Asda Story is a new MMORPG title developed by MaxOnSoft. It is a game intermediate between alternate reality game and casual game, with fresh and bright style. The characters in Asda Story are designed in cartoon style. Recently, we had the chance to talk with Jiwoo Park, the producer of Asda Story for OnNet USA, and let him tell us more details about this game.
MMOsite: Hi, it#DY#s a great pleasure to have this opportunity to do an interview with you. To start, can you basically introduce yourself and OnNet USA to MMOsite readers?
Jiwoo Park: OnNet USA is an online game publisher with a stable of games including the Shot-Online golf game, Manga Fighter anime-stylized shooter, Xiah Rebirth martial arts MMO, and Asda Story itself, with more games lined up to be published in the future. Each game is free to play, with optional microtransaction purchases available from in-game item malls which may be made to improve users playtime and convenience while in the games if they so choose.
MMOsite: Could you give a brief synopsis of Asda Story to those who are still unfamiliar with the game?
Jiwoo Park: Asda Story is an addictive new massively multiplayer online fantasy RPG with a number of unique gameplay systems and an attractive art and animation style. Many players have likened its look to a mix between Kingdom Hearts#DY# character models and World of Warcraft#DY#s "cartoony" stylized environments. A few of its unique contents include the "Soulmate" player-partnering system mentioned in more detail below, a "Sowel" item and armor system which allows for the almost infinitely variable socketing of weapons and gear to give whatever desired stat bonuses you would like for your character, as well as a "Real Costume" system which allows you to combine items with the in-game look you want with the stats you would like them to have regardless of the level. This allows you to get both form and function out of your gear without having to sacrifice either the character#DY#s physical appearance or stats given to them in favor of one or the other.
MMOsite: What led you to import this MMORPG into the U.S. market? Why do you believe it will be viable? How will your game set itself apart from other fantasy MMORPGs?
Jiwoo Park: Asda Story was brought over to the U.S. market to fill a specific niche in the online game industry where the attractive aspect of being free to play for as long as the user wishes is combined with a game of high enough quality and content that it could rightly hold its own in the field with games that would otherwise require a subscription fee to design and run them. We are confident that Asda Story will be a success, and already have a huge number of updates and improvements with both upgrades to existing content and game systems as well as entirely new features currently in the development cycle for future release.
MMOsite: What is the soul mate system, and how does it work? What are the main benefits that characters derive from this feature?
Jiwoo Park: The Soulmate system is a function unique to Asda Story that allows players to pair up with another user#DY#s account and gain special benefits and powers as well as increased amounts of experience when they play alongside the other#DY#s characters. As they do so, the Soulmates will gain Soulmate levels which grant access to increasingly powerful abilities such as improved damage dealing and stats, healing spells, resurrection abilities, and even the power to teleport to one another. Soulmates are also able to have one of the pair log off while the other continues to play, and experience will be collected and given to them from it when they log back in at a later time. Playing with a Soulmate not only allows a player to level faster, but also have much greater versatility in-game while doing so.
