After decades working on sports and strategy games, Michael de Plater is leading the effort to put players in to the land of Mordor. As the director of design, de Plater is pulling from his experience focusing on gameplay systems to create the ultimate sandbox world for fans of Middle-earth. While visiting Monolith Productions for our December cover story, I spoke with de Plater about how his love of Tolkien's world led him to the studio and the gaming industry's increasing focus on player freedom.

Watch the video below to get a better idea of the gameplay in Monolith Production's upcoming Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.

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