The Lord of the Rings Online: Looking Back

Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel took the time to reflect back on the development of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar over at CVG.
We understand that Middle-earth is the fantasy destination, and it's got to be right. Tolkien Enterprises have been great though: they know we're making a game, and there has to be a magic-using class. People really want magic, and they want it to be fun. People want things that flash and explode, and lasers that fly through the air, and clearly nobody did that in Middle-earth.

But as long as you wrap it up right, and you make it clear he's doing these things through learning and wisdom and is understanding how to summon the natural energies in Middle-earth, then everyone's fine with it. They've come to really trust us, and that helps a lot. Especially with Angmar, which isn't described much in the books, and doesn't exist as a viable entity in the third age.