The Lord of The Rings: The Battle For Middle-earth II - Development

Development

Tolkien Enterprises granted the publisher of The Battle for Middle-earth II, Electronic Arts, the rights to develop The Lord of the Games video games based on The Lord of the Rings books on July 22, 2005. This agreement was complementary to a separate arrangement made between the two companies in 2001. That agreement gave Electronic Arts the rights to build video games based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The new deal gives Electronic Arts the opportunity to create video games with original stories tied closely with the Lord of the Rings universe. In the same announcement, Electronic Arts revealed two games that its EA Los Angeles division would be developing with the license: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II for Windows—a sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth—and The Lord of the Rings: Tactics for the PlayStation Portable.

On November 10, 2005, Electronic Arts announced that Hugo Weaving, who played Elrond in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, would reprise his role as Elrond and be the lead voiceover talent in The Battle for Middle-earth II. During his voiceover session, he noted, "I always find voice work really fascinating because you are working on one element of your make up as an actor—focusing more intently on one part of your toolbox if you like—in a way so everything seems to go into producing that vocal effect. It really isn’t just an effect, because it actually comes from a source which is a true continuation of that character."

On January 13, 2006, Electronic Arts reported that an Xbox 360 version of The Battle for Middle-earth II was under development, and it was promised to feature a "unique and intuitive control scheme" developed by video game designer Louis Castle, co-founder of the real-time strategy developer Westwood Studios. Players would be able to play online via the Xbox Live service. Castle was excited to port the game to a console, stating, "Living these cinematic battles in high-definition with stunning surround sound, all from the comfort of your living room couch on the Xbox 360, is an extraordinary experience. Adding the ability to battle it out with friends via Xbox Live is also really exciting."

The game's water effects received substantial upgrades because of the large role naval battles play in The Battle for Middle-earth II. The developers endeavored to make the surface of oceans and lakes look realistic by using techniques similar to those applied in films when creating computer-generated ocean water. The digital water simulates deep ocean water by reflecting its surroundings on the surface, and wave technology was used to create large waves along coastlines to immerse the player in the game experience. Lost towns, corals, and fish were added underwater to add to the effect. Water was chosen as the first graphical component of The Battle for Middle-earth II to take advantage of DirectX 9 programmable shaders. These additions were part of an overall Electronic Arts strategy to continue the Lord of the Rings experience that began with the trilogy film series.

As cinematic director of The Battle for Middle-earth II, Richard Taylor was responsible for designing the game's opening and closing sequences, as well as campaign and mission introductions and endings. As the first Electronic Arts video game to be given free rein on material from The Lord of the Rings universe, several lands, characters, and creatures from the books appear visually for the first time in the game's cut scenes. Taylor considered it essential to use good graphical and audio combinations when telling a story, and he was pleased to have Weaving on the project as the primary storyteller.