 Shadow of Mordor bridges the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , with the team wanting to show iconic elements of the universe in an original way . The team had to draw notes on Tolkien 's notes and appendices to ensure that their vision for the game would not change the franchise 's timeline . Although the game 's environment is inspired by the books and films , several places ( such as Udûn and the Sea of Nurnen ) were re @-@ imagined . Art director Phil Straub considered consistency with the lore and presenting " something visually new " and realistic the most important elements of creating the game , and the team did not incorporate many fantasy elements in its world . To depict volcanic activity , the studio sent a team to Eastern Washington and the Columbia River plateau to photograph a volcano ; to create other parts of the game environment , they studied photos of Iceland and New Zealand and yellow stone found worldwide . Since Shadow of Mordor is set before The Lord of the Rings , its landscape is less post @-@ apocalyptic ; environments also vary by weather , lighting and atmosphere . 
