Instead of going with the seemingly obvious Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor title for their new game, Warner Bros and Monolith decided to go for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.
As Lead Designer Bob Roberts told Eurogamer at EGX, this was an intentional decision derived from their goal of making Shadow of Mordor its own game:
One of our goals from the beginning was not to make a movie game. Not to just rehash the same events over again. So, just trying to make the best game we can, and make it clear that this is its own thing – its own story, its own experience. We’re not just rehashing a movie.
He continued:
So giving it a name that’s clearly its own thing, I think helps kind of separate it. If this is your entry point into Lord of the Rings – if you’ve never seen the movies or never read the books – this will make sense; you’ll be able to start here. And then, hopefully, all the other stories you see beyond that once you dig into the rest of the world are just enriched by it.
Roberts downplayed the notion of them having a sequel planned right now, saying it’s up to the fans and whether they want them to make another game.
For now, Monolith is working on the post-launch DLC for Shadow of Mordor.
Did you pick up Shadow of Mordor this week?
