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

As the massively multiplayer online gaming marketplace continues to expand, developers are continuing to push the boundaries of the "standard" gameplay that we enjoy. A prime...

As the massively multiplayer online gaming marketplace continues to expand, developers are continuing to push the boundaries of the "standard" gameplay that we enjoy. A prime example of that is THQ*ICE's upcoming 3D side-scroller, Dragonica Online. Recently unveiled to the public via its open beta test, Dragonica is a mixture of cartoon style with fast-paced action. Ten Ton Hammer recently sat down with Product Manager Ben Serviss to find out more about this fantasy-based action MMO.

Ten Ton Hammer:  What’s the biggest goal for the Open Beta test? Are you just trying to get as many people into the world as possible? Or something else?

Ben Serviss: The difference between the closed beta and what we are doing now, is that the closed beta saw a limited amount of people coming in so we were getting people who had been researching the game were already pretty much up with what was going on.  This is the first time that we’re opening the doors.  It’s the first time we'll really get a critical mass of people to experience the game, and thus we'll get a widespread amount of feedback.  We are also opening the cash shops for open beta too.  I would characterize open beta as a good period for us to really see what people think of it and come up with ways to make it better.

Ten Ton Hammer: I’ve had an opportunity to play some of the early levels of Dragonica, but I haven’t really been able to get into the later parts of the game.  How does the game change from the newbie to the end game experience?

Serviss: The gameplay changes, but it’s more variations of what you’ve already been experiencing.  Early on in the game you have an easy central area with enemies that don’t pose a huge threat to you.  It’s more of a way to get you acclimated to the game, combat, and how things work.  You start to encounter more and more levels that have greater emphasis on platforming and maneuvering through the environments as opposed to the more straight forward side scrolling.  You’ll see enemies that use a bigger variety of attacks as well. 

Specifically at the end, once you’ve maxed out your character and have explored everything and see everything there is to see, the boss dungeons have these giant enemies.  But before you get to see these monsters, you have to go through these long and elaborate labyrinthine levels.  It's more along the lines of a raid in a typical MMO.

Ten Ton Hammer: What would you suggest is the hardest content in game?  What can players hope to achieve if they beat this sort of epic monster?

Serviss: That’s going to come near the end of El Grego, which is the first major continent in the game.  Lavalon, a man-made magma drake, a giant dragon created by an evil scientist who really intended to rein destruction upon his enemies, has somehow developed a mind of his own.   There are a number of challenges with this boss. First off, they have to reach this guy. Then they have to manage to face off against his incredible destructive power.  A lot of the challenge is taking everything that you have learned from all of the prior combat encounters and transferring that into a more epic experience.

Ten Ton Hammer:  Is this going to be something where you definitely need a group of players to beat it, or is he soloable as well?

It would be very difficult to solo.  The best way to experience anything in the game is with a party.  Depending on how you make up your party, everyone has a consciously built character who compliments each other’s traits and weaknesses, and even then it’s still going to be a tough battle.  By banding together in this way though, the true gameplay starts to shine.

Ten Ton Hammer:  How does the loot progress in Dragoninca?  When you beat a mob like this, do you just get more or better armor, or is it something even crazier than that? Maybe he'll drop armor and cosmetic equipment?

Serviss: The cosmetic stuff you can buy in the shops if you so choose.  We saved a lot of the actual content, the real stuff that will boost your stats and will have meaningful in-game effects, for people who play the game.  We don’t want anyone with a bank account or a credit card to come in and just buy the best stuff.  The only way you’re going to be able to do this is to get in game and get into these epic encounters.  With bosses like this, once they are defeated they may leave behind different kinds of resources that can be molded into more powerful weapons and artifacts.  If you want to come and challenge yourself this way then you can definitely build your character up like that. 

Ten Ton Hammer:   From what I’ve been told, you’ve got dozens of sub-classes that players can choose from. How can a player choose the end game class that they will want to play with so many options available to them?

Serviss: When you create your character you pick one of the four archetypes.  The warrior focuses on melee and is kind of the tank, the magician is the spell caster, the archer is the ranged projectile attacker, and the thief is more the sneaky guerilla tactic style class.   Once you’ve picked one of these classes and have gotten a feel for it, their style of attacking and their style of defending and just how they compliment the group, when you reach level 20 you have the opportunity to undertake the class promotion quest.  This is kind of an arduous task but once you are done with it, you can take a look at the different options we have.  There is no time limit on when you have to raise your class, it is really all up to you, and so by looking at the different characters in game and checking out the different options you can pick one of two paths for your character.  By that choice, further down the line, you can continue to progress your character and upgrade abilities along that line.  Say you are a magician character, you can choose to either become proficient in more damage spells or you can work more towards the healing arts.  They are very understandable choices that we present to the players so once you’ve decided to go down one path or the other you’ll be offered multiple opportunities to continue upgrading.

Ten Ton Hammer: You’ve spent a lot of time localizing Dragonica Online for North America.  What would you consider to be the biggest changes that you implemented compared to how the game plays in Asia?

Serviss: The first thing you’ll notice is the text.  Well actually, you won’t notice it because we think we did a pretty solid job of making sure that everything in game makes as much sense as it should to players here.  In some of the games you’ll play, maybe they’ll have focused more on graphics on the technical side but we really wanted to make sure that our first impression is positive and that people can play the game and not think that this just got off the boat but is a game that was developed, made and crafted specifically for an American audience. 

Even more importantly than that is how the experience could work.  When we first looked at the game being developed in Korea, there was a focus on grinding through levels and doing a lot of repetitive tasks so we wanted to take everything that was great about this game and remove some of the burden on the player.  What we’ve managed to do is adjust the curve enough so that you are not pressured to do the same thing over and over.  It’s okay to explore at a pace that you find fun. That’s pretty much the biggest thing that we’ve done in terms of localization.