Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Gameis the first cozy game set in the world ofThe Lord of the Rings. It will give players the chance to take on the role of a hobbit, decorate a home in the Shire, grow a beautiful garden, and befriend the hobbits living in Bywater.Tales of the Shire’s cozy game features, such as its gridless decorating system, robust cooking, and social system.
Cozy games are generally centered around the player building relationships with other characters, while leaning more heavily into decorating and customization.Tales of the Shirealready has an advantage with its gridless decoratingfeature that works both indoors and outdoors. There is one feature thatTales of the Shire, as aThe Lord of the Ringsgame, needs to get right. The goal of many cozy gamers is to relax through gameplay, and so, if there is a story in a cozy game, it’s usually low-stakes and takes a background role, second to quietly building a home. However, for this title, that should not be the case, as the narrative deserves to be a focus.
Stories That Tales of the Shire Can Tell
While cozy game storylines tend to have minimal consequences on the world and characters of the game, as seen in games likeStardew Valley,Tales of the Shireis a part of the world ofThe Lord of the Rings, which is a series renowned for its worldbuilding and storytelling. As a part of this world,Tales of the Shireneeds to step upand include a plot worthy ofThe Lord of the Rings.
This doesn’t mean thatTales of the Shire’s story needs to be grand or epic. Smaller stories about relationships and people can have just as much of an impact on audiences as sweeping adventures, and many of them already exist in the world that Tolkien created. What’s important is thatTales of the Shiretells a story that makes sense, is influenced by the player character, and makes its players feel as if they have a part to play in the world.
Tales of the Shire’s Story in Development
InThe Heart and Art of Tales of the Shire - Inside Looktrailer,Tales of the Shire’s developer, Weta Workshop, gives some details about theTales of the Shire’s story and characters. Weta Workshop has considered the kinds of stories that can be told in the context ofThe Lord of the Rings, while also remaining true to its genre as a cozy game. Hobbits are the inhabitants of small, rural villages, and their concerns are closer to the state of their gardens and their neighbors, rather than cataclysmic events. Weta appears to have considered this, and has stated that the stories they’re pursuing are appropriate forThe Lord of the Rings, the Shire, and the cozy game genre.
Weta Workshop has Tolkien scholars on its team who have played a role in creating a compelling and lore-accurate story forTales of the Shire. Weta appears to be dedicated in their mission to create agame that’s true to Tolkien’s vision, particularly as the Shire and the themes it embodies were so close to Tolkien’s heart. Rather than just taking inspiration from the books, Weta writer Darren Ormandy has stated thatTales of the Shirealso takes inspiration from Tolkien’s own life, and what influenced him when he created the Shire.
