LotRO’s Steefel plans to integrate mobile phones in MMOs

Big games always start from big ideas. Lord of the Rings Online’s executive producer Jeffrey Steefel shares his own big ideas with the guys at CVG in an interview about Turbine Inc. and Midway Games‘ LotRO: Shadows of Angmar, and tells about how multiple platforms – including mobile phones – can work together seamlessly in one MMO, enhancing the game experience.

I’ve got this thing called Lord of the Rings that my subscription, depending on how much money I pay, entitles me access to in different ways. Each device, each way of interacting, has a different strength and weakness.

So I can manage my inventory on a cell phone very easily, I can do crafting on a cell phone. Doing a raid on a console? That’s cool. Doing more social things, chatting, maybe that’s better on a PC.

Think of it that way – I built this game, now I’m going to translate it and put it on this thing, put it on that thing. It’s a broader vision, it’s harder, more risky, but that’s where we headed.

While the plan he lays out doesn’t say that what you can do with your console can be done with mobile phones, the idea that different platforms can serve different functions in one game sounds very promising indeed.

Think of it this way: You attack dungeons, carry out quests and go on guild wars with your PC, but such activities may be enhanced using the console. Conversely, organizing parties and scouting for possible allies as well as guildmates, or just plain mingling with the crowd is better done on the PC. In addition to the above choices, you can still get involved with the game when you’re on the go: checking out the latest movements on your mobile, as well as updating inventory like what Steefel envisioned, maybe even trade as well.

Sounds good for now, but it all comes down to sheer execution. Whether they can pull it off nicely, or bomb trying to, will be seen in the coming months.

Big games always start from big ideas. Lord of the Rings Online’s executive producer Jeffrey Steefel shares his own big ideas with the guys at CVG in an interview about Turbine Inc. and Midway Games‘ LotRO: Shadows of Angmar, and tells about how multiple platforms – including mobile phones – can work together seamlessly in one MMO, enhancing the game experience.

I’ve got this thing called Lord of the Rings that my subscription, depending on how much money I pay, entitles me access to in different ways. Each device, each way of interacting, has a different strength and weakness.

So I can manage my inventory on a cell phone very easily, I can do crafting on a cell phone. Doing a raid on a console? That’s cool. Doing more social things, chatting, maybe that’s better on a PC.

Think of it that way – I built this game, now I’m going to translate it and put it on this thing, put it on that thing. It’s a broader vision, it’s harder, more risky, but that’s where we headed.

While the plan he lays out doesn’t say that what you can do with your console can be done with mobile phones, the idea that different platforms can serve different functions in one game sounds very promising indeed.

Think of it this way: You attack dungeons, carry out quests and go on guild wars with your PC, but such activities may be enhanced using the console. Conversely, organizing parties and scouting for possible allies as well as guildmates, or just plain mingling with the crowd is better done on the PC. In addition to the above choices, you can still get involved with the game when you’re on the go: checking out the latest movements on your mobile, as well as updating inventory like what Steefel envisioned, maybe even trade as well.

Sounds good for now, but it all comes down to sheer execution. Whether they can pull it off nicely, or bomb trying to, will be seen in the coming months.