Gamer.no: Character customization is becoming increasingly more important to online games, with Star Wars Galaxies rasing the bar even further than ever before. How will players in Middle-earth Online be able to customize their character's looks? And how important will clothing, armor and other equipment be to to the appearance of a character?
JA: We are still ironing out what aspects of the character’s looks will be customizable during the character creation process. Armor and equipment like in many RPG’s helps to distinguish how powerful and unique a character is.
Gamer.no: You have the luxury of learning from other developer's mistakes. Give us a few examples on what has been done in other online games that you want to avoid in Middle-earth Online.
CRT: I certainly am a fan of many of the other online games. We do play, erm, research them. We have a good idea of what works and doesn't work. I think one of the big issues that we're trying to come up with solutions for is the time-sink nature of these games. We want people who only have a limited number of hours to play per week to have a great time while still giving the people with more time rewards for their play.
Gamer.no: It's inevitable to ask the ultimate question: What will make Middle-earth Online different from other online games? And you're not allowed to say it's because of the Lord of the Rings setting!
CRT: Well, beyond the Thing I'm Not Allowed To Say, there is our character advancement system, the alignment system and the overall quest and epic story. Our PvP system is different as well, but I'm Not Allowed To Talk About That Either.
Gamer.no: And finally, the thing we are all dying to know about: Will we be able to tame an Olliphant?
JA: At launch, no, but I definitely have this on my wish list for an expansion.
We would like to thank the guys for the interview, and wish them best of luck onwards with Middle-earth Online, as well as any other project they might undertake in the future.
