“Why didn’t the Eagles just take the One Ring and drop it in Mount Doom?” Well, as developers working on a “Lord of the Rings” game, let me tell you exactly why: because it gave us the opportunity to explore and immerse ourselves in a rich and complex universe!
In creating The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, our motto has been to honor the way JRR Tolkien viewed the richness of the world he created, using his vision as a guide for our visual interpretation of his world.
Tolkien always wanted other artists to bring his writings to life and continue the creation of his great English myth. Of course, he didn’t have video games in mind at the time. But his passion for the meticulous detail, history, languages and names he used to populate Middle-earth has always inspired our industry. Whether we realize it or not, all game creators owe a lot to Tolkien’s writings.
After Gollum’s journey, we had the opportunity to explore parts of the world we had never seen in such detail before. We started with whatever we could find in the tradition. Then we filled in the gaps with our own ideas and knowledge about the cultures and peoples who lived in those places.
For example, for the mighty fortress of Barad-dûr, we wanted to emphasize scale and stark contrast to our little hero. We imagined that the fortress was constantly growing and changing. The builders could not keep up with the speed and size of their ever-growing walls and towers. Everything around the perfectly formed main tower became more and more chaotic.
An example is this service bridge that crosses the enormous moat of the tower, and which the builders probably intended to be straight:
While Mordor is an iconic and recognizable place with its dark volcanic rocks and reddish lights, the design of Thranduil’s Palace in Mirkwood was more challenging.
The contrast is wanted. While Mordor is thorny, the halls of Thranduil feature round shapes. As Barad-dûr tries to dominate and transform its surroundings, the elven buildings preserve and respect the shape of the mountain. It is a harmonious interplay between architecture and nature. Welcome instead of threaten. A place that repels Gollum but attracts Sméagol. Water, its native element, is everywhere and comes to life in different forms.
King Thranduil’s chambers were another fascinating place to create. The king likes to go out on horseback at night and hunt under the stars. Its rooms are decorated like a dreamlike nocturnal forest, more symbolic than functional. The king’s bed is like a ceremonial boat on a river, which he only occasionally ascends to have dreams and visions.
Working on this game has been both a great honor and a great responsibility. We felt a lot of excitement and nervousness when we started this adventure together. How would all this happen? Would it feel good in the end? And we feel a similar excitement and nervousness now that we’re about to share it with you all.
We hope our boundless passion for the world of Middle-earth shines through in all these little details, and I hope you feel the same once you begin your journey.
See you soon, in the world of Middle-earth!
