Last month our very own Christopher "Pwyff" Tom decided to to explore the post launch state of Atlantica Online. After the article was published, we decided there was more to be said. Check it out!

Last month our very own Christopher "Pwyff" Tom decided to to explore the post launch state of Atlantica Online. After the article was published, we decided there was more to be said. Fortunately for us, we managed to snag Atlantica Online Producer, Kim Tae Gon to further elaborate about the direction Atlantica Online is heading.

ZAM : Hello Kim Tae Gon. Thanks for sitting down with us to talk about Atlantica Online. How have things been going since launch a couple of months ago?

Kim Tae Gon : It's been a whirlwind. Even after launching the game, we don't feel like we're finished. We're still busy coming up with all sorts of new things for the game.

ZAM : First of all, why turn based combat? More and more games seem to be moving towards a more fast paced style of fighting, but Atlantica Online, from the beginning, chose the slower (arguably) route of turn based combat. Did you guys choose turn based combat because of its uniqueness, and then develop the game from there, or did you create the game first, and then decided that turn based combat would best compliment the system? What motivated your choices behind this game mechanic?

Kim : Since the beginning of Atlantica's planning, we wanted to produce a game that had something different than the real-time combat that is so prevalent in games today; we wanted something that would stand out in the world of MMORPGs. We chose to go with the turn-based concept, which would be central to the game as we began developing it.

There's something timeless about turn-based, with so many classic games like chess and baduk being turn-based. We're trying to capture some of that fun, plus the strategy that's required for games like those, and inject it into our take on turn-based gaming.

ZAM : While it's clear that you're doing pretty well (in terms of unique subscribers) in the F2P industry, I was just wondering how you're planning to maintain profitability with your current microtransaction system. A lot of F2P MMOs I've seen make a significant portion of their 'cash shop' items mandatory (to grab more profit), whereas Atlantica Online seems to be consistently trying to stay with convenience over power. Are there enough people purchasing these convenient cash shop items to justify the upkeep of this MMO, or will you need to implement more methods to turn a decent profit in the future? In that same line of thought, what's coming next for cash shop purchases?

Kim : Currently, a sizable percentage of our players are purchasing items from our item mall. Of course we'd like more of them buying items. But it has always been our intention to keep the things we sell convenience items, and not have anything that is mandatory to buy. We want everyone to be able to enjoy all the content the game has to offer, and not have to pay for anything if he or she so chooses.

To get more players shopping we plan to continue to make available items that we think are kind of cool. Thus far, mounts like the Hell Horse and Armed Snow Tiger and accessories like the Wings of Darkness have helped push up sales. So you can expect more items along those lines, as well as more character customization options, such as different types of clothing, in the future. These give characters a boost in stats, but they're not necessary to enjoy the game. Although, they can make your character look pretty cool.

ZAM : One significant thing that I've noticed with Atlantica Online is that you really stress the community nature of the game in tandem with the turn based battle system. The problem with these two designs is that they are pretty much counterintuitive to each other; turn-based combat means that not a lot of players can participate in battles together, whereas community focus obviously indicates that you want all players to feel part of a larger group. Did you make every other aspect of Atlantica Online 'community focused' (i.e.: town management, guild participation, crafting involvement, etc.) to make up for the fact that only a small number of players can participate in combat, or did you just want Atlantica Online to be as socially involving as possible?

Kim : You're right, community is very important to us, and we think having a strong and dynamic community is crucial for the long-term sustainability of Atlantica. So we've come up with more ways for players to interact, through mentoring and different guild functions like guild crafting.

And even though the turn-based fighting does make it difficult for many players to battle together all at once, there are other ways for players to engage each other with the turn-based combat. One example is PvP through the Free Leagues and other tournaments. And then there are guild and nation dungeons that all your group members try to clear at the same time, as well as wars that your nation can wage. With these dungeons and wars, everyone won't be looking at the same screen and fighting the same fight, but they are all fighting at the same time toward a common goal. But we're coming up with new ways for players to fight with one another, too.

ZAM : One neat game feature I noticed was the concept of auto-moving, where players can automatically move to an NPC or to a town that they've been to before. I know that this was originally a cash shop purchase feature, but what motivated you to put auto-movement into the game in the first place?

Kim : With all of Atlantica's quests that take players all over our fictional Earth and NPCs scattered all across the planet, we wanted to make it easier for players to get around in the game, and to try to provide a more seamless gaming experience. The auto-move function would be our solution for that. Plus, we wanted to avoid our players getting confused as to where to go and who to talk to, and therefore frustrated with the game itself.

And in the end we decided it was more important to prevent player confusion, and chose to make auto-move available to everyone, rather than making it an item mall purchase.

ZAM : I read somewhere else that you designed Atlantica Online to be e-sport friendly from the very beginning (that is, you made it audience friendly and exciting, while still retaining deep strategic choices that players can make). To develop upon this idea, is Atlantica Online planning to launch any form of 1v1 tournaments or competitions? Were you planning to develop AO as an e-sport, or did you just intend to 'create' the foundation, and hope that players would build upon that?

Kim : E-sports are more a phenomenon here in Korea, where the developers and I are based, and not so much in the West. But we think the turn-based system lends itself to being viewer-friendly, since it's easy to follow one player take a turn followed by his or her opponent. And it's just fun to watch that kind of back and forth action, kind of like a tennis match.

But more than just as an e-sport, we definitely plan to continue to hold one-on-one competitions for the benefit of our players. We have weekly tournaments and, again, the Free Leagues, where players can PvP multiple times every day. We've also held single-elimination competitions called the Mettle Tournaments, where players won prizes. And Atlantica was chosen to be part of the 2008 Games & Games World Championship, with one player winning the world champion title.

ZAM : Some MMOs were designed with EXP progression as the main focal point of the game. Other MMOs focus entirely upon endgame activities and getting fancy equipment. Finally, the third type of MMO, and probably the least developed of the three types, is the MMO that focuses upon competition and PvP interaction. Which of these three categories would say Atlantica Online is striving to be under, and what was the reasoning behind your choice? For example, if you believe that Atlantica Online is a game focused upon gaining levels, why did you choose to focus upon this?

Kim : I would argue that we're striving to be more than just one single type of game. We have the competition and PvP interaction of the Free Leagues and our other tournaments. And these features highlight the action and strategy that comes with the turn-based combat.

But then there's the main storyline of finding Atlantis, where we want our players to gain EXP and level up so that they can travel around the Earth and experience all the different regions and dungeons, which draw on the myths and folklore of these different places. That way, they are getting this little peek into all these different cultures of our planet, and we love that aspect of the game, too, that sense of journey. And during their journey, players are being rewarded with fancier equipment, and finding more tools for them to use and advance even further. So there are multiple elements at work in Atlantica.

ZAM : Looking forward, how do you see Atlantica Online developing and sustaining itself as an MMO since a lot of F2P MMOs end up being 'top heavy' with thousands of endgame players who are more than happy to go about stomping the newer recruits. As well, new players find that it's very difficult to compete with players who have been playing for months, maybe even years. How does Atlantica Online intend to address issues of equal play and sustainability?

Kim : As mentioned before, having a dynamic community will help with the game's sustainability. But it should be a community that is open, with players who are willing to help and share, and we're encouraging that by creating rewards for advanced players to help newer players, either by being a mentor or giving gifts to newer players. And we've made it simple for players to find guilds to join, and to become part of a group.

But it's not all flowers and sunshine. We still want players to have fun fighting one another. And it's important to note that a player can beat someone who's at a higher-level with smart tactics. It won't be easy for the lower-level player, but Atlantica does reward the smart and strategic player, and not always just who's played the longest.

Plus, we do have more features to introduce that we hope will keep players coming back to Atlantica.

ZAM : Finally, to end with a more general question, I was just wondering what new plans you guys had for Atlantica Online, and, generally speaking, what direction you planned to develop 'towards.' (i.e.: Are you planning to really develop the game PVP-wise, or will you be mainly focusing upon more endgame dungeon crawling or community involved activities).

Kim : There are plans for new content to be released regularly, like our most recent update of Feb. 18, in which we introduced more dungeons, a new mercenary that can become Pocahontas, and two new main character classes. Atlantica is far from being complete. We'll be coming out with more new mercenaries and opening up more parts of our Earth, like Africa and South America, in the near future.

It's our goal to build off the innovations of our turn-based combat, and continue to provide things in an MMORPG that you don't usually find, like having a power saw or a guitar as your main weapon. We have some more ideas planned that we think are pretty original and that will make Atlantica even more of a unique gaming experience. We think there are a lot of different directions we can still take Atlantica, and don't want to pigeonhole ourselves into just one direction.

ZAM : That about wraps up the questions we had for you. Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us and we look forward to seeing what Atlantica Online holds for players in the future!

Kim : Well, thank you for your interest in Atlantica. It was a pleasure to provide Allakhazam with the developer's journals and the exclusive wallpapers of a few months back. And we hope the work we're putting into the game will have you wanting to work with us some more. Thanks again.

Christopher "Pwyff" Tom
Editor
ZAM.com