Black Desert melding action combat with sandbox MMOs

Pearl Abyss developer Daeil Kim recently spoke to MMORPG.com regarding the firm's upcoming Black Desert title. The fantasy sandbox is entering the home stretch toward its first closed beta test, after which Kim says the firm will publish in its native Korea and then look to sign on with a Western distributor.

The interview touches on various gameplay aspects including PvP -- Black Desert is not an RvR game, according to Kim -- housing, and action combat. "Unlike other MMORPGs, we have attempted to facilitate greater variety in action combat sequences beyond simply pressing number keys," Kim explains, while also noting that he's a big fan of Street Fighter, Final Fight, and Samurai Showdown. "In action games, the timing of pressing a key and a mouse click, as well as a monster's reaction against the user's attack, is extremely important. We are trying to develop our game so that players must purposefully control their character and so that objects or monsters react in a more complex manner."

[Thanks Dengar!]