Whenever I’m reading through JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth novels, one thing that absolutely pops out at me is the Professor’s love of song. Music isn’t just a passive exercise in head-bobbing; it’s a vital art used to preserve history and bind cultures together.
Play LOTRO for freeI absolutely applaud the early designers of Lord of the Rings Online who recognized the importance of music and went to extra lengths to incorporate it beyond the soundtrack. Because if there’s an element of this game that’s quietly done a heroic job of connecting players, it’s the music system.
I’m sure that to some people, a player music system in an MMO seems superfluous. It does nothing to contribute to combat, stats, or any sort of character progress. These are the people who zip right by any bard performing a tune or a small gathering of people listening to a band. At best, for them, it’s all background noise.
In fact, I’d posit that for most MMO developers, music systems are a complete afterthought sitting at the bottom of a priority list. It’s not “content” the way that most think about it, and these games long abandoned much of their roleplay roots — so who needs the ability to play in-game instruments?
This sort of thinking completely overlooks how important music is for, well, pretty much all of us. It’s a rare person I encounter who does not listen to and enjoy music. And we don’t merely enjoy it; we incorporate it as a part of our identity. What genres and artists we consume are very important to us, and it’s important that those who like us understand our tastes.
I’ve been going through a huge musical renaissance over the past few years, exploring many different genres that I previously neglected. And to my family’s good-natured eyerolls, I’ve taken to collecting a whole lot of CDs to own the music I like and experience it as full albums rather than chopped-up singles.
And I’ve found that when I find someone who shares some part of my personal music hobby, a fast connection is formed. That sort of feeling is magnified when I go to a concert and encounter a lot of people who vibe on the same group.
As I said, recognizing the power and human connection of music was very smart on behalf of the developers. Since its launch, LOTRO has featured the “ABC” music system that allows player characters to perform on instruments for others to hear. It’s an old but still clever system that allows for both freeform play and recorded songs (the latter is perfect for the musically inept like myself who nevertheless would like to take a turn at being a performer now and then).
While there are some other MMOs that utilize a player music system, there are none where it fits the world as perfectly as LOTRO — which, I remind you, has a Minstrel class. Tolkien fans already were primed to expect a lot of songs in the game, and MMO roleplayers looking for reasons to congregate immediately gravitated toward musical performances.
It’s not the perfect system, but it’s pretty robust for a two-decades-old feature. Perhaps the best design in it is the ability to sync up notes between players so that entire bands could play together without having to worry about lag turning a song into dissonance.
Even to outsiders, LOTRO’s musical community is well-known for the huge in-game concerts that are thrown, such as the annual Weatherstock performance at the summit of Weathertop. Groups don’t merely play to entertain; they coordinate outfits and compete against other bands to see which is the best of the best. I have no doubt that it’s far more elaborate than anything that Turbine originally envisioned.
Recognizing the music system’s popularity, the devs have supported it with some ongoing work — mostly additional instruments, which are received by some players with the same excitement as a new class. I also love the little touch of RP that allows Minstrels to “mentor” other players in more exotic instruments.
I love seeing player bands pepper the Shire or Bree, and I often make a point of stopping my journeys to listen to them while politely emoting a dance or clapping to show my engagement.
There are few places in MMOs where player creativity can be expressed to such a degree without that much worry about potential abuse than with instrumental music. It’s brought this community together in a powerful way and been one of the — sorry — unsung champions of LOTRO. Well, unsung no longer, I suppose!
Every two weeks, the LOTRO Legendarium goes on an adventure (horrid things, those) through the wondrous, terrifying, inspiring, and, well, legendary online world of Middle-earth. Justin has been playing LOTRO since its launch in 2007! If you have a topic for the column, send it to him at justin@massivelyop.com.
