Gaming Today Q&A: Jack Liu of Albatross18 Season 3 Revolution

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Albatross18, it is an MMO/casual golf simulation game that is free to play, although certain items can only be purchased with actual money. However, all characters are free, and an effort has been made to minimize the differences between monetary users and ‘free’ users. The game awards players with Pang Points, a currency that can be used to upgrade your character and your items which in turn will give you the upper hand as you play the game and its many number of courses.

I was lucky enough to have a chat with Jack Liu recently, who is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer from OGPlanet and I asked him a few questions regarding his latest endeavor Albatross 18 Season 3 Revolution. Readers will remember Jack from the previous interview we had with him back in August regarding Rumble Fighter.

Check out the interview after the break!

Gaming Today: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers a little about your latest project, Albatross18 Season 3.

Jack Liu: Hello Gaming Today, it’s Jack Liu, resident creative guru…ahem…from OGPlanet. Actually, by title, I’m the Chief Creative Officer, but doesn’t guru have a better ring to it? I digress. Let’s talk about Albatross18 Season 3. Our full title is actually Albatross18 S3 Revolution – a little wordy, but all those little words actually tell quite a lot about the newest installment of our game. The original game in its native Korea is called Pangya, a wildly successful multiplayer golf game that has long been known for its anime aesthetic, cute characters, and candyland environments. From the get-go, our relationship with the game’s developer, Ntreevsoft, has been mired in discussions about how to give the game a little more “edge” for Western audiences. We wanted to reveal the darker elements behind the story of Albatross18/Pangya to inject a little evil into the game, which stays consistent to the world but rocks it enough to be known as a “revolution.” Ntreev has always been open to improving their game (which is rather courageous considering the success their original title had already garnered – why fix what ain’t broke, right?), but were pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming response they received with the newer, darker, and badder Season 3. In a nutshell, we are ripping at the seams right now with excitement to finally release our version of Season 3 to players in the West – an audience that we believe this game was always intended for.

GT: Please tell us your inspiration for creating an online golf game?

JL: Even as a young child with no desire or knowledge about the real game of golf, I recall the pure fun I had playing the NES classic, Golf. There was just something mesmerizing about the video game of golf. Picking your tool of choice, judging wind and distance, and then timing the buttons to hit the perfect shot towards the green. And nothing felt more gratifying than hearing the 8-bit NSF sound byte of sinking the ball into the cup. I was hooked then and remain hooked today. When first working with Ntreev, I discovered that Kwanhee Seo, Ntreev’s Executive Director and “Godfather of Pangya”, was also a huge fan of video game golf, but more from the PC side. His vision with Pangya was to create a golf game that catered to groups beyond the typical demographic of male and over 25, and to mix it with MMORPG game elements that he was familiar with from gaming on the PC. He also drew inspiration from the popular South Korean female golfers that were quickly achieving stardom on the pro tour, like Se Ri Pak and Grace Park. And out of all of this, the love of video games, golf, female golfers, and MMORPG’s, came the unique game we know today as Albatross18.

GT: Like Rumble Fighter, Albatross18 is free to play, with premium items costing real money instead of pang points. What sort of new premium items can players expect?

JL: Well, I can’t really reveal too much into all the new goodies, but there are lots. From new clubs and equipment, to all new clothing and rare goods for every character, players can expect hundreds of premium items to be eventually released in Season 3. One new premium item that we are extremely excited about is purchasable scratch cards for our new Scratch Card Lottery system. In brief, scratch cards can be purchased in game for a chance to win new rare items that can never be obtained elsewhere. It’s really like a mini-game within a game, where players can try their luck at acquiring some extremely valuable goodies at a small cost.

GT: Have there been any new items added, and if so, will the characters be able to carry more than eight this time around?

JL: Since Albatross18 relies heavily on the sheer volume and selection of items contained in its Item Shop, we have planned out several hundred items to add to the game in the upcoming months. These items range from purely cosmetic, to functional items that enhance character attributes. For instance, there will be a whole new Mascot system introduced with Season 3. Mascots, much like our current caddies, can be purchased to accompany players and give them added benefits. Each mascot brings something different to the table and to answer your question, Hugo (one of our four starting Mascots to choose from) allows players to carry an extra item. This can be a huge benefit, since it allows players to use that one extra potion or magic item, right at that critical juncture, for an added edge against the competition.

GT: Albatross18 has RPG elements to gameplay. What sorts of storylines, guilds, battle, or gaming modes have been added for Season 3?

JL: With regards to the story, Season 3 finally introduces the darker elements on Pangya Island. The story revisits the Demon King, who was defeated in the backstory of Season 1, but never had any kind of presence in the game. With Season 3, we finally have a chance to bring his story back. This edgier and darker side of our game really adds a new dimension, adding a balance to the otherwise uber-cute nature of Seasons 1 and 2. It’s really cool stuff that we can’t wait for our players to see.

We’ve also added a new feature called the PSquare (“P” for Personal, People, Player) that allows users to roam freely in a 3D virtual lobby to explore, chat, trade, and meet new people within our game. It’s a whole new way for our community to interact within Albatross18 – allowing players to show off their avatars, their rare items acquired, and even to set up personal shops to sell items of their choice at prices they determine. This feature alone will probably be just as popular as the individual game modes that are available inside Albatross18.

And speaking of game modes, we will have a new “closest to pin” mode called Approach Battle Mode for players looking to test their pin-seeking skills outside of the typical golf match setup. It’s a fun way to stay engaged even when you only have just a few minutes to play Albatross18. With this new mode, you can get in, get close, and get on with whatever else you’re doing.

GT: How many new characters can players expect, and what kind of surprises do they have in store?

JL: For launch, we will only be introducing one new playable character, Kaz, the successor to the infamous Demon King. Kaz veers away from the fun-loving characters that have been rather typical of our game, and ushers in the darker elements I have alluded to so far. A master of the sword, Kaz utilizes a unique club set that is comprised of battle swords. And even for our players who might not particularly like Kaz, but want the sword golf set, we’ve made it possible to equip these clubs on any other character in our game. Kaz also comes with a surprise in his character animations. Players who score an outstanding hole, will get a glimpse of Karin, Kaz’s past love who now embraces him in spirit form.

GT: Can you tell us anything about some of the new courses?

JL: We will be introducing several new courses in Season 3, but the first will be called Deep Inferno. Unlike any of our current courses, Deep Inferno continues the dark motif of S3, and is comprised of volcanoes, barren wastelands, and flowing rivers of lava. Deep Inferno was the hiding spot for many of the Demon King’s minion, and what better place to play a round of golf than off the cliff of a giant magma crater? Observant players will also catch the powerful Black Dragon flying overhead all throughout Deep Inferno.

GT: What can players expect as far as enhancements, specifically the graphics?

JL: The main area where players will notice a huge upgrade in terms of the game’s graphics is with the new UI of the game. The entire process of logging in and finding key buttons has been heavily retooled to make the Albatross18 experience as simple and pleasurable as possible. From finding tutorials, game modes, or keystroke shortcuts, our UI has been redeveloped from the ground up to be more user-friendly and intuitive. Our past user interfaces have never been heavily criticized, and to the contrary, have been often times lauded for their ease-of-use. However, something that we push extremely hard for at OGPlanet is to constantly focus on making the end-user experience better. To give people more features and options, while making everything simpler. We think we’ve accomplished this with the new UI of Season 3.

GT: The AI in Albatross18 shows the best angle of your shot and also shows replays from different angles. Has anything new been added to this or has anything changed?

JL: Although we’ve always liked the camera AI in Albatross18, it was sometimes buggy and didn’t always choose the best angle for replays. With the version upgrade to Season 3, we had the chance to revisit this problem and adjust accordingly. On top of adding a few more variations to the replay camera angles, we have made the AI just a bit smarter to avoid obstructions to one’s beautiful hole-in-one replays.

GT: What has been your target market, and what are you doing to draw added interest for Season 3?

JL: Our target market has always been tech-savvy youth who are extremely familiar with the online space, but constantly searching for something new and more catered to their lifestyle. Our players are smart and social, and want to be regarded and respected in that way. We’ve said this before and maintain it now, but the one thing we’ve learned about gamers is that no gamer is exactly like the next. We aim to offer these individuals ways to express their unique style and to give them recognition for their differing accomplishments within all of our games. I think ultimately this is what makes us unique and gives us our appeal at OGPlanet. Having said that, we are doing several things to draw added interest for Season 3. Most of these have to do with our community in the form of community events. As of this interview, we are throwing a viral video event where we are encouraging our players to upload our Season 3 teaser movie to other communities in which they belong. Our community events always give our players the option to participate, and we aim to empower the individual community member to spread the word only if they enjoy the message. As a testament, we have a flourishing community that continues to grow and is still regarded by our company as the beacon of our business.

GT: Thank you for taking time out to speak with. Is there anything else you wish to add regarding Albatross18 Season 3?

JL: First, I’d like to give much thanks to Gaming Today and your readers for your interest in Albatross18 Season 3 Revolution. I’d also like to quickly inform all the readers that with the launch of Season 3, we will be throwing a big event called the Pangya Island Tour Event where we will be giving out cool prizes to all who participate. All you need to do is play 18 holes on all of our courses (a total of thirteen) and every player who does this will win a few Exp Candies (to level up faster), some free Phoenixes (Albatross18 golf balls), a few rare items and an Astro coupon (free game cash!). This event will last throughout the month of October, so come join us today and get some Albatross18 goodies on us!

Gaming Today would like to thank Jack for once again taking time out of his hectic schedule to speak with us. It is always a pleasure. Albatross18 Season 3 Revolution looks great and I am sure it will be an enjoyable experience for everyone who plays it. OGPlanet has had the teaser site up for Season 3 for a while now, and I am sure that fans of the series are getting a bit impatient – but guess what…. your long wait is over!

That’s right… Season 3 launches today, and OGPlanet was kind enough to pass along some cool new screenshots for the game, and if the three I have posted aren’t enough to curb your appetite – there are plenty more right here.

You can grab the full client at FileFront here.