Released at the end of 2003, Twelve Sky 1 is a martial arts MMORPG which has been in service in South Korea for five years. As time goes on, Twelve Sky is a little outdated in some aspects. In 2007, the developer GigasSoft put great efforts into it's expansion, from which we can see great improvements in the graphics. However, an expansion is not enough to solve all the problems, and making a sequel is considered as the best choice. And so comes Twelve Sky 2. At this year's Chinajoy we had the opportunity to talk with Seo Hyojung, the strategic division director of Gigassoft, and let him show more details of the Twelve Sky 2 to us.
Last year's Chinajoy, MMOSITE had the opportunity to talk with Seo Hyojung, the strategic division director of Gigassoft, and let him show more details of the Twelve Sky 2 to us.Here are some of the previews and informations revealed by Gigassoft's BigBoss.
MMOsite: Hello, thanks for taking our interview. Can you give us a brief introduction to your development team and your company Gigassoft to our readers?
Seo Hyojung: Thank you! About our development team, we are very proud that the team developed our own game engine, GXD, which is now used in Twelve Sky. And the upgraded GXD engine has already been adopted in Twelve Sky 2. I think some users may have already felt the obvious graphic improvements of the upgraded game engine in the Korean version Twelve Sky 2. And currently, we are preparing to set up a new studio in China. I think you see some new titles developed by this studio in the future.
MMOsite: Do you have any exciting news relating to ChinaJoy 2008 to share with us? What titles are you showcasing at this year's ChinaJoy? Any new titles?
Seo Hyojung: I just said that our new title, Twelve Sky 2, has a booth on this year's ChinaJoy! So, the Chinese players will be able to enjoy it before the end of this year.
And certainly, we have several other titles under development. But since they are not finished, you can not see them on this year's ChinaJoy. But I believe players will be able to see them in the near future!
MMOsite: OK, let's talk something about Twelve Sky. First, as an introductory overview, how will you describe Twelve Sky to those who are unfamiliar with this game?
Seo Hyojung: High level-up speed, exciting PVP system, simple UI and easy control! And the most important thing is that new players can always find help and friends in the game.
MMOsite: Twelve Sky is well known for its unique battle system. Can you basically introduce the system to us? Are there any innovative elements which set it aside from other fantasy MMORPGs?
Seo Hyojung: Yes, we are very proud with the battle system in Twelve Sky. It's the most appealing part in our game actually. You know, after level 30, players can get into battle fields and fight with the other factions. If you win, you will have the right to use some specific dungeons, where special rewards exist. And after level 70, players are able to join in a specific battlefield, Yongok Valley. You can break the other factions' shields there and invade into their maps.
For innovative elements, I think the most successful part we did is to bind PVP system with Twelve Sky seamlessly! That's exactly what makes our game stand out from the other MMORPGs!
MMOsite: Normally, there are only two opposite factions in an MMO game, but in Twelve Sky, there are three factions. When two factions are in battle, how will the third faction influence the battle outcome? What led you to design it in such a way?
Seo Hyojung: There is a saying: "The wolf has a winning game when the shepherds quarrel!" In our game, players sometimes may find they are defeated by the third faction hidden behind even they win the first round. So, you have to have strategies to win a battle! That makes the battle outcome unexpected, and certainly more attractive.
MMOsite: What's your favorite feature of the game? Why do you believe the game will be appealing to the western users?
Seo Hyojung: We just talked a lot about the battle system. And certainly this is my favorite feature.
And since Twelve Sky is an oriental fantasy MMORPG, it has many oriental elements, such as martial arts, drinking and etc. All these are very mysterious to the western players. And from players' reactions to our North America version, I think Twelve Sky has already been proved appealing to western players.
MMOsite: What is the market performance of Twelve Sky in North America? Does it live up to your expectations? When can we expect your next update on the game? What new content will you add in the update?
Seo Hyojung: Twelve Sky's performance in North America is good. You know, we just opened a new world last week.
For updates, we are always collecting players' ideas and trying our best to adopt them in the game. In the early of this month, we opened a new map, Colgu Cave. Players like it very much. And we are now planning to add more new contents and maps for North American players. You will probably see them soon.
MMOsite: Would you mind if we talk something about Twelve Sky 2��Can you basically introduce it to our readers? When did you start the development work on this new MMORPG? How does its backstory or storyline relate to Twelve Sky and where will it go?
Seo Hyojung: I would like very much to introduce Twelve Sky 2 to the readers.
Actually, Twelve Sky 2 is the continuation of Twelve Sky's story. Our development team started to develop it 3 year's ago. During the development process, we updated the game engine and changed the game systems. So, the graphics of Twelve Sky 2 is much better than Twelve Sky. And you will also see the battle system changed greatly. In the new battle system, players will be able to get into battle fields and fight with each other from level 10.
And I can tell you that there is a new special faction added in Twelve Sky 2. I'm sure players will have more fun with this new faction.
Anyway, Twelve Sky 2 is not only a continuation of Twelve Sky. It's more a new game. So, no matter you played Twelve Sky before or not, Twelve Sky 2 is worth trying. And I'm sure you will like it.
MMOsite: Twelve Sky 2 has gone closed beta in South Korea. Do you have any plan to export Twelve Sky 2 to the western market? Have you decided on the publisher? Can you give us a rough schedule for its closed beta, open beta and official launch?
Seo Hyojung: We are currently contacting several publishers in North America and Europe. But we are still in negation. So, it's not decided yet who will finally publish it.
And currently there is still no schedule about closed Beta, open Beta and official launch. But we'll do our best to make it available for the players in North America and Europe.
MMOsite: Do you have anything more we didn't involve in this interview that you'd like to tell our readers?
Seo Hyojung: We are very grateful that mmosite.com gave us this interview! We would also like to thank the players who are playing and supporting our game. We hope to launch Twelve Sky 2 to North America and Europe soon. And we hope all the players can have more fun in our games! Thanks!
Twelve Sky 2 - EU published by MAYN ( Open Beta - April 23, 2009 )
Twelve Sky 2 - NA hosted by Aeria Games ( Registration for Closed Beta Testing )
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