Quoted from HunchbackHodler:JJP made newbie mistakes, explained by the seniors that left (Balcer, Freres, Nordman). Keith was probably made the lead, that would explain the lack of art direction.
Yes, I wonder if this is the real issue... the abrupt and unspoken for disappearance of the original creators of the game...
Aurich, I hear you in many of your opinions, but heck this is the Hobbit... hairy bearded characters in brown clothes/Golumn/swamps/frigid/dark mountains all make for dreary scenery... LOTR has some green and orange colors, but it's still the same dark/green/muckey background..
WOZ is totally different, yellow brick roads/candy land colors/pink good witches/etc...