Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game is a recently-released cozy game that puts players in the shoes of a Hobbit in search of a new home, and ultimately finds themselves in the town of Bywater. The title places quite a bit of emphasis on the social aspects of living, encouraging the player to make friends and bond with them over shared meals. We got to ask developer Weta Workshop a few questions about the title, and the studio was kind enough to humour us.
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game revolves quite heavily around the social aspect of meals. What inspired Weta Workshop to focus on meals as one of the game’s core gameplay mechanics?
Quite simply, our main source of inspiration was the books. As you delve into Tolkien’s stories, you very quickly discover that Hobbits are passionate about food, they typically consume seven meals a day! This firmly pointed us to making shared meals a core part of the gameplay. We had a Tolkien scholar on our team to guide us in terms of what would fit both in the game, and in the world of Middle-earth. We often say that “food is love” when talking about Tales of the Shire.
"We often say that “food is love” when talking about Tales of the Shire."
Shared meals are also one of the main ways your character builds relationships in the game, which allows you to unlock new decorations, gifts and generally progress. The meals also tie together the wonderful foraging and gardening aspects players can explore.
We put a huge amount of thought into the cooking mechanics; players need to tailor their dishes to each guest’s liking. Do they like their soup smooth or chunky? What will you use for the seasonings? Do they prefer sweet or sour? Within the game you can source your ingredients in a variety of ways, by foraging or fishing, trading with townsfolk, completing tales or growing them in your garden.
The recipe collection was really fun to work on. One of our developers was previously a chef, so we called on them to help with making the dishes look great so that there is a realism to what you get to cook in the game.
"While shared meals are important, it’s equally okay if you just want to wander around and explore."
In saying all that, Tales of the Shire is low stakes, and all about creating a sense of warmth and relaxation. While shared meals are important, it’s equally okay if you just want to wander around and explore. If you want to cozy up in your Hobbit Hole and decorate all day, you can do that too. Everything is matched with the Hobbit way of life. They don’t long for adventure; they exist to indulge in the simple pleasures of food, friends and fellowship.
What can you tell us about your post-launch plans for Tales of the Shire?
We are currently enjoying taking in feedback from our community of players and seeing what aspects of the game they really delight in
How was the development of the game affected by the sale of Private Division?
We stayed focused on developing Tales of the Shire and felt supported by everyone who has worked on this game.