Ahead of next week’s performance of The Lord of the Rings Symphony in Vancouver, Canada, the guys over at The Province snagged an interview with Howard Shore and asked him about whether he’ll be returning to Middle-earth to score the upcoming Hobbit films. And for fans of the outstanding music Shore’s composed for The Lord of the Rings films, his reply should serve to satiate sufficiently… at least until the score itself finally debuts a couple years from now.
“We’ve talked about making these movies for many years, at least since 2002. It looks like finally it’s going to be happening. I’ll be working on it for the next three years — it’s going to consume a lot of my time and work now.”
Looking at 2011 and beyond, the action role-playing genre is very much alive and well. Between Torchlight II, Dungeon Siege III, Darkspore, and Diablo III — whenever it winds up being finished — there are a lot of cool games on the way. One of the more promising is Snowblind’s Lord of the Rings: War in the North. In case you’re not familiar, the folks at Snowblind were responsible for the gleefully addicting Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. Based on what they’re saying about War in the North, it sounds like they’re doing everything right.
But hang on a second. Do you know what an action-RPG is? Basically it’s a game like Diablo where you run around dungeons and kill tons of stuff at a fast pace. That stuff then drops equipment and items you can use or sell, and in the process you gain experience to level up and learn new skills. Mix in the occasional vendor visit to clear inventory space, stock up on restorative items, and advance the story, and then it’s right back into the field to hack away at swarms of enemies and powerful bosses. More..
Beren writes: I received the following statement by the Tolkien Estate regarding the “Wheelbarrows at Dawn” cancellation:
“The J R R Tolkien Estate has been made aware of a statement by ADC Publications concerning its cancellation of its proposed publication “Wheelbarrows at Dawn” by Angela Gardner and Neil Holford.
ADC’s statement suggests that the publication has been cancelled as a result of the Tolkien Estate’s threats to take court action preventing the release of the book.
Janet writes: For any LA Ringers: members of Tolkien Forever and MythSoc will hold their monthly meeting and celebrate the life of Glen Goodknight this evening (Tuesday) at Conrad’s, 861 E. Walnut St, Pasadena CA 91101. [Map]
Robert Purchese writes: The Lord of the Rings Online may never get another proper expansion pack, producer Aaron Campbell has told Eurogamer – the free-to-play relaunch has taught Turbine “a lot” about “pacing” of updates. But don’t worry – next year’s trip to Isengard will be just as good. “Expansions classically have a few things tied to them,” Campbell educated. “They have something along the lines of a new system; they typically have a level cap tied to them; and they have some epic piece of content or arc to hang their hat on – an important place in the world that people want to go to. More..
Ahead of next week’s performance of The Lord of the Rings Symphony in Vancouver, Canada, the guys over at The Province snagged an interview with Howard Shore and asked him about whether he’ll be returning to Middle-earth to score the upcoming Hobbit films. And for fans of the outstanding music Shore’s composed for The Lord of the Rings films, his reply should serve to satiate sufficiently… at least until the score itself finally debuts a couple years from now.