It's not until you exit Rivendell -- actually EA's code name for the game's demo room at the company's northern California compound -- that you really start to ogle the wonders of Middle-earth. Near the elevator, a life-size reproduction of royal ranger Aragorn stands guard beneath a 20-foot map of the realm. Aisles between cubicles for the game's 100-plus staff bear names like Fanghorn Way and Helm's Deep Road. Thousands of movie production photos line the walls, and hours of footage from the films -- some of it not even included in the special extended editions -- fill artists' hard drives (more on that later). Such treasures would go for a dwarven king's ransom on eBay. "If you come back next year and all this stuff's gone," jokes Product Marketing Assistant David Silverman, "you'll know the game didn't do very well."