[ RUMEUR ] Blade & Soul Sur PS3

En ce moment, une rumeur forte intéressante se balade sur le net.
Il s'agit en fait d'un MMO développé par NCsoft, qui je le rappel, à éditer Guild Wars et Lineage sur PC.
Ce jeu prendrai pour nom : Blade & Soul après s'être fait appelé Project [M] pour ceux qui suivait déjà un peu l'actualité sur ce jeu.



Les graphismes nous montre que ce sera un MMO très joli *Pour une fois* mais la possibilité qu'il tourne aussi sur console n'est pas écartée. Regardez, rien ne vous rappel notre cher monolithe ? Les reflets, l'eau, etc. Pour moi c'est tout vu. J'ai l'impression de voir un jeu PS3. Bien, maintenant je vous propose un petit Flashback si vous me permettez.
Début d'année 2008 en Janvier, lors de l'E3. NCsoft a annoncé que leur studio allait créer un jeu exclusivement pour la ps3. Alors sur leur site officiel, ils recrutaient du monde en masse.
Alors maintenant, la question est : est-ce le jeu dit ? Croisons les doigts. Voici donc le trailer du jeu :



Et qui dit NCsoft, dit normalement : MMO gratuit. La plupart des jeux de ce studio sont gratuit.

Pour conclure, voila une interview sur le jeu *en anglais =3*

Code:

Q1: How did you decide on the concept
Kim: From MMORPG, a player should experience a variety of concepts. So, instead deeply developing one concept, I tried to include a several. Also, instead of limiting the theme to the traditional martial arts genre, I added my own identity to it.

Q2: So, is this a completely new genre of MMORPG?
Kim: In Korea, the martial arts genre is heavily influenced by the Chinese culture. However, we incorporated a lot of cultural images from different nations in Blade & Soul: Russia, Mongolia, Taiwan, etc. The current product is a combination of these and our creativity.

Q3: Many gamers voice that the art style of Blade & Soul remind them of other games, such as Magna Carta.
Kim: I like my previous works and their style. I did not work [on Blade & Soul] with a different style in mind; instead, I merely thought of improving the previous works. In the case of Blade & Soul, it expresses well the ideas of the illustrator.

Q4: Lineage II received much criticism for its mature material. Blade & Soul seems to demand a similar level of maturity from the gamers. Would it be appropriate as a rated 15+ game?
Bae: Lineage II was talked about because of its clothings, but it was not a big issue. As a producer, it’s a difficult position to be in, but something one should overcome. The only nation in which we encountered problems was China. There will be pressures in Korea, but we must endure it. We could always change the rating or make adjustment to the contents.

Q5: Are you planning to changes to the contents or the rating?
Bae: It depends on the situation; we should probably work on both.
Kim: We focused on certain areas because the game is in a developmental cycle. But, because the game’s focus is in neither sexuality nor violence, it won’t be too difficult to receive 15+ rating.
Bae: There’s no guarantee that the game will succeed with emphasis on sexual contents. No game did and we don’t plan to.

Q6: What is game representative Taek-Jin Kim’s opinion?
Bae: He suggested a removal of one character due to excessive skin exposure. Besides that he really liked the mid-air-dash skill.

Q7: To which regional market would the game appeal the most?
Bae: It’s a difficult question to answer. The game might be well-received in Europe, but might not in Japan. However, when we demonstrated to employees in off-shore offices, they liked it.
Kim: While following the games revealed in E3 2008, I realized that many western gamers are not used to seeing orient-themed games. Our focus is to make a great game. We will worry about localization later.

Q8: Why oriental martial-art MMORPG? Why now?
Bae: Because I wanted to. (smiles)

Q9: Why?
Bae: After Lineage II, I decided to stop making MMORPGs because they are massive and difficult to develop. I wanted to try something easier, but those were just as difficult. Eventually, I came back to making MMORPG. I like both martial-art and science fiction. I decided work on a martial-art game.
Kim: There are a lot of things you can do in the world of martial arts if you look behind the visuals. I wanted to recreate the intense action from Chinese martial-arts movies which inspired me. The allure of martial-ars world is the variety and limitlessness.

Q10: What’s your definition of the “martial-arts genre”?
Bae: I have a lot to talk about this topic. There are a lot of novels, legends, history to draw ideas from. Thus, there is no real “definition” of the genre. I think the lack of games in the genre is limiting the definition of it. I think that the genre comes down to, obviously, the component of action.

Q11: In any MMORPG the storyline is crucial. What percentage of the game content covers story?
Bae: We are focusing mostly on combats(PVP) and quests. You could say that these two make up Blade & Soul. It’s about half and half. The story would be narrrated through quests.

Q12: Could you elaborate on the storyline which is based on the Korean genesis.
Bae: Not only the Korean genesis, but a number of legends and anecdotes from Mongolia, Cambodia, Japan, and China are included in the story.

Q13: According to a source, the game will include characters from Korean legends?
Bae: Only one race will follow Korean lengends.

Q14: In the story, players will be against gods, how will you narrate this? Also, how will you connect with the notion of clans in the martial arts realm?
Bae: Guilds and kingdoms fit more with the Middle Age fantasy genre. For the genre of martial arts, individuals and heroes are more fitting. Unlike the gods in Greek mythology, the gods in Blade & Soul would be more closer beings [to humans] such as mountain gods or dragon king.

Q15: Is there an ending to to the storyline?
Bae: Yes.

Q16: Is the trailer video made out of in-game footage?
Bae: Yes. The only editing done to the video is the slow-motion effect during mid-air-dash and the removal of version stamp. Of course, for demonstration purposes, some characters were standing still not fighting back. Besides those, the video is a 100% compilation of in-game footages.
Kim: Currently, developers are playing pre-alpha version of the game. The trailer you saw today was a footage of their actual in-game play.

Q17: If developers are playing the game, up-to how many players were playing simultaneously?
Kim: 30~40 players tested on one map.

Q18: I am curious whether the world is seamless or instanced.
Bae: It is not seamless, but it uses streaming method. Gamers will experience the same gameplay as if they were in a seamless world.
Kim: There won’t be much loading because the maps are huge.

Q19: In the trailer, there is a scene where a character attacks multiple mobs with one skill. Will it be a good skill to aggro mobs?
Bae: It’s not a typical skill, but there are time when it is needed; for example, in order to save team members by sacrificing yourself. You can think of it like a finishing skill. We used the skill purposely to show off the capabilities of Blade & Soul. The chacter of the developer who used the skill died soon after. (smile)

Q20: Are cooking and resource gathering major part of the game?
Bae: There are a few, but with an oriental twist. Players will be able to make wine or pottery.

Q21: Could you tell us more about the two races Jin and Gon?
Kim: Jin is the closest to the mankind. Culturally, they are similar and use the most tools. Gon is about 2.3m(7.5ft) and is physically stronger.

Q22: There were midgets in the video; are they a playable race?
Bae: They are part of a race and we will release more information regarding the races later.

Q23: Some of the raindrops landed on the camera; how does weather affect the game play?
Bae: Rain changes the environmental setting, spawning more monsters, etc.
Kim: The rain drops on the screen is from an in-game footage. We are also planning to let the weather affect quests.

Q24: One character wore glasses; to what extent is character customizing possible?
Bae: Middle-Age fantasy genres emphasizes armor and weapon stats. However, martial-arts games focus on individual and weapon(sword) development. Development of weapon(**NOTE:as in proficiency of the character or the weapon itself gaining experience) will be crucial in the early game. Based on this concept, we are developing the character customization.

Q25: In the trailer, a character grew something from his back as he was casting a skill.
Bae: The Gon race’s race-specific skill triggered it. I would like to make the race-specific skills varied and deep. The scene–towards the end of the video–in which the girl is surrounded by flowers is also a race-specific skill. If you look closely, you will see some characters(a female midget) and others that are not introduced yet.

Q26: There are a lot of components to action(PVP). What are you focusing on the most?
Bae: The extent to which player can control in relation to the time and situation is very important. The state(defense, parry, position) between the opponent and yourself and your interaction is also crucial. We will develop the game with these thoughts in mind.
Kim: There’s an emphasis on feedback between characters. We will show players a variety of actions. Tactics matter and the combats will take your breath away.

Q27: Do characters’ body parts take different damage?
Bae: No. However, the attack angle matters. The damage will depend on from which position you are attacking the opponent.

Q28: The video only shows one-sided attacks. Is it filmed that way, or is the combat turn-based?
Bae: We were controlling the characters during the filming. It’s too difficult to film when both characters are fighting. For the purpose of the trailer, we filmed one sided attack. The actual game scenes will be packed with intensive actions. Players must move constantly and use skills strategically.
Kim: As I said earlier, the developers were playing against one another. There are times when players attack each other [in game] simultaneously; the first blow might give an advantage to the player.

Q29: Skill effects are very stylish. It seems like the combat took a long time due to the amount of animation.
Bae: You could say that. However, the trailer shows skills used in succession. I am not sure if they are considered combos, but, definitely, more than one skill was used. Blade & Soul have a short combat period compared to other MMOPRGs.

Q30: Regarding the attack on the opponent on ground, is that skill only available when the opponent character is in the state of “confusion”?
Bae: We are testing with different implementations.

Q31: How are you going to implement the controls?
Bae: That’s one of the hot topics within the development team. We are still in discussion whether to include skill-keys or make a separate keys(**NOTE: I am not sure what he’s talking about here. The description is vague). What we definitely know is that the game will not have skill-window on the bottom of the screen like other MMORPGS.

Q32: How do you move the character? With WASD keys or mouse?
Bae: Both

Q33: There was a scene of a player using mid-air-dash skill. Can players use all the background objects?
Kim: The first thing I wanted to avoid was the wallpaper like background which you can see but not explore. I hate the concept of players following a predetermined path. I want the environment to be accesible and interactive with players. We are making areas where you can only access with the mid-air-dash skill.

Q34: What type of quests are in Blade & Soul?
Bae: Goals and scenario make up the quests. Many MMORPGs have “vending-machine” quests: “kill X number of mobs.” This is boring. Blade & Soul will resolve the problem of “I want to follow the story line, but why am I talking to this vending machine.” I want the game to overcome that limitation. It’s one of the topics of discussion within the team.

Q35: Would you say that there’s less emphasis on gears?
Kim: There would be a different implementation of gears, not less.

Q36: In order to be a master–an experienced martial artist–one must train. How is this interpreted in game?
Bae: In martial-arts genre, there’s always a master–a sensei/teacher–who teaches you the skills. I would like to recreate that experience of “learning.” I don’t like the idea of “buying” skill books.

Q37: How about the game economy?
Bae: We never thought about it in detail. We are, at the moment, focusing on the action and combat aspect of the game. Game economy has a low priority in the development. We could work on it later in the development cycle.

Q38: Is this game for solo play oriented? or party play?
Bae: There are differences among classes. However, unlike the classic RPG class structure, I would like to overlap the archetypes for the classes in Blade & Soul. Solo play is not always fun, there will be some parts of the game which needs party play to enjoy.

Q39: In Lineage series, siege battles were the attraction. What features are in Blade & Soul?
Bae: I came up with the idea of siege battles and structured it. I know the good and bad sides of it. Blade & Soul will not have siege battles. They tend to exclude a portion of the player base except a few. The game must be enjoyable for everyone.

Q40: Are there a lot of cooperative content?
Bae: MMOs should involve cooperation, but Blade & Soul will emphasize an individual aspect. The world and the game will revolve around the player. Q41: How will potions and gears affect the game?
Bae: Blade & Soul is MMO, thus gears are important. But, the item system in Blade & Soul is completely different and weapon strengthening/enchanting systems are in place. The team is working on a replacement feature for potions.

Q42: At the presentation, you said “we did everything MMORPG industry told us not to.” What are you talking about specifically?
Bae: I am talking about everything in the trailer. The industry said we can’t grab, push, pull, float, mid-air dash, etc. are all big no-nos. Developers know better.

Q43: Why do you think other games didn’t implement those features?
Bae: There’s a saying that the elephant in a circus could escape easily breaking the shackles. Noone in the industry tried. Developers will literally commit suicide trying to implement the combat system while maintaing the security of the game; preventing exploits and hacks. Blood & Soul developers came this far with hard work and patience. At the moment, the simple combat system takes more animation than any console combat games. It’s not a coincidence the team is named Blood Lust.(smile)

Q44: Is there a special reason why you choose Unreal Engine 3?
Bae: Simply, it’s a good engine. My motto is “produce rapidly.” I choose the engine to rapidly develop this game. The engine allows us to express the concepts easily.
Kim: Specifically, the engine allows us to use lighting and shading easily. It is flexible. We made adjustments to the rendering engine.

Q45: Other game titles from NCsoft are using Unreal Engine 3, do you share your analysis, tips, and tricks?
Bae: Of course, the games are different, but we do share know-hows and information about the engine. The engine is excellent, but there is a limit to a game written merely in scripts. The way to success is analyzing the source and adjusting it to match the concept of the game.

Q46: There is a rumor that Blade & Soul is NCsoft’s PS3 MMO?
Bae: There’s nothing specific about the plan. We only have 60 developers which is just enough to make the PC version. I would like to [make a PS3 version], but some things can’t be done. We are discussing with other platform companies as well.

Q47: When will be the release?
Bae: (smile) I really don’t know. I hope we don’t this year [closed beta]. We developed for about two years and 50% is complete. I don’t know what the developers think.
Kim: I think only 20% is done. (smile) end of the interview

La Q46 est la plus intéressante. Je vous offre ma propre traduction :

Q46: Il y a une rumeur comme quoi Blade&Soul sera un MMO sur PS3 ?
Bae: Il n'y a rien de spécifié à propos de ça. Nous avons seulement 60 développeurs et c'est juste assez pour la version PC. Je voudrais faire une version PS3 mais quelques choses ne peuvent pas être faites ( ça je comprend pas trop de quoi il parle ). Nous sommes en train de discuter avec d'autre compagnies de plate-formes.

J'ai pas un anglais parfait, mais il me suffit pour comprendre les grandes lignes ^^

J'ai vu ça ça ferait bien plaisir un petit MMORPG ;)