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Senior game designer interview - Aion: The Tower Of Eternity

by Steven Williamson on 6 December 2007, 09:31

Tags: Aion: The Tower Of Eternity Q&A, PC, MMOG

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NCsoft's MMORPG

Developer's NCSoft have described their upcoming MMORPG as the 'most visually beautiful MMORPG ever made'.

Aion: The Tower of Eternity is a fantasy MMORPG, chronicling an epic conflict between the Chun, the Ma and a server-controlled NPC faction, the warlike Yong.

In Aion: The Tower of Eternity, players must choose a side between two warring factions: the Chun or the Ma. Once their world was whole; a perfect union joined at the centre by The Tower of Eternity. When a great catastrophe shattered The Tower of Eternity, it split the world into two halves - and awoke the Yong, a warring race exiled within the extra-dimensional Abyss. The Yong now seek revenge on both of these new worlds, sparking an epic conflict. The part you play, the side you choose and the decisions you make will help determine the ultimate fate of Aion.

NCsoft has sent us an in-depth interview with Senior Game Designer, Kyoung Won Choi about its forthcoming MMORPG.

1. How extensive will Aion character customisation be?
In the game client, which was being showed at the Games Convention Leipzig ‘07, the player had the ability to choose between several different hairstyles, colours, shapes of their face, skin colours, character height and voice. It is also possible to alter eye colours and to add tattoos to the character face. A character build feature is currently being planned, which will affect the size of the character, ranging from skinny to big.

2. “Tradable wings” have been mentioned. Exactly what does it mean?
It was most likely a misunderstanding. Wings are not bought in Aion, but changed by other factors such as a rising PvP-rank.

3. What will you do in order for Aion to appeal to casual players?
We want to have short-term goals in the game, such as quests fitting within shorter timeframes. There will also be appropriate rewards for completing those. Very powerful game items (weapons and armours) will be attainable in different ways, making it easier for casual players to gradually work towards them.

4. Are the Asmodians significantly different from the Elyos?
It is possible to see that the Asmodians and Elyos come from the same origin. They have the same, fundamental humanoid shapes. An analogy would be to compare elves with dark elves.

Click for larger image




Click for larger image


5. Will there be player housing?
Not at launch, but definitely as soon as possible. It is likely to be in the first expansion.

6. Will there be mounts in Aion?
No. There are currently no plans to implement regular mounts in Aion. Transport will be done by foot or by flying. There will also be a long-range teleport system and short-range travel-services in which you let the game control the flight to your destination.

7. Will flying timer and cool-down change with character level?
No, probably not. There will, however, be items and skills which can enhance these abilities. In practice, this could mean that as the character progresses to higher levels – it also gains access to these skills and items.

8. How do sieges work in Aion? Are there any guild-specific advantages to controlling a castle?
The main PvP area in Aion is the Abyss. There are several castles in Aion, all which can be captured by player guilds on behalf of their faction. A siege is in its very fundament a raid. Initially, each castle is controlled by the Balaur, who will not gladly give it up. A guild leader would gather his or her troops and initiate an attack on the castle and its defenders. After defeating the NPC defenders, the castle changes ownership. Since the battles take place in the Abyss, it’s always possible that the other PC faction might interfere to either defend or attack. Once the castle has a new owner, there are a few hours during which no PvP can take place on the island. After this period, however, the castle is again open to attacks from the opposing faction.

There are many benefits to be gained from controlling a castle. The castle will have NPCs who vend unique items, whose sales the controlling guild may put taxes on in order to gain a bit of extra income. Guilds will also have direct access to the hunting grounds and resources surrounding the castle.

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