The Lord of the Rings Online Developer Diary
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In any story, the devil is in the details. While looming peaks are the easiest way to describe a mountain range, the ground-level, more discrete environment assets I was to create also needed to reinforce this idea. They needed to match not only each other, but the dwarven city structures as well. Since these lands are mostly wild and untended, the scarce grasses, shrubs and tall trees all needed to make the dwarven strongholds feel nestled-in and tiny compared to the vast surrounding wilderness. We needed to show that while habitation was possible, it was not easy, and that venturing off the beaten path could mean a cold, lonely grave. One by one, we created pieces of under- and overgrowth that would help to convey this message.
