As a prelude to the upcoming G*Star 2012 beginning next week, Korean MMO giant held a special media conference to showcase the company’s biggest MMORPG ever, Bless. The project was so big with around 150 staff, a subsidiary call Neowiz Bless Studio was formed in September 2009. The game is brought to life using Unreal Engine 3.
Bless will feature 2 opposing factions, each with 5 different races (view them here). There are a total of 8 races, with them being Guardian, Berserker, Paladin, Ranger, Assassin, Mage, Warlock and Mystic. The media conference only showcased the former 4, with combat being the traditional tab-target format.
As always, there is bound to be a Q&A session with the development team. Here are a couple short ones which I summarized, with not really any spoilers since the game is still in development.
Q: When will Closed Beta and Open Beta take place?
A: Most probably first half of next year, as there is no scheduled date yet for Closed Beta. Open Beta will depend on Closed Beta’s progress.
Q: What will the playable demo client at G*Star 2012 feature?
A: 3 races and 4 classes (Guardian, Berserker, Paladin, Ranger), as showcased at today’s event, will be in the demo client.
Q: What about the game’s required hardware specifications?
A: The minimum requirement now will be a dual core system and 9800GT graphics card.
Q: To what extent will the content for each race be different?
A: The starting point, or town, will be different for all races. Through various quests, all races will eventually meet.
Q: Are there any plans to expand Bless overseas?
A: South Korea is the priority market now. We are of course researching about possible expansion into regions such as North America, China and Europe. We must make sure the storyline, business model and content is suitable for each market.
