Be sure to watch Episode 1: “From the Beginning”

“Four Tanks and a Healer” is a funny, two-part series created by filmmaker Larry Longstreth (“The Long, Slow Death of a Twenty-Something”, “Batman’s Gonna Get Shot in the Face”) under the watchful eye of “Lord of the Rings” executive producer, Mark Ordesky. The pilot episodes were created in the hopes that they will one day result in a full-fledged series.

Both Longstreth and Ordesky are nerds at heart – with Mark being a closet tabletop Dungeons and Dragons veteran and Longstreth being a fan of the genre’s newer forms: World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online.

“Four Tanks and a Healer” is an Adult Swim-style look at the lives these people live, from the sole perspective of their in-game characters. Taking place entirely inside an online roleplaying video game, the series follows a group of misfit gamers as they venture across fantastic landscapes and epic quests, all from the comfort of their real-life computer chairs.

At times funny and at times just plain pathetic, the show explores the geeky underground culture of fantasy roleplaying – from the amazing displays of imagination and wish fulfillment to the downside of having to play alongside socially-inept elitists and basement-dwelling cretins. The show’s protagonists – Malcom the dwarf, Redbeerd the dwarf, Nickelsack the gnome, PlzmePlz the human and LuvPrncess the fairy princess, all serve as funny and insightful glimpses not only into who their real-life counterparts are, but also into who they wish they could be. (For example, the sexy fairy princess of the group, LuvPrncess, is actually a 50 year old man). Continue reading “TheOneRing.net Presents: Four Tanks and a Healer Episode 2”

Warner’s has announced numerous new video games they’ve got planned for the end of this year and well into next year. Their Interactive Entertainment unit is one of the few tied to a Film Studio that has proven profitable in recent years, and this new lineup promises to be equally successful. On the horizon are two games based on Tolkien’s work, you can read the rest of the article here:

LA Times – Warner Interactive

The key quote for Tolkien fans is:

Warner will launch a new Lord of the Rings game in November and a Hobbit title in 2012 before Peter Jackson‘s movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” comes out that December. The game is one of the studio’s top releases for next year, along with a Lego Batman sequel and a game featuring a superhero from Warner’s DC Comics unit that Tremblay wouldn’t name.

Don’t forget to check out Four Tanks and a Healer Episode 2: “Of Men and Noobs” tomorrow at 11am Eastern. Check out the exclusive clip from the show above. Episode 1: “From the Beginning” is available on Youtube here.

“Four Tanks and a Healer” is a funny, two-part series created by filmmaker Larry Longstreth (“The Long, Slow Death of a Twenty-Something”, “Batman’s Gonna Get Shot in the Face”) under the watchful eye of “Lord of the Rings” executive producer, Mark Ordesky. The pilot episodes were created in the hopes that they will one day result in a full-fledged series.

Want to make this show happen? Drop us a line about sponsoring the show, we promise to suck up to you!

While security-related incidents haven’t been as common in recent months as they were earlier this year, when we learned about games and game-related websites being hacked on what felt like an almost daily basis, these things do still happen. Turbine has notified The Lord of the Rings Online players that the official forums may have been hacked recently and suggested they take precautions to minimize the potential impact.

In an email sent out to users last night users were told, “Turbine is concerned that a third-party recently may have attempted to access forum account information.” It says it doesn’t believe accounts were modified or compromised; regardless, it would be wise for users to change their LOTRO forum passwords to one that isn’t used elsewhere. (That’s a tip which should be followed with every password you make, especially in light of how many things have been hacked this year.) It sounds as if this incident took place on or prior to October 11, as it notes that if you’ve changed your password since that date you have nothing to worry about. More..

From eurogamer.net: Lego Batman 2 and a videogame based on Peter Jackson’s impending The Hobbit movie are among Warner Bros Interactive’s plans for 2012, the publisher has revealed. WBI’s president Martin Tremblay mentioned the two games in an LA Times interview, along with a mystery title featuring a DC Comics character. It also has a number of casual online titles in development for younger players at a new Montreal studio, based on various Warner brands. The first Lego Batman title launched back in 2008, picking up a very respectable 8/10 from Eurogamer’s Dan Whitehead. The publisher has had a pretty impressive 2011 so far, with Mortal Kombat, hit downloadable RPG Bastion and Batman: Arkham City all under its belt.

*Programming Change to 4:30pm PDT* Tomorrow’s installment of “TORn TUESDAYS live with Quickbeam” (our weekly streaming video call-in show) will feature a special guest producer from 4 TANKS AND A HEALER, the lovely Marisa Zakaria! We will discuss the history of fandom related to Fantasy Gaming, and how difficult it is to start up a brand new animated series! You can interact live and pose your questions in our Barliman’s chatroom, built-in to our LIVE event section at 4:30PM Pacific Daylight Time! [LIVE Event Area] (TORn Tuesday will take place from approx 4:30-5:30pm PT – See All Times)

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.