Standing Stone says its MMO lord of the rings online “Won’t go away,” despite future competition from Amazon.
In a forum post, Senior Community Manager Cordovan assured players that the game won’t be shutting down anytime soon.
“Over the past few days, we’ve received several excited and concerned comments from community members who say Amazon Games will be launching a new Tolkien-inspired MMO,” reads the forum post.
“Some people have asked what this means for LOTRO. We want to update everyone in the community and reassure everyone that LOTRO is not going away. Like you, we and our partners at Middle-earth Enterprises are LOTRO Big fan of . It’s beloved, it’s sixteen, it’s evergreen.
“Standing Stone has every intention of growing and supporting this community.”
You see, earlier this week, Amazon announced that it was once again preparing to develop an MMO based on the Lord of the Rings IP. It tried once before, but the project was only canceled when co-publisher Tencent pulled out due to licensing restrictions.
It’s not surprising to hear that there are restrictions, which aren’t revealed, but it’s safe to guess that some of the issues may have stemmed from Middle-Earth Enterprises (formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises). The agency is notoriously strict about deviations from Tolkien’s work, and for good reason.
But, apparently, this has been addressed by Amazon Games. According to its vice president, Christoph Hartmann, Amazon appears to be willing to take a risk by straying from legend to create the “biggest MMO” that will last “a decade.”
“It’s still very important, it’s a game first and then it’s a reflection on the books. So while I need to keep it real, I’m already reminding the team, ‘I get it, but it’s not like everybody’s going to point and see. See if this detail is 100 percent perfect,” says Hartmann.
“I definitely want to put the game first, to make sure it’s a great game, because as I said, we want people to play it for ten years, and if someone says, ‘It’s right to book in the game. If you really Loved it, read this book. Read it five more times.”
Basically, what he’s saying is, if you don’t like bias, go read the book again, you nerds.
In an interview with GI.biz, Hartmann made another rather interesting statement, this time for the current Tolkien MMO, The Lord of the Rings Online.
According to the former 2K co-founder and president, who left the company in 2017 and joined Amazon in 2018, LOTRO is not a threat because he believes the two can co-exist, however Hartman made some rather condescending comments despite this. remarks in the 16-year-old’s game.
“First of all, I have a lot of respect for them being able to last this long,” Hartman said. “They have, not a huge, but a very loyal fan base. But just looking at the technology, where we are now, and where we’ll be in a few years, it’s just worlds apart.
“It’s a bit of a stretch if I say it’s going to go to color like a black and white movie, but that’s the approach I want to take. It’s just a whole different world.
“Even if the most likely scenario is that people just move over because the other one is an older game. It’s not a bad game, but the industry will move on at some point, and it’s going to be a long time between their release and ours.”
Granted, LOTRO is older, it needs some work, and definitely needs to fully support 4K so text isn’t as small, but still. Don’t make fun of something that’s been around successfully for 16 years while many of its fellow MMOs just happen to be dead. You have to give the game and its team some credit and show respect, especially as a developer.
Ok, so Amazon probably doesn’t see LOTRO as a competitor, and maybe even considers the current Tolkien fanbase among the large purists, I get it, but Hartmann could phrase his comments differently because they’re kind of, For lack of a better word, cheesy. He clearly didn’t quite engage with Tolkien’s audience. Yes, there will be sticklers when it comes to any challenging knowledge, but many won’t make a fuss if developers want to deviate a little bit within reason. I’m part of that camp.
There are plenty of characters in the book whose stories could be fleshed out. Barryman’s Butterfly must be up to something, while Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship seek to destroy the One Ring. Then, there’s Bill Ferney the Robber. We imagine Saruman’s spy doing all sorts of misbehavior before clashing with his ex-pony Bill and promptly kicking him in the chest. You see, there are all kinds of stories to tell, and as long as you stay true to the vision, you can take some creative liberties without straying too far from the source material. Standing Stone has been doing this in LOTRO.
While I agree with Hartmann to a degree: “Games have to be about play, they have to be fun, so there needs to be a little bit of a game changer to make it a great game,” you can’t tell Tolkien from the start ‘Keep reading if you don’t like it’, thereby alienating fans. “Such comments do not attempt to bolster confidence or goodwill in the company.
It’s not very polite to pay subtle ironic compliments to other developers who put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. No one appreciates it, respects it, or wants to actually hear it, especially the fanbase that needs to trust Amazon’s second attempt at making a Lord of the Rings MMO.
Again, LOTRO may be an older game, but it’s surprising how committed the Standing Stone Games team is to the MMO. In my opinion, this is a highly underrated game. Thanks to the many volumes, expansions, and updates released over the past 16 years, it’s diverse, has some great stories, and has a large, fairly fleshed out world. Let’s not forget about the highly dedicated and friendly community. This always helps. If there are trolls, game moderators will act quickly unless the community first takes matters into their own hands by ostracizing any stubborn jerks.
Maybe I’m being too harsh on Hartman. Maybe he didn’t want to sound like he was mocking LOTRO or its development studio. Perhaps I and others who criticized his comment misunderstood his message. But we’re just going by the quotes, which are undeniably rather vile.
As far as Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO is concerned, it’s still a long way off. The original game is still a long way off, and given the source material, I’m prepared to put a lot of faith in it. I might still be skeptical of Amazon’s new foray into gaming, but that depends on the company going forward. I don’t like spending my money or support on people who belittle what they consider vulnerable.
