I now pronounce you Dwarf & Hobbit...oops!

[davem]

Originally Posted by Durelin

Geez, guys! Cut Turbine some slack... I don't think anyone here knows enough about the company to say that all the people care about is money.... And the issue here is not money - it's essentially politics, and the personal feelings of the people in the company.

I suspect money is the over-riding issue - they snapped up the rights in order to make money. And the money they're making is off the back of Tolkien's hard work over more than half a century. If this was a generic fantasy world no-one would be that interested in getting involved. This is about getting fans of the books & the movie on line - & shelling out money to Turbine for the privilege. I suspect that 'politics' is only an issue because Turbine realise that whichever way they jump they'll alienate some players, & they're trying to find a way to stay on the fence if they can, & keep as many on board as possible.

I suspect where politics is an issue is for some of those objecting to the ban on same sex marriages in the game - who seem to have little or no interest at all in Tolkien's creation, & the ethics & philosophy underlying it - & who are more interested in political correctness than in Tolkien's work.

Surely there comes a point when this M-e becomes simply another on-line fantasy world.

But, would that be a great loss? I wonder - if players were bound by the 'hard' rules Tolkien gave, would that not produce a much more interesting experience for the players?