"Bright Kingdom Online" announced an update plan for 2007. "1st offline meeting" report
　On February 10, High Five Entertainment held an offline event, "The 1st Brakin Offline Meeting ," inviting players of the MMORPG "Bright Kingdom Online" (hereafter, Brakin). 　This involves selecting and inviting 16 players (including 3 game attendants) from among the players who have applied in advance, and discussing the current status and future prospects of the work with the management staff/developers of Blakin. An event where you can talk slowly and carefully. 　Mr. Soon Young Yang (hereinafter referred to as Mr. Yang), who oversees the development of Brakin at ARAGON Networks, also rushed to the venue and had a good time while dining with the participants. In this article, we will report on the pattern at that time. 　Mr. Yang was interviewed separately after the event. We plan to post an article about that at a later date. ■ Developers and ■ players candidly talk about Bulakin's current situation









President Shiomi Sawa, also known as “Shioniku,” appeared at the gathering place. Participants would have noticed it even if they didn't have a brakin sign
　In front of a certain station in Tokyo, which was the meeting place for the day, Shiomi Sawa, the president of Hi-Five, who is known as "Shioniku", appeared himself with a signboard of Brakin. Most of the general players who participated this time seemed to be nervous at first, probably because they met each other for the first time, but when Mr. Sawa, who everyone knows as a Brakin player, appeared, "Ah, It's that person!"

　Once all the participants had gathered, the party moved to a coffee shop (chartered) near High Five. This event basically proceeded in a format in which the participants served their favorite foods in a buffet style, while the high-five staff acted as moderators. And from time to time, Mr. Yang of ARAGON Networks and general players are asked for comments.

　The first topic of the offline meeting was Blackin's current situation. What kind of meaning did the update items recently introduced in the game have for the game management / development side? Opinions such as how one of the players received it were exchanged directly.

　For example, Mr. Sawa seems to have considered a plan to introduce it as a chargeable item, regarding the fact that high-ranked weapons began to be dropped from monsters. However, it is said that he decided to introduce it by the normal drop method, saying, "If that happens, the user will be disappointed."
　Also, the shape of the "wheel" of the carriage placed as an object in the city is not a proper circle (actually a heptagon), which has been bothering me since the first time I played Brakin. . For a long time, he had been thinking about modifying it into a circle shape, but recently he changed his mind and came to the philosophical view that ``this is a world where carriages can move even with these wheels (laughter)''. In this work, which is characterized by moderately deformed character models, it is somewhat unique that the president continues to stick to the wheels.

　Mr. Sawa reports that people who have already challenged the high-level kingdom quest "Great Pino's Runaway", which was just introduced three days before the event was held (February 8), are participating in the offline meeting. was also surprised.
　Currently, in this Kingdom Quest, it has been confirmed that the experience value is not properly obtained, but according to Mr. Yang, the Korean side is currently working on fixing it. He said he would patch it soon, so let's wait and see.
　By the way, Mr. Yang seems to be extremely busy with the development work of this work. Just the other day, he came home for the first time in two weeks and was scolded by his wife. Such invisible (?) Efforts may contribute to improving the content and stability of Brakin... As a player, I would like to make various requests while hoping for peace in Yang's marital relationship.

The venue is a cafe somewhere in Tokyo that is rented out and used. By the way, there is a high five office a few minutes on foot from this place.
		



■ Roadmap of "Shining Reload" unveiled for the first time
Mr. Sawa, also known as "Shioniku", the president of High Five. The Korean version of the service ended in December, but he reassured the participants by stating that he would create a Brakin specialized for Japan in the future.
　At the offline meeting, an announcement was also made about the large-scale update "Shining Reload" currently being deployed. The concept of the update was announced again by Yukihiro Horiuchi, MMORPG general producer of High Five.

　Shining Reload is a group of updates to grow Brakin into a "more comfortable game" through a three-pronged approach: "strengthening the community", "strengthening the existing system", and "adding a new system". From February 1st, an update entitled "Shining Reload Chapter 1" has been held every Thursday, and this trend is expected to continue until March 8th.

　Let's take a look at the upcoming updates that were revealed at the event. "Giant Hanning", which was introduced on February 15, is a new kingdom quest that can be enjoyed by up to 15 characters of levels 30 to 40.
　The Hanning, who can't live without honey, attack Eldrin's honey warehouse. But the warehouse is empty, and the background story is that an enraged Hanning begins attacking the people of Eldrin indiscriminately.
　Until now, there were few types of Kingdom Quests around level 40, so Mr. Sawa commented, "I want to make up for it with Giant Hanning."

　The "Existing Kingdom Quest Ban" scheduled for March 1 and March 8 is an update that relaxes the level conditions when participating in Kingdom Quest. This will somewhat alleviate the problem of characters leveling up and exceeding the target level range for their favorite Kingdom Quests.

　According to Horiuchi, Kingdom Quest will continue to improve the system to make it easier to play. For example, it seems that they want to fine-tune the number and time of events during times when player access is concentrated.
　At that point, Mr. Sawa immediately said, "I'm sad that it's overflowing when I apply for Kinque, so I'd like it to be easier to reserve." Mr. Horiuchi, who did not expect to receive a work order in this way, answered (?) in a cold sweat, "For now, I will try to worry with Mr. Yang."

Top left: Mr. Yang, who is involved in development at ARAGON Networks, also took time out of his busy development work. Top right: Mr. Horiuchi, the producer in charge of Brakin, who seems to be quite satisfied with the success in Japan　 . In 2007, more than last year, he said he wanted to create a “brother feeling” in the game. Bottom left:　This slide shows only “Chapter 1”. Shining reload itself is an update that will be deployed over a longer　span . People with characters of level 30-40 should look forward to it
		
		


　The overall roadmap for Shining Reload was also revealed for the first time during the offline meeting. A closer look at the roadmap reveals that updates will continue until the end of 2007, and the scale of the project has far exceeded expectations for many participants. At the moment, many of the details, including the date and time of introduction, are undecided, but let's briefly explain the whole picture of Shining Reload that has been revealed this time. [Strengthening the Community] ●Guild Tournament　A PvP-based tournament between guilds, scheduled to be held over a period of one week to one month. The number of guilds registered in the game is quite large, and the tournament battle is likely to be very exciting. 　● This feature has been planned since before the marriage system , but it is said that it is finally possible to realize it recently. They want male and female characters to not just get married, but to be able to get some kind of advantage by forming a pair. ●Master-student system　A high-level player character and a low-level player character become partners, and while they are logged in at the same time, they can enjoy benefits in some way. Like the marriage system, it is a function that has been requested by many players, and it can be said that it is a Brakin-like development that emphasizes the community. ● Mini-house internal implementation & internal decoration function　When using the "mini-house", you can change the area inside the room and use it as a private area. Various developments can be expected, such as inviting friends to chat and decorating the house. [System Enhancement] Content expansion up to Lv99


















　The current level cap is 79, but this will be extended to level 99 by the fall of 2007. In addition, various contents such as Kingdom Quest will be prepared accordingly.

●Enchant system
　Currently, you can "forge" weapons at a blacksmith, but a system that allows you to strengthen weapons with a different approach. It seems that you can add your favorite type to weapons from among several magic attributes, so the range of tactics seems to expand considerably ● Status random option The system that has already been introduced, but it will be reconstructed to give the character more

individuality
　. I would like to change it so that it can be used.

● Battle field system
　Introduction of areas for interpersonal battles (PvP). Mr. Yang believes that about 20% of players will enjoy interpersonal battles, but he is having difficulty coordinating with the high-five side because of disagreements. As for the idea of ​​the high-five side, "I want to give some kind of inevitability, not dry interpersonal battles such as PKs, and make it a form that players can understand."

		


[Addition of content]
●Hairstyle change
　Currently, there are only three face types for each occupation, but they are planning to increase variations in the future. Development work has already begun, but it is said that they are considering whether existing characters can change their hairstyles.

●Face decoration function
　"Glasses", "earrings" and other accessories are planned to be introduced. Regarding earrings, there are already status-up ones, but aside from that, a type that will be reflected in the appearance will be introduced. As with hairstyles, you will be able to personalize your character.

●Function to change facial
　expressions By increasing the facial expressions of the character, it makes it easier to communicate. I would like you to imagine an update that increases the number of emotional expression function items.

● Reconstruction of the world view and addition of story Many of the
　current quests are monotonous, such as "Collect how many monster drops". In the future, I would like to step into the world one step further and increase the variation of quests.



Renewal of Eldrin
　On February 1st, the town "Lumen" that the player first visits was renewed, but it is said that other towns will be renewed in the future. Although the exact implementation time has not been clarified, it seems that the renewal work of the largest city in the game "Eldrin" is currently underway.
　If you look closely at the screenshot, you can see that a new castle has been built on the west side of the map. There is also a building that looks like a stadium in the south, and the staff said, "It would be interesting if soccer could be played here." ■ The Q&A corner was lively




During the question and answer session, there was also a scene where Mr. Yang unintentionally crossed his arms and groaned. I could feel the enthusiasm about how the game could be improved.
　After the explanation of the update items in Shining Reload, the formal announcement was suspended for the time being. Attendees may have been a little overwhelmed, partly because there were so many updates, but the atmosphere seemed to soften again after this break.
　After a short break, questions from players, including those that were recruited in advance, were answered by the management/development staff. If you post all the exchanges, it will be a considerable amount, so here we will introduce the items that the players will be interested in.

Q:
　Do staff members play Blakin in private?

Mr. Sawa:
　Archer, who was originally played as a secondary character, has now passed the main character and has grown to level 30. There is also a level 26 cleric, and you mainly use these two characters.
　Also, there is a female fighter who has stopped raising her level at less than 10 in order to play the Kingdom Quest of "King Boyon's Counterattack". However, only the weapons have been strangely powered up by "training". If there's a weird character with a +9 short sword and a +8 wood shield, it's definitely me (laughs).

Mr. Yang:
　I'm secretly logging in to get feedback on updates. I can't speak Japanese, so I can't understand the content of the chat, but I'm always paying attention to how everyone is playing.

Q:
　Do you have any specific ideas for encouraging new players to join?

Mr. Yang:
　From the early stages of development, Blakin's goal was to be "beginner-friendly", and the quests for tutorials have been enriched. However, looking at the actual player trends, about 80% of the people went straight to adventure without doing the tutorial. When I see such a situation, I'm always worried about how to make the game easier for beginners to play.
　If players have good ideas, please write them on the bulletin board.

Q:
　Compared to the currently busiest city, Eldrin, another city, Urga, is deserted. Can this issue be resolved?

Mr. Yang:
　Uruga was originally a town area for advanced players targeting character level 70 and above. Currently, there are still few people who have reached that level, and as a result, Uruga may be deserted. I think that Uruga will become more lively as the character's level range rises in the future.

Q:
　How do you deal with cheating such as RMT, bots, and cheats?

Mr. Yang:
　We have already implemented measures to prevent major cheats such as packet encryption and speed hacks, so we believe that an environment where players can play safely is in place. By the way, so far there have been no reports of server or client hacking.

Q:
　What areas will be added in the future?

Mr. Sawa:
　First of all, we are planning 4 types of maps suitable for high-level characters up to level 99. In addition, we plan to have 2 types of small dungeons used for some quests, 3 types of maps used for PvP and Kingdom Quests, and 3 types of maps used for GvG and tournaments.

Q:
　I would like you to create a common community space that can be easily moved from each city.

Mr. Yang:
　We've been working on ideas for transportation for some time, but recently we've finally reached a point. It is a system close to what you proposed, and we are currently considering it.

Although I felt some awkwardness in the progress during the event, it was a fully satisfying event overall. I'm looking forward to the second offline event
		


　And finally, the rock-paper-scissors competition that is familiar in such events. Mixed with standard items such as Blakin's posters, WebMoney, and autographs of the developers, unique items such as "Shioniku dolls" and "Hanning dolls (hand-sewn by President Sawa)" were released. The participants went home with presents in their hands.

　Through this event, I felt strongly again that Blakin (or rather, a company called High Five) is very user-friendly. The existence of "game attendants" who support players from a position closer to the game master than the game master, and events for beginners that are held almost every day, including the environment outside the game, "Burakin" gives the impression of a kind of theme park. There is a sense of excitement that if you continue playing the game, something will surely happen.

　Some people may be worried about the impact on the Japanese version, such as the temporary termination of the service of the Korean version "Shine Online" in December 2006, but considering the current high five motivation. , it seems to be expected for the time being. In fact, the number of unique users has been steadily increasing since the second half of 2006. Half a year has passed since the official service, and I would like to pay attention to the future of Burakin, which will be further powered up. (Kawasaki Seiichiro)