Toonzone had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable interview with the Art Director on Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Phil Straub at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC2014). Topics discussed included:
- Working on the design of Mordor at this point in the Lord of the Rings timeline
- The advantages and challenges of developing for the Xbox One and PS4
- Existing Lord of the Rings characters the development team had the opportunity to visually interpret for the game
- Artistic and literary influences Straub grew up with
- Real-life research and inspiration for the locations and costumes used in Shadow of Mordor
- The identity of the Wraith
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes place between the events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Mordor is not yet a wasteland. Talion, a ranger of Gondor is killed while guarding the Black Gate of Mordor against the forces of Sauron. He’s resurrected with wraith-like abilities and heads into Mordor to exact his revenge.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was developed by Monolith Productions and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game is set to be released on September 30, 2014. It will be available on the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. For more information on the game, visit the official Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor website.
