South Korean online games

Anyone here play any South Korean-made online games? They're interesting, but frustrating.

On the one hand, they have a distinct design style to them. They all have experience points and leveling up, regardless of genre, even if it's an FPS. You level up very quickly at first, earning new stuff, but it slows down pretty quickly, and before you know it, takes forever to move up just one level. It's like they pull you in with cool stuff, then try to get you to stay with the promise of rewards in an increasingly distant future.

On the other hand, they have a lot of very innovative ideas. For example, Drift City is the first time I ever saw an MMO car driving game. You drive around the city and coexist with all other players who are doing the same, carrying out missions that are largely variants of "Drive from point A to point B" with things like time limits or crash limits. The leveling up allows you to obtain improvements to your car. There's also Gunz, a competitive over-the-shoulder shooter in which guns and swords are on equal ground, and there's a good deal of emphasis on platforming. A very different take on the genre.

Finally, there's the business model. Free-to-Play is something I'm not a fan of. Basically, the game is free to buy, and free to play online, but the way they get money is by offering special items that can only be bought with actual money. These items either make your character look better than others, or give you a competitive advantage. I think it's a really cheap way to try to make money, though you could argue that players don't need to spend any money at all if they don't want these bonuses.

Basically, I really like a lot of the ideas that South Korean game companies come up with, as they do have a lot of creativity. But the business model and the constant level grinding really get on my nerves. I'd rather just pay an upfront price for the game and then play for free, without special paid bonuses. Unfortunately, the business model essentially ensures that all their games tend to involve level grinding.

I understand why they use this business model, being a country that's trying to break out and get their product noticed. If the product can be tried for free, then that might get new players to try it out. But most people seem to be unaware of the existence of these online games, and they're not exactly advertised much. It's a shame, as I really want to see the creativity that could yield games like Maple Story, Gunz, Dungeon Fighter Online and Drift City be rewarded.

What are your thoughts on the South Korean game industry? Were you unaware they even had one? I really recommend checking out the games I mentioned.

Man, our Gunz page makes it look like a completely different game than the one I used to play.

I used to play Lineage II private servers, too. The 10+ multipliers to Exp. Money, etc. made it bearable.

I like their business model because it lets me play games for free. I'm not sure what more I could ask for. The games were grind-heavy even before this business model was conceived of (Ragnarok Online, for example).

edited 13th Oct '10 8:40:46 PM by Clarste

I stopped playing Perfect World when I realized it wasn't leading up to anything—the quests to kill ten monsters, once completed, just got me quests to kill ten more monsters, which got me quests to kill twenty monsters. There was no more strategy to it than to Progress Quest, with the added penalty of forcing me to pay attention to it long enough to press hotkeys at the right time.

The economy model of Korean MMO games pisses me off to no end. Anything you get, you get only for a set amount of time (only a few items, basic and/or cosmetic, can be bought once and for ever). Seriously, WTF? Exactly the same thing put me off from Battlefield Heroes (that and rampant aimbotting in beta).

I stopped paying anything for Maple Story after I realized that, Longcoat.

And you know what? I still enjoyed the game for another 20+ levels of what is probably the worst grinding of any MMO ever without paying a cent. Equipment and map designs, some catchy map music and flashy skill animations made it a relatively fulfilling experience despite the fact that I didn't have an exp boost on all the time anymore.

Of course, once the rest of my brain caught up I dropped it for faster paced MMOs that actually needed more skill than patience to play, but the point is that most Korean MMOs offer the majority of their gameworld and features to experience and explore Fo C. You only need to pay if you want to get ahead, and what's so good about that?

If you're the kind of gamer who is only happy when you can get ahead, however, then I suggest moving to a subscription MMO.

edited 16th Oct '10 9:49:32 PM by Recon5

I will never, ever give in to these types of games. I will not pay a cent for your item malls and cash shops, and it worries me just a bit when western developers start talking about the "good ideas" they've got going on in Korea. I don't want level grinding, I don't want item malls. It's...almost honest in how shamelessly these games want to get you hooked, so you'll be forced to pay more and more to get your fix. "Crack" has really never been more a more apt nickname for these types of games than it is now. And as bad as it is in Korea, I really, really don't trust western developers with this kind of business model.

Well...not so much the developers, as the publishers. What worries me the most is that I can see this model dominating video games, at least at some point in the future. They're already weening us into it, with DLC creeping its way so deeply into our minds that we expect every game coming out to have it. As if the $60 price tag isn't enough, we now expect to be able to pay even more for a complete game.

And while we're on the subject of things they do to squeeze more pennies out of you, preorders. Fucking preorders. I'm okay with having preorder bonuses. I'm even okay with having special editions that cost in excess of $100. But what I am most definitely not okay with is all these "exclusive" deals coming out now, whereby the exact bonus you get depends on where you preorder it. I'm no completionist, though I can imagine this would piss such folks off mightily. I am, however, greatly perturbed by the idea that no matter what you do, some game content will be utterly inaccessible to you. Unless, of course, you want to preorder a copy from every retailer.

...

Oh god...suddenly I understand why they're doing this. Sweet Jesus. The state of the industry is worse than I could have imagined.

I don't see why one needs to pay for the extras. There should be plenty to get out of a game in its off-the-shelf or off-the-DL-server state. What one loses from not buying from an item mall or paying for DLC is the unnecessary things, the extra edge whose advantages are only in the mind of the buyer.

Even if certain features are locked to non-paying players, I will still dedicate myself to a game whose free content only is good enough to get me hooked. I'm willing to bet that the same goes for many of the Silent Majority.

I don't like most of the MMOs that come out because of their repetetive nature: click on a monster, jam the hotkeys. Repeat 500x for the day. However, some of the games coming out with this business model are actually REALLY REALLY good.

Dungeon Fighter Online is an arcade beat'em'up. I mean seriously. When i used to play games like Double Dragon or X Men or Alien Versus Predator or what have you in my local arcade when i was a kid, i always wished that i could... Well, essentially i wished i could play them online. Not that i knew what the internet was back then. And the game's AWESOME too.

S 4 League is quite possibly the best multiplayer shooter i've ever played, unfortunately it thinks i'm a hacker and won't let me on again. I'd do anything to play it again.

Shin Megami Tensei looks like your standard MMO at first. It's not. The battle system is very strategic and timing-based. It's also unforgiveably brutal. A random Mook can kill you if your not careful. It's actually dangerous to grind. I love it. The deep character growth system and the fact that everyone has a pet make it even better.

Then there's the game i'm playing right now: Dynasty Warriors Online. It's exactly what it sounds like.

None of these games have standard battle systems, and don't have "Grind". Well, they do have "Grind" in the 20 Bear Asses sense but the fighting requires so much out of you that you'll never be bored. I'd rather play any one of these games than the current reigning champion of the genre and the fact they're FREE doesn't hurt one bit. I don't mind plonking down twenty bucks for a shiny suit and some competetive balance breaking bonuses when that twenty bucks could be all i ever spend on the game if i choose. It's a much better investment than sixty bucks plus fifteen bucks a month afterward.

edited 17th Oct '10 7:25:49 AM by ShirowShirow

And then God gave us Guild Wars. I am actually pretty hyped for Guild Wars 2, and...actually, I thought I'd never say this, but the future of MMO games is starting to look interesting. There are more and more coming out that eschew the old "click monster, jam hotkeys" fighting systems. It seems that the days of autofight are numbered...and, by Jove, I think Korea is partially responsible for this!

Gotta take the good with the bad, I suppose.

I wanted to play Pocket Gundam, but it's Korean only.

Also, is it really necessary to denote 'South'? I don't think anyone would confuse NK into this.

Man, our Gunz page makes it look like a completely different game than the one I used to play.

Really? Doesn't look like it's changed so much since I played, over a year ago.

SPRAYER

Guild Wars was made by an American company, but published by a Korean one. It's not a Korean game.

I play the ones that have good basic systems. There are too many repeats of the same old tired battle system.

So things like Mabinogi (Heroes), Granado Espada, Drift City, Dungeon Fighter Online. And Maple Story, oddly enough.

As for cash shops, here's my philosophy: they should not grant any significant advantage over F 2 P.

So experience boosters, teleports, reduced death penalty, clothes, those are all good. When you get into special areas, weapons, armor, and characters bought with cash, thats where I draw the line.

Granado Espada was a fun one.

And I've played... A lot of them...

I may or may not get back into Combat Arms.

^^ I've also played tons of them. Though my current addiction is vindictus, I could probably name about 20 off the top of my head, and even more if I really thought about it.

On Topic: I really want them to basically make every genre into an MMO. We've already got Ace Online, Drift City, and plenty of Hack N Slash ones, but I think we can get more than that...

I wish that one 2D shooter didn't go under...though I can't remember its name now. Gun...something. Not gunbound, it was like...I dunno.

edited 17th Oct '10 11:14:40 PM by Deathonabun

I just came to say Perfect World was made by Chinese compnay.