The key to a good nemesis, as I know only too well, is therefore finding yourself caught in something Hoge calls the 'Revenge Loop'.

From it's work on the first game, the Monolith team discovered that the more stress and frustration an orc induced, the more satisfaction and jubilation resulted when the player finally got the upper hand. 'We want the ride to be really long, because it gets better,' says Hoge. He explained that the best player relationships with orcs are like rollercoasters with lots of ups and downs.

Hoge, who previously worked on the software for F-16 fighter planes, is now lead systems designer at Monolith Productions, and therefore supremely placed to explain what's going on under the hoods of Shadow of War's green-skinned antagonists.