I'd like to begin this article by thanking a bunch of people. First, forty-two generous guests and members of AionSource.com. Thanks to them I was able to purchase a ticket to Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig, Germany. I already had purchased a ticket to Penny Arcade Expo 2008 in Seattle, Washington with my own personal funds, but was unable to afford airfare to Germany. Without these forty-two individuals' contributions, AionSource.com would not have had a palpable presence at Games Convention 2008 at all. Thank you, all of you.

Second, I'd like to thank Cori, Lyana, and Szab from Aion Hungary (AionHun.hu), and Fleiva (AionSource.com, Aion-ESP.com, Reign-Gaming.com). Lyana was unable to get to GC08, but she helped me get in contact with Cori. Cori organized lodging, translated German to English, and was a huge help to all of us non-German speaking noobs. Szeb was fun to hang around with; he explored the other halls of GC08 for us while we camped NCsoft's booth. Fleiva made kickin' sweet tshirts that I didn't order enough of and was also fun to chill with. I didn't feel like too much of a stupid American tourist when I stuck with these guys. Thank you, fellow Aion-bag-wearing doods! That was just for GC08. knite16 (AionSource.com, Knights of the Divine Order) organized lodging for PAX08 and offered it to me. I hadn't planned out where I was to sleep at PAX08, due to complications with friends in Portland, OR and a business associate, so knite's timely offer was one I just couldn't refuse. Also, Zinrae (AionSource.com, Noble Phantasm) let me crash in his and his bro's suite the night before I flew out (knite flew out a day earlier than I). Thanks dude! I drooled on the couch, hope housekeeping didn't mind. Worse things have probably been on that couch... Also, thanks to all other Aion fansites (and clans) and their staff, German, Swedish, French, Korean, and all the rest that showed up and shook my hand at both events. It was great to meet you guys and I wish you luck in the future!

Third, and finally, a round of applause for NCsoft itself is in order. Everyone who contributed time and effort to AION's presentation at Games Convention and Penny Arcade Expo deserves a well-earned vacation. I actually asked a few of them if they were planning on taking some time off after the events they attended. All responded: "This was vacation! Now it's back to work." (Or something along those lines.) That's dedication. Unfortunately, due to NCsoft's recent move to unify many of their branch offices into one single entity (NCsoft West), a few of the people I met at GC and PAX are no longer with the company. The most obvious loss is Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid (NCsoft Europe Creative Concepts Manager), who helped me massively at GC. Other losses include Charles "kieron" Dane (NCsoft NA Aion Community Coordinator) and Mike Crouch (NCsoft NA PR Manager), whom I met at PAX. I wish them all luck. Thanks guys!


Anyhow, the game, the game... What can I say? It's much better in English than in Korean, that's for sure (at least for me, someone who can't actually read Korean).

Between GC and PAX I must have played Aion for a total of around six or seven hours. At GC my time was spent in higher-level areas, level 10 and upwards a bit. At PAX I spent my time in both races' starting areas, realizing that the quests I had been doing during Aion's Korean CBT3 actually were pretty interesting. Indeed, quickly I learned that the storyline differed between the two factions in very specific ways. As an Elyos you're trying to remember your past, remember who you were, and regain your status as a divine being. As an Asmodian you're trying to change the future, to prevent an incredible calamity, and rise through the ranks from being a lowly mercenary human to a Daeva. Both storylines are compelling, however I connected more with the Asmodian storyline.

The Elyos's half of Atriea is exquisite, bright, beautiful. The Asmodian's half is dark but not dreary. No, it's more dreamlike, trancelike, glowing with subtle charm. While Elysea blinds you with light, Asmodae may put you to sleep (I almost did just that during one of the PAX playsessions, I was so tired). The music of both sides matches the areas quite well, enchanting most of the time, powerful and epic when needed, and eerie when called for. The mobs* are the most original things I've ever seen in an MMO since GuildWars. You won't find any generic "slime" monsters here. Think of the mobs as a possible evolutionary twist on everything in our Earthly world, yet imbued with a whimsical atypical Korean fancy. It's quite refreshing, actually.

*Mob stands for "mobile" or "mobile object", pretty much anything that moves in the world. However, I use it to mean NPCs and other server controlled creatures.

There's one specific thing I experienced during a PAX playsession I'd like to relate to you all, a special quest. I didn't receive the quest from an NPC. No, I received the quest after reading a scroll dropped by a mob. The scroll talked about an axe stuck in a tree near a spring in a certain area of Asmodae, the area right after the huge glowing tree: the forest area. The quest didn't point you to the exact location of the axe, it just said the spring was located deep in the forest. After a bit of searching I finally found the spring. I'm actually glad I wasn't given specific coordinates to find the spring, since it's much more...intimate to find it yourself, all alone in a corner of an area where no one would otherwise visit. It felt great, I felt like I was being let in on a secret.

Anyhow, after reaching the spring the axe wasn't immediately visible. I had to turn around and look around the trees surrounding the spring a bit to find it, but it didn't take long. The axe was huge, made of iron. I double clicked it, figuring it would appear in my "cube" or something (your inventory isn't a backpack in Aion, it's a "cube" that Shugo merchants can expand if you pay them enough). Needless to say, the axe didn't appear in my cube. A cutscene began instead; my heart skipped a beat. My character began to tug on the axe in the cutscene, finally dislodging it with such force that it fell into the spring! Suddenly, an old man appeared floating above the stream. He asked me:

"Is this Silver Axe yours?"

"No", I answered. (You can choose yes.)

"Well then, is this Gold Axe yours?"

Again, I answered "no". (Again, you have the option of saying yes.)

"Alright, then this Iron Axe is yours."

For some stupid reason I answered "no" instead of yes like I think was supposed to. But hey, it's not my fault, it really wasn't my axe at all! Some other guy got it stuck in the tree! I was just being honest! Anyhow, the river guy got angry, called me a liar or something, did that thing that the merchant in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening does when you steal from him three times, and gave me the iron axe anyhow.

I can only assume that if I had answered "yes" he would have given me all three axes.

Just remember not to be completely truthful in Aion, it'll get you insulted by a river spirit guy.

EDIT: The yes/no questions are in your control! It's not part of the cutscene, you determine the outcome of the quest!


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