Vortex Gaming

Today (4th), Blackstorm, a newly established developer, held a joint media interview to reveal detailed information about their project 'Re Memento: White Shadow (hereinafter Re Memento)'. The interview included CEO Kim Do-yoon, Business Team Leader Shin Ji-hoon, Development Director Heo Kwon, and AD Lee Jin-soo.

Re Memento is the official game title of Project NB, which began development in the second quarter of 2022, and is a mobile-based turn-based RPG. The developer introduced the game as a character-collecting JRPG that combines the sensibility of JRPGs with the strategic aspects inherent in turn-based RPGs. It features an original story with a JRPG feel, high-quality emotional art based on cartoon rendering, and battles where you form a party based on collected characters.

Director Heo Kwon cited strategic turn-based combat, with the goal of being easy to start and hard to master, as a differentiating factor for the game. He also explained that the game implements a seamless world without loading screens, providing the fun of freely exploring the world. The game is scheduled for simultaneous release on PC and mobile cross-platform.

Re Memento is based on an original storyline that varies the traditional theme of a boy meeting a girl, and tells the story of those who have the memories left by the gods confronting the nightmares of the returned witches. In terms of graphics, the goal is to capture both technical and emotional completeness through Unreal Engine 5. Director Heo said that they have strived to create a unique mood for Re Memento through cartoon rendering and real-time lighting.

The main story is fully dubbed, and approximately 100 story cutscenes will be included at launch to enhance the world and story. There will be 22 characters at launch, with character updates scheduled every three weeks thereafter. The world of Re Memento is a world where the time of day (TOD) changes, and users can explore the diverse environments of the continent.

In battle, the game is based on an encounter system where you transition to battle when you encounter an enemy in the world, and a CTB method with unique action gauges for each character. By adding a skill structure and guard break system, they have implemented strategic battles that are easy to learn but offer depth.

■ Re Memento: White Shadow Joint Q&A

Q. It is being compared to existing subculture games such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. What are the differentiating factors of Re Memento?

= After the reveal, it seems like there are many comparisons to Honkai: Star Rail. Genshin Impact has a different genre base. In terms of art, it's a subculture, so there may be some similarities. However, I think the mood is different. Re Memento has its own unique atmosphere.

While there are genre similarities with Star Rail, the element of exploring the world and then transitioning to turn-based combat is something you can find in JRPGs. We started with the idea of bringing JRPG to mobile from the beginning. Star Rail wasn't even released when we were planning and starting development of the game. So we didn't refer to it at all.

Since we don't want to include competitive content, we're keeping the balance of the characters even so that everyone is fair. I think this is different from other subculture games that strongly emphasize character traits. In particular, strategic battles are a differentiating factor of Re Memento.

It's frustrating that it's similar to Star Rail. You can think of it as being prepared with reference to existing representative JRPGs. We wanted to create a feeling closer to the origin than to the Chinese market. The fact that we wanted to bring out more of the JRPG feel is also a differentiating factor from other games.

= When we first attracted game investment, no one in Korea invested. It seems like they thought it was quite adventurous because it was something that didn't exist in existing mobile games. So we received investment from overseas. There wasn't much reaction when it was first revealed. But after the release of Star Rail, we received a lot of calls from domestic publishers. At that time, we were asked a lot of questions about why we were copying Star Rail.

We started development in 2022. We can find similarities with Star Rail, but we didn't develop it with that in mind. If Star Rail provides users with content that suits the subculture, we plan to create content that is tailored to JRPG and turn-based.

Q. It seems that the overall aspects, from character modeling to color, have improved a lot since the beginning. Are there any technical changes or things you paid attention to?

= When the Re Memento project first started, it seems like there were many trials and errors in terms of shading. While revising the story, we discussed and prepared for a dark and deep production rather than a bright open-world game.

The previously released character designs contained bright elements. We modified those parts to fit the overall worldview, such as the apocalypse. As a result, the current feeling of Re Memento has been changed. White Shadow is the subtitle. In the actual in-game, we are utilizing compositional productions and lighting that contrast black and white so that you can find related content.

= All games coming out of Blackstorm will create PVs with in-game sources. The first public video is also an actual game screen, and all of this video is also an actual game model. So the early video is the art from the early days of the project, and now you can see that the technology has developed to this point.

Q. I don't think there will be automatic battles even in turn-based battles, but how is it implemented?

= There is automatic battle. But there is no movement. Since there are exploration elements, you have to do the movement and quest orders yourself. The battle is a turn-based battle. Personally, I think the play is divided into two. I think the deck composition itself is one play. How to organize the party, what skill combinations to make, this part itself is play. In the case of automatic, we want to help users play by upgrading the AI. The default is manual, and you can press a button to play automatically.

Q. The battle system seems to be the most important, can you explain it in more detail?

= It's not complicated. It's simple enough to make you wonder if it's strategic. We aimed for strategy in simplicity. Persona, Xenoblade, etc. have very complicated systems, but I don't think this part is strategic. It's just that the rules are complicated. Re Memento is party-oriented and shares all abilities. It may be difficult to explain, but we made it very intuitive for users to see in the game. The goal was to make it easy to learn and think about how to use it.

Q. JRPG is a genre that has passed its prime. Why did you choose this genre?

= JRPG and turn-based, it's a genre that I really like. I think I can do well when I make something I like. That's the primary reason. And I think there is still a need for this genre on mobile. I think I can reach users a little more when I go to this genre.

= Blackstorm is avoiding genre classification for the games it develops. The goal is to make fun games. The goal is to go beyond genres that follow market trends. If we go beyond the previous genre, I think many users will be able to access and play the game.

Q. Please explain the BM structure.

= It includes probability-based items. Like other games, there are character and weapon gachas. However, there is fairness in the part that has battles and abilities. It's not that high-level or newly released characters have good abilities. We will use existing common abilities. Compared to other games, we are a latecomer, so we are planning to keep the price low and the probability high. There is also a ceiling system. We plan to set it a little lower than the competition.

Q. If new characters aren't strong, wouldn't the appeal of buying them be diminished?

= I don't think the game will last long if power inflation collapses. I think we need to balance the characters so that they can form various parties in PVP or PVE. We are planning to make it easy for users with light pockets to access.

Q. What about the launch specs and optimization?

= We are aiming for a Q4 release. It's in the final stages. Optimization can be continued, but it is about 70% complete now. The specs are similar to existing subculture games. Since the goal is a global release, we are considering low-end specs internally.

Q. Do you have any plans to receive feedback from users through pre-release testing?

= We have already conducted a global FGT. About 50 people participated in Korea. The results were good. We plan to conduct a CBT just before the open. The exact schedule is expected to be in November. About a thousand people will participate.

Q. What is the total development period and the number of development personnel?

= Full-scale development began about two and a half years ago. The current number of personnel is about 100. It started with an initial staff of 30. Development has been in progress with an average of 45 people. We formed a small development team, but we have a lot of ambition for the project. We will release it as perfectly as possible.

Q. It seems that the job groups are distinguished, but is it easy to distinguish them in terms of character design?

= What we paid attention to in character design is the narrative. We focused on the narrative that runs through the main story rather than the job group. There are attributes, but only the key colors are expressed. There is no design that distinguishes job groups. And the skin system is included in the launch specs. There are no stats on the skin. We plan to place it in the form of purchase and honor rewards.

Q. In the end, the charm of the character is important in subculture games. What are the elements that you focused on or kept in mind?

= In the case of subculture games, I thought that the visual elements of the character were important in the early days. However, recently, it seems that needs do not arise simply because they are pretty. I think you want to own it when the character's personality, setting, etc. are all satisfied. We tried to capture these parts. We focused the visual charm points on the elements that can explain the character's story. We didn't appeal to one part like certain games. Re Memento tried to stimulate the user's emotions.

= We tried to focus on the character's personality and narrative rather than their appearance. I thought that sincerity about the character was more important than simply being pretty.

Q. What are the growth elements and methods? And recently, there are many character interactions in subculture games. Is there anything like an interaction content?

= In the case of internal growth elements, there are leveling and level breakthrough, and awakening that consumes the same character. External growth elements include set equipment and wearing it. There is no direct messenger means, but there is a system to increase the protagonist's favorability. We plan to expand it in the future. Favorability increases when you talk to the character or give them gifts or food. There are also character quests.

Q. There is a PVP element. Subculture users tend to dislike PVP that they must do because of growth. How are the growth elements linked to single play and PVP?

= We are approaching this carefully because we know the content. Asynchronous PVP is included in the launch specs. We plan to approach real-time PVP while watching user reactions. We are trying to exclude the fact that PVP resources directly affect growth. It can affect the growth rate, etc., but there is no part that you must do PVP.

Q. How long is the single play time? And was there any directing in the voice actor's performance?

= The full cutscene is not out yet, so I haven't been able to fully check it. However, if you do it straight without any obstacles, you can do more than 20 hours of single play. The scenario writers and sound team are inside. The sound team went directly to the recording studio and directed the voice actors.

Q. How often do you plan to update the full story?

= We think the pure update cycle is 3 weeks. Characters will also be released and the story will be added little by little continuously. We are thinking of a large update every 3 months. There is actually some save volume. We will update according to the content consumption speed of the users.

= In the case of Re Memento, it is a subculture game. But the genre of turn-based RPG is more in front. The first goal is to proceed with content flow and updates in accordance with turn-based RPG. After that, we will try to update what subculture users like. We plan to update in a different direction from Star Rail, which puts subculture in front.

Q. Do you have any plans to meet users offline through G-Star before and after release?

= We will not be able to participate in G-Star this year due to internal circumstances. We are preparing a lot in terms of marketing. Even if we can't participate in G-Star, we are thinking about pop-ups around it.

Q. Please explain the exploration elements and open world.

= Users' eyes have recently become higher, so I don't want to say open world, but it is a somewhat limited open world. Re Memento is a game where you fight right there when you encounter an enemy in the world. As a result, there are some restrictions depending on the terrain. It's not the level of a recent free open world, but all the parts that you could see in JRPG are included. In the case of exploration, there are puzzles, gathering, cooking through hunting, fishing, etc., and they will continue to be added.

Q. Are there any strategic elements that can change the situation during in-game battles?

= Battle is the whole strategy. I think the focus will be on when to use skills. Skills use common resources. There is one skill per character, and the skill changes depending on the upgrade. The effect, shape, etc. change, and the ultimate skill is achieved upon final upgrade.

= It's like Clash Royale. We are preparing so that users can use various strategies depending on their familiarity. It is related to our unique development capabilities, so it is difficult to explain in detail.

Q. What are you thinking about when updating turn-based?

= We think about the meta first. We will update the subculture part while minimizing the parts that detract from the fun of turn-based RPG.

Q. Will there be cases where you balance by nerfing character performance?

= We put a lot of thought into character design to prevent that from happening. We will try to avoid character nerfs as much as possible. We plan to set a cycle for balance patches. If there is an excessive balance beyond what was intended, we will use a method of reducing the ability itself. We have no plans to make one character strong from the beginning. We prioritize play meta, cooperation between characters during party play, etc.

Q. How long will the homework time be?

= It will be less than an hour. We plan to allow users to focus on the play itself.

Q. What kind of game do you want it to be after release?

= Live-operated games usually have more users when there is an update, and the number of users drops when they have played all the content. Re Memento has high completeness and fun as a basic base, and I hope it will be a game where users can create their own play. The goal is to be a long-lasting game, a game that will be remembered for a long time. It's a genre of game I've wanted to make for a long time. The time to see the fruits is not far away. Since it is an original IP, I hope we can expand the world.

= It's Blackstorm's first work. All personnel are working together to create this work. I hope it will be loved by many users. We are thinking a lot about user satisfaction for each piece of content. We plan to move forward while thinking about what gifts we can give to users.

웹진 인벤김수진 기자
2024-09-04