The Middle Earth Mod, Recruitment Options

[Rapishorrid]

Hello all.

I have always drempt of having J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastic world of Middle Earth in a game. This really has never been effectively done yet. EA's attempts, obviously were for money only and not really to portray Middle Earth accurately.
As things began unfolding about Oblivion I saw that this was a prime oppurtunity. It was clear to me that Middle Earth had to be in an RPG, and from my long experience with Morrowind, I knew that Oblivion is right now the best engine to have a Middle Earth based game in.

The mod will be a "Total Conversion"...so there will be very few used models from Oblivion. (probably things such as some of the trees and rocks might be used). The rest of the models, quests, scripts, books, npcs, possibly voices, will be made by the team.

What I am saying is that I am starting a mod for Oblivion: The Middle Earth Mod (I will use that until a better name is decided upon). The mod will portray Middle Earth as accurately as possible, using the literature provided by Tolkien. I am aware that this is a massive undertaking, for a single forest in Middle Earth (Mirkwood for example) is easily twice as big as Vvardenfell itself. I am also aware that such a mod is already in existence: Adventure Middle Earth. Due to its German population I thought it futile to apply for it, and I find myself disagreeing with some of the things that they are doing. And most importantly I am aware of the legal issues that caused the decision to end MeMod. My answer to these problems is this: We will make this mod, and if we are asked by the holders of the copyrights to discontinue the mod, we will continue it (we have the right to do so) and distribute it amongst the team. In this manner we are not violating copyrights. We may so venture to distribute it amongst forum goers who contribute ideas and criticism as well...But I find it highly unlikely that this mod, or any Middle Earth mod will be asked to stop by the copyright owners.

Currently I am the only one in the mod. Of course because I just founded it...
This mod, until Oblivion is realeased, will need Concept Artists, Story Writers, and Public Relations. (public relations, would be things like web site desiners). People who want to join this mod, must be enthusiastic about Tolkien's world and have a decent understanding and knowledge of it. I chose here to start recruiting because I don't want major publicity and everyone knowing about it before it's even underway. I know lots of people are interested in Middle Earth mods such as this so I thought I would keep it confined at first.

This mod is going to be very organized (as in development wise). There will be various teams, each assigned to a different region, which contains a different culture. Each team will have the people to complete the work (3d modelers, texture artists, concept artists, scripters, etc.) and each team will have one leader. The communication will be somewhat similar to the army (lol). The team will ask their team leader about design issues and things ("should I put this armory in the town" or w/e) and the leader will either decided or talk the team about it. If the question is very large and significant to the whole of the mod, and the team leader can't answer it, he will ask the mod leader. Which would be me, or possibly someone else or both. In this way it is not a mass of confusing communication, and things will be very structural and able to get done.

If you are interested in joining this mod, please contact me at: rapishorrid@gmail.com. I will answer your questions about the mod in detail. Also if you know anyone who might be interested in joining, either refer them here, or preferably give me their email address so I may contact them.

Cheers -Rapishorrid

This post has been edited by Rapishorrid: Oct 1 2005, 09:36 PM

[Ravin]

Hey, I just want you to know that I've been waiting for that previous Middle Earth mod since I first heard about it and was REALLY let down when I found out it was cancelled. However, a part of me saw it coming too. They predicted it'd be only a couple years to complete and it was around 4 years later when it was suddenly cancelled. I mean, if you read the the first paragraph on their page...

"Although the team grew in numbers, it turned also out to be highly unstable, therefore the development process halted in the early stages of brainstorming and unfortunately did not go any further for a few months - a temporary downtime of MWC combined with the deletion of all content on the MWC forums meant a further drawback to the mod."

....you could see they didn't really have their s**t together. I would support you guys all the way. I'd even like to help out in any way I could. Only thing is I've never done any modding before but been tempted to learn for a long time (just wish my computer were faster.) I am very good at html though and maybe there are some other side things I could do while I get more knowledgable in modding. Also, I am pretty sure they wouldn't press action against something like this. There've been many other mods out there based on Tolkien material (many for Morrowind even.) Those MEMod guys weren't "shut down", they said on the site that they themselves contacted the Tolkien dudes. Why? Just work on the mod - keep it secret, keep it safe. There are no problems if you're just doing it for fun. It'll just be distributed to friends anyway....and if you make a mod like this, you'll soon have a heck of a lot of friends! ;P

I think 3rd Age would be a great place for the story's setting. It's not only what most people are familiar with, but also has some of the most material. However, if the mod works out, it'd be a great next step to capture some of The Silmarillion as well! Oh and I love the Pellinor fields idea by the way. The story of Lord of the Rings would have to be in there but of course you'll have no true part of it. You may meet/fight alongside some of the characters at some point but really that's their tale and you'll be busy with your own. Can't have things getting too linear, can we?

Last thing I'd like to say is that for something as enormous as this, you need lots of commitment and people who are willing to communicate with each other on a regular basis and we need a leader open to all ideas and there should be a way to outvote the leader as well, say 3/4ths against him? Just spitballing ideas but I the point is I think communication and respect are key and I have very high hopes for this project. Hopefully, I can be a part of all the action as well?