During an interview with EDGE, Michael de Plater of Monolith spoke about the ambitions of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, and about the improvements he want to make with respect to the first chapter of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, from a more convincing narrative.
“The things that worked were the Nemesis system and the combat. The things that didn’t work were the scale and payoff of the story, and because we’re so focused on combat, there was a level of repetition. I think sequels in videogames are sometimes easier. Things are so complex and hard that you’re going to leave a lot of stuff on the table on the first one. Number two is often the fully realized vision of the ideas you had in your head,” says Michael de Plater.
Michael de Plater further stated that “last time we had orcs who had a trait called The Humiliator. Every time they killed you, they wouldn’t finish you off – they’d turn and walk away. That was cool sometimes, but now we can be deliberate about when that’s happening.”
“If it’s going to be a better story for you to not die in the moment, that’s when he’ll do it. The goal is to generate the best stories. If someone’s dying too much, a good story is to have someone save you.”
While waiting for the game to appear on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on August 25, we present a gameplay video of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War of 16 minutes at this link.
