In-depth q&a with the developers of karma online: Prisoners of the dead

Joymax, a leading online game developer and publisher,
today released an in-depth interview with Jae-young Park, Lead Game Designer of Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead at Dragonfly.

The interview answers gamer's questions about what Karma Online is about, how it is different from other FPS games on the market, the difference between the factions in the game, the unique combination of WWII and
Zombies and much more. Karma Online: POD officially launches its closed beta next week on June 7th at JOYMAX.COM - Global Hub of Fun :: Karma Online : Prisoners of the Dead



Tell us about Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead

Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead is the newest installment in the KARMA
Online series. Players go back in time to World War II, where they must choose to side with the Axis or Allied powers and join the fight for global victory - with a zombie twist featuring our zombie mode. In this virtual and historical simulation, players will be up against enemy troops as well as hundreds of the walking dead from the remains of the catastrophic battle. You can learn more about the game and even join in the closed beta on June 7th at JOYMAX.COM - Global Hub of Fun :: Karma Online : Prisoners of the Dead


Tell us about the developer of the Karma series. What other games have they done?


Dragonfly is the developer of Karma and is one of the top First-Person Shooter developers in the world. Dragonfly developed one of the very first FPS titles ever published in 1996 which was called Tour of Duty.
Since then, Dragonfly has developed numerous titles including Special Force, Karma, and Karma Returns. Being one of the true pioneers of online FPS development, Dragonfly continues to build on its signature titles and is making efforts to expand its distribution overseas with the help of the strong Joymax Global Platform. Dragonfly's credits include:

Special Force: Korea's #1 Online FPS, with over 8 million members & 115,000 concurrent users, Karma: the world's 1st online FPS game, Co-development with Activision: QuakeWars Online and Soldier of Fortune Online. In
addition to the upcoming launch of Karma Online: POD, Joymax and Dragonfly will also be launching Special Force International later in 2011, starting with the Middle East, Africa, Russia and India.

Can you talk about how new players to the FPS genre will be able to get the most out of this game?


For beginners new to the Karma Online series, players can warm up their
soldiers in the special training map that is provided before actually joining the real battle. Gamers can practice their skills by shooting randomly at hundreds of zombies wandering around in AI mode, without the worries of being killed by other players. The zombie mode in Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead moves pretty fast so taking some time to train in the training mode is a great way to get used to killing hoards of zombies without getting taken out by other players who have more experience! Channels are classified by ranks and winning rate so players can pick out the best fit for them.



How does the Zombie mode work?

When creating a room, you can set the title for the room as well as game map, number of players, modes and etc. At this point, you can select
the AI mode by changing maps, to experience the zombie mode.



Talk about how players can become more strategic in terms of the weapons that they carry.



Players have to select appropriate weapons according to the structure of the team and the size and structure of the map, such as the SMG for close distance, an MG that is slow but strong, and a rifle that is extremely powerful for middle to long distances.

With the Karma inventory system, players can carry many main weapons as
long as it does not go over the weight limit. However, players will need to
strategically think about what combination of weapons and armor they will
carry. The weaponry for Karma Online: POD is being revealed slowly through our Facebook and Twitter; so far we've shown nearly a dozen that will be available, but we're keeping the total number a secret! It will include rifles, handguns, grenades, and more of course.


How is this FPS title different than other ones out in the market?


FPS players like games that are fast-paced and Karma Online: POD is very
fast. If you try playing a different game after adjusting to Karma, you may find that other games are too slow. Another differentiating point is that players can develop their character and create weapon or equipment settings freely for their specific character. This is something you cannot enjoy in other multi-play online FPS games. Karma OnlineOD also stands out
because of its exciting zombie mode with a huge number of fast-moving
zombies, a character system where you can create and develop unique characters, fast combat progression, accurate and detailed fire, an inventory system where you can freely combine weapons and equipment, and a convenient match-making system that automatically calls up players of similar levels.



Tell us about the difference between the two factions.


Since this is an FPS game, it becomes difficult to maintain a balance if there is a big difference between factions, so each faction has similar appearances
and skills. The difference in terms of appearance is that most Axis forces have
bluish uniforms, and most Allied forces have reddish uniforms in a military style. However, the factions develop characteristics according to the differences in characters and skills of each faction (This is a difference from other FPS games too). The Axis forces have many characters with skills based on strong firepower, and Allied forces have more characters with skills for fast movement and accurate firing. This is something that shows the
individuality of the factions. The characteristics were decided based on what we know about Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.


What made you decide to choose WWII as a theme
setting?


WWII was a devastating event with a lot of tension and it was a frightening
time in history for the whole world. It was also a time where many medical
experiments were being done on human bodies. Karma Online takes some of that feeling and experience of horror and terror from the historical event and integrates it into game's background setting. Zombies continued to generate as a result of the human body experiments as WWII went on and in all this chaos, the Allies fight against the Axis powers while continuously trying to use zombies as a bio-weapon.


How many players per map are supported?


The basic structure is 8:8, but there are slight differences depending on the map.


How many different maps will be available to start?


While the game will have a total of 23 maps and 33 modes when it is fully launched, during Beta we will initially provide 8 maps and 9 modes. Once
the beta is complete, we'll be adding in the rest over time as well as developing new content.


Are clans supported? Will they be in the future?


Clans will be available beginning with the open beta testing. It will
be web-based, so players can create clans, request clan battles and manage clan information through the web. There will be an automatic clan matching system so if you make a request inside a game, the system will automatically match up clans of similar levels, allowing players to enjoy clan battles more conveniently.


What sort of progression (levels, improvements) do players get?


Basically, you must kill more and die less. Of course, inside the game there's a very complex logic and calculation for getting points to upgrade your level,
however, it's simple outside. Kill as many as possible and survive the
match. If your team wins, you get more extra points on top of your individual point from killing and death. As you earn more points, it will boost up the speed of level up. Levels in Karma are just like in the real army. First you start off as Trainee. The ranks are as below. Trainee, Private, Private First Class, Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class, Master Sergeant, Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, General
and General of the Army. The highest level will be newly added to global version; however, the title hasn't been decided yet.