The Lord of The Rings, A media phenomenon

In the world of media there are certain giants. These giants dominate all three major media mediums, Movies, Books, and Games. In an earlier post Max examined the Godfather. He explains how The Godfather started as a book, produced legendary movies and was transformed into a game. This is one Media giant. He mentions Star Wars, but others include Lord of the rings, and Harry Potter. What makes these stories unique is there location and scope. They all exist in a predefined universe. This allows developers to use their creativity, in a realm that viewers already enjoy. The audience doesn't necessary want to play the movie they just saw, however they would like to take those characters on a new adventure, or new characters on a parallel adventure. In The Lord of the Rings War in the North, players follow parallel characters to the main plot,  In one scene the main characters talk to Aragorn in the prancing pony, moments before the hobbits arrive. they players then have to defend the hobbits without them noticing. This interweaving of the plots is crucial, this is one of the main things that attracts the audience. http://www.warinthenorth.com/index.php/the-game/heroes This link outlines the back story of each of the characters. The three main characters are Man an elf and a dwarf, which is remarkably similar to Tolkien original novel. Players feel as if they are playing as their own version of Legolas, or Aragorn, not just playing as them. This is the ultimate compromise. Viewers or players want to have an affinity with the plot, hence the large amount of sequels, But if a game or movie is released within a predefined universe, but about different characters, it will still do as well. This distinction is most clearly seen with transformers. The first transformers movie spawned a video game, this game followed the movie to the letter, and it was shit.  However developers learned from there mistakes. After transformers came out with 2 sequels , the game developers struck gold. The based there game in the transformers universe, but way before the action in the movie. Gamers played during the war for cybertron. With unique game play, new characters and a new story, the game was a hit.  The creation of a fictional universe is essential for the continuation of narrative, in any form.