Well, the big news of the last day or so in the MMO world was that Amazon Studios is now developing the "new" LOTR MMO. Of course, that's the same MMO that Athlon Studios was creating, and now the "based on the literary world of JRR Tolkien" MMO is being developed by the same people that are bringing you the new Middle-earth streaming series. The latter is presumably set in the Second Age, so that makes me think that the "marching orders" for the new MMO are to be set in the Second Age as well.
After all, between Sauron and his minions (and depending on when in the Second Age, Black Numenorians) and the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, there's plenty of space there for a two faction MMO set in the Second Age. Or even the First Age, for that matter.
But this news doesn't necessarily bode well for LOTRO. When Athlon was running things, I kind of shrugged and figured that LOTRO wasn't necessarily in danger. But now, with Amazon's financial might, LOTRO could be in trouble.
And this comes right when there's an optional 64-bit LOTRO client out there, which warmed my heart to no end.
Hey Bioware, how about a 64-bit client for SWTOR? If LOTRO can do it, surely you can....
After all, between Sauron and his minions (and depending on when in the Second Age, Black Numenorians) and the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, there's plenty of space there for a two faction MMO set in the Second Age. Or even the First Age, for that matter.
But this news doesn't necessarily bode well for LOTRO. When Athlon was running things, I kind of shrugged and figured that LOTRO wasn't necessarily in danger. But now, with Amazon's financial might, LOTRO could be in trouble.
And this comes right when there's an optional 64-bit LOTRO client out there, which warmed my heart to no end.
Hey Bioware, how about a 64-bit client for SWTOR? If LOTRO can do it, surely you can....
The second age is interesting to me, but it falls outside of the time of the books/movies, so hobbits won't figure into things. And hobbits sell Middle-earth to a lot of people. You have to be kind of hard core to know anything about the second age.
ReplyDeleteThe second age also covers quite a stretch of time. I think, by necessity, it will have to be set towards the end of the age, somewhere between the fall of Numenor and the siege of the Barad-dur.
That's what I'm thinking too, although there could be an argument of creating an MMO set when Sauron and the Elves first sparred, right about the time of Celebrimbor's demise. There'd still be no Hobbits, but much of Western Middle-earth was overrun by Sauron's forces, so plenty to fight.
DeleteThe nice thing about the elves is that they are immortal, so you can have Elrond, for example, show up at any time in the second age since he was born in the first age.
DeleteBut humans. If you want to get to Elendil and Isildur, names at least referenced in the third age, in on the act, even with the life span of the Numenorean, you have a tighter window.
If they picked the latter part or end of the Second Age you could hand-wave the Hobbits being from the Vale of Anduin. They didn't cross the Misty Mountains until around 1000 Third Age, but it was from the Vale. I'm sure Lore Purists would have a fit, but Hobbits had to have existed somewhere, and this works as well as anything.
ReplyDeleteTrue, and a Second Age MMO would also mean Entwives.
DeleteI'd definitely be a bit worried if I was a LOTRO fan. DDO and Neverwinter show that two MMOs based on the same IP can co-exist peacefully, but SWG is hard to forget...
ReplyDeleteI'm just wondering how the Tolkien Estate would feel about the "literary works" part of the MMO. They've historically been sticks-in-the-mud about things, particularly the movies, but obviously Standing Stone has done something right as they continue to get the license renewed.
DeleteAlthough I'd bet money that the World Chat in LOTRO is busy moaning over the "LOTRO license renewal" right about now, like they have been for the past several years.