Questions by Vincent Haoson, Onrpg writer
Answered by Sabroso (GM) and Chris Keswani (Marketing Manager)
The Nostale: Global service is still in its early stage with its operation for about two months old. Yet, the game seems to have piqued the attention of the gaming community as it fills the two channels the Global server has.
Onrpg had a chance to talk with the people behind the seemingly successful launching of the Nostale: Global server.
Onrpg: First and foremost, we’d like to know who is the target audience of Nostale? It seems that he game is tailored for very young players? How do you attract those more “serious” players?
We are targeting players that enjoy more of the cute MMO games. Players that enjoy Maple Story, Trickster, etc. would love Nostale: Global. You are correct in saying that we are expecting a little bit of a younger audience, although we have many players that are on the other end of the age spectrum. The cute MMO really attracts a broad range of players that spans across several age groups.
Even though we are saying that the Nostale is a cute MMO, many players could be considered hardcore players since they spend so much time in the game. Personally, it was an addictive game for me from the first time I played it.
Onrpg: What would be the major factor in terms of the events you create for the game?
What we strive to do at Uforia is to create unique events with all the tools available to us. Our most recent live GM event was a math style event, where players were asked to come up with answers to simple math problems in order to figure out what item they were meant to retrieve for the GM. It seems a bit nerdy having an event with math, but players responded very positively towards it. People want to do something different than the same types of events that they get from every other game and we hope to be able to provide them with that.
Onrpg: How’s Nostale faring for this year?
Nostale: Global is getting a warm reception from our community. You have to remember our service is less than 2 months old. Nonetheless, the players are really enjoying the game and we are getting a lot of positive feedback about our events on a daily basis. Our main focus is to build a strong community among our players and we are constantly hosting new events to further that goal.
Onrpg: What do you think is the reason why players keep on coming back and play Nostale?
The unique class system in the game is really what keeps the game fresh for most users. It allows users who may be bored of their original class to use “Specialist Cards” to level to different and potentially more powerful classes that better suit the user’s play style. The second reason, but certainly not the least, is the community. Nostale hosts one of the most friendly and funniest communities both on the forums as well as in-game.
Onrpg: Are players given a chance to chip in with the events planning of the game?
Definitely, we continually take player feedback for future and current events and create experiences that are based on our players’ demands. Players are able to speak with our personable GMs, who are constantly on the forums and in-game, to let them know their ideas and concerns, or to just joke around and chat for a while!
Onrpg: Where do you get your inspiration when thinking of events for the game?
When creating events, we tend to first layout all tools available to us to use, such as any special GM powers we have, the different ways the player’s shops can be used. We ask ourselves questions such as “Can we create the name of the shop?” or “Can we adjust the position of the items?” etc. We then work out how players can be expected to use these different tools in order to make for a fun event.
As an example using the tools mentioned: The GM could create a notice to players telling them to go to the forest to look for a long lost treasure. When players get to the forest, they can spot a player shop in the middle of the map named “The treasure is thattaway!” and when you look inside the shop, the items the shop is selling are positioned like an arrow pointing toward the right. The player enters the map to the right and finds the treasure. Keep in mind though that this is just a simplified example.
Onrpg: Are you planning on including live-events for players to enjoy?
We already have many live-events in the game! We tend to have live GM-hosted events every two weeks. Some are simple, but the prizes are always great (we’ve even had users emailing us saying our prizes are almost too good to be true!) Our next GM hosted event will be happening on February 23rd and will be a Hero Mission Time Trial. Users will have to join up in teams to race through a dungeon to determine which team gets the best time. The top prize for the winner is 50,000 UFOs which can be used at the in-game cash mall.
Onrpg: How big is the help of the game community for the game?
The community helps out quite a lot, whether it’s volunteering for live events under the direction of the GMs, or just giving feedback and suggestions to the GMs via the forums. As a growing company, the opinion of our users is quite important to us in enacting policy now that will make us continue to be fun and user-friendly as our company continues to grow.
Onrpg: Would you be including new job classes in the future? Would you provide us a glimpse of what classes can be possibly added?
We cannot reveal anything regarding new job classes at the moment, but we promise to let you know when the time for release comes.
Onrpg: How do you keep your players interested in playing the game?
The number one concern for us is a customer satisfaction. We feel that having a large user base that is happy with the game is crucial. To meet our goals, we try to keep our users entertained with events and contests that involve human interaction on our part such as the live GM events and the plethora of contests we have going on in our forums. The prizes aren’t bad either.
Onrpg: How much free reign do you provide players when it comes to creating their own homes in Nostale?
Users have almost complete free reign in designing their home and garden, as long as the items are placed in appropriate locations (for instance, no placing your huge two story mansion in the middle of your backyard). Other than that, players can pretty much decorate their space (mini-land as we call it) however they want and we’ve seen some users create some pretty amazing homes.
Onrpg: Would there be space problems in Mini-land if there would be a housing surge as players start erecting their own “home” in Nostale? How would you face this kind of problem if there are too many people owning homes in the game?
It is not a problem from our point of view. Our users can create all the new houses that they like and our servers can handle it. The reason being is that your mini-land is an instanced plot of land given to the user when he or she creates his character, so it isn’t taking up space in-game when nobody is visiting it. The ease-of-use for a player and his or her friends to all meet up together in a mini-land is better than I’ve seen in any other game that currently has instanced player housing.
Onrpg: What can players do with their home in Nostale? Would their Nostale Home be like their home away from home?
Player housing in Nostale is unique because that it is not just a place for players to use as a personal safe deposit box. Your mini-land is your own unique hangout where you can decorate, host mini-games or just see who stops by. Your friends can join you in your mini-land instantly through the in-game messenger. This feature gives you the ultimate private space for you and your friends to talk or duel each other.
Onrpg: With the player Housing already part of the game, is it highly possible that you would include a marriage system in the future? Why or why not?
Our development folks are always thinking about how to make this great game even better. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on our plans for a marriage system at the moment.
Onrpg: What’s in store for Nostale in the coming months?
We are planning many exciting events both on the forums and in-game. We always try to develop and host events that are unique and keep players asking for more.
