Vortex Gaming

On March 29th, Shift Up's new action game 'Stellar Blade', which is finally being released as the first domestic second-party title with SIE, will be available to users around the world for the first time as a demo version. Although there were some unfortunate situations from the beginning of this demo, it also showed enough charm to make many users look forward to the game.

And on April 26th, Stellar Blade is scheduled to be released to users as the official release version. Ahead of the demo distribution, Shift Up met with domestic media to officially provide interview opportunities. CEO Kim Hyung-tae and Technical Director Lee Dong-gi participated in this interview, and it was conducted in the form of a joint interview with multiple media including Inven.

CEO Kim Hyung-tae emphasized that Stellar Blade is "a game that is more fun the more you play it" rather than just watching it, and said that he wanted to show as much of it as possible through this demo version. In addition, he introduced various information about Stellar Blade through this interview, such as the direction of action, production, functions, and optimization that can be customized to suit users' tastes.

Q. The weapon storage method reminiscent of a 'binyeo' (Korean hairpin) was novel. What was the reason for adopting this design?

김형태

=Basically, most games have weapons on their backs, but I wanted to express it in a more SF-like way. So, I got the idea from the binyeo to match the character's characteristics. I designed it to be a storage type design that is disassembled and goes into the head, but some of it flows down and harmonizes with the hair.

The basic hairstyle is a long ponytail, and the long ponytail shows various flows when fighting. Next to that flow, it usually looks like an accessory when moving, but it turns into a sword during battle. It wasn't specifically to show off the costume well. But I'm satisfied that it turned out neatly.

Q. I felt that the other equipment, including the suits that can be set, can change the direction of Stellar Blade's action itself depending on the player's choice. I'm curious if this was intended, and I'd like to hear about the direction of action you want to show with Stellar Blade.

김형태

=That's right. There are exosppines and gears, which are deeply involved in the play pattern. Some can be played defensively or carefully, focusing on safe play. It is also possible to play speedy and critical-oriented aggressively, emphasizing the sense of speed. It is designed so that users can customize it in this way. Gears and exosppines can be grown, and options are opened accordingly. Up to 2 exosppines can be equipped, and up to 4 gears can be equipped. Personally, I enjoy equipping 3 speed-up gears and attacking at a fast speed. That makes the action cool. Conversely, heavy actions are also possible. You can play according to your taste.

이동기

=Suits are external equipment and can be seen as costumes. There are no separate options for costumes so that users can choose according to their preferences. Instead, if you take off your clothes, you will be in a 'skin suit' state, which eliminates the shield gauge, making the game more difficult.

김형태

=The clothes act as a shield, so if you take them off, the shield disappears. It's a kind of demerit to play with, so I recommend wearing clothes as much as possible.

Q. How are you preparing for the optimization of the game?

김형태

=Currently, we are preparing a total of 3 graphics options related to optimization. The performance priority option aims for 60 frames at 1440p through variable resolution. The balance mode aims for about 4K 50~60 frames using upscaling while distributing resolution and frame rate. There are sections where the 40-frame range sometimes appears in balance mode, but we have put a lot of effort into maintaining 60 frames when doing general battles.

The resolution mode aims for native 4K 30 frames. Stellar Blade is an action game, so the development team is paying a lot of attention to the frame rate. I don't think you'll feel that the graphics are lacking even if you use balance or performance priority mode.

Q. The field battle and boss battle are divided, so the breathing seems to be a little different. In the case of the demo, the parrying operation that breaks the posture was fun, but in the field, the monster's health was low and the balance gauge was a bit high. Even so, it wasn't easy to break the posture of the 잡몹 (weak monsters), so I'm curious if you designed it to push the action in the field and focus on the boss battle.

김형태

=The balance gauge is on all monsters, but we don't force you to use it as a must to break the enemy's balance. It's a way to spend time doing that, put in skills, and deal powerful damage, but it's also possible to push the enemy without waiting for their attack by using combos or beta skills.

In the second half, the skill tree is opened and the tendency changes depending on the combination of gear and exosppine. Some users will focus on parrying and do it efficiently, while others will cut down a lot of shields and put in aggressive combos. The action is designed to allow for such a variety of play. I didn't want to show a typical pattern.

However, in boss battles, the importance of just parrying or just dodging is emphasized because the boss's HP is high. There are also several solutions, such as cutting off the enemy's skills and playing aggressively depending on how you upgrade your skills and how you equip your exosppine and gear.

이동기

=Each of the development team members has a different play pattern. There are also forms of play that focus on combos, parrying, or response skills. It won't be revealed in the demo, but in the main game, there is a gauge that accumulates even when you just dodge, and there is also a skill that goes out exclusively through this, so we are preparing to make good use of dodging.

Q. If you hold down the guard and then press dodge, the beta skill often overlaps with the guard. This operation seems to be a bit uncomfortable.

김형태

=Stellar Blade's action does not follow the grammar of guarding and dodging, centering on guarding. We don't recommend playing by constantly pressing the guard, but that's also a tendency of play. So, you have to pay attention to the button operation when dodging. Stellar Blade basically emphasizes parrying, so if you are guarding, you cannot parry, so please remember that constantly pressing the guard button is not the style of play we recommend.

Q. I felt that the basic key mapping was unique. I understand the placement of weak and strong attacks, but interaction or picking up is assigned to R2. It's a method that's hard to see in other games, but what's the reason for mapping it this way?

김형태

=If you put the interaction function on frequently used keys such as △ or □, there are more conflicts than you think. However, I know that R2 is usually used a lot when playing TPS. If you actually use it, I think it's a good button that you can use comfortably without interference to the point where you think, 'Why didn't I do this sooner?' However, for those who find it uncomfortable, there is also an automatic acquisition option for picking up items, so you can use that.

Q. In the case of Stellar Blade, the death scene almost always comes out and the screen quickly goes dark, so the scene was really short. Was this intentional?

김형태

=Among other games, there are games that make it fun to watch the death motion itself. I think there are users who enjoy watching the player die in that part, but in Stellar Blade, you will face death really often when you pass the middle part. Especially if you increase the difficulty, I thought it would be repetitive and boring to show the death scene every time.

There is an overall philosophy in Stellar Blade, and that is that we hardly do any time-consuming production. And there is no death penalty even when you die. So, we minimized the death scene and prepared a quick automatic transition so that users can play comfortably without the burden of death.

이동기

=Even in the case of difficulty changes, users can freely adjust it during the game. I don't think there will be much stress from that.

김형태

=I'm thinking about increasing the death scene even for a short time in the next work. Of course, that's a joke. There is a brutal death scene in the middle of Stellar Blade. But it was a bit painful to see such a lovely protagonist die like that.

Q. I felt that the utilization of the dual sense's sound and vibration was good. I think there was an intention to use the dual sense and an experience you wanted to convey through it. Please give an overall introduction to the use of dual sense and I'm curious about how you set it up.

이동기

=Regarding the dual sense, I thought this feature was a really good element to increase immersion. We actively used the functions of the dual sense for situations where we had to give users a sense of realism or parts that we wanted to emphasize, such as attacks. There is also a part where you change the drone to attack from a distance, and in that part, we are using features such as adaptive triggers to actively show the feeling of shooting it.

김형태

=You can't properly feel the sense of the dual sense controller unless you play it yourself. I recommend that you only experience the demo in video form, as you can experience almost all attacks, including ranged attacks, in the demo. Then you will know everything we wanted you to feel in the dual sense.

Q. What is the overall playtime? I want to know the overall expected playtime, such as following only the main story or enjoying all the content.

김형태

=When we did QA or testing, we estimated that it would take about 25 hours to play while following the main story and doing only the subquests that were visible. If you do the subquests carefully, it is expected to take about 30 to 35 hours. Furthermore, if you want to complete the collectible elements or complete all the quests and clear them perfectly, you can play for more than 40 hours. We are still preparing for the multi-play elements.

이동기

=Hard mode is unlocked when you complete the first play. In addition to hard mode, New Game+, which allows you to play by inheriting your current experience, will be updated quickly and for free. There is no separate reward for hard mode, but there is an experience that can only be obtained when playing multiple times. I will refrain from talking about the details as it may be a spoiler. Of course, there is a reward when you finish the first play.

Q. In the demo version, I felt that the BGM was restrained when Taki died or something. Overall, I felt that the BGM itself was a bit low in volume or non-existent. I'm curious if I heard it wrong in the demo version, and I'm curious about how you think about the overall BGM production of Stellar Blade.

김형태

=We paid attention to the BGM and prepared it to match the production timing. So, it may sound different depending on the volume control or speaker settings. We actively prepared the music, but we didn't make it with the idea that the music should be full in every part. So, in situations where you need to focus on the protagonists' lines, the music may not come out, and we are adjusting the tempo in a movie-like form. I didn't want it to look like a game where you just turn on a BGM and it doesn't matter how the production comes out, so we placed optimized sounds that fit the situation. You can think of it as there are special situations or music just for that scene.

이동기

=The sound team delicately adjusted the balance in scenes where cutscenes or scenes that require concentration, where the dialogue and music overlap and may not be heard well. In such situations, we process the dialogue so that it can be heard well, and then we process the BGM so that it can be heard well.

Q. I got the feeling that Shift Up likes the apocalypse world view a lot. Is there anything special about this? And I'm curious about what are the advantages and disadvantages of developing a game when dealing with the apocalypse material.

김형태

=To put it bluntly, the post-apocalypse is suitable for creating 'situations where violence is needed'. Usually, to purify the world, you need several stories. However, the post-apocalypse is a situation where humanity is in danger anyway, and everything has collapsed, so you have to mobilize various things to overcome it. So, it can be said that it is a good basis for creating a story to some extent, such as motivating the player.

And personally, I think it's much more attractive to express something that is broken and collapsing than to express something that is not broken in terms of game visuals. We see a lot of intact worlds in reality. I can say that the post-apocalypse is suitable for escaping from those things and enjoying life in another world. The development team's tastes are also included to some extent.

Q. Joining Sony as a second party is the first time in Korea. I'm curious about what kind of help SIE gave during the development process.

이동기

=We received a lot of help, both tangible and intangible, while developing Shift Up's first console game. They helped us in so many ways. In particular, Sony supported us with voice and language for local localization, and they also did a lot of work related to QA, which was a great help.

One new experience was user testing. In the case of user testing, the user research team conducted game user testing and told us how users felt about Stellar Blade, how they felt about the balance, and their user experience and play impressions. So, I received a lot of help in development.

김형태

=Sony has very high user accessibility to its own channels. So, it was a great help in making the game known to users around the world. In particular, the people who help with marketing and PR at Sony had long meetings for several days to fully understand Stellar Blade, and then discussed and analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of our game that we didn't even know about before going back to work.

So, our development team felt like they were doing PR themselves. I was impressed to see them trying to show users the true value in conveying that part. I think they are the best partner right now, and it was a really meaningful experience as a second party.

Q. I found that there were quite a few accessibility options from the demo version. I'm curious if you developed it with that in mind from the beginning, and I'd like to know how much support you receive for play with accessibility options in the game.

이동기

=Accessibility options were not a familiar experience for us. SIE gave us a lot of advice on accessibility options from the beginning of development, and we proceeded with this. So, we took care of visual aspects such as options for controlling motion sickness and text size. Furthermore, we created options that allow people with color blindness to play the game well.

Next, we created a high-contrast option that supports cognitive assistance by expressing important parts of the game differently. The development team put a lot of effort into these parts. We can't do it with sound alone like in some games, but we tried to take care of as many helpful parts as possible so that you can get help.

Q. I'm curious about the reason for naming the game 'Stellar Blade'.

김형태

=The protagonist is a warrior who came down from the colony to reclaim her hometown, Earth. I thought that character itself was like a sword. It's like a sword from a star. So, I named the game Stellar Blade.

Q. I confirmed that the boss appears twice in the demo, but I'm curious at what point the stalker, who appears as a boss battle in the story mode, appears. Based on this, can I guess the difficulty level of the boss?

김형태

=It's a bit difficult to say what the difficulty level is. The stalker in the demo is a monster that appears slightly behind the middle of the main game. The stalker in the demo is set to be slightly stronger than that. The demo version has some skills and equipment that you wouldn't have when playing, so I set it to be a bit stronger to balance it.

Q. Many skills were locked in the demo version, but is the skill tree open in the main game?

김형태

=It's difficult to mention that because it could be a spoiler for the game. I ask for your understanding.

Q. I couldn't see it in the demo, but there were many companions in the trailer. The player only controls the Eve character, but I'm curious about how much of the stories of the companions and supporting actors are prepared and can be experienced.

김형태

=It's not common in Korea for games to directly lead the narrative and the stories of companions to the end. So, I had a lot of 고민 (worries) about what proportion to do it. Basically, Eve's journey is important, but the companions play an important role almost to the end. And the protagonist 고민 (worries) with her companions at several important timings.

They also play the role of sidekicks or sufficient helpers in the middle. Sometimes they change the mood with gags, and sometimes they tell serious stories, showing the stories of companions at a similar level to general major console games. Of course, operating or fighting is centered on Eve.

Q. In the demo version, I saw a few ranged weapons, but there were no other melee weapons. How many types of weapons can be used in the main game?

김형태

=Basically, we proceeded with the goal of using the sword, Blood Edge, in depth. It's difficult to mention the details, but if you play the game, maybe...something else might come out?

Q. The combat ratio is melee sword-centered action, but can you completely change it to a ranged shooting action form through settings?

김형태

=In that part, there will be a level with interesting gimmicks. You can definitely look forward to that part.

Q. You can find enemies or interactions with the scan function in the game, but there are very unpleasant ambush points if you don't do that. It reminds me of a Soulslike game, and there are parts that are difficult to respond to in the early stages of the enemies' attacks, but there was no guidance for that, so it felt unkind. Was this also intentional?

김형태

=Basically, we wanted the combat and exploration to maintain some tension. It's a point called a jump scare. I think things that surprise and pop out of the player are important elements in the game. However, as you said, it can be unpleasant, so users who want to be careful can understand it through scanning.

Users are initially unable to fully respond to unblockable attacks and respond passively. If you progress further in the game, you will be able to actively grasp and utilize this to use the situation to your advantage. At the same time, I think you can feel and immerse yourself in the fact that you have become more proficient in combat. In the beginning, you respond passively by forcibly creating distance, but later you welcome those actions. It will change to a form that you can enjoy more and more, so please look forward to it.

Q. What are your DLC plans after release?

김형태

=Nothing has been decided specifically yet. However, we are willing to continuously update the parts that users like, and we plan to update a lot about costumes. And there will be no additional payment systems that were not revealed at the launch timing.

Q. There were many hot reactions on YouTube, etc., but there were also cases of harshly criticizing the exposure. Conversely, there are many reactions, such as strong support, and I'm curious about what you think while watching those reactions.

김형태

=I am really sincerely grateful to the users who like the game after watching the video. And I respect those who criticize it because the reasons are clear. But we don't think all content needs to be the same.

Q. Finally, please give a message to the users who will experience this demo and the users who are waiting for Stellar Blade.

김형태

=Unintentionally, users had no choice but to experience it through video first. I think Stellar Blade is a really fun game to play, the more you play it. We did our best to prepare the demo to show that, and the main game also contains a lot of charm that you can't feel in the demo. Please play the demo. If you don't have a PS5, borrow it....? Please do the demo version and feel it. I want to say that the feeling of seeing it and feeling it with your hands is completely different.

이동기

=If we divide Stellar Blade into a game to watch and a game to play, I think the experience of playing it directly is a much more attractive game. I think the actual play is more attractive than watching the videos uploaded on YouTube or watching people around you play in the video. Please enjoy the demo version and give us a lot of love when it is officially released.

웹진 인벤양영석 기자
2024-03-27