Zentia dishes on virtual romance and expansions

It looks like ChangYou, publishers of Massively favorite Zentia, has been keeping itself really busy lately. Besides its recent opening of a PvE server, the company has now released a major expansion for the game. What's inside the rollout? A lot. You can marry your in-game sweetheart thanks to the new marriage system, adventure up to the new level cap, explore new areas and dungeons, check out the new discipline system, tame and collect new mounts and pets, sell your items to other players for tokens, and much more.

Of course, you could go to the official site and just read the patch notes, but we can do you one better. We thought the expansion marked the perfect time to sit down with Susan Revelt, the game's producer. She was gracious enough to take some time out between napping at her desk, drinking gallons of coffee, and shooting Nerf Guns at her wily community manager to answer our questions.

Click past the cut and enjoy the interview and trailer!

Massively: With the release of V 1.2, what could players who might have not played in a while expect to see upon returning?

Susan Revelt: For those players that have not logged into the game for a while or are just new to Zentia, they can expect a whole slew of exciting new features. Back in December we actually converted one server, Spoon, into PvE-only! As for the Zentia 1.2 update, it boasts such exciting new features as the marriage system, the Self Discipline system, the zBay consignment system, a new zone, and an increase in the leveling cap. The zBay system allows players to trade and sell items in a list that can be viewed by everyone on the server. Self Discipline is a feature that allows players to reserve experience for use on special Self Discipline combat skills instead of leveling up. We've also added numerous quests, pets, mounts, outfits, and tons of other items. These highly requested features will greatly enhance the Zentia user experience! Updating seems to be happening all the time.

Has Zentia outperformed expectations? How do you explain such performance?

Zentia has a very strong community, and with their support we are continually making updates to provide our players with the best experience possible. When Zentia first launched Open Beta in October 2010, our number one desire was to develop a community that would have fun and fully immerse themselves in this world. I'm proud to say that we have accomplished that goal.

Some players are confused about the recent server changes. What if a player wants to transfer servers if they would rather be on another?

The Spoon server recently changed to PVE (players vs. environment) to provide everyone a choice of gameplay environment. Everyone can log into either server and create a character on either one (or both), so there really is no need for transfers.


So how will the new marriage system work? Will it include pre-nups or divorce lawyers?

The marriage system is a new and exciting feature in 1.2. It works just like in the real world. Couples will be challenged to work together through a series of marriage quests before they can get married. Players will need to become "lovers" and then get "engaged" before they can proceed to exchanging the actual wedding vows. Zentia is similar to the real world in that not every relationship will last. We've added a feature for those that want to untie the knot, but of course there will be heavy lawyer's fees involved. As for pre-nups, those are done entirely at the player's discretion. They can work out those details on their own.

Are you concerned about younger players experimenting with virtual marriage?

In Zentia it takes a lot of commitment to reach the level of marriage. Players have to spend time together doing quests and building their relationships, and it's only after they have proved that their relationship can last through trials, tribulations, and monster attacks that marriage will be granted to them. This is great practice for real-life relationships (minus the monster attacks)!

Will same-sex marriages be allowed?

Currently the game is not coded for anything other than heterosexual partnerships. But you can marry a monkey if you wish.

Care to give us a teaser about what might be in the cards in the near future? Or are you guys lucky enough to find time to sleep?

Well... I can tell you that a brand-new St. Patrick's Day event is being developed for March. We are very excited about it since it will encompass many suggestions from our players! Sleep? There's no sleep for the wicked.

Thanks to Susan for taking the time out to answer our questions! Now maybe she can get some shut-eye.