[인터뷰] Looking for development direction and growing into a’game’-Lost Arc

[게임플] Recently, only new mobile games are released in the game market, so many gamers Thirsty for online games Smilegate RPG’s ambitious work’Lost Arc’, which appeared in 2018, was like an oasis that shook users’ throats..

Lost Arc users are the key to saving the world when the world is in danger due to the invasion of demons. Lutheran starting with Artemis to collect 7 arcs, Artetine, Handel, Payton, Southern Bern, etc. Over two years, I was able to travel to various continents and get in touch with my colleagues and their stories..

Above all, the appearance of the protagonist who is directly active on the stage with directing that is not common in other games caught the eye with a high sense of immersion. The story of’Southern Bern’, which was recently introduced, was able to feel proud as users can see the fruits of their adventures at a glance..

In addition, the new raid’Devil Commander’s Bullets’ has raised the expectation of the Legion Commander’s raid to be added in the future as elements that were not seen in the existing Abyss Guardian raid were newly applied, such as falling and narrower maps..

Lost Arc is a PC that has gained a lot of popularity until now. Succeeded in establishing itself as an online game.

A word of emotion from the perspective of game-loving users. “We will continue to make games in the future” This medicineIn order to protect the inside, we had a time to learn about the direction of Lost Ark with Kum Kang-seon, general director of Lost Ark, who enjoys the game from the perspective of users and makes efforts to find needs despite a busy schedule..

──’Lost Arc’ with an improved atmosphere

Recently, with the application of Season 2 and the Southern Bern update, Lost Arc has created a bright atmosphere in the direction of the patch that accurately tailored the needs of users.

The story directing of the Southern Berne, reminiscent of a blockbuster fantasy movie, has been seen not only in Lost Arc, but also a number of users who have entered the Accracia stage by stimulating curiosity even though they have not enjoyed the game itself.

The element that culminated in the atmosphere was the Legion General’s raid. From the first raid, the Demon Squad Commander’s Demonstration, as it showed a different pattern, a different composition, and a different direction from the past, it provided fresh fun and received favorable reviews from users.

Director Gold didn’t settle for this. Thinking that there are still a lot of deficiencies, he always looked into the future, thinking the present as the starting point.

“The atmosphere of the game was difficult and good to say that it was unconditionally good, and there were times when there were a lot of regrets, and it seemed like a lot of work.”

“If the atmosphere improves, we are of course good.” “But when the atmosphere improves, users can focus on the in-game story rather than the external elements, so I think it is more meaningful to reduce stress naturally.”

“There are still many parts to be fixed.” “There were a lot of contents that were presented with great ambition in the concept part, but I know that there were many parts that were unfortunate.”

“As the current game is getting normalized little by little, we will try to find a better direction and discuss so that we can enjoy it in a better environment.”

“With this atmosphere, the development team has been able to establish some direction for Lost Arc, so we are working on development with hope.”

── What characteristics did the gender lock class’Gunslinger’ have?

On the 27th, the first gender-lock class’Gunslinger’ will appear. As it is a female version of Devil Hunter, you can control the battlefield by freely changing pistols, rifles, and shotguns according to the situation by sharing the identity of’Quick Stance’.

When Gunslinger was first unveiled, there were many users asking questions about whether they shared the Devil Hunter’s job-specific stamps,’Enhanced Weapon’ and’Handgunner’. In conclusion, Gunslinger uses a different profession-specific stamp than Devil Hunter.

When developing Gunslinger, if the motion and skill itself were all the same, the gender lock class could be released faster.

However, Director Geum wanted to show differentiation and high quality by investing as much as the cost of creating a new class while creating the Lee Wang character.

Accordingly, the Gunslinger is the same as the existing Devil Hunter, but there is a distinct difference. Accordingly, if you actually experience it, it is expected that there will be more users who put the existing characters aside for a while and start anew with gunsling, dreaming of stylish combat play.

“The upcoming Gunslinger is a gender-locked class that started with the Devil Hunter roots from the design itself, so the way of playing is almost similar.”

“As you can see in the trailer video, the awakening is different from that of the Devil Hunter, and we do not share the job-specific engraving that many people are curious about.”

“Here, the equipment is different and the tripod is different, so you can enjoy playing with a different feeling from the Devil Hunter.”

── What is the current status of using the first raid commander’s raid’Devil Corps Commander’?

Raid content that Lost Ark challenges. Legion Commander Raid became a hot topic because it showed a composition that would meet in authentic MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 unlike the previous Abyss Guardian Reind.

It’s not just that Lost Ark is following the global popular MMORPGs. In the meantime, similar gimmicks were shown several times through the Abyss Guardian Raid, and it was a time for users to feel bored, and new challenges were needed to resolve this.

The reaction of the bomb raid was successful. Users received favorable reviews in many areas, including the feeling of chewy feeling, the tension that should not be missed until the end because there is no death count, and a different direction and composition.

However, in both normal and hard difficulty, the utilization rate itself was too low than expected, and the clear rate was even worse. Smilegate RPG, which wanted more personnel to get in touch with the Legion General Raid and taste the freshness with Esther’s skill, drastically corrected some gimmick bugs and reduced the difficulty slightly.

The development team wasn’t really an easy decision. It was necessary even though the users who wanted the existing difficulty were well aware that it would cause disappointment. Thanks to this, the utilization rate of the bomb raid, which was remarkably low regardless of normal and hard difficulty, began to increase little by little.

In the future raids such as Via Kiss, Kuksaton, Abrelsud, etc., the goal of creating a new fun unique to Lost Ark by challenging the explosiveness of more users is to succeed as more wonderful and spectacular gimmicks and directings await.

“I did not think of the keyword traditional MMORPG and made it”

“I introduced that I made 6 corps commanders individually, and the result of the goal of making them according to the individuality of the corps commanders can be seen as explosives.”

“The Lost Arc was also the time to change.” “Although Argos was fun, I thought that I repeated the patterns while enjoying Phase 3 myself, so I felt that I needed to get out of this a bit and develop.”

“In fact, we have pride in creating something that only Lost Arc can do, so I can think of it as being taken this opportunity.”

“Actually, since the explosive death system was a new attempt, I had a lot of thoughts about how users would accept it.” “However, as success is also followed by challenge, we plan to make a lot of such attempts in the squad leader raid in the future. I hope”

“Difficulty adjustment was a part that I didn’t want to proceed because I was really worried and praised.” “The participation rate of the Baltan Raid compared to the number of active users that can be specified was the lowest in the history of Lost Arc content and the success rate was also low.”

“Normal was particularly severe.” “Because the explosive was the final content, if the content lasted more than 6 months, the difficulty level would never have been adjusted.” “But, since Viakiss appears next month, the explosive focuses on users’ plans and build-ups. I guessed it.”

“You can acquire legendary equipment in normal, and artifact equipment in hard.” If you blow it for three weeks, the feeling of collapse is inexpressible.”

“As the first corps commander and future corps commanders are becoming more and more difficult, I also wanted to use Esther skills and communicate between the engineering units more actively.” “Baltan is the reason that users want to adapt to the squad leader raid and increase accessibility. That’s why I ventured.”

── Why hasn’t’Hell Difficulty’ released?

The difficulty level of the Legion General’s raid is divided into Normal, Hard, and Hell. If you can get Legendary and Artifact equipment for Normal and Hard, Hell difficulty requires extreme control and judgment, so only honor rewards are given.

Director Gold also expressed regret, saying that if Hell difficulty had been added, complaints about the difficulty adjustment would not have been great.

It was difficult to physically show Hell difficulty at the same time because the development team’s limited manpower and extensive content were simultaneously developed.

Honorary rewards that can be obtained on Hell difficulty were titles, vehicles, and pets. This is a way to exchange items that fit each concept with goods that can be obtained by clearing the Legion General Raid Hell difficulty.

According to Director Kum’s explanation, the biggest difference from hard mode is that balance of harmony is applied and HP is not visible. The main patterns are also somewhat different, so users who are familiar with hard mode will have to adapt.

“Since there was so much to prepare in the first half, it was not easy to adjust the schedule of the development team.” “I personally regret that I could not release Hell difficulty at the same time.”

“The Hell difficulty will be much more difficult than the first experience on the hard difficulty level.” “If you succeed in the Hell difficulty of the blast, you will receive the blast title, the blast expedition estate statue, and the blast legend card.”

“And a token will appear” “You can get vehicles, pets, and auras made with the concept of the corps commander according to the cumulative value of clearing the raid hell difficulty level of the corps commander.” “I am making it with great effort”

“In the trial raid, there were many opinions that it was unfortunate that it was simply given the title.” “The Legion Commander Raid Hell difficulty has a lot of rewards that can truly symbolically feel pride, so I hope you can expect it.”

── What characteristics did the second corps commander’Biakiss’ have?

The next opponent of the demonstrator commander’s shot is the commander of the Desire corps, Viakiss. In line with the theme of desire, this raid dungeon, which will present new gimmicks that has never been seen before, is a little more difficult than the explosive shot.

The item level was confirmed to be 1430 (normal) and 1460 (hard), 15 levels higher than the bomb entry level. As it is the second squad leader raid, there will be no difficulty adjustment depending on the utilization rate.

According to Director Geum’s explanation, it would be quite annoying to face Biakis, the weakest of the six legionaries, and among the users who enjoyed raids with unique gimmicks and themes, it is expected that there will be quite a number of users who become Viakiss fans.

“First of all, the difficulty level of Viakiss will increase a little.” “If you focus on getting the relic equipment, the Balancing is a legend, because the goal is to gain a sense of accomplishment depending on your skill, since Biakiss already exists.”

“Biakiss entry level increased by 15 levels, normal 1430 and hard 1460, the same as the shot, 8 people.” “As you can get a relic set from the shot, and you can farm twice the gold, you need to measure Biakiss a little higher. Was there”

“The characteristic of the battle is that I would like you to play it yourself.” “Biakis may seem the least attractive and weakest among the six legionaries” “You will be able to enjoy the charm of Biakis in this raid.”

“I think there will be a lot of Viakiss fans among the users who have tasted this raid.” “However, while the explosive death pattern was successful, I am worried that the new gimmick in Viakiss will be able to look good.”

“And Esther Skills is expected to participate in Ninav and Inanna along with their rival Wei.” “I emphasized that it was Inanna, not Azena, right?” “The two characters have one body, but as the abilities are different, the Esther skill will be implemented separately.”

── “I want to have a Mococo mood, etc.” Will the goods shop open?

When the game IP is successfully popular, the popularity of goods naturally increases. Lost Ark has presented various goods such as PC peripheral package, headset, OST, and Toto-Moss doll through various events.

In order to further expand this, Smilegate RPG held a meeting for users and showed a user-friendly operation in which award-winning works were realized as real goods.

In this process, the’mococo mood’ served as a factor that exploded the popularity of goods. Mococo mood lamps made of soft silicone material boast a cute appearance, but because the color changes, it creates the atmosphere of the indoor space beautifully in dark places.

As users’ desire to own goods increased, requests to open goods shops poured out. Director Kum said he would discuss this request with internal officials and seek in a positive direction.

However, she regretted that there was no goods shop open on the last letter of Risha’s checklist, but Director Geum did not forget the requests from users saying that it was not in the list because it was a little different from other contents.

“I never forgot that I wasn’t on the checklist.” “Because the goods shop is not a business that I can decide on my own, I removed it from the checklist and are reviewing it internally.”

“I know that there are many requests for avatars from Japan and Russia, as well as past pets and avatar reprints.”

“For overseas service, there is a separate publisher, and all parts are conducted according to the regulations.” “It is regrettable that there is a period embargo where avatars and pets can be enjoyed only in that region, but I would like to say that it is a bit difficult now.”

“Because certain season pets and avatars with the word “limited” attached are promises to buyers, we thought it was natural not to sell them so that their value could be preserved.” I want to listen”

── “I need a group chat feature for the community”

Although it is important to acquire items and grow characters in MMORPGs, it is a genre that enjoys content and shares emotions with other players.

Lost Arc has greatly improved the level of completion in the content sector from OBT to now and led a successful response. However, while preparing a large amount of new content while being fast, the community function was somewhat missed.

I needed the ability to chat with people I wanted while enjoying the game. This is because there is no chat space where you can chat with friends or people you want through group chat rooms and chat categories, so many people talk through messengers while enjoying games.

In addition, in Season 2,’Expedition Territory’ was newly added to improve the community function, but it was somewhat regrettable that there was no space like a hideout where guild members could naturally gather and work.

Director Geum happily embraced the group chat feature. He said that he would prepare to show it as quickly as possible, saying that it was a necessary function while enjoying the game, so users would have wanted it a lot.

“Is that good?” “I will add this feature by talking with the development team”

“As a matter of fact, looking at the question, I personally thought that there were a lot of times I really needed it when I enjoyed the game.”

“If you want to talk with specific users, it consists of a cumbersome system that organizes a cumbersome party or sends them one by one by whispering.” “I think it’s a good feature, so I’ll adjust it so that it can be added quickly”

── Will the director really enjoy the game?

“Is the director who develops the game really enjoying his game?” From a user’s point of view, when you enjoy the game or look at the patch notes, sometimes you have questions.

At LoaON, Director Geum was amazed by knowing the trends of the community and the’memes’ frequently used by users.

Based on this, the users clearly knew what they were asking for, and by solving them, they gained favor, and by building trust, Lost Arc was able to develop to this point.

Director Gold was deeply enjoying the game from the same perspective as the users. The item level was higher than expected, and he was carrying essential calendars such as the 8 o’clock Chaos Gate, 9 o’clock adventure island, and 10:30 island occupation war.

In particular, users often express regret and anger (?) if they cannot eat the heart of a particular island or fill up 100% of the craftsman’s energy when refining items, but even though the gold director steadily goes to the island of Bolar, he cannot acquire the heart of the island. Filling with 100% of the energy of, the appearance of anger like ordinary users was impressive.

“Rather, it’s a pity that I can’t figure out everything.” “I play myself until late so that I can see the game from the perspective of the users and look at the community whenever I have time.”

“I think it’s a natural part personally” “I think it’s the right game operation to freely share and solve them together.”

“Do you know what? Users say “Geumgang Line XXX!” There are many cases where you find me in this way, right?”

“If I don’t see Janggi-baek or keep getting the heart of the island, who should I curse?” “I have been going to Volar Island from the open until now, but I still don’t have the heart of the island (tears)”

“I want to feel the emotions the users feel as they are now, so I will continue to enjoy the game under the same conditions and eyes.”

“It may be a MMORPG characteristic, but I know that among Lost Arc users, there are a lot of people who have a lot of love and enjoy the game itself.”

“Even if there are many shortcomings, we promise to be a lost arc that improves and always develops, so I hope that you will watch positively.” “Thank you”

Reporter Moon Won-bin [email protected]

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