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Sliced Gaming Feature: Aion Developer Interview

Writer: Nick Schaedel
Posted: 23rd September 2009, 1:40am

changed the face of the MMO industry and has brought a new audience of players into the genre. That said, our focus for Aion from the very beginning has been to create a fun and unique MMO that appeals to a global audience over competing directly with any product in particular in the West. We're launching with an extremely polished game that offers a ton of PvE content (over 1,500 quests on launch).

We’re also providing a more Western style of combat and gameplay. Combine those elements with Aion's fresh game world and deep storyline, stunning visuals, and its innovative features such as flight and PvPvE, and we have crafted a game with global appeal. We're very happy with the momentum we've seen building behind the game as we look toward its launch in North America and Europe, and appreciate the enthusiasm our fans have for Aion.

SG: Speaking of World of Warcraft, in the early years many players were frustrated by the prevalence of non-English speaking players on US servers. Will this be an issue for Aion?

LB: We don’t anticipate any issues of sort you are referring to. We have localized the game for our English, French, and German territories. Players can choose a number of language channels that they can participate in.

SG: Will Aion have dedicated servers located in Oceania/Australasia?

LB: We will not have servers physically located in Oceania/Australasia at launch but we will have an Oceanic server at launch. The Nezekan North American server is now on the Oceanic time zone and event schedule. The server will not be labeled as an Oceanic server right away, but we will adjust that labeling in a patch within the first two weeks after launch. Encourage your readers to check out Nezekan if they are in Australia, New Zealand or Singapore!

SG: What sort of subscription fee will players have to pay, and how much will it be?

LB: In the North American territory, players will pay a monthly fee of $14.99, and in the European territory, it will be 12.99 Euro per month. You can get multi-month discounts as well.

SG: Can you explain how PvP and PvE is tied into the battle for the Abyss?

LB: Aion is PvPvE, meaning we’ve combined both play styles. Players can choose to focus on PvP or PvE if they wish. There may be some overlap, but if you’d rather focus 90% of your time on PvE, you can. The PvPvE comes into play because of the AI-controlled faction, the Balaur. Depending on several factors, one minute the Balaur could be fighting alongside you, the next they could be fighting against you. You could also find yourself fighting alongside your enemy against the Balaur. PvPvE adds a new dynamic to PvP that we feel makes it much more engaging.

SG: What kind of ongoing support can we expect to see in the way of patches, new content, and expansions?

LB: We’re very committed to keeping Aion new and ...

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