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Jeffrey Steefel on LOTRO Expansion, MMO Culture
Posted by Maggie Greene at 5:30 AM on September 28, 2008
Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a nice interview up with Turbine producer Jeffrey Steefel, mostly centered on the Lord of the Rings Online forthcoming Mines of Moria expansion — also discussed are things like how Steefel perceives LOTRO's performance, expansion features, and issues of designing for a licence. While WoW is wide open, not being tied to anything but itself, LOTRO has slightly more constraints in what can — or should — be done. Steefel doesn't see this as a problem, however:
It's actually more of an opportunity than a problem. It's rarely a problem. I've been a sort of creative person for a long time - in this business and then before that as a performer. And you always need some kind of boundary. Start with a blank canvas and say that you're going to make stuff up in this big empty vac cum... it's actually really hard to do. It's good to have boundaries. The beauty of Tolkein is that he's created these exquisitely detailed boundaries that have so much depth and richness inside them, and yet still have all kinds of things which are open for interpretation. I mean, we built Angmar basically from scratch, to our liking, based on very few clues... and yet it still feels as if it belongs in Middle Earth. There's certain things - I can't have flying cars or motorcycles or things like that. But I can have other things which are very exciting and it means, by definition, the world has a consistency, where it feels right. It all fits together. There's not things which just don't make sense.
Interesting interview with some great little tidbits, especially if you're interested in LOTRO specifically.
Jeffrey Steefel on LOTRO: Mines of Moria [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Kenny
Posted 6:02 AM 28/9/08
@Treesus: Its a Morroval, a creature bred by Morgoth in Angband. Here's the article on it [lorebook.lotro.com]
Kenny
Ravel
Posted 5:57 AM 28/9/08
In Tolkiens case it's quite easy to develop from: the book since it's written in detail, the multitude of art works created for it and the movie.
Ravel
Treesus
Posted 5:49 AM 28/9/08
I like how immdiately after the last line you quoted, there is a screenshot of some kind of bat-woman.
Whut?
Treesus
Treesus
Posted 6:25 AM 28/9/08
@Kenny: It's new, and therefore I fear it :P
Treesus
FilthyAssistant
Posted 6:46 AM 28/9/08
LOTRO still exists? And people still play it, especially enough to warrant an expansion? News to me.
FilthyAssistant
SnakeCL
Posted 10:08 AM 28/9/08
@FilthyAssistant:
Ugh, why does this always surprise people? Its had a relatively stable subscriber base since-launch, its relatively popular, and its profitable.
SnakeCL
Cal_Naughton_Jr
Posted 11:40 AM 28/9/08
@FilthyAssistant:I'd rate this just a little above a "FIRST" post.
Cal_Naughton_Jr
Ping5000
Posted 1:07 PM 28/9/08
Joss Whedon's Serenity was awesome because of budget constraints and George Lucas's Revenge of the Sith sucked because he had dark matter in his wallet. Well, it's half-true, at the very least.
So, yes, restrictions are good. It forces those creative juices out.
Ping5000
animagnum
Posted 12:54 PM 28/9/08
@Cal_Naughton_Jr: I agree, there is at least one of these guys in every MMO post. It's kind of a pointless response considering the post answers their stale question before they even ask it.
animagnum
Spoony Bard
Posted 3:06 PM 28/9/08
@FilthyAssistant: People still post on stories they have no business posting in? News to me.
Spoony Bard
galewind
Posted 11:16 PM 28/9/08
And to answer, yes, I still play LOTRO. And it's damn good, especially if you can hook up with a bunch of people to play with (which is not hard). I'd say that its PVE package, as a whole, can rival any other MMO out there. Between books, deeds, instances, raids, and meaningful quests, the PVE is one of the most robust experiences one could have in an MMO. Inversely, however, its PVP is pretty weak. While I applaud the whole player vs. monster thing for being unique, it's not my cup of tea.
galewind