A former vice president of Warner Bros Games has revealed the true genesis of Monolith’s beloved Nemesis system.
The Nemesis system, for those unfamiliar, is a clever in-game mechanic which tracks a player’s actions to create enemies that feel capable of remembering past encounters. In the case of Monolith’s Middle-earth games, this allowed foes to rise through the ranks and enact revenge.
But, while being a rather brilliant mechanic for fellow Orc hunters, it was actually created with a slightly more corporate mindset in play, with the idea being to cut down on used game sales.
In a video documenting her time with Monolith, former Warner Bros Games exec Laura Fryer noted a drop off in sales for Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum release had been attributed to users playing the game, then returning their copy to a retailer, when it would then be sold on as a used copy.
“This was great for gamers, because they could buy the game and then sell it back to a company like GameStop and buy something else,” Fryer said (thanks, IGN). “It was great for GameStop, because then they sold that used game for a discount and they pocketed the money.”
But, while this buying and reselling was a boon for the likes of GameStop and those of us looking to make a little money back, it was a “disaster” for the developers “because they weren’t getting paid” for every game. “They were only getting paid for the first copy sold,” Fryer said. “They lost millions of dollars.”
And, that brings us to the Nemesis system, with Fryer stating that the studio was facing “the same problem” with Shadow of Mordor. So, the question was asked: “How do we create a single-player game that is so compelling, that people keep the disc in their library forever?” And the solution, well, that was ultimately the Nemesis system.
“We knew Monolith’s game engine wasn’t yet capable of having a fully open world like a GTA, and this team wasn’t interested in going the multiplayer route. But we still had to solve for the constraint,” Fryer said. “And this thinking is what led to the Nemesis system, arguably one of the most creative and coolest game features in recent memory.”
As for the system, while being an incredibly popular and innovative mechanic, it is now locked away by a Warner Bros patent until 2036, following the shuttering of Monolith earlier this year.
The Nemesis system was set to be utilised again in Monolith’s Wonder Woman game, though that project has now been cancelled alongside the studio’s closure.