The sad part is Jackson knew perfectly well.
But thou must!
-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Ward
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2013 1:59 PM
To: Gamers Discussion list
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] lord of the rings game thought - Re: Children's
Games was Audyssey Format
Hi Dark,
Yeah, I know. Tolkien invested a lot of his life to building up the
history, languages, and myths for his books which is one reason they
are so good. Few authors devote that much effort for their work and
are far less developed in scope. This is why it is difficult for a
game developer with a casual interest to just write a game set in
Middle Earth because he or she needs to know as much about the world,
its history, languages, cosmology, and myths as the fans do.
As you yourself pointed out we aren't just talking about changes in a
universe created for TV, but the changes in a historical record that
is very detailed and precise. Only a person very educated in that
historical record should write the back story for that game and create
believable characters for that type of universe. Anyone else is going
to make mistakes that will not appeal to the fans.
For instance, as someone who has only read the books a couple of times
and watched the movies once or twice it totally escaped me that the
reason Frodo and Sam managed to make it to Mount Doom successfully and
destroy the ring was because Sauron was under the mistaken belief that
anyone who found it would use it not destroy it. When you pointed out
I see clearly the reasons why and can recall the books saying as much,
but I wasn't paying that close attention to it to be honest. It was
just casual reading at the time, and I might have made a mistake like
Peter Jackson did as a result.
Cheers!
On 4/21/13, dark <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi tom.
I do take your point, and it is certainly true in terms of Doctor who and
starwars I've seen a lot of things slide and it is also true I can enjoy a
game as a game just as well as the next person. one intrinsic problem in
lotr however, is that you are dealing with something far more serious when
messing around with the history and plot than you are with most other
series.
tolkien spent literally his entire life working on the languages, history,
cosmology and myths of middle earth, so completely that there is year and
date info for every event in the books, (and many that are not), and much
of
the events fall very much into this pattern.
to take one example, there is a scene in the two towers film in which
Frodo
and sam are dragged to osgiliath by Faramir where they witness a battle
with
the nazgul. Even if we overlook the fact that Faramir's character from a
purely literary perspective got a complete reversal in the film, during
this
battle Frodo drops the ring and it's revealed to a Nazgul who then flies
off.
The chief purpose of Frodo's errand in the book and the reason it
succeeded
is that Sauron would assume that if anyone found the ring, they would
naturally wish (as he would in their place), to use it against him, and
not
to destroy it. Thus, all of Sauron's efforts were based on crushing Gondor
and the west before anyone could find the ring and with it's power
challenge
him, which was precisely why two hobbits crawling into Mordor to the very
heart of his own land, seaking not to wield the ring but to destroy it is
something he missed.
yet, in the film we see one of Sauron's chief servants, (which he has
mental
communication with), see the one thing he needs to conquer the entire
world,
very lightly defended, in the hands of a hobbit on the outskirts of his
land, ---- indeed he already had a huge army massing at Minas morgul which
was perhaps 20 miles from osgilliath. yet, we see Sauron in the film
literally not acknolidging this fact, and carrying on with his attacks
regardless.
this scene in the film Peter jackson obviously put in for visual appeal,
and
to have a face off betwene frodo and the Nazgul, however he in no way
considdered the more serious historysurrounding it.
There are some great articals on this (which are very fair), on the
encyclopedia of Arda website.http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/
This is why Tolkien fan's in particular have such a thing about Cannon,
since your not just talking about changes in a universe created for tv,
but
changes in a full and complete historical reccord.
As another example, and one related to games, you mentioned including
gandalf in a game. The problem is however, Gandalf is actually a being of
the same order and magnitude as Sauron himself, a Maia. While he chooses
not
to exercise his power much of the time, it is really only beings of the
same
order as himself that could present a problem, one reason why he tells
even
Arragorn, probably one of the finest warriors in middle earth (not to
mention Boromir, Gimly and legolas), "this is a foe beyond any of you"
when
he confronts the Balrog.
suppose however you made a game in which Gandalf was the same rank as
other
characters, had a standard energy meater and could be ko'd by an orc just
as
easily as a mortal. Without knowing Gandalf's background (only hinted at
in
Lotr, though fully explained in the Silmarillion), you might assume he is
a
fairly standard old wizard of the D&D glass cannon variety, which he is
not
by any stretch of the imagination.
As I said, I can accept a game as a game in many fields. I enjoy super
starwars and it's sequals for what it is, but in lotr Cannon is a little
more serious because! of this historical matter.
I'm not saying that I wouldn't enjoy say a side scroller where you could
play as gandalf or the rest of the characters, just that for me, it would
badly lose something, as much as for you a wee wrestling game would be
more
interesting than a generic one.
however, just as the wee wrestling situation is soluable by as I
suggested,
including info about the wrestlers to make it comprehensive to those who
do
not know such things, I do think a cannon lotr game is soluable too,
provided you pick your subject and characters carefully.
for example, Arragorn legolas and gimly, along with the host of the dead
rohirim make their way to the battle of pelenor fields. We don't learn
much
about this journey, only that they went through some caves haunted by
ghosts, with Gimly experiencing some quite distinct fear, and that when
they
arived out they needed to ride to the mouths of Anduin and attack Sauron's
allies from Unbar along with the host of the dead.
well again, this is a point when a side scroller could be set, first
getting
through the caves, perhaps confronting ghosts and undead, then heading to
the river fighting orcs and other soldiers, and in Aragorn, legolas and
gimly you have three very playable characters.
another good place might be the dwarve's exit from the Goblin caves after
being rescued by gandalf, and after bilbo got lost and had his adventure
with Golum. The dwarves quite literally fought their way out of that one,
so
lots of chances for goblin fighting in the misty mountains.
It's just a matter of picking your points I'd say, and in keeping at least
a
respect for the actual history of middle earth.
Beware the grue!
Dark.
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