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TolkienGAF |OT| The World is Ahead

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4444244

Member
Any reason why Aragon and Arwen couldn't have slipped off to the Valinor, once Aragon got a bit creaky?

Why did they get really fussy about Arwen making an all or nothing choice, when they let a filthy dwarf who tried to chat up Galedriel?
 
Any reason why Aragon and Arwen couldn't have slipped off to the Valinor, once Aragon got a bit creaky?

Why did they get really fussy about Arwen making an all or nothing choice, when they let a filthy dwarf who tried to chat up Galedriel?

Aragon would still die. He probably wanted to die with his people
 

Loxley

Member
Aragon would still die. He probably wanted to die with his people

Yeah, shuffling off to Valinor strikes me as something Aragorn would be too proud to do (in a good way), especially since he was a King. He fought tooth and nail to protect Middle-earth and he was going to stay there to protect it and it's people until his last breath.
 

4444244

Member
Guess you're right. Typical for a mortal to have such principals! :eek:)

I've been dipping in and out of Silmarillion (audiobook) recently, which is a tad, er, dry? I suppose that is what to be expected.

With that said, from what I have read so far, you really do get a taste for how big the history of middle earth is.

Best bits are when it starts to go into telling some individual stories, with my favourite so far being hearing about the 'Dark Elves' that chose to live seperately and away from the rest of their kin and were shunned (well it was 1 main elf and some of his closest buddies). I was really rooting for him to be honest, seemed much more interesting that the other elves.
 
The start of something wonderful...

6WqCKkY.png
 

Loxley

Member
So Tolkien is going to show up in the season finale of the DC show Legends of Tomorrow - played by Jack Turner. They'll visit him while he's serving in the trenches of WWI (specifically the Somme).

First picture of Turner on-set as Tolkien:

fVXskBl.jpg


I don't normally watch the show, but I'll definitely be curious to check this out. To my knowledge this will be the first time Tolkien himself will be depicted on film - so that's pretty cool.
 

Vashetti

Banned
I picked up The Children of Hurin in a used bookstore today for £3.50

Any tips going in?

I've only read The Hobbit, LOTR and bits of Unfinished Tales

I tried to read The Silmarillion as a young kid but it was just too dense with all the terminology.

Edit: just checked out of curiosity and Edmond hasn't been active since 2015 :(
 

butalala

Member
My tip for reading The Silmarillion or Children of Hurin is to worry about understanding the general gist of the story, rather than concentrating on understanding every single word. Once I understood that, I was able to read and enjoy The Silmarillion.

Hurin is much easier to read that Sil. but it feels more old school than modern writing, even compared to LOTR. It is written in sparse prose, if that makes any sense. I don't think it should be considered the same daunting task that Silmarillion is.

Where Dantes is, I hope he's happy and well. I always enjoyed his posts.
 

Loxley

Member
My tip for reading The Silmarillion or Children of Hurin is to worry about understanding the general gist of the story, rather than concentrating on understanding every single word. Once I understood that, I was able to read and enjoy The Silmarillion.

Hurin is much easier to read that Sil. but it feels more old school than modern writing, even compared to LOTR. It is written in sparse prose, if that makes any sense. I don't think it should be considered the same daunting task that Silmarillion is.

Where Dantes is, I hope he's happy and well. I always enjoyed his posts.

This is more or less exactly what I'd say. As far as Dantes goes, haven't heard from him since he stopped posting. I've messaged him a few times since then but have never gotten a response, I've just assumed he's moved on from GAF at this point. Hope he's doing well out there, but this place just isn't the same without him.

Also, we haven't talked about Shadow of War at all yet - I think it looks fun as hell. I really enjoyed the first game and like what I'm seeing regarding the expansion of the nemesis system. As far as the story goes, whatever, I've already come to piece with the fan-fic nature of this franchise and embraced it for the orc-killing simulator that it is. The latest gameplay demo shows off Minus Ithil, which is pretty neat to see (even if it should be Minas Morgul by this point in the timeline).
 
I wish the Shadow of Mordor games were more RPG-ish.

Actually a killer LOTR RPG in the vein of the Witcher or even Breath of the Wild is like my dream game.

I never played LOTRO but it seemed to have it's fans.
 

bengraven

Member
I wish the Shadow of Mordor games were more RPG-ish.

Actually a killer LOTR RPG in the vein of the Witcher or even Breath of the Wild is like my dream game.

I never played LOTRO but it seemed to have it's fans.

Closest would have been that Elder Scrolls ripoff EA was working on that I followed for months in their website in development and then was canceled. :(
 
I actually think it would be pretty great if someone made an isometric LOTR game like baldur's gate. Then you could get really deep into the roleplaying side.

It's just rather frustrating that LOTR inspired D&D which inspired pretty much every Western RPG ever made but we've still never gotten a killer RPG. It's still kinda unbelievable that even during the peak of the LOTR movies all we got was a bunch of action games.
 

Black_Sun

Member
This is more or less exactly what I'd say. As far as Dantes goes, haven't heard from him since he stopped posting. I've messaged him a few times since then but have never gotten a response, I've just assumed he's moved on from GAF at this point. Hope he's doing well out there, but this place just isn't the same without him.

Also, we haven't talked about Shadow of War at all yet - I think it looks fun as hell. I really enjoyed the first game and like what I'm seeing regarding the expansion of the nemesis system. As far as the story goes, whatever, I've already come to piece with the fan-fic nature of this franchise and embraced it for the orc-killing simulator that it is. The latest gameplay demo shows off Minus Ithil, which is pretty neat to see (even if it should be Minas Morgul by this point in the timeline).

I hope we some day get a Silmarillion video game.
 

butalala

Member
I hadn't thought about it before, but Breath of the Wild actually gives me lots of LotR vibes. If you aren't familiar with the game, it (mild spoilers for the setting & a few quests) is set
100 years after a cataclysmic attempt at defeating Ganon. Link wakes up from stasis to find a world in ruin with Ganon triumphant and needs to uncover lost memories of what he did in his previous life and recruit old allies.
The world building isn't near as good, but something about this version of Hyrule gives me the Middle Earth vibes.
 

Ogodei

Member
How the hell did an elf fight this guy?

In the beginning all of the Valar were closer to Gods in the capital-G sense (though never God, which was always Iluvatar and who was the analogy for the Judeo-Christian God, the only way Tolkien felt comfortable with his pagan mythology by Christianizing it somewhat). All of the Valar lost somewhat of their power by coming down to the World. Melkor lost a hell of a lot of his power compared to the other Valar because he wanted to corrupt the world, so like Sauron pouring his spirit into the Ring to give it power over the other rings, Melkor poured his spirit into the Earth in order to make it is own, thus ensuring that the spirit of his evil would live on even if he was defeated, but at the cost of vastly diminishing his native power, to go from fighting divine battles rending heaven and earth to getting punked by Beren and Fingon.
 

Loxley

Member
I actually think it would be pretty great if someone made an isometric LOTR game like baldur's gate. Then you could get really deep into the roleplaying side.

It's just rather frustrating that LOTR inspired D&D which inspired pretty much every Western RPG ever made but we've still never gotten a killer RPG. It's still kinda unbelievable that even during the peak of the LOTR movies all we got was a bunch of action games.

Timely!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1359723

If you're interested, LOTR is this weeks Steam Midweek Madness.

http://store.steampowered.com/sale/middle_earth

For those who haven't played any of these:

LEGO: The Lord of the Rings - Absolutely worth it, just be sure to play it with a controller.
LEGO: The Hobbit - Not as a good or memorable as LEGO LOTR, but a decent time - especially at that price. Just know that it only covers the first two Hobbit films. There was a plan to add Battle of the Five Armies content as DLC (I think), but it was canned. The game just sort of ends without a resolution as a result.
Shadow of Mordor - Probably the highest profile game, so long as you ignore the story it's a fun action game with a unique twist (the nemesis system).
Guardians of Middle-earth - It's a MOBA like LOL or DOTA2 that had potential given the license but is all-but-dead the last I checked.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Much more of an RPG than Shadow of Mordor, but not nearly as fun to play. It's a decent hack n' slash game but has some bizarre design choices that (imo) hindered it from becoming a truly good game.

I will say this for the LEGO Hobbit game - it has the best representation of the Shire in any Middle-earth related game that I've played, including LOTRO. The one in LEGO LOTR is a pretty good start, but in the Hobbit game they expanded it to great effect. There's something about running around LEGO Hobbiton with Howard Shore's music in the background that just makes me all warm and fuzzy.
 

Ixion

Member
Closest would have been that Elder Scrolls ripoff EA was working on that I followed for months in their website in development and then was canceled. :(

The White Council. I followed it sooooo closely on their crappy forums. Death to EA! Booooo!

Were you guys around on the official EA White Council forum when it was just the same 5-7 people hanging around talking about the game, so we started calling ourselves the "Defenders of the White Council"?

That was a dream game for me as well. It's mystifying how there's been no true open-world LOTR RPG, with the exception of a 10-year old PC MMO.

Shadow of War looks less one-dimensional than the previous game, but it doesn't really scratch my itch as a Tolkien fan. It's not like I've always had the burning desire to play as an undead Ranger/Wraith who teleports around Mordor possessing and killing orcs. Strictly as a video game I'm pretty interested, but not really as a Tolkien fan. I want to choose my character and explore all the different areas of Middle-Earth.
 

Loxley

Member
So last year Alan Lee mentioned he was working on some new art for a new book that Weta were putting together about the making of Jackson's Middle-earth films, and it has now been officially unveiled:

Middle-earth: From Script to Screen (hardcover, 512 pages, looks like it'll ship October/November):


They said it couldn't be done, but in an effort spanning a decade and undertaken in a distant corner of the world, a team of artists and creative visionaries laboured to bring the unfilmable to the silver screen. Under the direction of Sir Peter Jackson, their extraordinary efforts to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit generated almost 24 hours of cinematic wonder, and transported audiences to a world of astonishing beauty and power.

Richly illustrated with thousands of film frames, concept art and behind-the-scenes imagery, many previously unseen, Middle-earth: From Script to Screen follows in the footsteps of the Fellowship of the Ring and the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, visiting the realms and landscapes of Middle-earth and uncovering their secrets. Accompanying this stunning gallery, cast and crew reflect upon their experiences, share brand-new stories and insights into how the wildernesses and soundstages of New Zealand were transformed into a magical world of hobbits, Dwarves and Elves, resulting in one of the most spectacular achievements in cinematic history.

With foreword by Sir Peter Jackson and additional writing by KM Rice; illustrated with final film imagery, behind-the-scenes pictures and conceptual artwork, including places not seen in the final films, this monumental compilation offers unique and far-reaching insights into the creation of the world we know and love as Middle-earth.

Here's the Amazon (US) link. But if you preorder it from Weta's website, you get a set of "set-dressing" replicas along with it:

 

ElFly

Member
How the hell did an elf fight this guy?

because it was a really really really really really badass elf?

I was rereading the story of Fingolfin today, and was actually kind of disappointed on how simple is the setup to his battle with Morgoth. Morgoth just goes on the offensive, pwns the elves and then Fingolfin rides to battle

given how complex the rest of his story to that point is, I wonder if Tolkien would have revisited his story later to make that part a little better
 
Anybody going to this?

DAB7UX1V0AEvIEN.jpg


https://www.celebratetolkien.com/

You are invited to attend the first annual Celebration of JRR Tolkien at the enchanting Old Cigar Warehouse in Greenville, South Carolina on November 9-10, 2017. This event will feature presentations by some of the world's leading Tolkien experts, artists, performers, and authors of our day. The presentations are not the only part of the celebration. Also join us for a pipe smoking competition, Hobbit games, and Middle Earth themed food and music.
 

Windam

Scaley member
Oh hey, so there is a Tolkien OT, awesome.

Anyone else ready to get this in a few weeks?



https://www.amazon.com/dp/1328791823/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Have had my deluxe edition on preorder for months. Super bummed it's coming out three weeks later than the regular edition.

Would if I could, but I don't live anywhere near SC :(

Here's a some pretty great Glorfindel fan-art I came across on the LOTR subReddit. Still bummed he was completely excised from the films, even though I understand why they cut him.

No super long golden hair? #NotmyGlorfindel
 

Fathead

Member
Anyone come across some high quality artwork of the two trees? I've dome some searching but you never know what somoene else may have come across.
 
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