I sat down (via email) with David Noonan, content writer for Aion, and chatted about the game. Dave is no stranger to fantasy games, having worked for Wizards of the Coast designing two editions of Dungeons & Dragons. He talks about Aion’s story, how it stacks up against that other elephant-in-the-MMO-room, and the future of story-driven computer games.

GeekDad: First, can you tell us a little about the game world and its history?

Dave: Aion takes place in the world of Atreia—a world where the people live on the interior surface of the sphere (like a science-fiction Dyson sphere) and there’s a tower running from pole to pole where the god, Aion, lives.

Some of Aion’s earliest creations, the dragonlike Balaur, rebelled against their creator. That long war ended with the Tower of Eternity exploding and the world splitting in half at the equator. Now two factions, the Elyos and the Asmodians, inhabit their own hemispheres, and they blame each other for the tower’s destruction. And the wreckage floating in the middle of the world is the Abyss, a high-level mega-zone where the two factions fight each other and the Balaur that caused the trouble in the first place.

David Noonan, Writer for Aion. Photo: David Noonan
GeekDad: Aion is a big deal in Asia, but Eastern MMOs are traditionally very different from Western MMOs. When it came to the “culturalization” process, how did you go about reworking the game for its new audience? How were certain tropes converted, and were there any memorable quests that just couldn’t make the transition?

Dave: We actually took a light touch with specific Asian-themed plot elements; they’re fun, and I think a lot of players want a sort of mélange—I often told our writers to shoot for a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon feel.

We spent more time trying to satisfy the Western desire for game and narrative aspects that probably don’t rise to the level of full-on tropes. For example, I think Western audiences (speaking broadly here) want their quests to have explicit roots in what’s happening in the game world, and they expect the NPC questgiver to directly or indirectly explain why the PC must do the job rather than the NPC himself. It’s a matter of providing answers to the “If this is so important, how come you don’t do it?” question.

We were also cognizant of the desire for payoff—to have a plot thread resolved somehow. You can resolve it in a pleasing or troubling way, and you can even leave it as a cliffhanger (something that an MMO can get away with that other genres can’t). But you can’t just let it peter out with no consequence.

GeekDad: When World of Warcraft was released, there was a built-in playerbase already familiar with the heroes and villains of Azeroth. Without that advantage in your arsenal, how did you go about introducing the VIP NPCs from Atreia in a way that endeared them to players?

Dave: I think most games—Aion included—have a naturally instructive quality. In other words, if you want to teach anything, a game of some sort is pretty good sugar to help the medicine go down, and a game can show you how the discrete parts of whatever you’re learning fit together. So we deliver a lot of lore in the course of gameplay. As you run around fighting, questing, and exploring, you learn about the people and places as you go.

That said, I rebel against the premise of the question a bit. Aion intentionally avoids activist NPCs, and the metaplot is much further in the background. There’s no equivalent to Arthas, Thrall, and Jaina in Aion, and we like it that way. The NPCs are there to serve the player story, not the other way around. Our VIPs are the PCs. (And that’s handy, because NPCs rarely play MMORPGs.)

GeekDad: Could you explain the difference between the Campaign and Standard Quests?

Dave: It’s basically a question of degree. The campaign quests have bigger plot implications and bigger rewards, so the UI calls them out separately. It’s basically a big “don’t miss this one!” sign. Structurally, there isn’t much difference between the yellow-arrow quests and the blue-arrow quests.

GeekDad: Everyone’s excited about Aion’s flight system. Tell us a little about the flight system and how it affects game play and questing.

Image: NCsoft
Dave: You gain wings at level 10—four hours of gameplay, give or take. You can immediately fly in a few places in the world, and you can glide—sometimes for quite a distance—anywhere you’ve got altitude and open space. (I think base-jumping is one of Aion’s more fascinating games-within-a-game.)

When you reach level 25 and go to the Abyss for the first time, you see flight in its full, unfettered glory. This sounds kind of spacey, but battling in all three axes (x, y, and z) does cool things to your brain, especially in a PvP environment.

GeekDad: What are the crafting opportunities in Aion?

Dave: The game launches with six crafts, all fed by the same gathering skill, including staples you’d expect like weaponsmithing, alchemy, and cooking. You can level all of them simultaneously, and you get XP both for gathering and for actually making stuff.

More broadly, player-created items carry a lot of weight—they’re among the best-in-slot items.

GeekDad: What are Stigma stones?

Dave: In terms of gameplay, it’s useful to think of them as “equippable abilities”—attacks and powers that you have, but other members of your class don’t necessarily have. Coming up with the right mix of Stigma stones is a key character-building exercise for high-level PCs.

And in the lore of the world, Stigma stones are a fragment of a long-gone Daevas soul. Daevas are generally immortal; it takes something like the destruction of the Tower of Eternity or death at the extreme fringes of existence to render a Daeva irrevocably dead. The Stigma stone is a coalescence of that Daeva’s soul—a bit of consciousness that teaches you a long-lost technique you couldn’t learn on your own.

GeekDad: As a well-respected game designer, do you have any ideas on how you’d like the MMORPG genre to evolve? I used to play text-based MMOs back in the day and I have a long-held fantasy that one day a company will create a game that offers the in-depth, character-driven roleplaying experiences that I once had on MUDs and MUSHes. Should I stop holding my breath?

Dave: I wouldn’t hold my breath—instead I’d get to work finding the community within an MMO that can provide the in-depth, character-driven experience you crave. I think that with each passing year, MMOs are providing a player experience that stretches closer and closer to what a MUD or a tabletop RPG provides. Those character-driven communities are out there, and just as with a tabletop or MUD experience, they draw their strength from the consensual acceptance of the community, not from the gameplay mechanics. Put another way, you can take a trip far down the rabbit-hole of character immersion if you’ve got witnesses (friends, in other words) along to validate and support that experience. It’s no more or less inherently immersive than rolling dice in your basement or writing something great for a MUD.

When I look to the horizon for the next set of waves, I’m thinking more about how MMOs can provide the Dungeon Master experience—how they can satisfy the latent “content creator” within all of us. Put as simply as possible, how can an MMO help me make up a cool adventure for my friends? That strikes me as a tricky beast to tame, but given time and smart minds, I’m sure we’ll get there soon. That’s what I’m holding my breath for.

I’d like to thank Dave Noonan for taking time to chat with GeekDad.

Aion retails for around $50 and currently, anyone who buys Aion at one of the retailers listed below will get bonus in-game items. With the “Aion Holiday Ascension Pack”, you can pimp out your winged hero’s armor with special dyes. Check ‘em out:

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As you probably know already, the sovereignty system is getting a new haircut in the Dominion expansion, switching from mohawk to spikes. Relevant API pages have been altered to reflect the change of style. In short, some rowset columns have been removed, one added and one full new page added.

Another big change brought forth by His Mightyness the Dominion is an updated mail system. Not only has it been updated but also split in twain by a group of heavy machinery wielding, Rammstein loving meta-astronauts calling themselves And there will be Cake, adding a notification system to which all server-generated mails (agents, bills, etc.) will be directed.

So. We’ve added both systems to the API. The data structure is similar in both systems so we used the same technique to access them via the API. To pre-emtively break some hearts – the API will not give you any mail bodies or detailed notification information, nor will you be able to send mail through the API. You will not be able to page through your mail/notifications like the wallet pages allow. This is an API feature that is likely to be under heavy bombardment so we’ve had to contain our enthusiasm for pleasing the crowd quite a bit. At least for now. Let me attempt to explain how this works.

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I have to say that from the amount of time playing this I’ve barely been able to tear myself away to play anything else and with me being a big WoW fan this certainly says a lot to me. This game has no less to offer than any other MMO. In fact I believe it has much more. There are plenty of quests to level your character and crafting skills that can earn your avatar money at the same time, and socialising tools are easily understandable making it easy for you to ask others if you’re stuck or just want to make new friends. Even the UI is completely friendly for even the newest mmo beginners and the helpful tool tips as you begin the early stages of your campaign include videos which actually show you where things are rather than being told and having to guess where and what the random symbols may be.

The game play itself is certainly fun with quests which lead on into a story type campaign which gives you an idea of what’s going on between the 2 different parts of the split world this engages you well within the game and gives you a good sense of understanding. To be honest, the storyline from what I have seen so far seems absolutely original and interesting where other MMO’s seem to be lacking or somewhat losing the plot within their storylines which can make the gameplay slightly pointless.

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The Arts below are drawed by Korean Aion fans. Let’s see how did they express their love for Aion. Hope you like them.

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Part of the reason that Blade and Soul’s buzz-factor is on the rise is its distinctive art style and high-octane gameplay. Dubbed with the “next-generation” tagline, Blade and Soul’s combat more resembles a console-based fighting game than a traditional MMORPG (check out NCSoft’s latest video trailer). In fact, rumor has it that NCSoft is developing the game with the intention of releasing a console version at some point after its PC launch. So it’s no surprise that, in a time when every MMO developer on the block is slapping the “innovative” label on their product, fans are yearning for something that truly stands out.

When NCSoft announced Blade and Soul, it described the game as an “Oriental Martial Arts MMORPG” that sheds the usual high-fantasy motif in favor of an original world based on “Oriental mysticism.” According to NCSoft’s initial announcement, the game world is inspired by a Korean myth called “Song of Genesis.” Player factions are designed from characters in the mythology, and the basic premise is similar to many creation myths; you fight against God-like forces to bring the world back to its original harmony.

At the time, NCSoft released a handful of concept art and screenshots to accompany the announcement, along with a single gameplay video that showcased Blade and Soul’s action-oriented, arcade-fighter-esque combat. The video was well-received among MMO and martial-arts gamers, especially after learning that Blade and Soul’s art direction was modeled after famous Korean artist Hyung-tae Kim.

Under the direction of the same team that developed NCSoft’s successful Lineage II, Blade and Soul was built with the Unreal Engine 3 (the latest generation of Epic Games’ ultra-solid and magnificently-optimized Unreal Engine). By using this engine to design an MMO, the developers will have an easier time delivering on the promise of a next-gen,  “AAA” title—but on the other hand, the more complex the engine, the more time and money it can take to build.

According to this post on a Blade and Soul fansite, the game could be delayed until 2011; apparently the developers need more time to reach the full potential of what they can do (scouting Taiwan’s landscapes to create a more realistic game environment, for example). Blade and Soul will also feature a dynamic environment that engages the player in different ways; that is, players can manipulate certain conditions in the environment, just as the environment can manipulate the player’s experience.

NCSoft is making some lofty claims regarding Blade and Soul’s next-gen aspects, as many bloggers have commented after running down the features list. An MMO with combat that’s played out like Tekken? Is it even possible, from the practical/accessible standpoint? NCSoft has remained tight-lipped about Blade and Soul’s specific gameplay mechanics, but after all, the company is billing it as a “next-gen” MMO. Maybe this time, a publisher isn’t just using the term as a marketing buzzword.

Unofficial fansites like BnSFacts claim to have confirmed various features or gameplay elements, like this fact sheet from the aforementioned blog. According to these facts, there is no skill bar displayed on-screen, your position in relation to your opponent is very important in combat and you have the ability to counter enemy attacks. A “swift jump” ability is also named, which is the only way players can access certain areas of the world. Leveling is said to be dependent on proficiency with weapons, which might imply a skill-based progression system.

The latest round of Blade and Soul news came out of Gstar 2009 in Korea earlier this month, when NCSoft released the 11-minute gameplay trailer mentioned above. There is still no word as to when the North American version of the Blade and Soul will be developed (as confirmed by IGN’s recent interview with art director Hyung Tae Kim). However, NCSoft did unveil four new races (the Gon, Jin, Kun and Lyn) and four new classes (Kung-Fu Master, Blade Master, Force Master and Destroyer) in the video.

For now, fans are stuck with the familiar waiting game, as NCSoft puts the finishing touches on Blade and Soul in Asia. North American and European gamers will have to wait a bit longer, until the developers officially announce the distribution of NA/EU versions (which will presumably be passed off to NCSoft West for localization). In the mean time, you can visit our new Blade and Soul portal site for more news and information as it’s released.

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In three games where Otule had been used sparingly against smaller competition, he was averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds to go along with 1.7 blocks per game.

He had played just 25 total minutes in the first three games due to the lack of height of the opponents Marquette faced, but was expected to get a heavy dose of minutes in the Old Spice Classic Tournament coming up later this week in Orlando.

This is not Otule’s first time suffering from a foot injury, as last season the 6′10″ center from Texas was lost for six weeks after injuring his foot early in November.

As a freshman on a senior-laced team, the injury set him back and he saw minimal minutes the rest of the year.

Despite the lack of production, Otule was expected to fill in for the graduating Dwight Burke as Marquette’s “big man”, and he had been preparing accordingly.

Daily workouts with trainer Todd Smith, and a trip to Germany over the summer that helped him gain confidence and skill as well, had Otule pegged as a breakout candidate for Marquette’s young team.

The Golden Eagles will be able to redshirt Otule if they choose to, but that is about the only positive that comes out of the injury.

This newest injury to Otule will surely set him back, but the hope is that he can come back with a positive attitude and is champing at the bit to get back on the court.

For the here and now, Marquette will need to continue on with their season down a man, and a big man at that.

While the loss of Otule will not hurt the Golden Eagles much in the box score or on the offensive end, Otule’s presence on defense and the fact that he was another body coming off the bench will.

Without Otule, Marquette has just one player over 6′7″, Youssoupha Mbao, who is more of a project than anything.

Because of this, Marquette will more than likely go back to the small lineup that they implemented last year and try to out-run teams on offense while playing aggressive defense to make up for the lack of size.

This will mean an instant increase in the minutes of freshman Jeronne Maymon and junior Joe Fulce, who is battling a knee injury of his own.

In particular, the young Golden Eagles will have to grow up even faster than they once thought, now done one more man on the bench.

Just as it was last season, the guards will need to step up big and carry the team on both ends of the court, while the front court will need to play out of position and compete while being undersized the majority of the time.

The injury to Otule probably shifts Maymon over to the 5 spot, while Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler could see some time there as well.

The guard rotation of Maurice Acker, David Cubillan, Dwight Buycks, and Darius Johnson-Odom helps, but expect to see some more of Buycks playing the three spot if Marquette finds themselves in foul trouble.

Even freshman Erik Williams will need to pick up the slack for a Marquette team that currently has 10 healthy players on their roster, including the less-than 100 percent Fulce.

The Golden Eagles have suffered a slew of injuries over the past year and a half that have really cut into the depth of the team, including Otule, Fulce, and Dominic James last season and Junior Cadougan, Darius Johnson-Odom, Fulce, and Otule this season.

Then-freshman Liam McMorrow also left the team for medical reasons after last season.

As little silver lining as their could be to having your best big man go down for the season, at the same time it will help the young guns progress even quicker.

While throwing them into the fire right away wasn’t the game plan, things change over the course of the year and coach Buzz Williams will have to make those adjustments.

Williams recruits players who are going to fight for their team because they want to win and they want to be here, and with Marquette’s back against the wall right now after Otule’s injury, it’s time to fight.

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The commercial release of Atlantica Online in Germany is an important milestone, as all the bugs have been fixed and the full version of Atlantica is entirely localized in German. Additionally, the new Item Mall offers all the essentials for brave adventurers; be it items to personalize their characters, various usability enhancements or just improvements for their magical arsenal – there will be something for every Atlantian in Germany who has been curious about the American Item Mall.

“The beta period in Germany gave us great insight into what the German audience wanted, which allowed us to fully optimize and localize the game,” said SeongWon Cho, CEO of Ndoors Coporation. “Atlantica was very well received, and we cannot wait to share the game with a large new group of players.”

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