Bridging the Culture Divide: NCsoft’s Brian Knox on Aion’s Plans to Bring East and West Together at Last
Steve had the opportunity to interview Aion Producer Brian Knox from NCWest, an NCsoft studio. The conversation focuses on Aion’sAion reviews
attempt to bring Eastern and Western players together.
The MMO Gamer: First of all, for those among our readers who may be unfamiliar, could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about what it is you do at NCsoft.
Brian Knox: My name is Brian Knox, I’m a Producer at NCWest for Aion. I’m helping to facilitate the product over for Western audiences, which includes both Europe and North America.
I’m kind of the conduit for a lot of the information that goes back and forth, things like feedback and support, and overall project management of the product.
The MMO Gamer: So would you say that you are the man in charge of “Westernizing” the game?
Brian Knox: Yes, I would say that’s probably one of my biggest roles here.
We all have our ideas and we all pitch in, but I’m definitely the person that can delegate the final say in interacting with the development team to make sure that our voices are heard.
The MMO Gamer: That’s good, because Westernization is the primary subject that I’d to talk to you about, today.
I have to tell you, when I saw the game demoed and played it back at GDC, it looked very, very Korean.
And of course, one of the greatest issues within the MMO genre is that games tend not to transfer very well; either Western games into Asia, or Asian games into the West.
I would say that disconnect, between the two different player cultures, is the number one issue the game has to address in order to be successful.
How are you going about that?
Brian Knox: There are a lot of steps we’re taking.
I mean, you said the game looks Korean. I think it does have a distinctive Korean art style, but I don’t think that the game necessarily has a typical Eastern type of play.
I think that we, from the very beginning, went and looked at every single game out there. What was the best of the East, what was best of the West? That’s how we constructed Aion.
We took a little bit of everything and then we added some of our own little flavors and ideas and things like flight.
But, it’s a very quest-driven game, with a deep rich story. It’s the new IP, which is really exciting for us because we’re not constricted in a world that’s already been created. It’s something that we have control over, and that we can create.
I think that that’s a very good and a very unique thing for players to do and experience. And like I said, we have lots of quests. We even go so far as to divide our quests between campaign and standard, with the campaign kind of driving the main story line along. It has interactive cut-scenes that include like your character in it, so it’s not just like some pre-rendered thing.
It’s an in-game scene with voiceovers that has your character in it, and it really draws the person in instead of just having to read walls and walls of text.
Because no matter what language the text is in, players tend to skip over if they see a lot of text. When you have a movie thrown right at you, it really helps tell the story and draw the player in.
#mmo Bridging the Culture Divide: NCsoft’s Brian Knox on Aion’s Hopes to Bring East and West Together at Last http://cli.gs/049jqM
RT @TheMMOGamer: #mmo Bridging the Culture Divide: http://cli.gs/049jqM
THIS GAME IS ARESOME! IT HAS QWESTS!
Sorry Brian you aren't selling it for me. What does Aion bring to the table that makes it stand apart from every other fantasy MMO out there?
TheMMOGamer interviews Producer Brian Knox http://cli.gs/049jqM
TheMMOGamer interviews #Aion Producer Brian Knox http://cli.gs/049jqM
Try it, I played the closed beta and it sucked when it ended, the game does tend to keep you wanting more and more of it. I think if you played it you would understand why people are waiting for its release.
I don't think that answers Speranza's question, as he/she could then ask, "Well, what kept you wanting more and more of it?" Not everyone got to play beta unfortunately.
People may be waiting for Aion's release, but that doesn't answer why or what will make it different from the other games out there.
Try reading the entire article instead of just skimming through page 1, it pretty much answers your question.
RT @aion_liv: TheMMOGamer interviews #Aion Producer Brian Knox http://cli.gs/049jqM
Europe Key )
Bridging the Culture Divide: NCsoft’s Brian Knox on Aion’s Plans to Bring East and West Together at Last http://bit.ly/15EMIC #mmo #mmorpg
This interview is not about "why", it's just about "how to 'westernize'" …~
RT @TheMMOGamer: Bridging the Culture Divide: NCsoft’s Brian Knox on Aion’s Plans to Bring East and West Together http://bit.ly/15EMIC
I did read the entire article. He talks about westernizing the game. That part I accept as being interesting and would be something I would look into. But that isn't enough to get me to get an account of Aion.
They are updating the advancement of So does that mean I still only get to choose Warrior, Rogue, Mage but now at level 10 I get to "multiclass"? Been there done that.
Now what about this customization? So is this the player face? The class armor? Or how about something interesting like maybe the player Class is customizable. See that could lead to something interesting and fresh. Something that would SELL Aion to people like me who are tired of the Fantasy MMO's out there. Something that would of been worth talking about in an Interview.
Good Job Steve, I just don't think your prey was cooperating well.
Yes, but he really doesn't talk about that either in the interview. Most Korean style MMOs are boring to westerners, well me, because they are so cookie cutter. 3 maybe 4 classes, everyone looks the same, everyone moves from coordinate a,b to c,b to kill monster x at level y. Westernizing is adding more quests yes, but there is more to it than that and localizing the dialogue. Each of these changes are interesting and should of been used to talk about how awesome the game IS than how awesome Brian Knox thinks it is.
WHAT makes me want more? More quests? I had that in WoW, I've had that in SWG, I had that in EQ, I had that in UO. So why do I want to play Aion? Being the spokes person for a game comes with great responsibility .Maybe Brian choked and was worried about what he could and could not say about the game. Is there something that makes Aion awesome and not another clone?
Ever play Perfect World? It sucks, but it was a Korean MMO with quests and good translations. You know why I did like Perfect World. The mapping and navigation system was unique and made me go, "Wow that is something done right."
What does Aion have?
I have to say I am impressed with how passionate Brian seems about the game. I haven't been to interested in Aion but the more I read the more I want to know. I also like the fact that the developers have had a few months after release to polish the game before we see it.
It sounds like they're doing everything in their power to make the Western version into a well adjusted product. We've all seen how badly English language ports can be.
ive played the first beta .it is a good game. giving up WoW for it.
its great that you guys are saying how this game is awesome… but why is it awesome?
It seems like aion has every good mmo trait ranging from customization to graphics and from fluid controls to fluid game play.
maybe since this game has all of these traits makes this game worthwhile?idk haha
Exactly what I'm talking about Toast. The Crytek engine makes it sound cool. I will probably try it just to see whats how they used the engine not because they did a good job translating and adding quests to a game that comes from a market that I find not fun to play in.
Adding more quests and localizing the dialogue IS westernizing it – you say there is more to it, well, what is this more?
As far as what makes Aion different then other games, try reading the whole article next time.
Just go play on a Chinese server it's cheap and then you'll understand, simplest way to.
1. Best customization of any MMO.
2. Flight and aerial combat.
3. Stunning graphics.
4. A great PvPvE system featuring interactive '3rd Race' AI that changes and adapts to the situation at hand.
5. Unique 'skill combo' system that forces players to pay more attention to what they're doing.
If these things don't seem good to you, Aion is not your game and you may return to WoW.
If you don't like it, you don't have to play it. If you're willing to be convinced into playing it, then go search info/watch videos about it. Maybe you already did and still don't see the point in it? Find something else to play.
Im a hardcore elitist WoW veteran who has played since release. My outlook on an MMO or any game in general is the End-game. Past and present i have cleared all the content the game has offered ( pre nerfs, except algalon atm. ) How i see it, and many many people i know see games: how is the end-game. I.E. hows the game longevity. I wanna know if there's complicated *boss* encounters that require good team dynamics or if everything's a zerg-fest.
I read the entire article and could tell he was definitely beating around the bush on things, but as the interviewer and not taking into account WoW's main component of its game and not questioning it is confusing. I understand the simple mechanics of Aion: protect this, capture that, to maintain this buff etc.
But, is there anymore than Just that at max lvl? (caveman voice) We get big group of people. We zerg base. We kill NPCs. We capture base. We cheer. (end of caveman voice) The gameplay style of Nintendo is dead: You play a game to the end, you beat it, and all you can do it play it again.
I see the post of playing on the Chinese server … how would i go about doing that? I dont like the idea of DL'n 12+gigs, but i guess its *cheaper* than buyin a game i may not like. Trust me, I'm sick of WoW. The introduction of hardmodes and all that garbage; the equalization of every class, the dumbing down of the game so every sub-par player can experience nearly all parts of it.
That's what I do Steve. I'm trying to critique the interview more than anything. Brian is the spokes person for the game right here and now, and he let it down.
HEY get your own name!
1. Best customization of what? My underwear?
2. Flight has been done but Aerial combat not so much. This is something I would look into and would of liked to of heard from Brian as being something they are doing to make Aion awesome for both East and West.
3. Stunning graphics? Really? Who cares. WoW has cartoon graphics that aren't stunning, look at their numbers. Runescape has done very well and it's graphics suck. The Crytek engine though does excite me. The one thing Brian talked about that made me think about the game.
4. Interactive "3rd Race" AI; The Sleepers in EVE Online do this and is cool. Why not make this a highlight of why Aion is cool? More Quests is suck compared to AI that is adaptive.
5. Unique Skill Combo? Rogues in WoW =P This system has been offered before, it can suck or be awesome, but I have not seen it much in games yet. Another thing that could of been nice to hear in an Interview.
And thank you I will continue to hop MMOs as I see fit. There isn't one game that is awesome.
I have to agree with u on WoW ive played since its release as well and its not so appealing anymore with the intro to the hero class they have nerfed it down so their not so "hero class" anymore their just normal. Which is why ill be trying for Aion it seems differnt in a good way.
And as far as Aion goes i havent played the closed beta but i will be starting tommorw, but from what ive seen is its very differnt from the MMO's that ive seen and played PvPvE u dont see that in WoW. The ability to fly and do combat while flying is rather ground breaking in my opinion. The Story itself is what im interested in the most ive read both Lore's on the website and i want to continue. the graphics are great but as my friend says graphics dont make the game, but it sure is nice to look at, and the customization on not just your charecter but your weapons armor and even the wings that u can use is staggering, it seems like u could take hours even days on just the customizing. and i for one am excited for its release into the West.
I'd say if you want to try it out for starters, dont go with a different version where a lot of the features they are working hard on, arent there for you (like the actually understandable letters.. unless you can read chinese) or maybe you just dont care about that part
That aside – personally i'd say just go to a Gamestop or one of the other listed stores that can pre-order Aion from and pre-order it for the 5dollars and get the beta access pass to try it out that way, that way you can try out the events and things in the game and if you dont like it, dont pick the game up when it comes out, or simply cancel the pre-order, $5 is still cheap to try out a game you may like or not
-imo
yea, the pvpve is gonna be interesting and the ever changing AI in the game *sounds* like itll be great; never knowing what to expect. The customization sounds ground breaking for sure. The storyline i actually havent read yet, but i Have spent many hours reading WoW Lore and know a great deal about that and am very interested in how it all ties together esp w/ that game considering it has a LOT of history behind it. The open world pvp is what i like. One of my major dislikes in WoW is the arena system where they spend endless hours of *busywork* trying to balance everything, whereas the game was MUCH more enjoyable in vanilla when it wasnt based around everything being as equal as possible.
Ok so as far as customization they mean how well you can customize your characters appearance. Its honestly alot like a sports games customs meaning you have a whole bunch of sliders to changed the size and shape of your facial features. The werent able to change the colors of your eyes in the first beta but it will be in the game. I honestly really recommend you look on youtube for a video displaying how in depth the character customization is, I've even seen some that are quite scary. i.e. one person made there toon look like the incredible hulk and another person made there toon look like Leonardo DiCaprio when he played in The man in the Iron Mask, again very creepy but also incredible that you are really able to make your toon unique.
Next the Combo system is not like wows rogue combo system in the sense there talking about, there are skills that link together and also have a requirement to use one ability before you can use another ability. Each skill looks and plays very fluid and it makes it more engaging combat wise. So if you play a druid on WoW you might hate the combat system if you actually only like pressing 3 buttons to tank or 4 buttons to heal and so forth.
I also think there crafting system is very unique from any other mmo out there at least that ive played. They still have a skill based system and recipes to craft but they also have things called work orders, and what they allow you to do is level your craft without the use all of your own mats. The down side is that you dont get to keep what you make, it goes to the craft trainer that you got the work order from. Another upside from doing the work orders is you get mats or possibly a recipe on turn in. This is the first mmo ive played that also gives actual character xp for crafting.
I really recommend you try watching some youtube vids or if you are able to get a beta key give it a shot.
I mean theres nothing I can say thats gonna help you decide whether or not this truly is the game for you or not, only trying it yourself will let you know if you truly like it.
If you have any questions about something in the game I will be more then happy to try and explain it better for you though.
Another really cool thing I forgot about is everyone hates when they upgrade armor and it looks like crap, especially when there old armor looked much better. In this game you can change the armor to make it look like your old armor. I myself havent done it yet but the idea sounds great.
I just played on the CN Aion server, its actually quite fun. It has every good aspect of wow and any other mmos out there. It really is the jack of all trades; quite not the best of mmos but very good one.
Theres soo much to explore but im already hooked on…. ;]
@aion_amboss http://bit.ly/cGa80
#aion
chris you hit the nail on the head. As far as the crafting goes, it is almost exactly like everquest 2, you get work orders, you go start crafting except in eq2 there were button combinations you had to hit or else you could fail the work order…
Sorry but I just can't take Aion, or this talk of 'Westernisation' seriously while they have still failed to implement an option to invert the mouse controls. I believe that many more Western gamers are hard-wired with the need to have the up/down inverted, no idea why, we're just born like that. There has to be a reason why almost every single western game ever released has this option.
They can waffle on about story lines and art direction all they want, but when they have so far failed to even allow the control scheme to be tweaked for a more Western style of play then it points to a failure.
Unless you have actually played the beta and researched everything on the web, you'll never be able to grasp the beauty, smooth animations, spell effects, and customization this game has to offer. It's very typical of bashers to speak without any knowledge of what they are crying about. I am playing in the Beta and am LOVING it. I was playing WOW up until this beta and now have no desire to go back. Of course it's your typical MMORPG, kill this – get reward, deliver this – get reward. That's what an RPG is. It's in the presentation that sets this game apart from the rest. You can tell they put a lot into it and I for one am glad they did.
Here's the comment from Brian "Xaen" Knox, one of the Aion producers on the Aion beta forums regarding the Y-Axis problem:
"Hello.
We have plans to implement an inverted mouse option. This was part of our early alpha testing feedback that we gathered. This along with a handful of other options should improve usability for the west.
Being a former QA guy I hate to tout things as fixed until I see them in the final working version but this is a pretty important feature and I know that if I had to play inverted in Aion it would be a very frustrating experience.
Stay tuned as we start finalizing changes and features you will be hearing more from us."
As you an see, they are not taking this lightly and they will continue to develop this game. So, yah, Aion will become to best thing that has ever happened to the MMORPG industry.
I really hope the westernization of Aion doesn't go as far as making sure it has appealing dialogues for the west and a smooth release and that's it, then just CTRL+C CTRL+V the korean patches without ever putting the western feedback into place.
But well, this interview shows exactly this, so I really look forward playing Aion as a the first eastern MMO that cares about the west more than the "just copying server files and translating so they can earn more money" route all eastern MMO have taken.
I'm a veteran of WoW, CoH/CoV, GW, EQ2, SWG, and a myriad of other MMOs, and also a single-player RPG junkie (Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, every FF game I could get my hands on, etc), so I know what I'm talking about when I say this game seems to be just what I'm looking for in an MMO.
I see components of those aforementioned games in Aion, improved upon in most cases. I've often wished someone would just take a look at all the MMOs we've had – even the unsuccessful ones – and find the good ideas to polish and perfect, then bring together as one. I look at Aion and see bits of SWG, CoX, EQ2, Final Fantasy, and even WoW, along with an original story and some really cool innovations – I just can't help but be excited.
That combo system and the work order system both came from Vanguard. For those that do not know, Vanguard was a game that was released a couple years ago that was supposed to "replace wow." Until SOE rushed its release date and it was released VERY buggy which caused its hype to drop considerably.
Inverting the y-axis doesn't seem like it would even be that difficult to code as an option… I'm sure they'll have it in the finished product.