Massively Exclusive: Jake Song talks ArcheAge

Last weekend we hinted at an XL Games interview during our coverage of the newest ArcheAge video. Today we're happy to bring you an exclusive chat with lead developer Jake Song. Song is the man behind the original Lineage, and he also worked at NCsoft on Tabula Rasa and a Lineage sequel that eventually became Aion.

Several years ago he started his own development house, XL Games, and the studio's first project is a sprawling sandbox called ArcheAge, which is currently undergoing a closed beta test in the Korean market. Join us after the cut as Song talks about the game's unique skill system, castle sieges, multiplayer mounts (and mounted combat), and more.

Massively: We've heard tell that ArcheAge is heavily influenced by Ultima Online in that there is no preset advancement path, players choose skills, etc. We've seen some interesting speculation about everything from witchcraft to wild nature to romance skill trees. Can you talk a bit about the game's unique skills, how they're acquired and advanced, and if there are any limitations?

Jake Song: In ArcheAge (currently in beta phase), there are 10 skill sets. We call these "abilities." Users will be able to create characters by choosing three out of these 10 abilities. Each ability will have levels; when users level-up after gathering experience points, the three abilities will also level-up. Users can change the three abilities any time, but the new ability will start from level one -- that is, the new ability will be of lower level than other abilities that have not been changed. However, by constantly leveling-up, all abilities will eventually reach the highest level. Hence, if users wish, they can fully learn all 10 abilities, although only three can be used at the same time. The cost of changing abilities will be a reasonable amount.

Each ability will have a dozen skills. We are trying to make every skill unique. For example, there are skills such as Floating Bubble, which traps the selected character in a bubble and makes it float in the air for a certain time, and Psychokinesis, which allows you to lift and throw a character. We are also thinking of making some combos between skills. For example, if Shock Arrow is used after Floating Bubble, the selected character will be sent farther than when struck on ground.

The official English website mentions a bit about labor power. Can you elaborate on how this will work? Is it offline only? If not, how is it earned in game and what kinds of activities require it?

Labor power is needed for production, construction, crafting and entertainment activities. It will accumulate regularly at fixed intervals, whether online or offline. The reason for such design is for equilibrium between the users who play longer and those who play more casually. There is a limit to such accumulation so that users who play longer will not necessarily be able to have more labor power than those who play more occasionally. Additionally, by long accumulation periods, those users who cannot play the game every day can log in occasionally, like every few days, and spend all accumulated labor power at once.

Also, high-level users can use their labor power in more luxurious activities (such as going to a dance party) and also purchase the labor power of lower level users for crafting. We would like the users to enjoy the game with less burden.

Fan sites have mentioned players growing and cultivating forests and crops and the official site mentions highly detailed (and destructible) housing. Can you talk a bit about the game's non-combat options? Are you aiming for a create-your-own-content sandbox world like Ultima or Star Wars Galaxies?

Yes, if possible, we want to allow users to freely build houses, ships, and castles. However, because users can get lost not knowing what to do if we tell them to do whatever they wish from the very beginning, we plan to guide the users by providing quests and other contents until they get used to this game world.

We've also heard that there are no armor or equipment restrictions in the game. For example, someone with mage skills can don a chest plate and it will provide them with some amount of protection. Can you elaborate on this, as well as talk about gear and equipment in general? Is gear crafted or looted (or both)? Is there any sort of item decay, and if not, what sorts of money sinks will exist?

We do not want to enforce any restriction in equipment but instead would like to enable and encourage users to choose to wear appropriate equipment by giving benefits and penalties at the same time. For example, mages can wear plate mail, but then, as a penalty, its casting and movement speed will decrease, and thus they will tend to wear cloth.

Gears are both crafted and looted. The durability of items will decrease with usage, and users will have to pay a certain amount to repair them.

For some items, we are considering separating their function and look. For example, a dragon defeated through a raid will not drop a sword with very good stats; it will drop something like a magical essence. The user can take this to the blacksmith and combine it with a sword that has a look that he/she likes.

There will be all sorts of money sinks, from construction and leasing of houses, ships, and castles, to using all sorts of consumables for castle sieges, and so on.

How does the economy work? Fan sites have mentioned player vendors in houses. Is there any sort of auction house? Local or universal banking?

Yes, we are considering enabling users to hire NPCs as vendors in front of their houses or yards. We have plans to develop auction houses and banks.

Can you give us an idea of how gathering and crafting work?

For crafting, recipe and materials as well as craft tools and table are required. For example, if a user wants to craft a sword, an anvil will be required, but for clothing, a mannequin will be needed.

One particular fan site FAQ mentions 100-player mass PvP and also draws comparisons to sieges in Lineage 2. Can you elaborate on these elements? Does the game feature castles and/or cities for capturing and player control?

Our current target is a 50v50 castle siege, but it may change due to technical constraints. There will be three continents, and in the two southern continents, the castellans will be NPCs. In the northern continent, though, users will be able to build castles anywhere, control that zone, and engage in war to conquer the castle in other zones.

We recently saw some closed beta footage dealing with ships and a naval battle. Are these player ships and can they be crafted? Can you give us more details about how sailing works? Can you sail between the game's three continents or are there zones/loading screens?

Yes, users can craft and control ships. The ship will be controlled by the user who takes over the wheel. However, because the speed varies depending on whether the sail is put up or lowered, other users' help with the sail will be necessary. Yes, we do plan to enable sailing between the three continents.

Following on from that, how does travel work in the game? Is there instant travel?

Horses, carriages, ships, and airships will be available. Horses can be ridden by two people, and the one sitting at the back can engage in combat (such as shooting arrows). The carriage can accommodate more people. Carriages will be provided as a means of public transportation running from zone to zone, but they will also be available for users to own. Ships can be owned by users as well, and there is no explicit limit to the number of people who can board. Airships will only travel around the pre-determined airways.

Instant travel is currently available. Users can bind any visited spot, and with a certain amount of cost, teleport to that specific spot. However, this may change depending on users' reactions.

When will American and/or European players get a chance to beta test?

From the start of this project, the US and Europe have been key target markets for ArcheAge. We want to make sure that we do everything necessary to ensure the success of ArcheAge in these markets. We do not want to prematurely invite American or European players to the beta test. At the same time, we know how important it is not to delay it too long. So maybe after we have tested it somewhat in the Korean market and the development team has taken a breath.

Do you have a targeted release window?

We do not have fixed dates for any market, but would like to commercialize in Korea during next year and expand into other overseas markets as early as possible.

Thanks very much.