We sub-create whenever we tell a fairy tale to our children off the top of our head, write a novel or short story, or create the next great virtual world in a video game. Tolkien himself, in creating the world of Arda, was sub-creating. In an interview with GamesBeat a few weeks ago, Monolith has done just that.Īgain, as stated before, the simple act of sub-creation is something we should all cherish. Try as they might to talk away the lore-breaking qualities of creating “Beornlings” as a class in the game, the fact is they also have not come out to say that it is completely true to the canon as well. The story of the game is told as if you were reading a book and as such it hearkens back to our first encounters of the larger story: through reading. It is this game that I feel holds true the most to the literary legacy of the world. The stories told in Lotro have been questioned concerning their accuracy with the lore of the series. They were attempting to tell yet another tale set in the world of Arda.
It was simply an adaptation of a beloved story. We have heard them say that they will be trying to stay as true to the books, but no one can tell me an Elf using a staff imbued with magical properties to strike down her foes with bolts of power is truly canon. Not once during the development of WitN or Lotro have we heard devs say in interviews that the game is canon. There is a glaring difference between what these games have proclaimed to be, and what the developers at Monolith have said regarding their upcoming stealth action game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. And so in a sense, both games are inherently Tolkien-esque. But, both are inherently simple acts of sub-creation on the original narrative. WitN seeks to showcase a different story, but one driven by carnage as you hew limbs from bodies throughout the game in a carnal show of elegant brutality.
Lotro attempts to augment the story by allowing you to intersect the path of The Fellowship, take part in some of the greater battles in the story (such as the Battle of the Hornburg) but it does so in a way that is narrative driven, much like the books.
Both are games created in the same world, both have very different art styles and narrative direction. We see this difference shown perfectly with The Lord of the Rings Online (Lotro) and the action RPG The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (WitN).
Shadow of mordor canon movie#
When we look at the adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, especially the video game licenses, we need to keep in mind that there are two different licenses at play: One for the movie franchise, and another for the literary works. What is canon in The Lord of the Rings and its surrounding legendarium? Where do we draw the line between something left unsaid by Tolkien and extensive creative liberties? Is it the simple act of adding to the canon that make Tolkienists cringe, or the fact those additions are proclaimed as such? I think it’s both, personally. The other part of me simply cannot reconcile the fact that in order to create this game, one of my favorite fictional worlds will be torn asunder to do so… in a sense. One part of me loves the idea behind the game. Conflicted is actually putting it mildly. How much of the game stays true to Tolkien and which parts deviate are just some of the points Joe discuses in his review titled, Shadow of Mordor: To be or not to be… Canon?Īs I sat down to write my article for The Quest Gaming Network, having just experienced Shadow of Mordor at E3, I was conflicted. Being the knowledgeable Tolkien fan he is, Joe offered to share his thoughts on the game concerning how canon it actually is. Recently, Joe attended E3, where he had the opportunity to review the newly released game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Our good friend and exceptional writer, Joseph Bradford, happens to be the News Director for Quest Gaming Network, a site dedicated to covering gaming news through webcasts and online articles.
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