Vortex Gaming

'4GROUND9', unveiled last August, is a new collectible RPG from Nerdystar, a development company newly established by the developers of 'Exos Heroes,' which garnered attention for its stylish visuals. This title, revealed through a publishing agreement with Singaporean game development and distribution company Garena, also caught the eye with its unique character designs and art.

'4GROUND9', which has been quietly in development since then, has confirmed its participation in 'AGF 2024', Korea's largest subculture event, which will be held at KINTEX in Ilsan from December 7th to 8th. We visited the developer Nerdystar ahead of AGF 2024 to learn more about '4GROUND9', which is preparing to make a full impression on users by unveiling a playable build for the first time at AGF 2024.

Retro-futurism and everyday collectible RPG
An unusual near-future adventure, not a dystopia, 4GROUND9

Q. The title of the game 4GROUND9 is very unique, what does it mean?

Choi Young-jun =The main stage of the game is a near-future mega-city called 'Beerhaven', which, to put it metaphorically, is a vertical version of 'Snowpiercer'. The city is divided into three areas starting from the bottom: Underground, Midground, and Airground. The main characters will meet characters from these three grounds while going through various stories, and the meaning is that they will move towards the fourth ground, an ideal that did not exist in that world. The number 9 at the end is related to the story, so it's better to check it out while playing.

Q. Recently, more and more subculture games are incorporating urban elements, what are the differentiating points?

Son Min-seok =There's a professional term called 'retro-futurism' for the direction we're pursuing in art. So we emphasized this part. To explain in more detail, it's a style that adds a retro element to the future that we've generally imagined. We added a bit more of the 80s and 90s feel here. We thought that this would create a new art style where imagination lives in familiar memories.

Personally, I think the visual design of that era was cheesy and childish, but also the most glamorous. And there was a different kind of wit than now. I thought that if we mixed that feeling well into a futuristic world, we could create a witty and fun world.

Q. You mentioned Snowpiercer earlier, but I think it's necessary to explain the atmosphere and design of the world in more detail.

Son Min-seok =Retro and future, aren't these two contradictory concepts? Our first step was to think about how to capture those two conflicting feelings. I think the best material to show that feeling is a newsstand. It has the feeling of the 80s and 90s, but what it deals with is futuristic, you could say it captures that unique feeling.

In terms of character design, the main character 'Bit' is the best example. He has a mechanical prosthetic leg, and when implementing the design of that prosthetic leg, we were inspired by classic cars from the 80s. When he transforms by wearing a mask to fight in earnest, we wanted to capture the sensibility of the Power Rangers. On the other hand, the design of the suit that he transforms into is designed to add the latest feel, like the Iron Man suit from Marvel movies. The basic tone of 4GROUND9 is to mix those conflicting emotions of retro and future to show something different.

There's also the Snowpiercer story, and most works set in a classic-mixed near future deal with dystopia, so you might think we're in that mood too. Our differentiating point is that it's not. Rather than a world destroyed by some external force or resisting that external force, we wanted to show a more special, yet perhaps plausible, near-future and witty everyday life.

Choi Young-jun =First of all, the group the main character belongs to has that feeling. They're low-level employees working at a small errand center called 'Moonlight Express'. They're not living day-to-day in some ruined world, and it's not a story about fighting against a demon king or some force that will destroy the world. The various things that each unique character experiences while roaming the city in their daily lives are what '4GROUND9' wants to explore.

Q. You've been attracting attention for your stylish visuals and art since before. The background has changed a bit this time, but I'm curious how you tried to maintain the stylishness.

Son Min-seok =I wondered how to add personality beyond being cool and pretty. After thinking about it in various ways, I focused on mixing conflicting elements or elements with completely different feelings in the design, as I mentioned earlier. If the character is based on the feeling of Japanese shonen manga style, the UI to support it is created in the style of American cartoons from the 80s and 90s, etc., to give a unique feeling by fusing different styles. Not to mention the combination of retro and futurism that I mentioned earlier.

Another thing to mention is the harmony of East and West. Personally, I really like adding the feeling of Korea, especially the Joseon Dynasty, like a seasoning. I did that in Exos Heroes too, and I put a lot of that feeling in this time as well. But it was too much and it felt like it was deviating from the basic tone that I had set from the beginning of development. So I removed some of that part and continued to adjust it by mixing it with other elements.

Q. It's not a seamless open world, but I feel like you put a lot of effort into the design of the city, as well as the graphics and production. What is the optimization specification you are aiming for?

Choi Young-jun =The standard is open-world games or high-quality subculture games that are popular these days, and we are preparing with the idea that we need to optimize it even better than that. Currently, internal testing is based on the Galaxy S21.

Q. You talked about the special daily life of a near-future city, but I think it's necessary to introduce in more detail what the user's alter ego and the main characters do to unfold that story.

Choi Young-jun =The user is the president of 'Moonlight Express', a kind of errand center. And the main characters, including Bit, Ruai, and Joa, belong to that place, and the main content of Season 1 is the process of going through ups and downs while receiving and solving various requests.

The reason why we teamed up as an errand center is that it's good for telling stories in various areas. I thought it would be good to widely roam from the underground to the airground and get involved with various teams. In addition to Moonlight Express, we plan to tell the stories of unique teams and characters in each area of the underground, midground, and airground, so please look forward to it.

Son Min-seok =In the early days, the three of us, the PD, the director, and I, talked about how to lead the story of this game. At that time, as I mentioned earlier, there was also content related to the title, but there was talk about a drama called 'Moonlighting' that I watched when I was young.

To briefly explain the contents of the drama for reference, it's a comic romance in which Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd solve cases they're asked to do. Rather than a single main story, the story unfolds in various ways, focusing on the requests they receive from time to time, and that's how we thought we should proceed. The name of the errand center, Moonlight Express, was also influenced by the Blue Moon Detective Agency.

Or, in animation, there are cookie episodes that come out after the ending is all over. I thought it would be fun to develop it that way. Anyway, the core of our game is to unfold it with a lighter and wittier content, not a heavy story.

Q. But usually, a world with a vertical structure makes you think of heavy themes. I think it's necessary to explain the atmosphere and characteristics of each area of the underground, midground, and airground in more detail.

Choi Young-jun =I think it's because I talked about 'Snowpiercer' at first. I wanted to say that the atmosphere is dramatically different, but it's not about heavy themes such as wealth inequality or class inequality. Rather, it's more appropriate to see it as completely different areas.

Son Min-seok =When designing the design and world, I think we need to talk about 'Navi Industry', which is the core. That's because the Beerhaven area itself started from that company. We designed it so that the company first settled in the underground and gradually moved upwards to the midground and airground.

So the underground is not the dystopia that we often talk about. I don't know if this analogy is correct, but should I call it a dark COEX? Of course, there are commercial districts and things like that, and there is a life of its own. It's closer to the cyberpunk feel, but rather than being decadent and criminal, we pursued everyday life and retro more.

The midground is the everyday life that we often think of. The appearance of a 'city' that we often think of is designed based on the theme of retro-futurism, centered on the tower that Navi Industry built. I think this part is easy to understand because it has already been revealed through the artwork that was released at the time of the first release. The last airground is currently being worked on more visually, and it is a place with a stronger futuristic feel that we often think of when we think of SF. We are considering various ways to make it appeal to the public without making it too maniacal while preserving each of those characteristics.

Lighter, more immersive
Two-track strategy for story/growth in three-dimensional characters and cities

Q. Recently, the hot topic of collectible RPGs is how to appeal to the characters who will tell the story in that world. How are you preparing for this part?

Choi Young-jun =First of all, I think the first impression depends on the 'visual', and I'm not too worried about this part because the art team is doing well. After that, I think the key is how to unfold and express the personality and various inner parts, the story that users will see.

In this part, we are refining the experience of building up the 'Memorial Saga', that is, the character story, from the previous Exos Heroes. It will be a different name in 4GROUND9, and it will be unfolded in a different way according to the world, but that's what I can say at this stage. And by adding SNS elements that appear in recent collectible RPGs, we want to create a feeling of interacting with the characters.

Son Min-seok =When I read the scenario, I felt that the light characters and the deep characters were well harmonized. The members of Moonlight Express are a little light and friendly so that it is easy to approach their way of speaking, and the character is also clearly structured so that you can tell right away. At the same time, we are thinking about a direction to adjust the pace and tone by including stories that you gradually get to know and sympathize with other characters that appear in the early and mid stages.

Q. Combat is an essential part of RPGs, what are the characteristics of 4GROUND9's combat?

Choi Young-jun =Basically, it consists of a party of 5, and 3 of them will fight in the field. It's not turn-based, but real-time combat, and the user can choose one of the three characters in the field to control the enemy targeting, combat skills, tags, and wake-up actions. Like other RPGs where party members fight together in real time, the basic attacks of other characters are performed automatically.

We also wanted to capture the fun of building a deck, which is one of the characteristics of collectible RPGs, such as filling the groggy gauge to make the enemy groggy and then stacking combo gauges with additional hits to feed combo skills, or 'Chainstring', a skill that is activated when tagging between relationship characters. In addition, we paid attention to the camera work so that you can feel the excitement of playing a fighting game.

Q. Most collectible RPGs, especially games where life-size 3D characters walk around the field, have a horizontal screen, but it's unique that you adopted a vertical screen. Of course, horizontal screens are also supported, but is there a reason why you based it on a vertical screen?

Choi Young-jun =I thought that the trend of collectible RPGs is becoming more light, so I thought that the format that suits that is a vertical screen. Conceptually, as I said earlier, the vertical feeling of the underground, midground, and airground is stronger. I thought that the vertical screen was more in line with that. There is also an SNS function, and SNS is usually based on a vertical screen. We adopted a vertical screen considering that point.

However, it's not a game that has nothing to do from the beginning, and since there are users who don't prefer vertical screens, we developed it to support horizontal screens as well.

Q. It's good to implement the space of the city in depth in terms of design, but what you can do in it is also important. How are you preparing for this part?

Choi Young-jun =It's like a question of how to express and capture the charm of the world, characters, and story in collectible RPGs in terms of content. This is something I really thought about a lot when I was in Exos Heroes.

First of all, the story of each character that I mentioned earlier is one of the cores. There were contents that told the story of the past or future through a certain character, or another story connected to that character, which was also in Exos Heroes before, and we are newly refining this part to fit 4GROUND9.

When you access various contents, you usually access them through your phone, so we put various mini-games in it to give users a different kind of fun. I also have a strange expectation that you might enjoy that game more than the main game (?).

As such, the world has changed this time, so we wanted to strengthen the daily bond with the characters living in that world a little differently from before. I mentioned SNS earlier, and it's called 'Navi Chat' in the game.

Son Min-seok =To talk more about Navi Chat, the development direction is to create an SNS where users and characters interact by linking AI. Rather than just uploading what is set or responding in a set way, we wanted to give the feeling that the character is really living and breathing in that city and bonding with the user. At first, I wondered if this would be possible, but as AI gradually developed and we ourselves researched in various ways, it is now within sight.

In addition, AI is partially used in in-game data, illustration production, and other processes. Ultimately, we are looking at a direction where users can also create characters and unfold various stories together, and we are considering and researching in various ways to realize this goal.

Q. In a way, AI is a taboo element when talking about collectible RPGs. Can you elaborate on how you are using it?

Son Min-seok =As you said, I had a lot of concerns. This is because negative perceptions are bound to be ingrained.

However, one thing to make clear is that design is a human domain. We are not going beyond that, and the line and philosophy are firm. People often say 'click', but you can never get the design you want with that level. The quality and characteristics can only be brought to life by humans.

On the other hand, I thought that it would be too much for a small and medium-sized company like us to follow the orthodox way in a situation where games from huge companies are doing well. However, we can't compromise on quality. In this situation, I wanted to prove that we can efficiently continue to update with quality. To do that, we needed a way to increase productivity, and AI is only an aid to increase that productivity.

Choi Young-jun =When I was servicing Exos Heroes, the physical time to prepare for updates was very tight. However, if we reuse resources to save time, users will say that it's a rehash and it will be disappointing. I had such a dilemma, and I wanted to overcome these limitations and give a newer and more different feeling with each update. Of course, as AD said, AI is only an auxiliary means. The core is human power.

Q. Usually, collectible games become bonsai at some point, how long is 4GROUND9's homework time? Also, what are the main contents?

Choi Young-jun =It's not confirmed yet, but the goal is to finish homework within 30 minutes. We are following the general picture of collectible RPGs, where you focus more when there is a big event.

In the past, it was a trend to keep holding or turning on mobile phone games, but these days, it's very difficult if it's too long. Of course, if there's nothing to do in the beginning, it's empty and you don't do it, so I think it's a trend to prepare something to do in the early stages of release, and then eat it short and often when it gets on track. We are trying to match this trend.

If I have to talk about the main contents, I think I should start by explaining that the main story and the growth contents are separated. The main story is a familiar method if you have played MMORPG, where you receive a request at a certain point and the story you experience while performing it unfolds in the field.

Growth content is content that you access through your phone, as I mentioned earlier. Among them, the main content is 'Sweeping'. It's a content where you build a deck and continue fighting to break through the stages. There are also elements inspired by idle games such as Net Mining, which automatically earns rewards even when you are not connected to the game. In addition, we are refining content familiar to collectible RPG users, such as raid boss battles, code, tower-type dungeons, infinity circuits, and PVP, to match the concept, design, and character balance of our game.

'4GROUND9' to be unveiled at AGF 2024
Under development with the goal of testing in early next year and releasing in the second half of the year

Q. Collectible RPGs have become important not only for the quality of the game, but also for operation and communication, how are you preparing for this?

Choi Young-jun =I'm cautious because I think it's too early to talk about this process yet. I have the determination to do well, and I am always mindful of the basics of listening to feedback and preparing accordingly. It's difficult to talk about a blueprint beyond that because there is little that has been revealed and there is no opportunity to meet users directly. However, it is certain that we will not forget the basics.

Son Min-seok =In a way, the AI tool I mentioned earlier can be seen as encapsulating the vision we are presenting. I talked about users creating characters earlier, and we are thinking about creating a feeling of bonding and contact by breaking the fourth wall and communicating with users, such as Deadpool-like characters, or in-game characters communicating through various external channels. We are thinking about what we can do to give the feeling that we are going beyond what we provide, that users are creating and that we are with users.

Q. You will be demonstrating at AGF 2024, how much is the build?

Choi Young-jun :It's difficult to play for a long time at the demonstration site. So we compressed it into a build that can be played for about 2-30 minutes so that you can experience the entire gameplay. We also shortened the main story accordingly, and prepared it so that users can preview what the combat system is and what the main contents are.

Q. AGF 2024 will be the first time users will see the real thing, what points would you like users to pay attention to during that demonstration time?

Choi Young-jun =More than anything else, I'm curious about how they will feel about our game at first glance. As I said, this is the first time we are showing the real thing to users. In that respect, I put a lot of effort into the camera direction, especially in combat, and I'm curious about how they will see this part. On the other hand, I'm sorry that I couldn't tell the story much and couldn't show that part, but I will prepare to show it satisfactorily at CBT and at the time of release.

Q. After AGF 2024, you will start preparing for testing and release in earnest, how are you planning to do it?

Choi Young-jun =We want to prepare for testing in early next year, or more precisely in February or March. We want to conduct an open beta test after the closed beta test, and we are developing with the goal of releasing it in the second half of next year.

Q. Please say a word to the users who are waiting for 4GROUND9.

Choi Young-jun =I hope that users can enjoy our game comfortably and happily without any burden. We want to make a game that you can enjoy without stress, so please look forward to it.

Webzine InvenReporter Yoon Seo-ho
2024-12-04