Recently, sci-fi MMORPG L.A.W. (Living After War), which is being developed by Korea-based Nitrozen has released its latest video for all.Jang Wook Lee, the representative of Nitrozen, Former Diablo II Lead ArtistJang Wook Lee used to work in SNK USA company in 1996, and was the Lead Artist for Diablo II at Blizzard Entertainment USA. The following is an exclusive interview with him.
Q: Could you give us the rundown of the L.A.W?A: L.A.W is based on a futuristic city with ruined civilizations and the destroyed Earth as a result of diastrophism. In the game, there're two tribes, the survival humans and mutant 'Niks', they are fighting with each other for limited resources.The economic system is a unique and special feature of the game. To fight for different and more resources, a war breaks out between the two tribes and this situation may last for quite a long time...
Q: Why do you develop a SF MMORPG game?A: Even many Korean players don't think a SF games is so attractive, it's still familiar to players from all over the world and a majority of them love it very much. For a game, I think, the most important part is the quality but not what type of the game is! A high quality game must be a good game.
Q: The resource is a main theme in this game, so can you introduce what the Resource War is in L.A.W?A: In L.A.W, the resources are limited, so after playing for a long time, players may feel tired and bored, at that moment, players can join the large-scale PvP, which is also called Resource War, to grab more resources.To fight for resources, two tribes have to initiate guild wars in game.In the fight, the more resources a guild grabs, the more wealth they'll collect. In this case, if a guild wants to be rich, to be strong, it has to join guild wars and earn more resources. The weak guild, obviously, will be bullied and finally disappear.
Q: In the video, we've seen several helicopters and tanks. We're curious about the function of them, can you explain it?A: The aim of developing them is to help those lower level players to join in the Resource War.You see, if the lower level players have helicopters or tanks, they can not only protect themselves but also join the fierce combats. However, the key to winning a combat is to control the machines skillfully. A great control will bring players necessary resources, but the bad one will lead to failure and nothing will be obtained from the tough combats.In addition, here's an important part that I have to express: each participating party has its own 'Commander', all the members in the party must obey this commander's order. What's more, the commander has the right to observe the situation of the war at any moment, it's good for making a dynamic but appropriate war strategy for the vanguards in the battle front.
Q: I've heard that you'll develop game applications for smartphones, isn't true?A: Yes. Players can download corresponding applications from Internet by using a smartphone so as to know the latest game information. Players can also communicate with guild members through such applications. Additionally, we've also planned to provide a platform for publishing Facebook and Twitter game information.
Q: Can you tell us something about the operating plan for the game?A: At present, we're looking for publishers. Once we find an appropriate partner, we'll test this game as soon as possible. We aim to launch the game’s first OBT in March, 2011. Furthermore, an open beta test is expected to perform in the summer of 2011. When the OBT is over, we'll provide commercial service immediately.