Dragon Nest / NA CBT2 - July

I’m Desmodeus, the lead producer for Dragon Nest. Initally I was just going to let Lucius and Princess K unleash their crazies here and only interject on this blog occasionally. However, I’m absolutely in love with this game and I love sharing what gets me so pumped about it. So this week I wanted to talk with you a bit about one of the most crazy-making, frustrating, and amazing experiences in a game developer’s year – the annual insanity that is the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Dogs and Ponies

It can be tough for anyone who’s not in the industry to understand just how important E3 is. If all you see are the big flashy displays, the booth babes and videos of the parties, it can be easy to assume that E3 is nothing but a good time for everyone involved. However, a huge amount of preparation and behind-the-scenes work is required to make this event a success. Dragon Nest, for example, is going to make its big splashy arrival in North America at the show. We need to send the message out to everyone, especially the press that will write about the game, that Dragon Nest is here and it’s awesome. In an industry that moves as fast as the games themselves, first impressions are everything.

That’s why the team and I have actually been working on two different versions of the game. One is the beta version of the full game that we’ll be using for the upcoming Closed Beta test. The other is an “abbreviated” version of the game that’s been put on what I call a “content loop.” Our booth will have 18 stations for people to play on. Six of these will be running versions of the game that allow three players to run through the Catacombs, one of the game’s higher level dungeons. They’ll get a chance to see how classes work together in PvE and hopefully defeat Vuruha, a level 17 Boss Minotaur. The other 12 stations will be dedicated to two sessions of 3-on-3 PvP matches, where six players get a few minutes to use level 18 characters to try and blow each other away.



The decision to set up the booth this way wasn’t easy. We’ve been planning the show for a long time and we had to consider a lot of factors. What content did we have available and finalized that would show off the game in its best light? What features could we highlight to give the press points of interest to write about? Even then, there was serious debate about the setup. Having 18 stations set up this way means we would be effectively limiting ourselves to running four games at a time. That takes a lot more coordination and booth personnel than just setting up 18 single-player demos and letting players proceed at their own pace. In the end though, we felt it was worth it. I think people will be really excited by what they see at the show.

Tchotchkes Galore!

Every year, one of the biggest decisions we have to make is what kind of tchotchkes to give away. This is more significant than it seems for a lot of reasons – most of them having to do with the Internet. Put simply, tchotchkes make news. Last year our friends at Vindictus gave away these cool red wolf hoods that became the item to get at the show. People were actually fighting over them! Every time someone posted a camera phone photo of a pretty girl wearing the hood or a video of a producer surfing the crowd during a hood giveaway, people heard about Vindictus. Our PR and Marketing departments put a lot of thought and effort into these giveaways, as they are invaluable ways of getting word out about the game.

On the Dragon Nest side of the booth, naturally we’ll be giving away T-shirts with a Dragon Nest design and logo. We’ll also be running raffles to give away products from the Alienware Tactx peripheral line, and Turtle Beach Ear Force Z2 Professional-Grade Gaming Headsets. My personal favorite giveaway is this adorable plushie Poochum from the game (full disclosure – I already took two home for my kids). Finally we’ll be giving away 2,000 spots in the game’s upcoming Closed Beta.

Covering the Dragon

I hope you’ll keep an eye out for coverage of Dragon Nest at E3 next week. We expect to make a big splash at the show, not because of any swag or stunts, but because the game is just that good. Our Community and Content team will also be posting images, videos and other surprises from the show to keep you up to date and informed throughout the show. As for me, I’ll be taking Princess K and Lucius with me to the show, which should prove once and for all that being a producer at E3 isn’t as much fun as you think it is.