Shaiya: Exclusive Interview

Posted by: GameBorder Staff on 2007-12-10 19:33:50

Shaiya producer Eron Garcia and the rest of the team behind Shaiya - Etienne Grunenwald, Michie Hara and Siavash Shenavandeh - gave an exclusive interview to GameBorder about this new fantasy mmorpg.

Q: Congratulations for the launch of Shaiya. Shaiya client is one of the most downloaded file on GameBorder and other websites. Are you happy of the closed beta results so far?

A: The Closed Beta launch definitely gave our team a boost of confidence. :)
We had more players than we expected in our first week. The bulk of the things players reported were localization issues we were aware of, but we got some solid feedback and great suggestions for the future. We're pretty excited and are planning for an explosive Open Beta.

Q: How many players are currently playing the game?

A: We have yet to crash the server by overloading it w/ players but currently do run a full server. (We could tell you the real numbers, but then we'd have to... well, you know.)

Q: Why do you think Shaiya could be a success?

A: Shaiya is a very versatile game that has so much potential. Right out of the gate, Shaiya presents players with a little tutorial, and plops them down right next to their first quest, so it's quite user-friendly. Also, we work really closely with the developers and strive to cater to our audiences interests. This provides us with a better consensus of what is actually wanted by the public - versus just input from internal game designers.

Q: The character movement is one of the most complete we found in a mmorpg (jump, side walking, backflip and so on), it's not just point and click, and hardcore gamers really liked this. But is this really useful while playing the game?

A: While much of the movement anims are considered novelty, but being able to sidestep as well as jump and backflip, can help a player avoid a physical hit, avoid certain AOE (Area of Effect) spells, or both if timed correctly. We've wound that avoiding a physical hit is more difficult than dodging an AOE spell.

Q: The graphics is gorgeous, but some users are complaining there is no support for widescreen resolutions (ie. 1680x1050), and the font used is a bit small with large monitors. Are you going to fix it in a future release?

A: Haha, actually these two issues were part of our "fix first" list. We can't discuss the details, but major UI modifications were proposed for post-release including Widescreen support and the ability to set your own text size. We're not sure if they'll make into Open Beta, but they're in our report for future fixes as well.

Q: Some other users are complaining the locations look a bit "empty", because NPCs to speak with are not so many, and the number of quests are limited. Are you going to add more npc and quests, or do you think this is not true?

A: I think that the amount of quests are well balanced per area. We have very large maps and the towns are all proportional to the map size...so while it may seem that the towns are "empty", it's likely just the fact that it's a larger town in a larger zone [to accommodate for the larger amounts of players in those zones].

We do have the ability to add new quests as well as NPCs, but currently we don't feel the need to overwhelm our players with extra quests for extra random loot or content as there are already over 1,400 quests in the game. The quests available now will appropriately get players from the 1-19, 20-35, 36-49, 50-60 level ranges.

Q: Users are often asking us if there is any free mmorpg similar to Lord of the Rings Online or World of Wacraft. Since Shaiya is not the classic Korean mmorpg (it's more "western fantasy", with elves, rangers, priests and so on), do you think it can be considered a free alternative to these popular Pay2Play mmorpgs?

A: Shaiya is definitely is a free alternative to other "western" MMO's. The game provides exceptional content and gameplay [as well as potential growth and endgame content] that can definitely rival and hold its own against other successful MMOs. We have a rich and expansive backstory for the game that we've barely scratched the surface of. This combined with the clean graphics, fantasy soundtrack, and immersive gameplay does, in our opinion, make Shaiya an attractive free alternative to subscription-based games.

Q: The different character classes makes Shaiya a good game to play as a party. Are there any party-only quests and "searching for party" functions?

A: In the character creation menu, there is an indicator of what classes work best in certain situations. It allows the users to see if certain characters are better for Soloing, Partying, or both. So, right out of the gate, you can choose how you want to play. As for party-only, that's in your next question...

Q: Asian mmorpgs usually don't have dungeons. Does Shaiya have dungeons, sewers, caves or something similar?

A: Shaiya does have a myriad of dungeons. Every time you enter a new zone, if you press M to look at your map, there will be orange stars that indicate where dungeons exist. There are a series of tiers within the dungeons that are accessed through portals and have different monsters per tier as well as Sub-Bosses and Bosses. These dungeons are seriously hardcore, and while you could enter one by yourself, it would spell a quick and painful death. Players should party-up before heading into a dungeon and have a gameplan all set.

Q: Do you think the beta test will end soon? The game is going to be free forever, right? :)

A: We anticipate that the full Shaiya American edition will be released to the online public for download between the middle and end of December. And yes, Shaiya will remain Free-To-Play!

Q: Are you already planning an expansion?

A: The Korean market is currently on Episode 3 for Shaiya. As we're on Episode 2, we are definitely planning on catching up to them eventually. But before then, we're working on different game play/game mechanic upgrades that will be available to the our audience w/o the help of expansion patches. Basically, we're going to have cool stuff implemented periodically. While we are working towards Episode 3, we're going to keep our community entertained with some pretty special content. ...Just wait until you see Open Beta. ;-)

Shaiya Spanish Closed Beta Launched

Shaiya Turkish Closed Beta is Coming

Shaiya Launches in Turkey

Shaiya New Guild System Details

Shaiya Episode 3 New Screenshots

Shaiya Exclusive Screenshots and Concept Art

GameBorder Best MMORPGs of 2007

Shaiya Open Beta Started