Wow this is a pleasant surprise. LOTRO has given everyone a Wordpress user blog that is interlinked with client/character data. Not to shabby and what a cool way to bring a social role playing game to the next level. LOTRO is probably using a modified multi-user Wordpress CMS system to enable users to do this. As a fan of Wordpress this gets my kind of excited to see what this thing is capable of. Right now, The Knights of the Third Age are using Worpress with 2.7, Aspire 1.1.4 by InfoCreek.com and some pretty nifty plugins.

Right now I am looking at the dashboard of what looks like the last version of Wordpress and includes Blog, Design, Events Calendar and a My Characters tab. The far left tab is the Blog with Wordpress standard Write, Manage and Comments and sub links. The Design tab is super limited. Like you can only view the current theme, default 1.0 by Aylwyne, and widgets. Don’t get excited to much Wordpress LOTROers. RSS and arbitrary text are there. Guess one could get creative of what they through in to the Arbitrary text widget but still it wouldn’t be as friendly as the standard Wordpress widgets.

The next tab gives users an Events Calendar. It looks like the same calendar KO3A is using to log events. But I wonder how it functions? It functions just the Kieran O’Shea Calendar but not sure if it can be visible public. Will have to look into that some more that. So far I am impressed. BTW. Under Settings you can customize the title and description to a personal quote or saying. So instead of just saying Goingbigger, it can say Goingbigger the Naughty

The My Characters tab is where the visible and anonymous permissions are located for each of your LOTRO character. These allow users to display or hide specific character data on their profile. I made all my public and are accessable via the left hand navigation. It will display item details by hovering over it just like it game play. Some people like to share character data and others don’t so nice to have the option either way. I do because I worked long and hard for it and even though its not the greatest, it’s still mine, muahaha.

LOTRO is looking for our feedback regarding what can be done with this Wordpress platform. Frankly there is a lot of options for customization especially if html is allowed in the arbitrary text widget and even more extensively if plugins had the ability to uploaded. Here is an example: On the kinship section allow the Yellowsword Fish Simplepress forum plugin to be installed so kin can communicate on a kin level instead of through individuals while using the LOTRO hosting.

Plenty of potential I think. But that isn’t all. At the very top the screen, normally reserved for back to home link (in 2.6.blah blah), now there are links to three different wp-admin dashboards: name Profile (this page for this post), kinship dashboard and even the war party of creepside kin. Not bad LOTRO, nice touch but only a blog option? Anyone know if a Founder has more options similar to the profile options?

Well I will be trying to pimp this profile with my Wordpress skills to see what can be done. Later on the fader!