On the 11th, Perfect World Games will introduce another open world new game, ‘Tower of Fantasy’. At CBT in July last year, free customization of high-quality cartoon rendering graphics, and the fun of solving gimmicks by freely moving around the world with various tools and free movement were revealed. Here, ARPG-style controls and MMO-style content attracted users’ attention, and I heard from the ‘Sky’ planner of Hota Studio about what process this game went through and what is being prepared for the Korean release. could see
■ Open world, science fiction, and ‘multiplayer’
Q. ‘Tower of Fantasy’ is about to be released in Korea following its first release in 2020. I wonder when it was developed.
= It takes a lot of time to develop a game like ‘Tower of Fantasy’. It seems that we have been preparing, researching and developing this project since 2018.
Q. ‘Tower of Fantasy’ is a subculture style that is completely different from the games Perfect World has shown in Korea, but what was the driving force behind it?
= I think our driving force comes from the goal of ‘let’s make a good game’. Our development team, as avid game users, wanted to develop a good game that we have been thinking about. In order to neutralize the pressure that users feel when exploring the apocalyptic world, the graphics have adopted a cartoon rendering method. Also, because our development team is all young, I think that may be the reason why we want to make games with our own unique style.
Q. When I think of an open world with a high degree of freedom, I usually think of single-player, but I was impressed that it was structured in a multiplayer exploration style. Is there any special reason you designed it that way?
= Exploring alone in a vast world often feels lonely. We wanted all the pioneers who ‘live’ in Tower of Fantasy to have good relationships with others. When I was playing AAA single-player open world games, I thought it would be really cool to explore with friends and defeat enemies. So I put this thought into the game. Of course, there are times when I just want to enjoy my alone time. In many ways, I hope that the pioneers of ‘Tower of Fantasy’ will have a satisfactory experience even when they enjoy it alone.
Q. Many open world games with a high degree of freedom have adopted a fantasy-style worldview, but is there a reason why you chose a sci-fi-style worldview for Tower of Fantasy? Also, how would you describe the theme of ‘adventure’ that you want to capture in Tower of Fantasy?
= Actually, when the worldview of ‘Tower of Fantasy’ was first composed, there were a lot of fantasy elements. However, during the development process, there were more and more opinions about creating a game that is differentiated from other games on the market, and implementing a style that suits our own aesthetic taste. We have a lot of SF fans on our team. After an overall discussion, we set the direction to ‘SF + Fantasy’, so the current S-Fantasy style came out. It also struck a balance between hardcore science fiction and fantasy. We want pioneers to feel the charm of the sci-fi genre and experience a fantasy world full of romance and imagination.
Q. In general, RPG-style open worlds have mob levels tailored to each region, but in Tower of Fantasy, it was surprising that mobs leveled according to their level. It must have been difficult to implement this in an environment where other users are also present, but what is the reason for adopting this level design?
= Designing dynamic levels to match the level of your mobs to your level was inspired by the idea of creating an environment that allows pioneers to freely explore the open world. It doesn’t feel good when a pioneer arrives in a new area and is easily attacked by monsters at a low level. Of course, implementing dynamic levels in a multiplayer environment isn’t easy, but we’ve solved this problem through constant testing to ensure a satisfying pioneering experience.
Q. The content composition, servers, channels, and worlds are close to MMORPGs, but it felt a bit unusual that they didn’t mention ‘MMO’. Is there any particular reason for taking that strategy?
= ‘Tower of Fantasy’ is not a traditional MMORPG, but focuses on the exploration of an open world. In other words, it is a game that seeks to discover new things by exploring the vast world in various ways, and focuses on enhancing the sense of immersion. That’s why we’re talking about an open world RPG.
Q. You reinterpreted the weapons that appear in the work as ‘replicas’ rather than simple weapons. Could you introduce what role these replicas play in the work?
= The ‘replica’ from the world view of ‘Tower of Fantasy’ is a cutting-edge technology developed by the scientific research organization Hellguard. It is a technology that provides data to others quickly by converting the weapon parameters and memories of the strong into data, allowing you to quickly learn and cast difficult tactical moves.
In the game, if a pioneer possesses a ‘replica’, he can use the appearance and movement of this character in battle. Also, if you communicate with the ‘replica’ character and reach deep inside, wouldn’t it be possible to show a different side of you than usual? When intimacy reaches a certain level, it sometimes gives unexpected help.
Q. There were also comments that the content for the guild to gather together in the second half of CBT was disappointing. Are there any plans for guild content in the future?
= If you are a pioneer who likes community activities, you probably know that you can do many activities with guild members. For example, you can make an appointment in advance to defeat the world boss, clear dungeons, cooperate with quizzes, and more. Such content could not be fully released to the pioneers due to the limited CBT period.
When the game is released, pioneers can enjoy more diverse play with their guild members. And we will continue to listen to the voices of the pioneers. Please feel free to post your thoughts on play mode to the official community or let us know in our game survey.
Q. In addition to jetpacks, various energy gears such as boards and omnium cannons are used throughout the map, or elements to solve gimmicks by throwing objects are added. Do you have any know-how to construct fields and dungeons that utilize these details?
= This is the result of gathering the opinions of our team members. If it’s an open world, you need to maximize the player’s freedom as much as possible. So as you explore the world, you can not only run, but also move with boards, vehicles, jetpacks, and even fly over roofs and climb walls with machine hands. You can even design puzzle play modes for energy gears and objects in the field, inspired by real physics engines.
Sometimes, some pioneers use the ecosystem in the game to lure monsters to open a gravity gimmick, which I hadn’t even thought of, but this can also be said to be a kind of implementation of freedom.
Q. When it comes to Tower of Fantasy, not only the open world but also high-quality cartoon rendering graphics are essential, but I was impressed that the optimization was quite good even for multiple people to play together in a mobile-PC cross-play environment. Where do you think the foundation of this technology came from?
= Thanks for asking. We put a lot of effort into optimization to make the game a smooth experience for many people. This was possible thanks to the development experience and cooperation that our team has accumulated so far.
Q. Usually, when I think of an RPG, I list several available skills and come up with a pattern to use according to the situation, but I have adopted a method of simply composing only normal attacks – weapon skills – special moves and QTEs, and special weapons for each weapon. Why did you choose this approach? Also, users would be wondering if this style alone would be able to handle the role division of instance dungeons or raids well. How did you structurally compensate for this problem?
= This way, the controls become easier when using the weapon. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s less maneuverable and less interesting. There are times in the game where you need to use three weapons at the same time. First of all, the combat experience is enriched by using three weapons. You can cast powerful skill combos with linked skill combinations. You can also cast various skill combos by pressing and holding attacks.
As for the division of roles in the team, there are no jobs in this game, but the weapon itself has three types of resonance: strength, strength, and grace. The ability to activate multiple resonances by combining different weapons can somewhat work out the division of roles in the team and eliminate the need to tie characters to one class.
■ “The CBT feedback of ‘Tower of Fantasy’ with Korean dubbing will come out in a more complete form.”
Q. What was the most important aspect of preparing for the release of Tower of Fantasy in Korea?
= It’s probably localization. How can we do better localization, how can Korean pioneers have a more interesting experience, how can we convey the charm of ‘Tower of Fantasy’ in a more friendly way to Korean pioneers? Which graphic style to prefer, event management, etc. are all things we need to consider.
Q. What is the internal reaction after Tower of Fantasy Korea CBT? Also, I’m curious what kind of feedback you’ve mostly heard from users.
= The pioneers gave really positive feedback. We really appreciate your feedback, mainly on the multiplayer mode, character customization and combat system. Also, many people pointed out the problems that need to be improved. We are optimizing these comments by reflecting them well, and you will be able to experience improvements after the release.
Q. In CBT, the voice acting is fine, but it was a disappointment that the voice sync or dialogue was not output.
= Of course, this part needs to be improved. The purpose of CBT is to further improve the game. We take localization very seriously, and we will always appreciate your feedback.
Q. In CBT, the main story and level-up limits that can be unlocked per day were set. Is this principle the same after release?
= There are some limitations. This is to ensure that players don’t make a big difference in their early game progress, and prevent some players from becoming too immersed in the game to the extent that it affects their daily life. And ‘Tower of Fantasy’ has a lot of content that you can experience. In addition to the main story and leveling up, you can enjoy a full open world exploration play mode and a variety of casual puzzle play modes.
Q. Since it will be released in Korea after the election in China, I think many users will be curious about the update cycle and release version. I wonder if the initial version will come as it is, or how will the update cycle be accelerated to a certain term interval, and so on?
= We plan to align with the global version. We will do our best to give users a better experience.
Q. What level of performance are you expecting after the release of Tower of Fantasy in Korea?
= The best thing is to receive good reviews and positive feedback from Korean pioneers. If you do just these two things, you will be satisfied.
Q. Lastly, would you like to say a word to Korean users?
= Thank you very much for your warm interest and support. We hope that your journey in Ida will leave you with unforgettable memories, and we hope that the open world game we have put so much effort into will live up to your expectations.
