First off, let me just say how much I love the game and think it is extremely well-done. I do, however, have a question and comment on the different species within the game, and how little they have to do with the virtual world that is Illyriad.
Obviously, this game is predicated on Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth. The humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs all come from his books, as do most of the gameplay elements (maybe halflings, ents, trolls, and other species will come along as well?) Upon seeing the choices of different species, I assumed that if you were to take on the persona of an orc, you would play the game -- strategically -- like one of the "bad guys" in The Lord of the Rings. Or, if you were an elf, you'd be striving for "good."
This, however, is not the case.
There seems to be little combat and even fewer wars. Orcs and elves comprise the same alliances and intermingle in a kind of "Middle Earth moral relativism."
I think this game would be well-served to make Tolkein's battle between good and evil a very real driving force in the gameplay. Just as in other role playing games, where you can choose to be good, evil, or somewhere in the middle, so too should that be a choosable option that has consequences. It should place you on some sort of "side," and the game platform should dictate that the Illyriad universe is in some kind of implicit struggle between good and evil -- just as it is in Middle Earth.
Granted, I know that there is a robust social community here, and I'm not saying that elves and orcs have to hate each other. I know people enjoy the social networking part of this game, and that's a really good thing. But I think that the social community here kind of dominates the feel of the game -- it's all too friendly to really be channeling Tolkein's vision.
I'd just like to see more "good versus evil" in the game. Just a thought. :-)
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Where's the Good Versus Evil?
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