The land of fantasy is fading. Stories long forgotten by the children they were created for. And as they turn away from their former imaginative words, fantasy has faded into distant memory...But The King of Fantasy has plans to revive his dying kingdom. A gathering! A celebration! A party! An adventurous quest through the favorite tales of your childhood! Recently, two GMs of Tales Runner were interviewed by us. Let them give us some details about this game.
MMOsite: Thanks for taking the time to take our interview. To start off, could you give us a brief introduction on what Tales Runner is about?
GM Gneumatic: Tales Runner takes place in a world where fairy tales have lost their importance. There is a king that is holding a series of races to remind everyone of how important they can be.
GM Sl0th:Of course being the king that he is, he decides that throwing giant monsters at people is a good way to remind them! It's pretty sweet actually. You race (Mario Kart style) through several different fairy tales, dodging giant monsters, and battling other racers as you go.
GM Gneumatic: That is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Tales Runner. The racing is a very important, very fun aspect but the game goes so far beyond that.
GM Sl0th:Like the giant octopus that shoots lighting and tries to eat people?
GM Gneumatic: It does go a bit beyond that as well, Sl0th.
GM Sl0th:I love that octopus.
MMOsite: Casual MMOs are very popular and have a large market share in Asia. Tales Runner is a great success in Asia, but as far as I know, the U.S. players seem to prefer traditional MMORPGs more. What are the reasons for you to bring it into the U.S. market? How do you see the prospects of casual MMOs, particularly Tales Runner in the U.S.?
GM Gneumatic: We're bringing TR to the U.S. because we see exactly how successful it can be here. This game takes so many great ideas from so many genres and not only integrates them but improves upon them.
GM Sl0th:Yah, I've been trying to think of a special genre that TR could fall under because the game offers so much more than just racing. It's like some kind of MMORPRGWGO. (Massive multiplayer online role playing racing game with giant octopuses.)
GM Gneumatic: That is actually part of what makes playing Tales Runner so exciting! It is, at its core, a racing game but there are more than enough MMORPG features within the game to please any hardcore RPG fan.
TR bridges the gap between casual play and hardcore grinding nicely. Anyone can play it and get a complete gaming experience.
GM Sl0th:TR definitely has a little of something for everyone. A rewarding and challenging leveling system? TR's got it! Item crafting? Got it! Adjustable character stats? Yes sir! Character customization? Yep! Guilds? All over it.
Heck, we even have a system coming that gives players extra XP for racing with their boyfriend or girlfriend.
GM Gneumatic: We also have an absolutely amazing relationship with Tales Runner's development team. With their help, we've been able to put together a release schedule that is full of solid content but flexible enough that we can change it based on the needs of our players. TR is really going to be the players' game. We're just here to give them what they ask for.
GM Sl0th:I know right? We've all played way too many games that start strong and run out of content early but the way we've set this up allows us to release quality content consistently for a long, long period of time. And when you're talking MMO, quality content is the key to success.
GM Gneumatic: It's going to be interesting to see the impact TR has on the Free to Play MMO world. We're going to completely change the way business is handled simply by listening to our players and releasing content that suits their needs. The best part is that most of the content has already been developed. After our initial release, all the players have to do is ask and we'll start releasing what they want the most.
MMOsite: Tales Runner won the Creative Award in South Korea. In your opinion, what are the creative aspects of Tales Runner?
GM Gneumatic: Sl0th is going to say the giant octopus.
GM Sl0th:Wow, man. I was totally going to say that.
GM Gneumatic: It's not a surprise that TR won a Creative Award. The game took a concept that had always kind of existed in everyone's mind and brought it to life in a big way! And while the concept is awesome, I think the developers deserve the most credit for their execution of the concept. Anyone can take Aladdin or Alice in Wonderland and turn it into a game, and many people have, but the TR developers took it just a bit farther. Flying a magic carpet while avoiding angry genies? Racing up Jack's beanstalk while jumping over 15 foot tall caterpillars? Jumping over Cheshire Cat hurdles? These are things that no one has seen before.
GM Sl0th:It's true. I've played just about every racing game out there and not once have I ever had to shoot someone with an exploding chicken. Until I played Tales Runner.
GM Gneumatic: It's a bit staggering the amount of creative thought that went into this game. The whimsical quality of the weapons seems to stand out in everyone's mind quite a bit. Sl0th mentioned the exploding chickens earlier. There are also beehives that cause players to lose control of their characters for a short time, ghosts that slow a player's opponents, a cloud that turns enemies into an assortment of random animals, and a slew of other weapons.
The tracks themselves are pieces of art. They're gorgeously designed and one lap is all it takes for anyone to realize that there is far more than just a race happening. There are ogres stomping in the background, tigers jumping out from behind bushes, even bickering siblings. Everything that is happening has the ability to affect the outcome of each race.
