Tera Games

New massive online games come on a conveyor belt, and one of the most exciting works currently Tera Online. The shooting games is made in South Korea but will also be released in North America and Europe during 2011.

Based on the pictures and videos can be seen on the game's website it seems that Tera will be one of the genre's most beautiful game. It is still quite a while since we've seen a new massive online games that can be called an obvious success, with a consistent good spillopplevlse.

What will Tera survive in the harsh struggle for the millions of gamers out there. What is new? What stays the same? We got answers to many questions from our product manager Henning Schmidt.

- Action-based combat system - The vision behind Tera is to create a whole new gameplay in a massive online game. This means that we break with the typical mechanisms for the benefit of a new and more entertaining following method. Tera will focus on an action-based combat system. This will be completely different from previous massive online games. The game is not going to use "target lock". This means you can not just choose an enemy, and then pump out all the attacks you have. Instead, you must fight actively and aim all the time. Thus Tera more like a third-person action adventure, "explains Henning Schmidt.

- It sounds tough, but Tera can not call himself the first massive online game that does this. More and more games put the focus on action, buy swtor credits and a game like Darkfall is completely action-based.

- Yes, it is correct. Fight in Tera is quite similar to that in Darkfall, but since we do not use the same sandbox principle and a world player-versus-player combat anywhere, will the games be very different. Tera is more like a traditional MMOG, apart from the action-based game. When you fight enemies you do all the time to duck and dodge, and the game is much more dependent on your own skills with the mouse and keyboard or gamepad. This makes the game less focused on experience levels. To overcome the much stronger opponents if you're good enough, "says Schmidt.

- Such a focus on skills most certainly fun, but all the massive online game is all about continuous progression. If the characters do not constantly get better, by gaining new levels of experience, skills or equipment, players could just as well played a typical action game. More massive online games such as Age of Conan, has had to pay a high price because they have placed too much emphasis on skills and too little emphasis on progression. How will you find a balance?

- Yes, I agree that progression is very important. It is essential that players feel they get stronger and stronger with each passing day. Tera will have 60 traditional experience levels and contain a lot of weapons and equipment so that the players feel this progress. The game will also offer players very good social experiences, with the focus on guild and our political elements, "said Henning Schmidt.

- Okay, so what you do is add a little more focus on skills than in other massive online games? Can you for example give a percentage rating of how important the skills of the controls will be the importance of equipment and character traits?

- Very good question. I've played a lot and tried to test this. I fight against an enemy with and without my gear, and my own feeling is that the equipment will count about 50 percent. Tera will be divided into zones based on the players' experience level, and will have the classic content caves with strong boss monsters. No matter how good you are playing you will have no chance against the strongest monsters without good equipment, goods Schmidt.

Own version of the West - Let's talk about the game world. I see Tera has an epic story where the world is made of two enormous Titans, they have created twelve gods, and now the whole world threatened by hordes of metallic monsters. I've played some Final Fantasy XIV in the past, and here there are many items that are dot like. It seems that much of the same is repeated in many Asian games?

- Yes, many Asian games have a lot in common. They often contain very powerful forces, which we can not quite understand. For example, the gods or natural forces like Gaia. This is about the similarities in storytelling. Tera is made in South Korea and it is easy to see the game's Asian features graphic. However, players in North America or Europe will not play quite the same version of Tera as players from Asia.

Schmidt continues:

- This means that there will be some changes made in the missions and story telling and so on. We call this the "westernization". We do this because it is quite large differences in the two markets. More Asian players focusing more on so-called "power gaming" and has not so much against the "grinding". However, Tera is not intended to have a lot of this, and it is very important to us that players in the West do not look at Tera as a "grinding games." It becomes more a game based on missions, such as World of Warcraft.

- Okay, but how do the players learn about this new big world and mythology? Tera has an overarching story?

- Yes, it does. If you look at the map of game world, you see a large crack stretching across it. Out of this comes the hordes of enemies who have taken over large parts of the world. Players must stand together against the enemy and fight to regain the lost. All the massive online game needs an epic story. It is not about to kill ten wolves here and collect five flowers there, but instead to connect the missions up to the overall story, "explains Henning Schmidt.

- This is interesting, but players can actually drive the enemy back? Is the fighting games world in other words, static or dynamic?

- It's static. Players can not win back lost territory. We are doing some tests and make some plans for other opportunities here, but for now the players will not be able to change the world, he replies.

- Now experience the top level without repetition - Do. But let's talk more about the content itself. How will you provide compelling content to the players?

- It is very important to us that the players have a lot of different content to choose from. We want to give them enough contracts so they can take all the way to experience level 60 without having to repeat anything. We would, however, that the players will have plenty of time to experience the game world and not reach the upper level of experience too quickly. We have an expression in German for which we say: "The road to the goal is ultimately the real goal."

Schmidt explains further:

- Tera will have many different types of zones of forest, desert, mountains, jungle and so on. All these will have different types of monsters and quests in them. We also have lots of "dungeons" which can be either open or closed. The closed, traditional agencies, we know from other massive online games, but in the open, different groups of adventurers, meet each other.

- It's in the caves players will face the strongest opponents. Huge boss monsters that are difficult to combat. We make these caves for most levels of experience, we have 23 currently, so that even fairly new players can work together to fight against powerful enemies. We try to give a lot of content to both those who like to play alone and they prefer to collaborate with others.

- So how will the action-oriented game work when players are in groups?

- We have not "friendly fire". We have done some tests and it works just not if players can damage each other in battle. But it is very important that all complement their role when they play on teams. Melee classes must constantly focus on the enemy to block and prevent attacks, and the same goes for healing holders. They must aim at teammates they want to heal, and if they miss the formulas will not have any effect. Match will be so very active and all must be concentrated, he replies.