Scrawled in Wax

Mentioning a Lord of the Rings videogame is one thing - sure people will think you’re a nerd, but you might still seem sorta’ normal. Talking about an LOTR MMO, however, is quite another. After you explain it to non-nerds by saying “umm… well, it’s kinda’ like a mix of World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings”, you’ve pretty much committed yourself to lifelong celibacy. But, what the hey - I’ll mention it again. I mean, how much worse can things get, right?

So, anyway - The NY Times have given a rather positive review LOTR Online, which is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, the review was in the Arts section, unlike the Tech section as it is in most papers. Secondly, what they were most impressed with is the capacity of the game to wrap you up in a narrative, which is sorta’ cool. While the place of storytelling in gaming is quite hotly contested - some say games should focus more on narrative, while others say it should be abandoned all together - I think the importance of the story to the review and the fact that it appeared in the Arts section is telling: to wit, stories are still closer to art in our minds than is new-fangled notions of ‘play’ or interactive art.

Finding Fellowship (Hairy Feet Optional) - New York Times