With a new expansion just released, Editor-in-Chief Chris "Pwyff" Tom spoke to the LOCO team about champion development and how the game is going.

It's been a while since I last made a visit to check out alaplaya's Land of Chaos Online, so when they debuted their highly anticipated Evolution expansion, I decided to track the team down to have a chat about how Land of Chaos Online has been going thus far, and how the team has been faring in introducing new characters and features into the game, as well as touching lightly on some future plans for the game. You can read on for all the glorious interview details!

ZAM: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions we had about LOCO!

LOCO: And thank you for giving us the chance to talk about LOCO: Evolution!

ZAM: How has reception of LOCO gone?

LOCO: LOCO has continued to attract a huge number of players, and their overall reception has been very good. We did get some feedback that new players were tending to get a bit overwhelmed, however, so with Evolution we've made a ton of improvements to the tutorial. People should now have a much easier time learning the ins and outs of LOCO's MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) core now.

ZAM: There have been a number of new and unique characters added to LOCO since launch. What's the design process like in creating and implementing a new character?

LOCO: Creating a new hero takes a lot more time than people might think! Based on a variety of factors, the team decides on a basic concept which the hero will follow (tank melee fighter, ranged assassin, support healer, etc). After that's set, work on the hero's background begins and the first sketches are created. Once those elements are ready, the hero's skills are designed and carefully balanced, textures and models are created, and animations and sounds are finalized. Then, finally, the new combatant is added to LOCO! 

ZAM: When designing and implementing new characters, does the design team react to players needs and wants (as in, they want a tank character, so the LOCO team focuses on creating a tank character), or have they been more focused on delivering story-driven characters on a pre-determined schedule?

LOCO: It's a mix of both. LOCO features a detailed story behind every one of its heroes. Most of them have connections to each other - some are brothers in arms and some are rivals - and we always want to expand that overarching story when we can. However, the LOCO team also has a group of special designers focused on skills and abilities that are constantly monitoring the game for balance and watching the community to find new ideas and wishes.

ZAM: You've recently announced a huge new content update in the form of LOCO: Evolution, which will introduce a new faction, new characters, an improved UI, new modes of play and one more important change that we'll get to in a moment. First of all, however, can you tell us a little more about these changes? With the introduction of a new faction, will we be seeing three-way PvP content?

LOCO: We want to introduce new heroes on a monthly basis, and the first should be available in early December: "Lien." Regarding the new user interface, we've worked on simplifying it and cleaning it up while still offering many options for individual play styles. Beside your five specific hero skills, there are now two additional slots for PvP skills. You can choose your favorite skills to equip there, making your hero more your own. These are just two examples of how the UI has changed!

ZAM: The final big change coming to LOCO is the addition of a persistent city for players to meet up. What spurred this shift away from LOCO's current lobby-based system?

LOCO: With the initial launch of LOCO, we were really focused on providing players with a full-featured (and fun!) combative multiplayer experience. We had social elements in place, but they weren't quite as robust as we wanted them to be. Arhonnas is our way of remedying that: a truly social and persistent in-game area where players can take a break from battle to chat with friends, explore, interact with NPCs, and more.

ZAM: One of the new modes coming in LOCO is called "Touchdown," which you call a football-inspired game mode. Can we get any more details as to how this new mode will play? 

LOCO: The Charnel House of Lupus, created by a mysterious dark mage from the Land of Chaos, is a huge arena where two teams can fight for honor and wealth. In a slight twist from other CTF modes, however, the goal here is to take the single, central flag to the enemy's base. Matches can get really intense, since both teams will constantly be stealing and recovering the flag from each other, and there are a lot of different strategies you can use to ensure victory.

ZAM: Has LOCO's development vision changed over the past year? Do you have a particular focus going into 2012, whether it be creating more customization for players, or adding new characters and features?

LOCO: Land of Chaos Online will always stay a MOBA game at heart. However, our ultimate desire is always providing a great overall gaming experience. Allowing you to meet your friends and opponents in a social area is our way of spicing up the MOBA genre a bit, and Arhonnas has also allowed us to add more RPG-focused elements, like NPCs offering quests and services, into the game. We cannot speak about the development plan for 2012 at this point, but players can definitely expect great things to come!

ZAM: Finally, any really cool characters or features coming up that you haven't told anyone yet?

LOCO: Nothing we can share yet, but keep an eye on the official site for news about the upcoming heroes!

ZAM: And that's all the questions we had! Thanks a lot for your time!

Christopher "Pwyff" Tom, Editor-in-Chief.