led to problems in development where one enemy’s behaviour conflicts with another? In particular, we were inspired by the fact that some of the most compelling characters in Middle-earth are the ones with shades of grey and conflict in their personalities, such as Boromir and Saruman, and how they both set out to do the right thing, but were corrupted by the temptations of power. The thing is that Middle-earth is so grounded in history and myth and contains so much attention to detail, we could tell an original story and connect it to the established canon of the The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. All of our decisions about the plot, the characters and the setting were inspired by the Middle-earth universe and stories. MdP: From the inception of the game, we set out to make the best Middle-earth game that we possibly could. GIAG: So, what made you choose to set the game in Tolkien’s universe, when the overall plot could have stood alone, perhaps as a new IP entirely? Post E3, we got to fire some questions at Monolith’s Director of Design, Michael de Plater, to fill in some of the blanks we had on Nemesis, protagonist Talion, and what it’s like to develop a Lord of the Rings game outside the canon of the main novels. The potential for dynamic, emergent gameplay is huge, and it’s the main reason we’re excited.
One of the most interesting games up for release before the end of this calendar year is Lord of the Rings-tinged action-adventure, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, a grown-up look at the events that occurred between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring.ĭeveloped by Monolith Productions (of F.E.A.R, Condemned and Guardians of Middle-earth fame), Shadow of Mordor is part stealth, part action, part open-world monster – but what is it that makes it so appealing to us? Mostly, the Nemesis system, whereby individual enemies and NPCs in the game will remember your actions for the duration, and act accordingly.
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