Throne and Liberty is headed for a technical test soon. In a new interview with Amazon Games’ Merv Kwae Lee, he talks about the important role of testing and feedback in shaping the game for global launch, the reaction to autoplay, and how to balance developer vision with player opinions.
The interview was originally shared by Spanish gaming site 3DJuegos and has been translated into English by the ThroneandLiberty.online fansite. The interview reflects on changes madein the past few months and how feedback has an ongoing role in how the teams at NCSoft and Amazon Games are working together.
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Interview: Talking Throne and Liberty's Development, Global Version Differences And Combat With Amazon and NCSOFT
Lee says that “We actually rely on user feedback to highlight challenges, or we interpret what players are saying. and because in my experience… players talk about their concerns” and they’ll be vocal about not liking something or another thing. The team is tuned in to working and analyzing what the actual concerns are out of all of the opinions that are shared and potentially where they might want to make changes.
While some feedback comes through official channels, the rest might be through streams, videos, personal social media or Reddit posts. Decisions have to be made, so they’ll figure out what the most pressing challenges are and work with them, but also want to be open to the less vocal players that are still important and have some feedback.
PvP, which was more of a consistent part of the game, Lee comments on changes that make it more driven by the team and not as player-driven. Balance is still something they are figuring out, as well as some of the angles that PVP can work for the broadest group. After all, the team wants to have both PVP and PVE content.
In terms of story, this too is more of a compartmentalized feature where each area has a story and as you continue, you’ll get new stories that start to connect from various areas and zones. Lee also emphasizes how the main story is designed to supplement players’ own stories.“The main story mission is designed to guide players towards the main content. and then we'll have to see if it's something people really like, then we'll consider adding more,” he offers.
The role of player testing is important, hence why a technical test is coming that will not only put a new build (without autoplay) in front of an audience, but also test out cross-play and other details. They’re “going to take as long as it takes to get to [where we’re satisfied], so don't expect any solid dates just yet.
