Writer Dan Abnett talks about working on Orc lines in Middle-earth games

For both games, I was hired specifically to write the dialogue and create these characters. I think the first time there were 60 orcs, and the second time even more.

I have to say, once you get to about 30 orcs, you struggle to figure out who the other orc could be and how can I do it differently? But it was fun.

Dan Abnett

Abnett noted that he especially remembered the orc who sarcastically pretended to care about the health of the protagonist, saying something like: “You look sick! Would you like a cup of broth before I cut your throat? “

This is damn frustrating to hear before a fight to the death. I had to think about it a bit and it unsettled me. The fact that they say it all in a Cockney accent only makes them more memorable.

Dan Abnett

The writer noted that it was not he who made the decision to make the orcs speak with a Cockney accent, but he uttered all the lines to himself with such an accent that it made the whole process very effective. As a side effect, by the end of the day, he couldn’t shake off his accent.

I usually try to distribute and mix jobs so that I don’t stay somewhere too long. But it felt like some weird indoctrination that I never recovered from.

Dan Abnett