We recently gave away three batches of keys to the Scions of Fate beta. As we await another round, those of you who do not yet have some should take some time to check out this Q&A our own Shannon Drake did with the development team.
Answers by the SoF Dev Team
Questions by Shannon Drake
WarCry Network: Can you give us an insider’s perspective of the gameworld – what are the conflicts? What are the major historical events coloring the “present day” in game?
Scions of Fate: In Scions of Fate, the conflict and hatred between the Order and Chaos drives people into turmoil. In the beginning, before the factions formed, people gathered to share their knowledge; however, as the numbers of martial artists grew, they started to focus on gaining power rather than searching for enlightenment. Some of the groups started to call themselves the Order, people who walk the path of righteousness. They invited many schools, houses, families, and guilds to join them. As for those who did not join the Order, they named themselves Chaos. The members of Chaos did not have much power because they couldn’t form one solid, cohesive group. One day, the DarkSky Lord appeared in the realm and started his campaign against the Order. He took control of the Chaos faction and fought against the Order for freedom from the oppressive majority that was the Order. The DarkSky Lord and his followers, the Blackwinds freed half of the realm from the Order. The JungMu School of the Order gathered their forces against the DarkSky Lord and Blackwinds to stop their conquest. The conflict ended with huge casualties. Ever since then, both sides halted in gaining territories. Many years have past and now they are both on the move to look for promising fighters who can bring an end to the long, tumultuous conflict that has ravaged the Central Valley.
WarCry Network: Is there an overarching story idea propelling the characters, an in-game conflict, or is this more of a sandbox open-ended world where players can do as they wish?
Scions of Fate: Scions of Fate provides both storyline based system as well a open-ended world to roam freely. The world is set during the conflicts between the two factions. It is an on-going war where players suit up and join factions to fight for what they believe is right.
WarCry Network: Please talk a little about the game play of Scions of Fate. What is your favorite aspect?
Scions of Fate: Scions of Fate has its strength in building player communities. The game play system drives users to party with one another to form groups in order to level up. Through such party systems, players gain two important benefits. The first benefit is bonus experience. For example, if a user is in a group with four other people and a single monster provides 500 exp, instead of them gaining 100 exp each, they will get 125 exp. The second benefit of forming a party is the community that players build through helping one another. As players level up, forming a party becomes absolutely necessary, thus if players start forming connections with each other it will make their game play much more enjoyable and fun.
WarCry Network: Scions of Fate is actually a re-named and localized version of the popular Korean game, YulGang: Balance of Power. There’s been much discussion over the years as to the difference between Asian and North American players. Have you changed much in Scions of Fate to appeal more to the western audience?
Scions of Fate: Scions of Fate, formally named YulGang: Balance of Power, also known as Yul-Hyul-Gang-Ho Online in Asian countries, uses new system called OSMU (One Source Multi Use). Frankly speaking, it means that game will have the same source as Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and etc. versions. The reason behind the implementation of the OSMU system is to provide the users with more frequent updates of the game. To sum it all up, we can say that all the Korean updates will be released here as they come out because changes wont be necessary since the sources for all the international clients are the same.
WarCry Network: I notice the art style still has a decidedly Asian/anime feel – do you find western audiences to be receptive to the less photorealistic, brightly colored visuals?
Scions of Fate: Scions of Fate provides users people-friendly graphics. Through our research, we became aware of the fact that western users are actually heavily exposed to the Asian/anime-feel, and have been responding with positive feed back on the illustrations of the characters. Also, because game has its roots in the comic book, it is important to us that we keep the this comic-themed graphic style rather than implementing photorealistic style within the game.
WarCry Network: How much control do players have over the advancement of their characters? Is the system a-learn specific spells/attacks at specific levels, or can a player build a character more organically, deciding when and if to take certain skills?
Scions of Fate: Players will have a lot of control over the way that their character advances. Scions of Fate not only allows players to choose which skills to develop, but also allows players to determine, on their own, what types of builds they would like to use. While the release of Ki points (points used to advance your characters skills and learn new ones) comes with the attainment of every level, control of these points at the players’ fintertips.
WarCry Network: What are the three main things you feel differentiate Scions of Fate from the current offerings of MMOGs?
Scions of Fate: First, is the fact that SoF is a game rooted deeply in the idea of online communities. This means that while western MMOGs focus more on the idea of individual development, SoF forces the players to think not only about their own development but their advancement in relation to their peers within the game. Our party system, house system, and faction system ensure that each character, no matter how unique the build, can find a niche in the realm of SoF. Second, is our goal to provide in-game service through administrative interaction within the game community. GMs (Game Masters) will be in the game 24 hours a day, not only taking part in the online adventure, but administering problems “face to face” with players. Finally, the simplicity of gameplay. SoF, while allowing hardcore gamers to explore more complex methods to more fully control their characters’ actions, also allows for first-time users, and first-time MMORPGers, to quickly grasp the control system. This allows for users to become accustomed to the game very quickly, and since the game itself is so simple, it will be easy for players to advance their characters. This is not to say that it may not take a long time or it will be overwhelmingly boring. Through SoF, players will have free reign to travel the world and find new, exciting adventures with other players.
WarCry Network: What is your business model? Is SoF subscription based?
Scions of Fate: Our marketing theme resides in the idea of F2P (Free to Play) at P2P (Pay to Play) quality. The game will be free for all users; however, we will have some elements available for those who will be willing to spend a few dollars. This allows players who don’t want to invest heavily in games to still enjoy a quality gaming experience.
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