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Middle-earth in video games

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Middle-earthvideo games,including theaction role-playinghack and slashgameThe Lord of the Rings: War in the North,on display at theElectronic Entertainment Expo 2011

There are many video games that have been inspired byJ. R. R. Tolkien's works set inMiddle-earth.Titles have been produced by studios such asElectronic Arts,Vivendi Games,Melbourne House,andWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.[1][2]

Official games

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Further information:List of Middle-earth video games

Early efforts (1982–1994)

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In 1982,Melbourne Housebegan a series of licensedLord of the Ringsgraphical interactive fiction (text adventure) games withThe Hobbit,based on the book with the same name.[3]The game was considered quite advanced at the time, with interactive characters that moved between locations independent of the player, and Melbourne House's 'Inglish' text parser which accepted full-sentence commands where the norm was simple two-word verb/noun commands.[4][5]They went on to release 1986'sThe Fellowship of the Ring,1987'sShadows of Mordor,and 1989'sThe Crack of Doom. ABBC Microtext adventure released around the same time was unrelated to Melbourne's titles except for the literary origin. In 1987, Melbourne House releasedWar in Middle Earth,areal-time strategygame.[6][7] Konami also released an action-strategy game titledJ. R. R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan.[8]

The Lord of Rings: Journey to Rivendellwas announced in 1983 by Parker Brothers for the Atari 2600, but was never released. The prototype ROM can be found at AtariAge.[9][10]

In 1990,Interplay,in collaboration withElectronic Arts(who would later obtain the licenses to the film trilogy), releasedLord of the Rings Vol. I(a special CD-ROM version of which featured cut-scenes fromRalph Bakshi'sanimated adaptation) and the following year'sLord of the Rings Vol. II: The Two Towers,a series ofrole-playing video gamesbased on the events of the first two books. A third instalment was planned, but never released. Interplay's games mostly appeared on the PC and Amiga, but later they did aLord of the Ringsgame for theSNES,which was different from the PC Version. ALord of the Ringsgame forSega Genesiswas planned to be released by Electronic Arts but never released.[11][12][13]In 2000,Troika Gameswas contracted to make aLord of the Ringsgame bySierra On-Linebased on the novel. In 2001, Sierra decided to develop the game internally. The game was cancelled in 2002, when Sierra shut down their development studio.[14]

Film trilogy revival (2001–2009)

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Thereafter, no officialThe Lord of the Ringstitles were released until the making ofPeter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Ringsfilm trilogyforNew Line Cinemain the early 2000s, which brought the story to the mass market.Electronic Artsobtained the licences for the three films, whileVivendi Gamesobtained the licence to produce games based on the books fromTolkien Enterprises.This gave rise to an unusual situation: Electronic Arts produced no adaptation ofThe Fellowship of the Ring,but produced adaptations ofThe Two Towers(which covered events of both the first two films)[15]andThe Return of the King,[16]whereas Vivendi only produced a game covering the first volume of Tolkien's work,The Fellowship of the Ring.[17]While Vivendi's access to the book rights prevented them from using material from the film, it permitted them to include elements ofThe Lord of the Ringswhich were not in the films. EA, on the other hand, were not permitted to do this, as they were only licensed to develop games based on the films, which left out elements of the original story or deviated in places.[18]

In 2003, Vivendi produced an adaptation ofThe Hobbit,aimed at a younger audience:The Hobbit,[19]as well as a real-time strategy gameThe Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring,both based on Tolkien's literature.[20][21]

Further spin-offs from the film trilogy were produced: A real time strategy gameThe Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth,[22]and aturn-basedrole-playing gameThe Lord of the Rings: The Third Agewere released in 2004,[23][24]and aPSP-exclusive title,The Lord of the Rings: Tacticsin 2005.[25]

In 2005, EA secured the rights to both the films and the books, thusThe Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth IIincorporated elements of the film adaptions, and the original Tolkienesque lore.[26]EA also began work on an open worldrole-playing video gamecalledThe Lord of the Rings: The White Council,but it was put on indefinite hold in early 2007,[27]with no further information about its developmental or release status.

In May 2005Turbine, Inc.announced that they had acquired exclusive rights to createmassively multiplayer online role-playing gamesbased on the novel byTolkien Enterprises,[28]and launchedThe Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmaron 24 April 2007.[29]Initially, the game covered the region ofEriador,from the Grey Havens to theMisty Mountains,and about as far north and south, but subsequent updates and expansion packs have more than doubled the game world, including areas such asMoria,Lothlórien,Mirkwood,IsengardandRohan.The game is based on the books and Turbine's licence explicitly prohibits them from including any story or design elements unique to the movie adaptations. On the other hand, this allowed game designers to include lesser-known areas and references to the events, which are absent from the movies. The first expansion toThe Lord of the Rings Onlinewas released on 18 November 2008, entitledMines of Moria.[30]The next expansion,Siege of Mirkwood,was released on 1 December 2009.[31] The third expansion titledRise of Isengardwent live on 27 September 2011 and included the areas of Dunland, the Gap of Rohan and Isengard where the tower of Orthanc is located.[32]The fourth expansion,Riders of Rohan,was released on 15 October 2012, featuring The Eaves of Fangorn and eastern part of Rohan up to the East Wall.[33]The fifth expansion,Helm's Deep,launched in November 2013 and added the remainder of the Rohan landscape.[34]

The Lord of the Rings: Conquestproduced byPandemic Studiosusing the sameengineused inStar Wars: Battlefrontwas released in early 2009 on the PC and all seventh-generation video game systems except the Wii and PSP. All versions received mixed reviews, with theNintendo DSversion garnering slightly better reviews.[35]The game also marked the end of Electronic Arts licence, which had already been extended some months so that the game could be completed. Subsequently, the licence, obtained viaTolkien Enterprises,passed toWarner Bros.[36]

The Warner Bros. era (2010–present)

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After Warner Bros. gained the licence to publish Middle-earth video games, the first game to be published under this new licence holder would beThe Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest,anaction-adventureretelling of the Peter Jackson film trilogy fromAragorn's perspective, onNintendoandSonyvideo game platforms, withWiiandPlayStation 3versions taking advantage ofmotion controlsto simulate sword, shield and bow combat.[37]

The 2010s saw the release of three darker and more violent Middle-earth video games that were rated Mature by theESRB.The first of such games wasThe Lord of the Rings: War in the North,anaction role-playing gamethat takes place in NorthernMiddle-earth.It was developed bySnowblind Studiosand released on 1 November 2011.[38][39][40]ThenMonolith Productionsdeveloped a two-game, non-canonMiddle-earth: Shadowspin-off series, set between the events ofThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Rings.The main protagonist of these two action RPGs is aRangernamed Talion who bonds with the Elf spiritCelebrimbor,gaining wraith-like powers to deal with adversaries. The first game,Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordorwas released in 2014,[41]with its sequel,Middle-earth: Shadow of War,released in 2017.[42]

In that same decade, Warner Bros. releasedLego The Lord of the RingsandLego The Hobbit,two family-friendlyLegovideo game adaptations of theLord of the Ringsfilm trilogy,The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyandThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.[43][44]In 2019,The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Gamewas released, a digital adaptation of the physical card game.[45][46]

An action-adventure game, titledThe Lord of the Rings: Gollumand focusing onthe titular character,was announced byDaedalic Entertainmentin March 2019.[47]The game was originally scheduled for release in 2021, which would end up being pushed to 2022,[48][49][50]until publisherNaconannounced a release date of 25 May 2023 for Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox, with a Switch version later in the same year.[51]The game was released to generally negative reviews.

Ahead ofGollum's initial release, a new mobile game, titledThe Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth,was released for iOS and Android on May 10, 2023 by Electronic Arts,[52][53]and is the first game to released by such publisher sinceThe Lord of the Rings: Conquest.It is a turn-based role-playing game developed by EA Capital Games that plays similarly to its previously developedStar Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.However, just months after worldwide launch, Electronic Arts prematurely ended support for the game, scheduling it to shut down on May 24, 2024,[54]amidst the turmoil of the2023–2024 video game industry layoffsthat affected the company's development projects.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moriais asurvival-craftingmultiplayer game developed by Free Range Games and published by North Beach Games, released on October 24, 2023. The story takes place during theFourth Ageand follows a company ofdwarvesas they try to retake their homelandMoriaand restore the long-lost ancient kingdom of Khazad-dûm.[55]

Unofficial games

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Unofficial games includeShadowfax(1982) by Postern, a simplistic side-scrolling action game for the Spectrum, C64, and VIC-20, in which Gandalf rides the titular steed while smiting endless Nazgûl. Some of the most enduring unlicensed games areMoria(1983), aroguelikebased loosely onThe Fellowship of the Ring(and unrelated toa 1975 game of the same namewith only scant connection to Tolkien); its variousforkssuch asAngband(1990), loosely based onThe Silmarillion;Elendor(1991), aMUSHbased on Tolkien in general;[56][57]and twoMUDsbased onThe Lord of the Rings:MUME(Multi-Users in Middle-earth) (1992)[58][59]andThe Two Towers(1994).[60]

A homebrew text adventure was created for the Atari 2600, based on The Fellowship of the Ring, by Adam Thornton. The game, which is separate and not related to the unreleased Parker Brothers game,[9]was self-published in 2002.[61]

Tolkien-inspired mods and custom maps have been made for many games, such asHeroes of Might and Magic,Warcraft III,Neverwinter Nights,Rome: Total War,Medieval 2: Total War,Warlords 3,The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,Mount & Blade,Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings,andAge of Wonders.The gameMinecrafthas been used extensively as a tool to recreate Middle-earth, most notably the servers MCME (Minecraft Middle Earth)[62]and ArdaCraft,[63]in addition to large-scale mods likeThe Lord of the Rings Mod: Bringing Middle-earth to Minecraft.[64]Furthermore,The Middle-Earth DEM Projectreleased a playable dataset compiled for Outerra's engine which attempts to model the terrain of the full Middle-earth in great detail and to feature notable landmarks within the world as 3D models.[65]

Delta 4released the two parody gamesBored of the Rings(1985, not directly based on theHarvard Lampoonparody novelof the same name),[66]andThe Boggit(1986).[67]

See also

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References

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  2. ^"Warner Bros., Tolkien Estate Settle $80 Million 'Hobbit' Lawsuit".The Hollywood Reporter.3 July 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2017.Retrieved3 July2017.
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  4. ^Maher, Jimmy (16 November 2012)."The Hobbit".The Digital Antiquarian.Retrieved10 October2014.
  5. ^Ruminations On "The Hobbit" FandomArchived2014-10-10 at theWayback Machine
  6. ^Lombardi, Chris (May 1989), "Mordor, They Rode!",Computer Gaming World,pp. 10–11
  7. ^Gingher, Robert (October 1989)."War in Middle Earth".Compute!.p. 134.Retrieved11 November2013.
  8. ^Greenberg, Allen L. (February 1992)."Riders of the Video Mage".Computer Gaming World.p. 66.Retrieved24 November2013.
  9. ^abThe Lord of Rings: Journey to RivendellatAtariAge
  10. ^"AtariAge".Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2014.Retrieved2 October2014.
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  14. ^Litchfield, Ted (6 May 2023)."A Fallout co-creator has been revealing heater after heater of never-before-seen RPG history on YouTube, including an early Lord of the Rings RPG demo".PC Gamer.Future plc.Retrieved6 May2023.
  15. ^"Lord of the Games".IGN.2 December 2002.Retrieved27 October2014.
  16. ^Brown, Steve (August 2003). "Scoop:The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King".PC Gamer UK:8–9.
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  24. ^Massimilla, Bethany (16 September 2004)."The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age Hands-On".GameSpot.Retrieved4 December2014.
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  26. ^Ocampo, Jason (7 December 2004)."The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth Review".GameSpot.Retrieved28 March2016.
  27. ^Hatfield, Daemon (2 February 2007)."White Council Adjourns".IGN.Retrieved11 September2012.
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  31. ^TURBINE LAUNCHES THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: SIEGE OF MIRKWOOD™
  32. ^"THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: RISE OF ISENGARD™ TO LAUNCH ON SEPTEMBER 27TH | the Lord of the Rings Online".Archivedfrom the original on 6 March 2013.Retrieved14 March2013.
  33. ^"THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: RIDERS OF ROHAN™ TO LAUNCH SEPTEMBER 5, 2012 | the Lord of the Rings Online".Archivedfrom the original on 13 March 2013.Retrieved14 March2013.
  34. ^"Updated: Turbine Temporarily Delays LOTRO's Helm's Deep Launch".TenTonHammer. 18 November 2013.Retrieved28 November2013.
  35. ^Metacritic results: "Lord of the Rings: Conquest" (links)metacritic
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  56. ^Moss, Will; Pantuso, Joe (6 April 1996).The Complete Internet Gamer.John Wiley & Sons. p. 142.ISBN0-471-13787-1.Elendor is a very large and successful Mush dedicated to role playing and exploration in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. This is the same universe immortalized in the classicLord of the Ringstrilogy, the books that defined sword-and-sorcery fantasy. If you don't want to encounter a lot of other players, this is the wrong Mush to play in. Elendor is well populated, and it is hard to move around without encountering other characters.
  57. ^Davis, Erik (October 2001)."Wired 9.10: The Fellowship of the Ring".Wired.Retrieved13 April2010.Elendor, an old-school Middle-earth multiuser shared hallucination, remains one of the most popular text-based worlds in cyberspace.
  58. ^Maloni, Kelly; Baker, Derek; Wice, Nathaniel (1994).Net Games.Random House / Michael Wolff & Company. p.79.ISBN0-679-75592-6.MUME IVMulti-Users in Middle Earth,or MUME, simulates Tolkien's world of Middle Earth. [...] Role-playing is encouraged, but this is primarily an adventure and combat MUD. [...] Server: Diku
  59. ^Greenman, Ben;Maloni, Kelly; Cohn, Deborah; Spivey, Donna (1996).Net Games 2.Michael Wolff & Company. p. 247.ISBN0-679-77034-8.MUME[...] The action takes place in the late Third Age, beforeThe Hobbitand after the loss of the One Ring by Sauron. The key of Erebor was just found by Gandalf and all the epic tales narrated inThe Lord of the Ringsmay take place.
  60. ^English, Katharine, ed. (1996).Most Popular Web Sites: The Best of the Net from A 2 Z.Lycos Press /Macmillan Publishers.p. 315.ISBN0-7897-0792-6.Two Towers Multi-User Dungeon http:// angband /towersThis page serves as an entrance to the Two Towers Multi-User Dungeon, allowing game players to step into the world of fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien. Intrepid visitors can learn about the game or link to Tolkien sites dotting the net.
  61. ^"AtariAge".Archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2014.Retrieved2 October2014.
  62. ^Moore, Ewan (17 July 2019)."Minecraft Players Recreate Whole of Middle Earth After Nine Year Effort".UNILAD.Retrieved7 April2020.
  63. ^Keating, Lauren (4 September 2015)."Minecraft Users Recreate The Shire From 'The Lord of the Rings'".Tech Times.Retrieved7 April2020.
  64. ^"The Lord of the Rings Mod: Renewed".Curseforge.Retrieved26 February2023.
  65. ^Rubin, Peter (4 February 2014)."If Middle-earth Were Real, These Exquisite Shots Would Be Its Vacation Brochure".Wired.Retrieved27 February2015.
  66. ^Bored of the Ringsat SpectrumComputing.co.uk
  67. ^Price, Richard (August 1986)."The Boggit".Sinclair User(August 1986): 76–77.
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