[Translation] Is Aion too 'Asian' for you?

[Hellrose]

I thought you guys might like to know that Korean players are very concerned that NCsoft isn't doing enough with Aion to appeal to us, the people 'over-seas'.
So here is a translated article and replies on why Koreans think Aion wouldn't appeal to you.
Question is, are they right?
Do you think Aion has what it takes to succeed against the WoW monster?

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Source: Thisisgame
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Original Poster: Pilmyung28

Title: AION is nothing more than a game for the Korean market.

This is based on information I've come across on fan sites and the official website. The press is busy hyping Aion in preparation for open beta, always comparing the game to WoW. To me it feels much like the 'Big 3' hype all over again (note: The OB launch of Granado Espada, SUN online and Zera were hyped like crazy before they came down crashing.)

Let me explain why Aion won't go far beyond the Korean borders.
But first, I'd like to give some background on the history of MMORPGs.. it might be boring but please be patient.
The birth of MMORPG as a genre is different in the West than it is here.

In Korea, the genre was a linear progression from MUDS to the first Lineage -- too bad MUDs and RPGs are inherently different. Unfortunately, Korean developers never really grasped the western 'RPG' genre, and instead tried to emulate Japanese RPGs that they were more familiar with. Simply put, our MMORPGs = MUDs + The shell of Japanese RPGs.

Meanwhile, in the West the MMO that has come to define the genre is EverQuest.

As internet use grew and console popularity grew with it, MMOs naturally became the main genre for the PC platform. West's main MMO was EverQuest, Korea's was Lineage1.. this is where the 'Korean' MMO starts making its debut in the West.

I'm sure you all know the story of Lineage and how it grew to what it is now so I'll skip that part. There's no question that at this point NC was looking to hit big in the West as well. NC learned some tricks while acting as the Korean publisher for EverQuest, and Lineage2 was the result. I guess they thought that tacking on some of EverQuests strengths onto Lineage would do the trick, but that was just a load of self-satisfaction, because even in Korea their safety was put at stake when WoW was released.

As most of us know, WoW is now a gigantic beast that has grown far beyond the reach of criticism. There's no question that it has become THE genre-defining game internationally. By copying the raid-based gameplay from EverQuest and running with it, they successfully took the throne away from EverQuest 2 (which came out around the same time). But in Korea also, WoW took such a hold on the market that Korean developers are now stuck in a pit. Companies are trying to find alternate approaches -- taking the casual game route to avoid competing against Blizzard, or immitating Japanese games.. they've tried everything but to no avail. In a way, Aion is now the last hope for Korean MMO development.

Unfortunately, Aion is too lacking in substance to be that hope. After all these years, NCsoft still doesn't understand the core of MMORPGs. What's at the core of MMORPGs? Simple -- take away the first three letters, what are you left with? RPG.
Has NCsoft ever made an RPG? No. This is at the root of the issue. Not just that, but clearly they never studied it or took it seriously enough to understand it. Instead, they only took a shallow look at popular game systems and graphics in other games.

As a specific example, lets look at the races. Aion only has one race per faction. NC's explanation? It's RvR so they made two races to simplify balancing. If this isn't a clear indication of NCsoft's shallow understanding of RPG, I don't know what is. What would be more important than providing that level of lore depth in an imaginary universe? Diversity is key for success over-seas. Being unique, and seeing that range of diversity, is 'cool'. Either NCsoft never understood this or didn't care enough to understand it. And what differentiates the Elyos from the Asmodians? Nothing, except looks. I can only see this as an insult to the history of RPGs. Even WoW, which has done its best to simplify the 'RPG' for the 'MMO', has maintained at least some racial differentiation with racial skills.

From the information released so far, it's clear to me that NCsoft isn't trying to make this game a hit that can stand its own over-seas, but simply a game to pull back the Korean players they've lost to WoW. Korean developers need to get back to the MMORPG roots and understand the core. They need to stop obsessing over PvP systems and instead study EverQuest or older RPGs and get their PvE up to par. That would be the only way for Korean MMOs to finally reach the western market.

(....note: a lot of ramble about raiding and why Aion doesn't 'get' it)

So I'll say again, Aion is a Korean game made for Korea. It's a game made to please Lineage 1, 2 players and people that never quite adjusted to WoW. And I have no doubt they will do this, but outside of Korea? No way. I'd rather NCsoft just own up to this instead of getting the press all worked up over successes over-seas.

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Reply by: Jjangdok

People that go around bragging about their non-Korean game experience always suffer from one flaw -- they think they understand non-Korean games. Have you been to western websites? Have you tried replying on their forums? You say that Aion will fail because of lack of customization? They worry about the grind but they have nothing bad to say about the character appearance or customization. You seem to think that Americans only ever want to see pig-faced Orcs but you should go read their websites before you talk.

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Reply by: Pilmyung28

I talked about racial diversity not character customization. Try reading before flaming.

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Reply by: apono

I feel uncomfortable going anywhere near NC games. They come with such a huge stigma amongst the non-gamers. Gold farming issues.. grind issues.. gang-like behaviour of clans.. I just always hear bad things come out of Lineage games. I can't say these problems don't exist in WoW or other MMOs but Lineage is especially notorious for these things. Everytime I look at NCsoft it reminds me how important brand image can be.

As for the article, I think he's talking about the lack of depth in Aion's lore that comes with having only three races.
Everytime I play Korean games I wish they got writers like Young-do Lee, Minhee Kim, Junghoon Hong (note: Korean Fantasy writers) to do their stories. I'm a RPG fan myself and I play these games to experience the adventure in the lore. I agree that Korean games generally establish the systems first and then tack on the context later. I don't expect a world as detailed as Warhammer, but I'd like to see the kind of effort WoW put into their game world.

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Reply by: PureWool100%

I think Aion will do well in Korea, Japan, Russia, South Asia.. even China. These are countries that are known to enjoy our style of games.
Europe and NA I think will be more difficult. European players seem to be looking for something like Guild Wars... but that's more up to Guild Wars 2. Aion is RvR but still very similar to Lineage, not in terms of amount of content but as a matter of taste. Sure the graphics and characters are pretty but that's not enough to make people play...

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Reply by: Pilmyung28

It's easy to just blame it on 'taste', but clearly WoW transcended those barriers. Even China which was our back yard for exporting MMOs is showing their preference for WoW over Chinese MMOs. Chinese MMO developers benchmark their products against WoW now, not Legend of Mir like they used to.
The new paradigm in MMOs is now EverQuest (the forefather of WoW) world-wide.

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Reply by: Tetsa

I don't really feel like jumping into a flame war but..
I do agree that the Korean dev processes aren't as in depth as they should be, definitely not enough to fill hundreds and thousands of A4 sheets of paper. But I'd keep in mind that even WoW's lore is largely based off Warhammer's, which had decades of work put into it. Aion on the other hand is starting with a blank sheet -- isn't it obvious that there's a disadvantage there?

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Reply by: Jerry

Having 100 customization options for Humans/Evil-Race has far less appeal than having 40 for Humans/Evil-race/Dwarf/Gnome/Elves. No matter how good the customization system is it won't be as good as having different races to start with. A white person can tan all they want, they'll never be black. This is real diversity, as opposed to diversity from customization.

But still, we're Asian so obviously we'll make RPGs differently from the West. I wish NCsoft understood this better and strived for a better middle ground.. I don't think Aion is quite there yet.

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Reply by: SherlockHolmes

I think you should've just titled the post "Aion will never catch up to WoW". Calling it a Korea-only game is an understatement. Even if I were to agree with you, it would just mean that it won't do well in North America and Europe. But as Lineage2 did, it can do well in Russia, Taiwan, Japan, and maybe China, and all these countries are 'over-seas'. Twist the picture around and we could easily argue that North America is too tied up in their own RPG tastes.

On top of that, it's not just Korean companies struggling against WoW. Other MMOs, even ones made in North America are having an equally tough time. At least Aion is pretty much guarateed some success in Korea, a lot of MMOs don't even have that. SO what you should be saying is "Aion won't be as successful as WoW", NOT "Aion will only be successful in Korea" or "Aion won't be as successful as western MMOs".

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Reply by: AlwaysSmiling

As SherlockHomes said... I think you have a bias towards western MMORPGs in general.
Like others said, Aion is starting its legacy from square one, you can't really compare it to WoW.
If it was just a matter of RPG depth we would all be playing Ultima Online, lol.

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Reply by: Pilmyung28

@SherlockHolmes:
If I was comparing the game exclusively to WoW that's what I would've said, but that wasn't my point. My point is that Aion doesn't even have the necessary RPG core to even compare to WoW. Of course a lot of other western MMOs are struggling against WoW too but at least they have the core down before they compete.

@AlwaysSmiling
If you think that I have a bias towards western RPGs, it's because you believe that there's even a 'Korean' RPG. There is no 'Korean' RPG. There's a 'Japanese' RPG. At least they have their own rulebooks and their own standards for lore.
So WoW didn't really have much of a world of their own, and took most of it from Warhammer.. but it's not like Blizzard is paying a license for it. So why can't NC take a similar approach? I'd say that it's not that they can't, they just won't.

In the end, what I'm saying is that in order to create a RPG, whether that's 'Korean' or not, we need to understand the original RPG first. You have to understand the colour 'blue' before you create 'navy blue'. I just think Korean developers need to understand the 'blue' first.

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Reply by: Daehyupee

I agree with everything you said, and it's stupid to deny it. RPG has its roots in North America / Europe and of course it would be difficult for us to fully grasp it. Kimchi made in America tastes different from when it's made in Korea.

@SherlockHolmes
You're arguing semantics when the article makes a legit point. You ask if China/Taiwan aren't "over-seas".. yea obviously it is, but clearly the article meant the Western market which revolves around NA and Europe.

[lyankyj]

Thank you, Hellrose!

Before I read the article, I thought it is gonna be about something disappointing for me/us, like "it's just grinding, lack of content, etc" , turned out he brought up only usual concerns regarding MMOs... No big deal then, relieved.


As he commented, he only read about the game on the official site and visited some fansites, I don't think he was aware what other contents Aion will have beside the hyped ones. Lack of differences between factions (complaining about 2 faction is not enough), diversity, depth of lore...clearly had not much idea about the game.


While I do have concerns regarding the western NC offices/distribution and stuff, for me, the game itself is still totally okay, and I think the author was just too critical and pessimistic.

[Riku]

I say no, the style fits right in to the western market. If its a good and fun game then they will have a huge following but they will need to do one thing and that is listen and respond to the western gamers.

Edit: I posted first answer before reading it. now for my 2nd answer.

They bring up some very good points. Has NC been able to understand the word RPG and can they transform that into aion ? This will have an effect on us western gamers. Is the game so shallow inreguards to lore and content that you will feel like your just going through the motions without any connection to the game. All one can do is hope for the best that they can find the games personality or soul, so to speak.

[justamemory]

not 'too asian' for me (whatever that's really intended to mean), I want different. Sort of hard to quantify a game in words without having experienced it in its entirety, and even then. I like how only 2 races is a lack of racial diversity lol...guess we need more color skins to add to the list of the stats of racism...

[SoraNashimi]

Whoah its kinda creepy lol.. all of them sound similar to us, its like having a mirror of ourselves on the other side of the world xD.

Korean developers need to get back to the MMORPG roots and understand the core. They need to stop obsess over PvP systems and instead study Everquest or older RPGs and get their PvE up to par. That would be the only way for Korean MMOs to finally reach the western market.

Thing is, NC is actualy trying to appeal to the west here in Aion. One major thing they're doing is, taking out the rediculous PVE grind that Korean games have been notorious for, by adding things in there like more quests. This one major thing, is why many of the morons at MMORPG.com and other places who think this will just be another Asian grinder MMO...

There are of course other things too but I can't think of them atm ;p

The article though, however does bring up some good points. But I agree with this

Sort of hard to quantify a game in words without having experienced it in its entirety

Would be nice to have someone who actualy experienced the game to say if the article is mostly right or wrong or something. Like Mark perhaps maybe hrm? What would you say in responce to this article? Having experienced it even a little.

[Killer]

thanks hellrose

[Mark]

Originally Posted by SoraNashimi

The article though, however does bring up some good points. But I agree with this

Would be nice to have someone who actualy experienced the game to say if the article is mostly right or something. Like Mark perhaps maybe hrm? What would you say in responce to this article? Having experienced it even a little.

I haven't played a lot of other MMOs or even RPGs (I've played GuildWars, Chrono Trigger, STALKER, and a bit of Oblivion, that's my credentials), but what a lot of these guys are saying seems wrong to me for some reason. Aion's PvE is great to me. :l

[SoraNashimi]

agreed o.o, glad I wasn't the only one who thought it was wrong xD

[Aura]

There are some good points brought up, but none that would deter me from the game. I wouldn't call it "Too Asian" at all, it's just different. The limit of diversity in races, in my opinion, makes the game easier, at least in the beginning. I have to admit, the appearances of the game are what hooked me first. The customization, possibilities, and gameplay don't worry me.

I can't really say exactly how it will be accepted by the western world until we actually get to try it. All we know about it is what little Ayase and Hellrose are able to translate and provide us with. In the end, the gameplay isn't going to determine how well the game is received, but the communication with NCSoft-Korea with us westerners would make a big impact. We kind of seem to be left in the dark over here.

Off that topic, I do love how they mentioned that EverQuest is the forefather of World of Warcraft. Finally someone else said it! WoW was not original or unique, and only built off of the success of EverQuest, which most WoW players won't admit. Go smart people!

[Becto]

No such thing as "too asian for me" I'm really not understanding what he is talking about even though I re-read it 3 times. I'd like him to tell me a clear cut answer in 3 lines or less. Why I will hate it???Because I'm more then confident I won't after 2 months of research and waiting.


Also isn't that a bit egotistical and ****y to completely blanket N/A with that opinion? We have Koreans in our culture too, as the writer probably forgot, as well as immigrants who have moved to the U.S. or Canada from Korea and GUARANTEED from the other countires he listed (Russia, China, etc..). So I really think its rude to speak for us and blanket us with that opinion; especially since there's so many of us waiting here and chewing on our finger nails for this game to come out here! I mean, geez, its just manners.

(not meant as flame just stating my opinion here.)

So basically I approve of Aion To be an American/Canadian game! [Even though it dosen't count for much..]


and this is coming from the girl whos played (and owned in..) Cod4, Cod3, Halo, Halo2, Halo 3 (shooter queen..), TooHuman, CS, WarHawk, GTA4, oblivion morrowin, oblivion the elder scrolls, EverQuest, EverQuest 2, Conquer Online, Runescape, (all of the Doom games), Devil May Cry, Grando Espada (Sword of the new world), FarCry, Rappelz, Rf Online, Perfect world, Lineage 1 (oh yeah old school..), Lineage 2, Guild Wars, World Of Fartcraft (I loved it, now I hate it.), Cabal Online, Dark Age Of Camelot, Final fantasy (i, ii, ii, 6,7,8, 10, 10-2, 11, 12), Flyff, Gunbound, Hellbreath, Knight Online, Legend Of mir, Mu Online, Ragnorok, Ran Online, Redmmon, Risk Your Life, Rose Online, Silk Road, and ultima online, Soul Calubur 4/3/ (maybe 2..). And theres a bunch of other ones for consol but I can't remember them all, spare me.

.....and those are just the game's I'd consider a rpg or similar to a mmo if they already aren't.
(also the reason I included the shooter's I've played is for indirect links that are like a mmo, such as in cod4 online you rank up and level up just like in a mmo as you pwn people or achieve an objective.)

[Mygo]

Speaking without knowing.

[Fasimedes]

Thanks Hellrose for a very interesting thread !
I think Aion will fit good into the western market, but i can agree with the low lore depth estimation.
Surely, Aion features a very simplified setting, especially compared to Lineage with its 6 races and loads of classes.
But i think devs are aiming for an interesting gameplay and class/race simplification is just a way to ease the development and will not impact hard on game's playability.
In any way, i consider Aion as an experimental game for NCsoft. They are trying to make RvR game and make it different from Lineage2 to keep themselves off direct competition with L2.
I think Aion will easliy hold its piece of international market for about 4-5 years before the real game monster will come out from NC - ofc i'm speaking about L3, the Great and Terrible.

[Kolossus]

Without completely reading the translated OP, the only thing I think they could really add to appeal even more to western MMO players would be western humor. If you take a look at WoW, they have so many jokes playing off of Western pop culture(Haris Pilton, anyone?)in their achievements and quests, it's great. I would love to see that in Aion.

And maybe some dreads, or braids?

[Yarieos]

Originally Posted by Kolossus

If you take a look at WoW, they have so many jokes playing off of Western pop culture(Haris Pilton, anyone?)in their achievements and quests, it's great.

Bro's Before Ho Ho Ho's.

Originally Posted by Aura

I can't really say exactly how it will be accepted by the western world until we actually get to try it. All we know about it is what little Ayase and Hellrose are able to translate and provide us with. In the end, the gameplay isn't going to determine how well the game is received, but the communication with NCSoft-Korea with us westerners would make a big impact. We kind of seem to be left in the dark over here.

I think Aura nails it. What has really struck me as patently odd has been this obvious gap in communication between those of us on this side of the world and the devs creating this game, intended to bring these two worlds together. If there is a concern that the western market may not embrace the concept of this game, why has it purposefully denied us access to it in a way that could possibly have meaningful impact to the game's phenotype? Aion is about to go into open beta in Korea...it's already had 3 closed betas over there, and yet we, the other part of the marketing claim, have not been invited to help in it's development. One does not gain success from the target audience while ignoring the possibly constructive opinions that those of us on this forum could have provided. This site has over 10,000 members...NCSoft Korea should have USED the interest found here and on other fansites to get to a place of greater certainty regarding this game.

Will it have enough RPG/PVE content to engraciate the Western tastes? Unfortunately, we won't know that until the game's release, because it sounds as if the closed "preview" event isn't intended to offer a full representation of the game. They're intended to merely offer a taste of it. The only thing that could possibly happen, after the game's release, is to have content patches.

Personally, the fact that there are only two playable factions of a single race doesn't bother me in the least. Customization of the characters isn't an issues either. I just hope that there are enough fun quests to keep me engaged and emersed in the world before I get sucked up into the PvP aspect of it. I'm generally more interested in PvE than PvP, so I'm hoping that there is enough of that.

Another concern is the server issue. Will it be easy to swap servers to play with others around the world? Ease of options like this impact a gaming experience.


Hellrose, thanks for the translation, yet again