News >> NosTale

A Interview with Chris Lee (09/09/2009)

Lately, MMO Hub's Kyle Stallock get the chance to speak with Chris Lee, the Chief Marketing Officer of Entwell, about NosTale.

MMO Hub: Do you play "NosTale" What's the highest level of your main character and what's his or her class?
Chris Lee, CMO, Entwell: Yes, I do. My highest-level character is a swordsman around level 70 or so.
It seems like every other day another free-to-play MMO is unveiled. What are some of the defining characteristics that set "NosTale" above and beyond the competition?
It has an engaging story, unique graphics and gameplay that's easy to grasp but challenging to master. There's always something more to do. Apart from the game itself, our player community deserves a mention here.
They've supported us every step of the way, helped new players get used to the game and, overall, are one of the best communities I've seen in an MMO and for some players the community is even closer than family.
Why has it taken almost three years to bring "NosTale" to North America?
We know that North America market is very competitive and full of other games. Before starting global service, we have to improve "NosTale" content in local languages in various countries. It took 2 and half years, and finally, we have the confidence that we can make NA gamers happy.
Customizable player-housing seems to be vanishing in MMOs, but that's not the case for "NosTale." Why did you decide to include such an old-school feature?
We felt that including this feature would give players more opportunity to customize their characters and make them as unique as possible. Also returning to your own mini-land after a long day of leveling or boss hunting is very relaxing.
Its common to find bunch of players chilling out at a friends home and having chit chat or exchanging items. For the extremely social players its a blessing as they can host a lot of in built games and thus have a lot of new players visiting their mini-land.
I personally like this a lot. It reminds me of the college parties we used to have where you call 3 friends and 150 ends up at your place (laughs).
Do you think other MMOs would benefit from including some kind of similar system?
Well, it depends on each developer and which direction they want to take their game in, I suppose. But i strongly feel that more than just being an added feature it is an essential feature. Its not enough to just give hunting and leveling based features in the game.
Today players look for a lot of social features in the game and this is the mother of all social features, To own your personalized home space as your identity and to be able to share it with close online friends in the game.
Since the game was released, what kinds of items have players purchased the most using NosTale Gold? Healing items? Clothes?
I'd say that costumes have been the most purchased item from NosMall. Given the wide range, there are so many ways to customize the look of your character exactly the way you want to. Scrolls to safeguard your weapons and cards while upgrading are also very popular.
How about the least?
The least purchased item would probably be Seeds of Chaos; they're so easily available in the course of the game that it's not really necessary to purchase them.
For players who choose not to purchase ANY items using real-world cash, is their experience going to be limited?
Not at all. Players who opt not to purchase anything from NosMall will have the option of buying those same items from other players for NosTale Gold. And if they choose not to do that either, they can still play and enjoy the game; none of the NosMall items are absolutely essential to a player's progress and/or satisfaction.
Looking to the future, what do you have planned? More in-game events?
Yup, we already have lots of updating plan. For example, adding ACT 5 in this summer, and from April, NosMate will be evolved. It means Nos Pet and Partners will be evolved into stronger mates, with different looks, attacking powers, etc. And from March, in every month, 4 new raids will be added.
It's been three years since it  launched in South Korea, do you have plans for a sequel If so, how will this impact the current title, especially considering Americans are just now getting their hands on it?
We have thought about it, but reached the conclusion that instead of a sequel, current "NosTale" will be updated with lots of contents and funs. Instead of splitting our power into current and sequel version, we will put all of our efforts and time into current one.
And Americans have played the game before. When we were testing 3 years ago, even at that time, we had hundreds of concurrent users, and most of them were from the US.
I think I'd pay for a stuffed animal version of that chicken on your main website. Is there any chance of you making merchandise like that available?

Of course, we will - but, before that, we need to make this online version as popular as possible. And then, by doing so, the people who buy our merchandise will be proud of their stuf