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Aeria Games Launches Open Beta for Shaiya

Aeria Games launched Open beta for its fantasy Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game  Shaiya Gold in North America on Dec. 18.

The Official Press Release:

California, U.S.A. (December 18, 2007). Today, Aeria Games launched Open Beta for Shaiya Gold in North America.

Shaiya Gold is a fantasy Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). Located on a distant planet, Shaiya Gold puts players in the middle of an age-old blood feud between two warring factions: the Union of Fury and the Alliance of Light.

The Closed Beta test phase of Shaiya Gold saw thousands of players joining the fray. While players gained early access to dozens of maps, hundreds of monsters, and over 1,000 quests; Aeria Games gained the assistance of an army of testers.

With the help of the Aeria Games community, potential stumbling blocks were identified and reported. Team Shaiya Gold worked as swiftly as possible to implement fixes and get our players back into the game and launch Open Beta.

“We want to thank the community at Aeria Games for stepping up and helping out,” said Eron Garcia, Shaiya’s Producer, “They played a major role in making Shaiya Gold what it is and offered dozens of solid suggestions for future improvements. We’re pleased to bring Shaiya Gold back to them.”

Shaiya Gold is a classic-style MMORPG that offers its players:

Immersive Environments: From the green hills and blue skies of the Alliance of Light, to the rocky landscape and black clouds of the Union of Fury, the continent of Teos ebbs and flows beneath your feet. Frozen tundra, desert wastelands, glistening lakes, towering trees and even a floating temple await.

Addictive Game-play: PvE, PvP and RvR. Players can battle monsters, duel each other, or compete in the massive realm-versus-realm battles for the blessing of their Goddess.

Fantasy Elements: Dragons, elves, swords, magic, dramatic music, quests, faithful steeds, and the never-ending of battle of Light versus Darkness all harken back to the roots of role-playing games.

Players are encouraged to download the new game client. Links to download are on the Shaiya Gold website at: http://shaiya.aeriagames.com

Joining the Open Beta requires an Aeria Games account which can be registered for free.

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About the Aoc

AoC Gold (Association of Colleges) is the representative body for further education (FE) colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. AoC Gold promotes the interests of FE sector colleges at ministerial level and works closely with key government departments and agencies.

AoC Gold provides a range of services for its 400 member Colleges. Professional support and advice is accessed through its network of 9 regional offices and six directorates based at Stedham Place in London. Weekly briefings keep members informed and up-to-date on new legislation, policy initiatives, innovative practice etc and the AoC Gold helpline provides day-to-day support and advice on every aspect of College governance and management.

AoC Gold SW is based in Bridgwater and serves the 33 College corporations based in the South West region. AoC Gold SW provides additional support to its region’s colleges through regional representation, strategic forums, 10 different networks for college directors, managers, governors and staff, policy and consultation events as well as briefing and updates on major inititiatives.

AoC Gold SW has recently expanded its operation in the region and is pioneering the way its supports colleges to help them rasie their profile and demonstrate a positive impact on the region. Four new thematic groups have been established, each led by a college principal and supported by AoC Gold SW. More updates will be added to the site in the next few weeks

In addition a new SW Colleges media campaign is now underway highlighting the role colleges play in working with employers in the region. Visit www.fecolleges.co.uk for more information.

Please contact AoC Gold SW for more details.

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Record of Lunia Interview with Kyoung-yeon Choi

By Donna Desborough

The anime inspired arcade styled MMO Lunia Gold is part of the GNG World Championships. I was lucky enough to talk with the developers to find out just a little bit more about Lunia’s part in the competition.

Donna: Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do at Lunia Gold?

Kyoung-yeon:  I’m Kyoung-yeon Choi, the leader of the Public Relation team and at the same time a PM who is wholly in charge of GNGWC project of ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’.

Donna: How does Lunia Gold fit into the GNGWC? 

Kyoung-yeon:  ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’ opened GNGWC championship at the same time it started its global service last July, which aroused much participation in GNGWC as well as the users’ interest in the game itself. Lots of users showed interest in action arcade RPG because of its uniqueness as an online game genre. In August 23rd, Europe Final tournament successfully ended in Leipzig, Germany.

Donna: So how will the Lunia Gold rounds work? What exactly do players have to do? 

Kyoung-yeon:  At present, ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’ has ahead its Korean final in September 30th, American final in October 17th, and Japanese final in November 17th. The qualification for a player is anyone who has played ‘Record of Lunia War’ PVP at least once. Eight players are selected on the basis of their victory percentages and records in PVP during the regional online preliminaries period, and each of them gets to participate in their regional finals. At the regional finals, players compete at the one-on-one tournament in the ‘Battlefield in Deep Forest’, an exclusive stage for PVP. The quarter-final and the semi-final are played in best two out of three, and the final in best three out of five.

Donna: Is this the first time Lunia has been part of something like this? 

Kyoung-yeon:  Yes. This is the first time since the ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’ started global service for the worldwide users to compete for the best seat among our game players. I believe this is a very good opportunity for them.

Donna: How will the competition fit into Lunia’s ongoing story? Is the tournament part of the player’s story or totally outside of it? 

Kyoung-yeon:  In ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’ semifinal hosted in Germany, European players gave full play to their abilities that they had cultivated all the while, and they were just as good as the Korean players; they showed a splendid, lively match. The one-hour-long final was hosted in a highly tense atmosphere, and numerous spectators swarmed in and watched the whole game breathlessly. In particular, the native spectators showed high interest in various keyboard-controlled combos and the demonstration of magical barrages in ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’ match. 

At the end of the intense battle, the final victory was taken by a German player, Alex Danvlov(18). “The most attractive part of ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’ is the realistic action controlled by the keyboard.” This 12th grader spoke in the final champion interview. “I’m honored to have been invited to Korea, and I will try my best to win the final match in December.”

Lunia GNGWC Europe Regional Final
Donna: Lunia doesn’t seem to be a very championship type of game. Why did you decide to include it? 

Kyoung-yeon:  At first glance, ‘Record of Lunia Gold War’ might not seem to be appropriate for a championship type because it basically takes the RPG game style. However, the producers of ‘Record of Lunia War’ concentrated on e-Spots from the beginning of production, and they developed PVP which made controls and combos that were not seen in online RPG possible. It could sort out the winner in individual or team match from one-on-one to four-on-four, each a single round, and the average time required on each match is 5~10 minutes. Like ‘Virtual Fighter’, in case of individual match, the strategy differs depending on your own class and your opponent’s class, and in case of team match, the type of class your team and your opponent’s team are composed of greatly influences the game. 

Also, PVP is highly satisfying to lots of users’ desire in that rather than depending on the usage of equipment and potion for deciding the champion, it depends on individual players’ control, teamwork, and strategy. Presently, ‘Hero-War GP 2007′ which selects the best player of ‘Record of Lunia War’ PVP, is hosted in Korea all year round. After selecting the monthly champions, the final round will be hosted at the end of the year. From August, 2007, GNGWC Korea preliminaries, with the name of ‘Hero-War GP Season 2′, is proceeded in parallel with it.

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Silkroad Online Chosen as Official Game at GNGWC 2008

Developed and published by Joymax, the historical fantasy massively multiplayer online RPG Silk Road Gold has been selected as an official game at Game & Game World Championship (GNGWC) for three consecutive years, inviting gamers from around the world to participate.

Silk Road Gold has garnered 7.2 million registered users and supports over 100,000 concurrent players on their global server cluster encompassing North America, Europe, and South America. Joymax currently works with local licensing partners to provide Silk Road Gold to players in Asia. Including these countries, along with Korean and global servers, Silk Road Gold supports over 18 million registered users and 170,000 concurrent players across 150 countries worldwide.

Players who participate at the regional finals in three countries (US, Brazil, and Germany) will have a chance to compete for first prize at the GNGWC Global Final Match, scheduled to take place in Seoul in November 2008.

The following is an interview with Chan Woong Jeon, the CEO and founder of JOYMAX, where he discusses the company’s global service and preparation for GNGWC 2008.

Q. Can you give a brief introduction to Silkroad Online for gamers not familiar with the title?
As you can guess from its title, Silk Road Gold is based on the historic trade route, consisting of various conflicts among merchants, thieves and hunters. The constant tensions and power struggle between them is the key aspect of the game. Silk Road Gold was originally set in ancient China and a European expansion was added last year. More recently, Joymax released a new expansion, Legend III Roc Mountain, featuring new territory, quests, weapons, and an increased level cap for adventurers to enjoy within Silk Road Gold.

Q. What do you think is the reason for the success of the global service of the game?
We started providing our global service at the end of year 2005, and we began providing commercial service in March 2006 which is two years ago. When we first introduced Silk Road Gold as a free-to-play MMORPG, the business model was a new concept in the global market. ‘Free-to-play’ has become a frequently discussed topic at international online games seminars, and we definitely benefited from the fact that we were one of the first to introduce the free-to-play business model. But the most important element of our success is the game itself: a historical fantasy MMORPG that puts the player deep into ancient Chinese and European civilizations along the Silk Road Gold Gold trade route, and offers epic adventures through historical China, Europe, and the Middle East. These, along with a huge and seamless world, amazing graphics, Triangular Conflict and free-form character progression are the keys for the success of the global service of Silkroad Online.

Q. Have you encountered any difficulties in providing global service?
The global service for Silk Road Gold has garnered over 7.2 million registered users and supports over 100,000 concurrent players across 150 countries worldwide. In order to efficiently manage the service, it is very important for Game Masters to have an active role on each server cluster. However, this has been difficult because there are so many players from a wide range of countries with different cultures and languages. We are striving to improve customer service for our users worldwide, and we are planning to focus on stabilizing and optimizing the servers.

Q. How was GNGWC 2007?
It was a great success; a lot of people showed interest in the title. Silkroad Online has been selected as an official game since the first GNGWC, and it has been really nice to see players spend time together to participate at regional competitions with their families and friends.

Q. Any special episodes to share?
It was great for online users to meet each other offline. The range of ages, the subtle regional differences among participants, and the competition between countries made GNGWC exciting. One player from Germany and one player from the United States won in a regional competition two years in a row. Players were looking forward to meeting online friends in person. Most of all, their level of concentration while playing the game was remarkable and the competition was very thrilling. The competitors also provided us with some great insight about what the most dedicated players want to see in the future of Silk Road Gold.

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Nexon America Unleashes Massive MapleStory Expansion

North America’s most popular free-to-play MMORPG has released a new expansion ”The Crimsonwood Keep” with new epic storyline and adds original maps, enemies, story-focused quests and weapons.The details are as below: 

Nexon America Inc. unveils one of the largest expansions in the history of Maple Mesos, adding to the continent of Masteria and delivering a truly new gaming experience to one of the most beloved games in North America, with over 5.9 million players.

The “Crimsonwood Keep” expansion delivers a wealth of new content including 31 new maps, 11 unique enemies, 12 extensive, story-focused quests and a collection of new weapons and objects. The updat.e will also give pets an additional skill and improve the user interface with language filter updates and additional platforming features.

Maple Mesos has amassed over 87 million users worldwide by creating a fantastical online world. One of the most popular places in the Maple Mesos World is the continent of Masteria. Here players will get a chance to explore the expanded Phantom Forest, which is filled with leprechauns, wraiths, the Headless Horseman and a new boss monster, Bigfoot.

Players who navigate their way through the forest will reach the Crimsonwood Mountain, featuring numerous new enemies and challenging platform-style game play.

Maple Mesos Story’s popularity has also led to the opening of a new server: Yellonde. To celebrate the new opening, Nexon will award the top 75 ranked players across the first month with prizes!

In addition to all the new content, Maple Mesos delivers the second part of its Summer Break Events, including two exciting video events. Participants can win a wide range of prizes and learn more about the events and expansion at http://maple mesos.nexon.net. 

 At the Austin GDC, an interesting panel took place on the issue of changing business models in MMOs - Free To Play has an easy to read, to the point summation of the panel, which included Robert Ferrari of Turbine (LOTRO), Hilmar Veigar Petursson of CCP (EVE Online), Nicolay Nickelsen of Funcom (Age of Conan), and Min Kim of Nexon (Maple Mesos), reported by KOTAKU.

The details are as below:

Robert: F2P has a huge influence. But we have been based on subscriptions for years, with some games being around for 10+ years. Subscripitions hit a hardcore audience that is really embedded in those games. But as you expand your audience, they aren’t as hardcore anymore and F2P becomes more enticing as subs only wouldn’t appeal.

Nicolay: Both models work. Hardcore gamers are comfortable with sub model and most of the games with microtransactions have been casual games. But it is possible to have more than one biz model in a game.

Min: There is room in the market for both biz models. F2P in North America will make a large push as teenagers can’t commit to ?15/month, so F2P will work well with them. Nexon saw lots of success when the market went beyond core to mass market.

Hilmar: Consumers are changing the business model of games - consumers making decisions. You can play Eve online through our trial program as a F2P program - users are able to “game” our trial system to play it as a F2P game. It’s a challenge for companies to adopt the needs of the market rather than keeping their head in sand. People will play the game how they want.

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