There’s a part in Lord of the Rings Online that sticks with me. When I finally got out of Moria and went to Lothlorien, Frodo is there. The game has a mechanic where when you’re in the presence of particularly strong evil you get a debuff called dread that lowers your morale (essentially your HP). When I approached him I noticed I had a dread debuff and was confused as to what was causing it until I remembered - of course, he has the ring! The game doesn’t make any mention of it, it’s just left for you to notice. It was a great way to subtly depict the burden he would have to carry for a long time.
Broadfern@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Frodo at the end of LotR was pretty permanently screwed up from his suffering. Sometimes there’s a hint of realism from authors/media creators.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
early_riser@lemmy.world 2 days ago
LOTR is deeper than people give it credit for IMO. Sam’s empathy for the Southron soldier really struck a chord with me. I’m not a vet but I imagine that echoes Tolkien’s experience in the Great War.
I know he rejected attempts to assign allegory to the story, but Gollum is the perfect portrayal of an addict. I want it, but I hate it. It harms me but I need it.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
You don’t have to be trying to depict addiction to end up doing it anyway. The ring’s allure might be magical, but the pattern is broadly the same.