E3 Event Coverage

Lord of the Rings Online Interviews

  • LOTRO: Jeffrey Steefel Interview

    Jeffery Steefel Talks With FiringSquad

    FiringSquad had a chance to talk to Jeffery Steefel recently. Keep reading to see what they were able to learn...

    FiringSquad: First, Turbine has been working on this game for a while now. Overall, how do you feel the game is coming along at this point?

    Jeffrey Steefel: The Beta Program is in full swing and the game is looking fabulous. Our team is busy at work updating and polishing the game based on feedback from Beta players. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and LOTRO is definitely shaping up to be an epic game that will satisfy hardcore and casual fans alike.

    Get clicking to find out what else they asked.

    Features, Interviews
    Thu, Dec 07, 2006
    LadySirse
  • Interview with Turbine's Jeff Anderson

    Ten Ton Hammer / LotroSource's interview with Turbine CEO Jeff Anderson

    John "Methost" Irwin interviews Turbine CEO Jeff Anderson on our LotroSource site.

    "Can you tell me the difference between a CEO for a game company and a CEO or any other company?"

    I think being a CEO of a game company is standing between a lot of different competing objectives, you've got creative talent who are passionate about the art and the work they are building, you've got the technology challenges of trying to get a platform to support customer service and billing and authentication, you've got an
    engineering challenge and trying to get a game engine, physics and all that working, you've got a team of designers and artists who are creating content, you've got the business people who need to be doing distribution deals worldwide. I could describe it as being in charge of making a feature film, where you are designing the camera and the film and the actors all at the same time, so it is a complex business and MMORPGs are at the tip of the spear."

    Get clicking to read the rest of the interview.

    Features, Interviews
    Tue, Nov 28, 2006
    LadySirse
  • LOTRO: Is It Tolkien Yet?

    Is It Tolkien Yet? -- Art & Design in Lord of the Rings Online

    Gamespy has posted in interview with Turbine. The interview covers Tolkien, good, evil, and the importance of pronouns in Lord of the Rings Online.

    "Tolkien's world is absolutely huge, so you need to focus on what works." The speaker is Cardell Kerr, the game's Design Director. He's one of several Turbine employees clustered around a conference room table. Over the remains of our lunch we've begun discussing the genesis of The Lord of the Rings Online. The game was originally under development with Vivendi Universal as Middle-Earth Online, where it had acquired a reputation as a game in trouble. Turbine acquired all the rights to the game as well as the full-ownership of the assets of Middle-Earth Online in March 2005. Once the company took possession they needed to seriously consider just what to do with it.

    Get clicking to read the rest of the interview. Let us know what you think about this and all your favorite MMOs in our new Ten Ton Hammer Forums. Don't forget that all the lastest news and information is waiting for you at our LOTRO Ten Ton Hammer Community site.

    Features, Interviews
    Tue, Oct 17, 2006
    LadySirse
  • LOTRO: Developer Q & A

    Got Questions?

    The "blue names" have started to make their presence known on Turbine's forums for Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. The developers have started fielding a few questions, and we've compiled all of the answers into one convenient location for you!

    "Lead Game Systems Designer Nik 'Mithral_Miser' Davidson:
    A lot of us went out of our way to get clearance to talk about more than we were able to before.

    Ask me any one question you want, and I'll answer it. Pull no punches. This isn't a PR exercise, this is us excited about really getting a chance to talk about the game that we've been pouring our lives into."

    Keep reading to see answers to many more questions. Also, Ten Ton Hammer's Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle will be attending the LOTRO Gathering II on August 5, 2006. Ethec is certain to get some face time with the LOTRO devs. If you have have a question you want him to ask, post it in our forums on LOTRO Ten Ton Hammer!

    Features, Interviews
    Mon, Jul 17, 2006
    LadySirse
  • LOTRO: Jeffrey Steefel Talks With CGO

    Storyline and Playable Races Discussed

    CGOnline.com has posted an interview with Jeffery Steefel. Executive Producer of Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, today.

    What is it like working on such a popular franchise and bringing it to an ever-expanding genre? What materials have you studied for the Middle-Earth experience?

    Working with a franchise like The Lord of the Rings is an incredible opportunity. We’ve dedicated ourselves to re-creating Middle-earth as faithfully as possible within the confines of a massively-multiplayer game. The opportunity to develop a persistent online world based on Middle-earth is exciting and challenging; everything is carefully researched before it makes it into the game.

    Of course, the art team has also done a tremendous amount of research including wearing a full suit of armor and visits to the archery range down the street to make sure our hunters hold their bows properly!

    Keep reading to find out more in this two part interview. Don't forget to stay tuned to LOTRO Ten Ton Hammer for all your latest news, interviews and information surrounding this much anticipated game!

    Features, Interviews
    Tue, Jul 11, 2006
    LadySirse
  • LOTRO: Interview with Jeffrey Steefel

    Soon To Be In Beta...

    Shacknews was able to take some time to speak with Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

    Shack: Where does Shadows of Angmar fit into the Lord of the Rings storyline?

    Jeffrey Steefel: LOTRO’s storyline begins shortly after Frodo leaves the Shire. The premise of our story is that while the Fellowship formed and journeyed on to Mordor, the lands they left behind fell under attack by the forces of the Witch-king of Angmar, the King of the Nazgûl. Your role is to defend Eriador from the evil shadow which is reaching across the land in pursuit of the Fellowship and the One Ring.

    Read more of this interview to see what's in store for Lord of the Rings Online!

    Features, Interviews
    Mon, Jul 03, 2006
    LadySirse
  • LotRO Dev Diary With Jill Harrington

    LotRO Goes Canadian.
    The official Lord of the Rings Online site has posted a developer diary featuring Jill Harrington. Jill is the lead technical artist on the title. We called the Canadian embassy in Slovakia to see if they would comment on this story, but they were busy making pancakes and could only utter the following statement:

    You may have noticed an eerie Ringwraith or two lurking in some of our screenshots. While our talented modelers, texture artists and animators truly bring these creatures to life, I thought it might be interesting to give you a peek behind the scenes – or, rather, behind his robes – to talk about another important step in bringing characters to life: the character setup process.
    I am the lead technical artist on The Lord of the Rings Online and one of the most important parts of my job is to set up finished models so that they can be animated. Anything in the game that moves – whether it be a hobbit, a door, or a Ringwraith – has a skeleton built for it by a technical artist. We then attach the model to the skeleton (this is called "binding the skin"), and make sure that it deforms properly when the skeleton is posed (called "weighting" – as each point on a model has an amount of "weight" for each bone that affects it). We set up control boxes to make the animators' jobs easier, then pass the character on for animation. The software we use for this process is Maya, by a company called Alias." 

    You can read the entire Lord of the Rings Online Developer Diary at The Official Site.
    Related Links:

    Features, Interviews
    Mon, Oct 17, 2005
    Boomjack
  • LotRO Producer Interview at MMORPG.com

    "We're not ready to talk about <insert your broad category of interest here>. Stay tuned!"
    Turbine sits down with MMORPG in one interview perhaps more notable for what wasn't said. It sounds like there's a lot of work to be done on the concepts behind Middle Earth's MMO; either that, or the Turbine team is being extraordinarily tight-lipped.

    "MMORPG.com: Will our actions be able to change things in the world? Can we take over and occupy buildings, or towns? Perhaps drive the orcs from a town and reclaim it?
    Jeffrey Steefel: An interesting question indeed – stay tuned for answers…"

    MMORPG.com's interview with Lord of the Rings Online producer Jeff Steelfel - click here!
    Other links you might enjoy:

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Oct 14, 2005
    Ethec
  • LotRO: Dev Diary

    One diary to rule them all.
    A new Lord of the Rings Online developer diary has been posted, featuring Chris Pierson. He must be an all-around cool guy because he's Canadian.

    Chris Pierson can count on one hand the number of people who have been at Turbine longer than he has. If the hand had six fingers. But still, it's been nine years now. Good grief.

    When he's not making hills or translating Sindarin, he helps the design team refrain from doing anything that would make Tolkien rise from the grave and wade across the Atlantic to wreak the wrath of the living dead upon Westwood, Massachusetts. He is a practicing Canadian, and writes novels and short stories, too. He would like you to buy his books, please.

    And be sure to ask him about Belegurth the Love-struck Balrog sometime. Be ready to duck. 

    Related Links:

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Sep 30, 2005
    Boomjack
  • LotRO Thursday Insider

    One developer to rule them, and in the darkness bind them.
    Turbine has posted their Lord of the Rings Online Thursday Insider, posing the question, "
    Would YOU have agreed to be the Ringbearer? Why? " I sure wouldn't have. I can't stand weddings.:

    "Chris "NobOrBob" Foster (Designer):

    I wonder. In many ways, the great courage Frodo showed was in recognizing the immensity of the danger, and the greater danger that would come from passing the Ring to someone else. If I was aware enough of the danger, I think I would take the Ring. The real question is, would I be willing to hear and recognize the true depth of the threat, or would I willfully remain ignorant?"

    You can read the Lord of the Rings Thursday Insider at the Official Site.
    More LotRO information than Orcs in Isengard at LotRO.TenTonHammer.com

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Aug 05, 2005
    Boomjack
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