Lord of the Rings Online MMORPG

[Morthoron]

Hmmm...where do I start about LotRO?

I was once closely related to the game and the developers, but having gone through the alpha and beta stages of the game, it was evident to me that the vision of the game had digressed from 'living in Middle-earth' to amassing piles of swag, endlessly killing mobs and basically emulating World of Warcraft. In fact, the head dev admitted his desire to compete with WoW, rather than deliver a gaming experience solidly entrenched in the lore and ethics of Middle-earth.

Interesting to so see LotRO has declined to the point where it requires free-to-play status. Perhaps if they catered to the very folks who believed in the original game design (MEO or Middle-earth Online) and were avid fans of Tolkien's Middle-earth, then they may have maintained a loyal customer base without the need to use such desperate tactics to remain viable.

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Hmmm...where do I start about LotRO?

I was once closely related to the game and the developers, but having gone through the alpha and beta stages of the game, it was evident to me that the vision of the game had digressed from 'living in Middle-earth' to amassing piles of swag, endlessly killing mobs and basically emulating World of Warcraft. In fact, the head dev admitted his desire to compete with WoW, rather than deliver a gaming experience solidly entrenched in the lore and ethics of Middle-earth.

Interesting to so see LotRO has declined to the point where it requires free-to-play status. Perhaps if they catered to the very folks who believed in the original game design (MEO or Middle-earth Online) and were avid fans of Tolkien's Middle-earth, then they may have maintained a loyal customer base without the need to use such desperate tactics to remain viable.

Couldn't have said it better myself. My early high hopes for MEO were dashed before release, and I never came to ever starting to play it.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

basically emulating World of Warcraft. In fact, the head dev admitted his desire to compete with WoW, rather than deliver a gaming experience solidly entrenched in the lore and ethics of Middle-earth.

That's what I'd figured. The problem with competing with WoW is that nobody can compete with WoW because nobody can do WoW better than WoW (follow that sentence, I dare you ). Its sad but true, WoW is just a better game than LOTRO. Having played WoW, which I hadn't until earlier this year, it is depressing with that perspective to see how LOTRO never had a shot because of the misguided intentions of its developers.

When one adds in the excruciatingly bizarre decisions made by Turbine over the course of the game's life its kind of amazing that it’s lasted as long as it has.

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Interesting to so see LotRO has declined to the point where it requires free-to-play status. Perhaps if they catered to the very folks who believed in the original game design (MEO or Middle-earth Online) and were avid fans of Tolkien's Middle-earth, then they may have maintained a loyal customer base without the need to use such desperate tactics to remain viable.

It’s sad to see Tolkien's amazing world sink to the level of Allods Online (even though Allods is probably a better game) and the other myriads of such offerings that don't even deserve a mention. It could have been so much more than this. When I look at the things that are planned for games like Guild Wars 2 and compare it to the twaddle Turbine peddles...its just pathetic.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

Couldn't have said it better myself. My early high hopes for MEO were dashed before release, and I never came to ever starting to play it.

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

That's what I'd figured. The problem with competing with WoW is that nobody can compete with WoW because nobody can do WoW better than WoW (follow that sentence, I dare you ). Its sad but true, WoW is just a better game than LOTRO. Having played WoW, which I hadn't until earlier this year, it is depressing with that perspective to see how LOTRO never had a shot because of the misguided intentions of its developers.

When one adds in the excruciatingly bizarre decisions made by Turbine over the course of the game's life its kind of amazing that it’s lasted as long as it has.

You may be amused to read my final review of LotRo from February, 2007, when I washed my hands of the whole thing in as scathing a fashion as possible. It set off a firestorm between Turbine sycophants and brown-nosers VS. the Tolkien crowd. I must say, I was furious when I wrote it, particularly after championing lore-appropriateness in a Middle-earth MMORPG since Sierra had the designing rights in the late 90's. Be warned, the language is not pretty or civil, but in retrospect, I still believe I was entirely correct: I Will Not Be Playing LOTRO