With the MMORPG genre well and truly at the forefront of gaming discussion again thanks to the recent release of FFXIV Shadowbringers and the upcoming World of Warcraft Classic, long-time stalwart Aion has just launched the new EU Patch 7.0. The new patch adds a brand new class in the Painter to the game, alongside a new map and dungeon for players to explore.
For those unfamiliar, Aion is developer NCSoft’s MMORPG title that first released in 2008, quickly climbing the ranks in the genre and hitting around 3.5 million subscribers in Asia alone by 2009. The game is published by three different companies in its respective regions: NCSoft handles Korea, NC Interactive tackles North American regions, and Gameforge is in charge of the EU version. Now, more than a decade later, Gameforge has brought update 7.0 to Aion, which will bring the aforementioned new elements alongside additional transformations, daily and weekly Lugbug missions, as well as new ancient, legendary, and ultimate equipment.
But how does a game like Aion remain consistently popular with fans when there are so many other games in the genre demanding their time? Longevity can be a difficulty with a lot of MMORPGs, and Aion has withstood the test of time, continuing to bring players back into the fold with new updates and features. Screen Rant recently conducted an interview with NCSoft’s Gyeong-won Kim, Lead Designer of Aion, and Gameforge’s Dennis Schulz, Aion’s Lead Product Manager, to discuss some of the secrets behind the long-lasting appeal of a globally-recognized MMO.
Screen Rant: What inspired the Painter? It’s such a unique take on classes in MMOs.
Screen Rant: What are the challenges the team has been facing with continuing to update a game that first released over a decade ago? What sort of innovations have emerged from those challenges in 7.0?
Gyeong-won Kim: Aion has changed so much over the years, and we decided that it was a good time to bring out something that felt really unique and fresh. Initially, we designed a cute kid who fights with a weapon like a paintbrush as a sort of graffiti artist, but it did not really fit into Aion. The Bard is kind of a fun class that plays with beautiful rhythm and motion and the Painters are small little devils who want to color the world the way they wish to see it. As for weapons, we considered various hybrid prototypes, such as missiles shooting the paint via a palette attached to the character’s wrist.
Screen Rant: In 7.0, we’re seeing three language versions discontinued. It sounds like this is being done to allocate resources to get updates out faster in the future - what sort of improvements are being made to update management with these changes?
Kim: One of the most challenging parts of development is that we need to provide new experiences while avoiding making changes that can negatively impact the existing user experience. MMORPG’s
continue to be one of the most loved and successful genres in gaming, but there have been others that have also gained notoriety in recent years. With that in mind, we keep thinking about the different fun and immersive experiences we can create that only MMORPG’s can provide. With 7.0 we put special care and thought into our global communities, which are some of the strongest components of any PC MMORPG.
Dennis Schulz: I think one of the biggest challenges for Aion also happens to be a strength. Aion is in its tenth year, which means that the players are ten years older as well, with many of them still playing the game after a decade. This is pretty awesome to see, and not many games are lucky enough to host such passionate and loyal communities. The thing is that some of these players have now become young adults, with less time to play games because they work and have families to attend to. Because of this fact, one adjustment we did was moving our Siege Fights to fit most after-work hours so that the majority of our players could still find the time to enjoy some of their favorite parts of the game. Not only are our players now ten years older, but they have already been playing the game for several years. To mix up their daily evening Aion time, we brought back the little bunny that they saved from the Abyss ten years ago. In response to player feedback, Lugbug is back and he has brought to players an interesting daily and weekly quest they can enjoy during their after-work hours.
Screen Rant: FFXIV Shadowbringers just released to major critical acclaim. World of Warcraft Classic is coming soon. Is this a new golden age for MMORPGs?
Schulz: In the original plan with the three languages included for localization, update 7.0 was scheduled for Fall. This way we were able to bring the update to players a lot faster. This will improve the frequency of content updates moving forward.
Screen Rant: How will Aion continue to separate itself from its competitors in the future? What’s the major selling point for Aion that fans of the genre won’t be able to find anywhere else as of 7.0?
Schulz: Regardless of any new golden age, we would like to mention that there are many players who are still enjoying MMORPGs. They are waiting for new experiences that only a PC MMORPG can provide. If we keep considering this, we will see many players returning and bringing new friends, like we have recently seen in Aion.
Screen Rant: How long does Gameforge see support for Aion lasting?
Kim: Aion has really good field PvP among Elyos and Asmodian and we consider that a very competitive point by itself, in addition to graphics that are loved and the general gameplay that has remained fun and engaging throughout the years. Mountless flight combat and gliding are some of the other exclusive features of Aion that we continue to be praised for. We put a lot of focus on these facts during the development of this version, so hopefully you will enjoy this on the field and inside dungeons.
Schulz: One thing Aion does perfectly where most other MMORPG’s tend to fail is the diversity of the classes. All classes play and feel different without out-powering each other. Not only that, but there are a lot of synergy effects to the classes which makes group play very effective and dynamic. A lot of other MMORPGs focus very much the single player but not Aion. Players play together and there is a great social community surrounding the game, especially from what we have seen in the European version.
In 7.0 we introduced another unique class: the painter! It is a class that stimulates all the senses. The visual effects are special to this class, making it rather unique amongst other MMORPGs.
Screen Rant: Many fans consider Gameforge the gold standard of regional support outside of Korea. Does the team have anything they’d like to pass along to the fans that have supported their work on Aion?
Schulz: We have a great game, an awesome community, and a lot of ideas and updates to come. I am happy to say that there is no foreseeable end to it in the near future.
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Schulz: There are so many things I would love to say! I guess one thing would be that when I read about some of our players’ concerns, sometimes they can be disappointed with some updates, and they usually speak on the pros and cons — depending on who you are asking. But, the first and most important thing we consider is our players who are still playing Aion. I really mean it when I say that your feedback is super important to us and that we will try our best to provide more solid updates that can be enjoyed by everyone. Part of the feedback we received was for faster content updates, and we have released 7.0 months ahead of the initial schedule, so I like to believe that we are good at not only keeping our word, but also at pleasantly surprising our players when and where we can.
