German video game developer Daedalic Entertainment unveiled its upcoming title, Lord of the Rings: Gollum, on Monday. The action adventure game will follow the years of the popular J.R.R. Tolkien character after he acquired the One Ring but before the events of The Lord of the Rings novels and films.
"You already have that big conflict in the character, two voices talking to you continuously, which means there is a good reason there are decisions to make in the game: the Smeagol decisions or the Gollum decision," Carsten Fichtelmann, CEO and co-founder of Daedalic Entertainment, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
"We have the story that we all know from the book, but everything that happens to him before he appears in the book are the main things we will see in our game," Fichtelmann says. "We will tell the story before he first appears in the books."
Daedalic partnered with Middle-earth Enterprises to develop and publish the new game, which is slated for release in 2021 on PC and "all relevant console platforms at that time."
Gollum is the first title being developed in the new partnership between Daedalic and Middle-earth, but plans for further games in the future are in the works.
“Our goal was to present a storytelling experience. About four years ago, I caught Middle-earth Enterprises in Berkeley, maybe like Peter Jackson did 20 years ago, and I said we’re interested in licensing Lord of the Rings,” Fichtelmann says of the formation of the partnership. "After some negotiations, it was clear that the Tolkien estate looked for a company that was capable of doing something which is more story-orientated than some of the other products that came out over the last years."
Fichtelmann says Daedalic's goal with its Lord of the Rings projects is not to go "too deep into the uncanny valley" by making hyper-realistic games. "When it comes to shapes, colors, we definitely try to produce something that is a statement," he says.
The 2021 release date for Gollum coincides with Amazon's planned premiere date for its $1 billion Lord of the Rings television series that is currently in production.
I think they can pull it off to get the right vibe in this franchise.
"Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use one's own understanding without another's guidance. This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance. Dare to know! (Sapere aude.) "Have the courage to use your own understanding," is therefore the motto of the enlightenment."
Interesting the term action adventure is pretty broad, i kinda doubt they will make a game where Smeagol slaughters hundreds of orcs. If i had to take a guess i would say this will probably be stealth focused with an emphasis on puzzles at least that's what Daedalic is good at (the puzzle part no clue about stealth gameplay) and it makes much more sense with a protagonist like Gollum so something like Styx for example.
“The game mixes stealth with vertical climbing parkour,” lead designer Martin Wilkes told IGN. “If you want a reference you might think of it as similar to Prince of Persia. It is mostly a non-combat game, but Gollum will be able to stealthily take out enemies. However, this will not be easy and always come with big risks. We want players to carefully weigh these encounters. After all, Gollum’s strengths lie in cunning not combat.”
While Gollum will not use weapons, he will be able to distact enemies with throwable items, as well as profit from the abilities of “special allies” and can use the environment to his advantage, according to lead narrative designer Tilman Schanen. Those “special allies” are familiar characters that “for the most part” will play smaller roles in the story, “but in some cases very significant.”
As for decision making, players will have to choose from responses proposed by his Smeagol personality and Gollum personality. According to Schanen, the decisions you make affect how the game feels, and the “dominant” persona can influence “animations, soundscapes, certain gameplay situations, and in-game dialogue.”
Ah yes, when I think Lord of the Rings gaming, I think of none other than Gollum as the character I'd like to play as and explore the world of Middle-earth.
The gaming industry is so bankrupt and void of any creativity.
Ah yes, when I think Lord of the Rings gaming, I think of none other than Gollum as the character I'd like to play as and explore the world of Middle-earth.
The gaming industry is so corrupt and void of any creativity.
Yep it applies to tv, movies and games. Yes gollum prince of persia type game, the world has been begging for years
Tbh I'm really curious about this game and seeing Mordor through Gollum's perspective (was really curious about his own adventures back when I first read the books), I find it's an original idea - isn't it actually cool that not seemingly popular options are being explored ?
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Seems like I'm really the only one with any sort of remote interest in this then
I do agree that I don't really care for it gameplay-wise as it'll most certainly be lite-stealth Tomb Raider stuff indeed ; the modeling of Mordor and the stories to be told are what really peak my interest with this game
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I doubt this is going to feature complex level design and hardcore stealth (Styx's trademarks), but even a watered-down version of it would be alright as long as it's not too based on the awesomebutton. The narrative ought to be strong though...so many preciousss ifs.
The only thing this trailer is missing is an epic Actual in-game graphics text that fades out before the trailer begins, then a BOMBASTIC score to really blow us away with these amazing PS3 graphics!
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