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[Ambience7817x]

Please, please, please, please be inspired by the Souls series and Dragon's Dogma in terms of combat mechanics and encounters.

So long as they keep the LoTR thing of subtle magics. shooting arrows made of aura/energy or Harry Potter type magic is a turn off for me

 

[Alienous]

If the tagline isn't "Walk into Mordor.<insert release date here>" I am going to be so bitterly disappointed.

That said, I have no idea what the Lord of the Rings is.

 

[Miletius]

Wasn't the point of my comment. I'm fine with it being cross-gen. It does however take a lot of wind out of the sails of their marketing rhetoric that it's proper "next-gen gameplay".

What is next gen game play though, other than prettier graphics? I think it will qualify by that standard on the next gen consoles. There isn't anything new or innovative that isn't possible to do on current gen just scaled back.

 

[Skilletor]

I feel like this letter from Stephen king is relevant:

http://www.stephenking.com/promo/utd_on_tv/letter.html

A Letter From Stephen:
For those of you out there in Constant Reader Land who are feeling miffed because the TV version of Under the Dome varies considerably from the book version, here’s a little story.

Near the end of his life, and long after his greatest novels were written, James M. Cain agreed to be interviewed by a student reporter who covered culture and the arts for his college newspaper. This young man began his time with Cain by bemoaning how Hollywood had changed books such as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. Before he could properly get into his rant, the old man interrupted him by pointing to a shelf of books behind his desk. “The movies didn’t change them a bit, son,” he said. “They’re all right up there. Every word is the same as when I wrote them.”

I feel the same way about Under the Dome. If you loved the book when you first read it, it’s still there for your perusal. But that doesn’t mean the TV series is bad, because it’s not. In fact, it’s very good. And, if you look closely, you’ll see that most of my characters are still there, although some have been combined and others have changed jobs. That’s also true of the big stuff, like the supermarket riot, the reason for all that propane storage, and the book’s thematic concerns with diminishing resources.

Many of the changes wrought by Brian K. Vaughan and his team of writers have been of necessity, and I approved of them wholeheartedly. Some have been occasioned by their plan to keep the Dome in place over Chester’s Mill for months instead of little more than a week, as is the case in the book. Other story modifications are slotting into place because the writers have completely re-imagined the source of the Dome.

That such a re-imagining had to take place was my only serious concern when the series was still in the planning stages, and that concern was purely practical. If the solution to the mystery were the same on TV as in the book, everyone would know it in short order, which would spoil a lot of the fun (besides, plenty of readers didn’t like my solution, anyway). By the same token, it would spoil things if you guys knew the arcs of the characters in advance. Some who die in the book—Angie, for instance—live in the TV version of Chester’s Mill…at least for a while. And some who live in the book may not be as lucky during the run of the show. Just sayin’.

Listen, I’ve always been a situational writer. My idea of what to do with a plot is to shoot it before it can breed. It’s true that when I start a story, I usually have a general idea of where it’s going to finish up, but in many cases I end up in a different place entirely (for instance, I fully expected Ben Mears to die at the end of ’Salem’s Lot, and Susannah Dean was supposed to pop off at the end of Song of Susannah). “The book is the boss,” Alfred Bester used to say, and what that means to me is the situation is the boss. If you play fair with the characters—and let them play their parts according to their strengths and weaknesses—you can never go wrong. It’s impossible.

There’s only one element of my novel that absolutely had to be the same in the novel and the show, and that’s the Dome itself. It’s best to think of that novel and what you’re seeing week-to-week on CBS as a case of fraternal twins. Both started in the same creative womb, but you will be able to tell them apart. Or, if you’re of a sci-fi bent, think of them as alternate versions of the same reality.

As for me, I’m enjoying the chance to watch that alternate reality play out; I still think there’s no place like Dome.

As for you, Constant Reader, feel free to take the original down from your bookshelf anytime you want. Nothing between the covers has changed a bit.

Stephen King
June 27th, 2013

Just replace "Under the Dome" with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or whatever series you feel is getting mistreated.

 

[DeadlyDanger]

Yes.

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

That said, I have no idea what the Lord of the Rings is.

What cave have you been living under? :lol

Spoiler

No offense.

 

[Prevolition]

Good job, Nintendo.

 

[ezekial45]

Just copy fucking Bethesda. I'd be content. Just do something that isn't hopelessly pandering to a teen grimdark audience that has long since grown up.

I would love it if they copied the open world and exploration design of those games, not many games do so -- but that's it. This game seems to be going for more of a mix between Batman and The Witcher games for everything else, and that's great.

 

[Van Owen]

Is this the start of WB giving Wii U the shaft?

 

[eighty(one)]

Monolith? No WiiU?

Cross gen is disappointing.

This is the Monolith that made FEAR, Condemned and Condemned 2...

Not MonolithSoft (Nintendo x JP)

^_-

 

[Ridley327]

Seems mildly interesting but cross-gen is a bit of a passion-killer for me. I'm trying not to support any cross-gen projects.

Why does the guy in the pic have a broken sword?

The broken sword looks an awful lot like Narsil, which probably means that at some point in the game, this dude will be tasked with delivering it to Rivendell for protection and for when Aragorn decides to accept his destiny.


....which makes completely zero fucking sense from a canon perspective, but hey, gotta try to make an Aragorn cameo happen somehow!

For comparison's sake:

It's too similar for there to be a coincidence.

 

[Tacitus_]

Come on, dude, you know is not canon like at all...

Yes, I know that. This is why this bit irks me so much:

Shadow of Mordor offers a new chapter that fits comfortably between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Players control a lone ranger by the name of Talion as he journeys deep into the heart of Mordor in the days before it transforms into a blasted hellscape.

Do I have to repeat myself for a third time?

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Monolith developing?

DAY F'ING ONE. They haven;t let me down yet and I don't expect them to start with this...

 

[Plasmid]

Pumped. Can't wait to read the story when it comes in.

 

[Trickster]

Open world game set in mordor could be really cool. Need to see footage though.

 

[AzaK]

Ahh Wii U. Can't catch a break.

 

[TheBaronOfNA]

Yes, I know that. This is why this bit irks me so much:

Do I have to repeat myself for a third time?

Kind of... because you seem to be mad about something that you can perfectly ignore.

 

[marrec]

I feel like this letter from Stephen king is relevant:

http://www.stephenking.com/promo/utd_on_tv/letter.html



Just replace "Under the Dome" with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or whatever series you feel is getting mistreated.

In response, I'll give you a letter I wrote to Stephen King after reading Book 5 of The Dark Tower series:

Dear Stephen King,

Fuck you.

Love,
Kody

More on topic though, this really doesn't have much to do with 'mistreatment' of the LOTR franchise. I think the books are boring and don't care much for them. It has more to do with the seeming banality of the presented media so far.

 

[IvorB]

What is next gen game play though, other than prettier graphics? I think it will qualify by that standard on the next gen consoles. There isn't anything new or innovative that isn't possible to do on current gen just scaled back.

Next gen is not just about graphics. Increased horsepower for scope and scale in all things will not be fully utilised if current gen systems are also targeted.

 

[Jabba]

It was nothing mind blowing, but I had a good time with it. Snowblind did a decent job.

Yeah, I don't get the hate for War in the North. I had a good time with it also.

 

[Interceptor]

Do you just wait for a Steam sale on everything then?

On PC? Yes. Humble Bundles and sales have spoiled me. The last game i bought for full price was Diablo III. Fool me once etc etc..

On consoles i pay for the convenience and in case of the Wii U for Off-TV play and the gamepad.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

I feel like this letter from Stephen king is relevant:

http://www.stephenking.com/promo/utd_on_tv/letter.html



Just replace "Under the Dome" with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or whatever series you feel is getting mistreated.

Once again, the issue isn't with the very fact they're trying to do their own thing in an established universe. It's with the fact that "fused with a wraith" is a lazy and uninspired as hell premise and one that clashes with a mythology which has been so meticulously laid out. If you're going to do something so wildly out of theme with existing material then why use the source material at all? Besides, Under the Dome was billed from the start as a reimagining, while this one is trying to pass itself off as "fitting comfortably" beside the source material while subsequently breaking windows and smashing tables. Also, you clearly have never read anything from the Tolkien estate, who regard even the as true as movie-making-ly possible films as utter abominations.

 

[Grief.exe]

I would love it if they copied the open world and exploration design of those games, not many games do so -- but that's it. This game seems to be going for more of a mix between Batman and The Witcher games for everything else, and that's great.

Yes. Copying Skyrim for the open-world design is fine, but everything else from that game needs to go.

Get inspiration from the Arkham games, Witcher series, and Dark Souls for literally everything else.

If the game sends me to a boring, linear cave on every quest, has uninspired combat, and the 'RPG-mechanics' are so dumbed down they might as well not exist, then I will be disappointed.

 

[Grief.exe]

double post

 

[Atruvius]

Nice. I've been waiting for an open-world LotR game since this gen started. Now I've been playing Lego Lord of the Rings and the hilariously short distances between major locations is just making me crave a bigger setting for it. It takes like ten seconds to ride from Weathertop to Rivendell in Lego LotR.

 

[SniperHunter]

What? Who's making this?

The guys who made Xenoblade for Wii and Xenogears for PSX

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Just replace "Under the Dome" with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or whatever series you feel is getting mistreated.

Yeah I don't think Tolkien was as kind towards adaptations.

The guys who made Xenoblade for Wii and Xenogears for PSX

No.

 

[Tacitus_]

Kind of... because you seem to be mad about something that you can perfectly ignore.

I'm not mad, more annoyed. The game sounds promising, but they're cocking up the lore and I don't like that.

 

[RPGCrazied]

The guys who made Xenoblade for Wii and Xenogears for PSX

Wrong Monolith.

 

[Strike]

So this is what Monolith has been working on all this time.

 

[Interceptor]

dp

 

[Jb]

After FEAR and Condemned, I'll check out anything Monolith makes, and I want a good RPG set in the LOTR universe REALLY bad.

 

[MYE]

The guys who made Xenoblade for Wii and Xenogears for PSX

Nintendo third party confirmed.
Wont even develop for their own systems

 

[TheBaronOfNA]

I'm not mad, more annoyed. The game sounds promising, but they're cocking up the lore and I don't like that.

Again, the movies also cocked the lore like a lot...

 

[IvorB]

The broken sword looks an awful lot like Narsil, which probably means that at some point in the game, this dude will be tasked with delivering it to Rivendell for protection and for when Aragorn decides to accept his destiny.


....which makes completely zero fucking sense from a canon perspective, but hey, gotta try to make an Aragorn cameo happen somehow!

For comparison's sake:

It's too similar for there to be a coincidence.

Yeah I think that is what they are going for. Showing a ranger carrying a broken sword like that can only recall one thing in this mythology.

It's kind of lame that they couldn't resist shoe-horning some War of the Rings stuff in there. The Tolkien mythology is so rich outside of the War of the Rings but they just can't seem to let it go. There are some wonderful stories in the Silmarillion for example.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Again, the movies also cocked the lore like a lot...

Nothing as egregious as man/wraith with glowy eyes. I mean, if you ignore The Hobbit.

 

[Crawl]

dat warner wii u support.

 

[Fried Food]

sounds promising. I'm all about next en gameplay innovation.

 

[Adarael]

Not mention that the intelectual rights are divided (last time I checked) in moviverse stuff and the books stuff.

You are 100% correct on that. Any attempts to leverage anything not in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (I.E. Lost Tales, Children of Hurin, The Silmarillion) would require getting a license to it from the Tolkien Estate, which is not interested in licensing it at all, to anyone, for any reason.

 

[Anth1888]

Since Warner Bros have recently had an exclusive content agreement with Sony (Batman: AO and LEGO Marvel) I wonder if this will show up at the All Access event.

 

[Skilletor]

Once again, the issue isn't with the very fact they're trying to do their own thing in an established universe. It's with the fact that "fused with a wraith" is a lazy and uninspired as hell premise and one that clashes with a mythology which has been so meticulously laid out. If you're going to do something so wildly out of theme with existing material then why use the source material at all? Besides, Under the Dome was billed from the start as a reimagining, while this one is trying to pass itself off as "fitting comfortably" beside the source material while subsequently breaking windows and smashing tables. Also, you clearly have never read anything from the Tolkien estate, who regard even the as true as movie-making-ly possible films as utter abominations.

Nope. Don't care, though, because the books are the books, the movies are the movies, and whatever else in between. This existing doesn't tarnish what's come before in the books. That's still the same. Will always be the same whenever I wish to revisit it.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Nope. Don't care, though, because the books are the books, the movies are the movies, and whatever else in between. This existing doesn't tarnish what's come before in the books. That's still the same. Will always be the same whenever I wish to revisit it.

Enjoy your grimdark RPG with Orcs I guess?

 

[SniperHunter]

Nintendo third party confirmed.
Wont even develop for their own systems

Huh?

 

[Ridley327]

Yeah I think that is what they are going for. Showing a ranger carrying a broken sword like that can only recall one thing in this mythology.

It's kind of lame that they couldn't resist shoe-horning some War of the Rings stuff in there. The Tolkien mythology is so rich outside of the War of the Rings but they just can't seem to let it go. There are some wonderful stories in the Silmarillion for example.

I believe that anything not covered in The Hobbit and LOTR is off limits, since Christopher Tolkein has a death-like grip on the rights to everything else.

 

[Tacitus_]

Again, the movies also cocked the lore like a lot...

Oh pleeeeaaaaaaase. This is on the level of Aragorn rampaging through the three movies with the ghost army and then taking a shit in Saurons spiky crown and wearing the One Ring as a penile enhancer.

... well maybe not that bad, but the movies were a fairly faithful adaption.

 

[Respawn]

Oh lord, is this going to be shown at the Play Station event?

Dont you mess with me man

 

[IvorB]

Once again, the issue isn't with the very fact they're trying to do their own thing in an established universe. It's with the fact that "fused with a wraith" is a lazy and uninspired as hell premise and one that clashes with a mythology which has been so meticulously laid out. If you're going to do something so wildly out of theme with existing material then why use the source material at all? Besides, Under the Dome was billed from the start as a reimagining, while this one is trying to pass itself off as "fitting comfortably" beside the source material while subsequently breaking windows and smashing tables. Also, you clearly have never read anything from the Tolkien estate, who regard even the as true as movie-making-ly possible films as utter abominations.

Fused with a wraith? They don't mean a ring wraith surely. That's impossible. Probably just your garden variety common wraith.

I'm actually sick of established canons being butchered. Why does no one have any respect in this day and age? This is not just games but movies also. It's a disgrace.

 

[Skilletor]

Enjoy your grimdark RPG with Orcs I guess?

Dunno if I will. I'll wait for more information.

 

[PFD]

The fact that it's cross-gen killed any interest for me. Drop the shackles already

 

[Grief.exe]

Fused with a wraith? They don't mean a ring wraith surely. That's impossible. Probably just you garden variety common wraith.

I'm actually sick of established canons being butchered. Why does no one have any respect in this day and age? This is not just games but movies also. It's a disgrace.

You are probably right, from a Lord of the Rings wiki

Wraiths in The Lord of the Rings were the common apparition; someone who has been killed yet lives on by some dark sorcery (necromancy or a Morgul-blade), or someone who died in darkness or serious dishonor.