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

Audience Questions

Ten Ton Hammer: What kind of anti-bot steps are you taking?

Brian: We’re always working to prevent bots and improve our customer service. We can’t really go into the inner workings of anything, but we’re always striving to give the best customer service possible.

While the in-game systems are crucial – like the economy and crafting – the back end systems also are very important. These are the people that work behind-the-scenes and we don’t talk about, because if we start talking about them, then the exploiters and botters will figure out what we’re doing and navigate around them.

It’s a back-and-forth battle, but something we’re committed to working on.

Ten Ton Hammer: What incentives do players have to engage in PvP? NCsoft has also had difficulty with end game content in the past, and players wonder how you’re going to address that aspect of the game.

Lani: One of the cool things about Aion is that – and anyone that’s read articles about our game – probably knows that we’ve tried to marry PvE and PvP. I think that makes this game especially unique experience, and especially so in the Abyss where you’re trying to control different artifacts and fortresses and those that do have control are given the best hunting grounds and the best items become available to them.

We really wanted to make that a focus to our PvP. We wanted players to experience that.

Brian: As far as end game content goes, we don’t want to force players down a certain route in our game. You’ll be receiving benefits and rewards from PvP and PvE that are pretty much the same. By doing that, we allow players to transfer back and forth a little bit easier between the two playstyles. Aion’s the type of game where, if you don’t want to participate in PvP, you don’t have to. But you very well can and enjoy capturing fortresses and pwning people as well.

Lani: On top of that, you might be engaging in combat within the Abyss against the opposing player faction when a giant battleship comes out of nowhere and drops a whole legion of the Balaur. Then you’ll have to figure out if they’re fighting you, your enemy, or everybody at once.

While you’re playing, you can really see that shift when both player factions decide that they should put aside their difference, kick the Balaur’s butts, then go back to fighting. And this all happens without any talking actually going on!

It’s actually really interesting – socially – when that happens.

Brian: You’ll see some unspoken truces, that’s for sure.

Ten Ton Hammer: How do polymorph and “the tree” spell work into the lore of the game?

Lani: There are actually quite a few quests that we showed at GDC that had the polymorph spell implemented into them. There are actually a number of instances where you can use that particular spell and have it help you complete a certain mission without drawing attention to yourself.

At GDC we showed some instances of where you were polymorphed into a parrot, and then you could sneak onto a pirate ship and go unnoticed.

Brian: In terms of roleplay-ability, I mean Rangers can polymorph into things to move faster on the ground. Some of the later skills you get from PvP will actually allow you to polymorph into a raid boss, and there are some pretty sweet YouTube videos up covering that one.

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there a war in the office? Do the various NCsoft employees play on the separate factions?

Lani: Yes. Absolutely.

It’s funny, because I started out actually playing Elyos, because I thought I was going to go Asmodian at the launch of the game. The story now is so rich in the game – you spend the first ten levels learning about your factions history, and you become connected to that.

Now I think it would be very hard to tear me away from the Elyos. I might eventually give the Asmodians a chance, but we have in-office arguments about it all the time.

Brian: Anybody that plays Asmodian, I think, is just a little bit too angry. *laughs*

Ten Ton Hammer: Will the North American and European version of the game be up-to-date with the Korean version when the game launches?

Brian: It’s our goal to be as close as possible. We’re not sure exactly where our release version will be compared to the Korean version, simply because we’re not there yet.

Everyone asks me that question, and I think it’s really beneficial for us to be as close as possible. It’s just easier to manage the databases and all that stuff. At the same time, there will be some delay due to localization.

That’s one of the things we wanted to improve on with Aion and really with all of our global releases.

Ten Ton Hammer: In other games, like World of Warcraft, the quests are very repetitive. An example would be to kill X monsters. Will there be a variety of quests with different activities for players to complete in Aion?

Lani: We certainly have those “standard” quests in Aion, where you go and collect certain things. That said, they’re typically relevant to the area that you’re in.

But then we have our campaign quests, and that’s really where the overarching storyline comes in. Those quests will move with you through level 1-50, and those quests aren’t necessarily about “killing ten rats” or that sort of thing.

Brian: And we really try to bring story into it to differentiate and add some variability to the quests. The cut scenes really help draw you into the quests. Rather than being bombarded with walls of text, you’ll see your character in a cut scene, interacting, and it will help draw you into that particular quest, even if that quest is to kill X monsters.

So, yes! We have lots of game mechanics and ways to spice up the quests. Almost every quest has a new ability or item associated with it. I mean, we have a quest where you turn into a parrot!

Lani: And for myself, I’m the type of player that doesn’t want to go talk to this NPC than that NPC. But I’m finding that the writing in the game is so well done, especially with our humor writers that are working on the text. If you’re the type of player that likes reading the text, I think you’ll find it very rewarding.