Eurogamer has pulled through with yet another interview with Turbine. This one specifically discusses Mines of Moria and the future of LotRO with Jeffrey Steefel. You can read the full interview at their site, but I’ve written a bit about the things that interested me below.
There’s some discussion of how LotRO can combat World of Warcraft moving forward. Steefel feels the game has done a good job pushing storytelling into the limelight for MMORPGs amongst other things, but that it still has a way to go before it reaches “critical mass” in terms of consumer base. He really feels that their work so far and their continued expansion of the game to the rest of the world (such as Korea) will help them become far more of a close second place to World of Warcraft.
Steefel also discusses how their current subscription model doesn’t work for casual players who may put in a few hours a week. There’s a lot of stuff they could use that they just aren’t using for various reasons. There sounds to be other subscription plans under consideration here (Steefel is pretty adamant that the $14.95 a month plan is not something that can stick for MMORPGs), but how serious Turbine is about changing anything in the near term is anyone’s guess.
The Rune-keeper is again brought up and Steefel yet again admits its inclusion in Tolkien lore is a stretch. It sounds like a compromise to simply make the game more fun and interest more people .… Personally I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I can’t tell you how often I read posts from people lamenting that there were no “mages” in this game. The Rune-keeper seems like a good step.
Monster Play also sounds as though it’ll be getting some major expansions sometime in the future. Between Korean players’ love of PvP and just the options provided by getting further into Middle Earth, it sounds as though Turbine has some tricks up its sleeve yet. Minas Tirith’s battles are specifically mentioned here, although who knows how far off that would be in-game.
It ends with some discussion on Turbine’s upcoming console MMO and what will work, what won’t. Steefel doesn’t mention what the real status is on this game or what it’s even about … But personally I’d be surprised if it doesn’t take advantage of The Lord of the Rings license.
