Hello there!
My name is Chris Taylor, and I work for Black Label Games/Universal Interactive on our Tolkien titles. Our games are based on the books.
Just wanted to drop a quick note letting you know that we are working on a LOTR based MMORPG. The final title of the game hasn't been decided (I saw some confusion in another thread and I wanted to clear that up.) I refer to it as MEO (Middle-earth Online), but it's also been called LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online). Over the next couple of months, we'll settle on the real name.
We're still very far off from release, and lots of things are changing under the hood (so to speak), so we can't say a lot about the game at this point. However, I'll try to answer your questions as best as possible to the limit of my ability and what I'm allowed to talk about.
I'm not any more familiar with the previous incarnations of MEO than a fan (I followed it like many people did), so that particular topic is pretty much off limits. Also, I'd like to keep away from talks about the competition, but only because I really respect what other teams do and somehow those conversations never go right...
My background is primarily in design, which is why I'm producing now. I worked for Interplay for many years (on Stonekeep, Fallout, Starfleet Command and others). I did work on a couple MMORPGs that Interplay wanted to launch, but they never really got off the ground. My personal online experience starts in the mid 1980s, in the Apple // BBS world. I started playing online RPGs in the late 80s, and MUDed way, way too much in the early 90s. (I was Skuz on Genesis for a couple of years.) I'm currently playing EQ, and have tried all the major MMPs. We're very thankful for EQ and UO for opening the door for MMORPGs, but we are committed to not just making a clone of those games with different characters and graphics.
I think we have something really neat planned for you. And neat is good!
pax,
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