Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Ten Ton Hammer: Talk a little bit about how nation wars function. How do I participate in a nation war, and what will my experience be like?

Peter: Nation War is an aspect of group PvP involving players who belong to dissenting nations. So first, you need to be a member of a guild that is in alliance with other guilds—a nation. Now the King, or the leader of the nation can rule as he or she fits, whether it’s gaming peacefully with other players or bullying other players to expand your nation.

War needs to be declared. It’s then up to the nation on defense to pay tribute, which is largely gold, or stand up to their aggressors and go to war, which flags enemy players as a threat. In this stage of declaration, players can be attacked almost anywhere at any time, with their hometown being the only safe haven. Once the actual war begins, the objective will be to take down the generals of the enemy nation, with victory resulting in great resources.

So what will your experience be like? Tense and action-packed, but you’ll always be looking over your shoulder.

Ten Ton Hammer: Atlantica Online has given away some pretty valuable prizes (gaming systems and cash) for community events. One competition offers $200 to the owners of the best Atlantica fansites. How often can we expect to see such events that build and reward the community?

Peter: A strong community is the lifeblood of an MMORPG. So of course, we’re going to do everything we can to build and reward the community. While not all of our events will reward players with cash giveaways , you can bet on exciting events and promotions to build player involvement and community, including valuable prizes.

Ten Ton Hammer: You recently told the Italian website Gamesource (http://mmorpg.gamesource.it/Articolo/63/Atlantica-Online-intervista-a-Kim-Tae-Gon-2.html) that your goal is “to do away with [negative] stereotypes [about F2P gaming], and the only way we’re going to do that is by producing a solid and fun game that just happens to be microtransaction-based.” How do you measure your progress toward that goal, and how would you describe Atlantica’s reception in the West, where microtransaction is synonymous with poor quality and greedy developers?

Peter: One of the measuring sticks is the amount of coverage that microtransaction-based games receive from mainstream gaming sites. The stigma of F2P gaming is going to be difficult to shake, and the industry can only point the finger at themselves. For F2P gaming to really boom, developers will really have to focus on quality and be able to provide an engaging social experience.

We’re very grateful for the amount of coverage and praise Atlantica Online has been able to garner, so the reception in the West has been great. But I think the F2P industry as a whole is starting to turn it around as there are a lot of quality titles out there. More outlets have been expanding to include F2P coverage, and it’s a great sign for the future of F2P gaming.