Studio Neople, a subsidiary of the gaming company NEXON, demonstrated the third-person action game The First Berserker: Khazan at the Tokyo Game Show 2024 event. And in addition to this, studio representatives actively answered questions from players and the media.
4gamer.net interviewed Yoon Myung Jin, CEO of Neople, Lee Jun Ho, Creative Director, and Lee Kyu Chul, Art Director. We invite you to read the translation.
The graphics are truly impressive. What points did you especially want to emphasize?
Lee Kyu Chul: Particular attention was paid to ensuring that the graphics conveyed the atmosphere of the original Dungeon Fighter Online as much as possible. We also strive to convey the history and philosophy of Kazan. I was inspired by anime projects that I personally enjoy and thought about how best to express The First Berserker: Khazan. The result was the graphics you see today.
What works inspired you?
Lee Kyu Chul: One of my favorite inspirations is Berserk. In addition, I took ideas from different works with different atmospheres.
Lee Jun Ho: Don’t worry, even if we were inspired by Berserk, there is no connection between our game and this work.
The boss battles were quite challenging. Parries and counters behave in unique ways, how should we use them?
Lee Jun Ho: When creating this game, we aimed to retain the action-packed fun of the original Dungeon Fighter Online while also tailoring it for console players. We spent a lot of time thinking about how to combine these aspects. The main thing we wanted to convey in the combat system was the feeling of achievement as the player tries his hand over and over again and eventually wins. Therefore, the combat is varied so that players can experiment.
For example, some enemy attacks can be avoided by simply taking a couple of steps, others require running, and some require blocking, parrying, or counterattacking. Each action has its own effects and costs, so I recommend trying different approaches and finding your own strategy. To get better at the game, the main thing is not to give up and practice a lot.
When I played the trial, the first boss was pretty easy and Kazan didn’t have much to do. However, I had some difficulty controlling the second boss as his abilities became much more varied. In the final version of the game, will skills and actions be unlocked as you progress?
Lee Jun Ho: Yes, that’s right. As you play, abilities will gradually unlock. I also have a question for you: how quickly did you deal with the boss in the snowy mountains?
I finished it in about 30 minutes.
Lee Jun Ho: You are really very good! I thought players would take about an hour to deal with the first boss. The other two bosses are also designed to be defeated using the moves you’ve mastered in the snowy mountains. If you use counterattacks and skills well, it will become even easier to win. In this boss fight, skills and abilities are available immediately, but the game is designed in such a way that you will gain them gradually.
The second and third bosses were pretty tough. Did you expect players to be able to defeat them during the TGS2024 demo?
Lee Jun Ho: We thought for a long time about which parts of the game to present for testing. I believe that experienced players can handle the bosses, but for most it can be a challenge. If players use up the full 30 minutes of time, feel like they’re close to winning, and want to try again, I’d be happy for them to queue up to play again. Or perhaps they will take part in a future closed beta test. By the way, I think that the second boss can be defeated in about an hour and a half.
The First Berserker: Khazan is part of the Dungeon Fighter Online franchise. Do you plan on its further development?
Yoon Myung Jin: Dungeon Fighter Online is a game that has been popular in Japan for a long time and has won the hearts of many players. However, this game alone is not enough to show the depth of the world. We have a lot of characters and stories, and we want to create different games to explore them and give players more fun.
At the end, please pass on a message to the Japanese players.
Yoon Myung Jin: The First Berserker: Khazan tells a particularly important story within the franchise, and I hope players can appreciate that. We sought to create a game that would interest not only fans of the original, but also those who are not familiar with it. I think that in this regard we have achieved some success. I hope Japanese players will enjoy the game.
