Last November, through a joint interview with G-Star, I was finally able to see the appearance of ‘Ever Soul’ to some extent. From attractive spirits to stories that players can naturally move into, to strategic battles in which the know-how of the battle system built up with the ‘Heroes’ Corps’ was fully demonstrated. Although all the attractive elements that attract users were appealed, 9 months passed without all this information being disclosed in detail.
In the meantime, images and new illustrations were introduced, but while users were still struggling without a loud voice, Eversoul announced a new teaser for a long time and announced that it was regarding to be released. However, it is also true that complete information was not disclosed only through teasing, and Game Mecca decided to meet with Eversoul PD Kim Chul-hee to hear more regarding the game.
Q. I am curious to what extent development has progressed since the last G-Star.
Kim Chul-hee PD (herefollowing Kim): The development will be completed soon, and QA will be conducted in cooperation with the publisher, Kakao Games. Now, it can be seen that it is in the stage of refining for the launch at the end of the year.
Q. How many people are currently developing Eversoul?
seaweed: About 60-70 people are participating in the development.
Q. I’m curious regarding what part of the world you had the most trouble with.
seaweed: Eversoul has a worldview that mixes traditional fantasy with a bit of science fiction and post-apocalyptic. While building a new worldview rather than the existing IP, I put everything I liked first. After that, while developing, other screenwriters added and subtracted their favorite materials in their own way, and as a result, I think that a wonderful worldview full of romance was created.
Q. If you might tell the main story of Eversoul, what would it be?
seaweed: In this modern world we live in, scientists one day suddenly discovered an organ capable of exerting superpowers. As a result, a historic transition occurs in which all human beings become superhumans, and the humans before this point are classified as old humans and new humans with superhuman powers as superhumans.
Superhumans, who developed their spiritual abilities as they became superhumans, learn regarding the existence of spirits that have been around us but have not been noticed by mankind, and soon use the spirits with powerful power as weapons. The power of the spirits possessed becomes the standard of national power, and as the war using the spirits goes to the extreme, mankind will eventually come to an end due to the power of the powerful spirits. In the world of Eversoul, World War 3 was destroyed not by nuclear war, but by spirit war.
To escape this destruction, only a small number of humans leave the earth on the ark, and the earth becomes a world of spirits that have survived following the end of the world. That world is the only paradise on earth, ‘Eden’. In Eden, the spirits love and conflict with each other, build a civilization, and live in peace. And in the distant future, the story begins when the superhumans who left on the ark return to become rulers of the earth once more.
Q. What are the differences that Eversoul pursues?
seaweed: The keyword that Eversoul can put forward as a differentiator as a subculture game is ‘connection’. The game was made with the hope that the characters in the game would not be simply mercenaries for battle, but rather live and create relationships with the players in the world of Eden.
Q. Could you please briefly introduce the ‘relationship content’ that gives you the feeling of being in a relationship with a spirit?
seaweed: When bond points (a kind of favorable feeling) accumulate, the hidden stories of the spirits are opened one by one. And as the player progresses through these hidden stories, the story diverges, and the ending is different depending on the player’s choice. Illustrations and videos are opened depending on the branch, and when you see the true ending, you can get the character’s costume.
As the story progresses, you will see new aspects of the character, for example, a spirit who goes on a date wearing clothes that the main character gave to him, or a character with an idol concept, showing the stage costumes that will go on to the final final stage, as the story progresses. You can see these new faces of the characters, and when you clear the story, you can acquire and actually own the costumes with this new look.
If you want to see a different ending following watching the true ending, you can start a new relationship story. The accumulated favorability is not initialized, but the story can be initialized, so you can look at the contents of other branches.
Q. I wonder how many kinds of collectible spirits (characters) were conceived at the time of release.
seaweed: A total of 42 characters are revealed. Among them, there are 30 Epic Spirits.
Q. What content will be available as an update following release?
seaweed: Apart from the release of new spirits, content that can supply and receive growth goods in the form of an event is applied. In addition to goods, it can also receive spirits and collect specific costumes. Large-scale updates are also planned on a regular basis, and the top arena contents ‘Champions Arena’ and ‘Guild Raid’ are also in preparation.
Q. What is your favorite element in the game you developed?
seaweed: I like to create my own little characters. It is an element called a custom profile that reflects this and is implemented in the game. Elements that can decorate the profile can be supplied gradually in-game. As the story progresses, the illustrations can be used in the profile when they are opened.
Q. Few elements of the battle were revealed. Can you provide a little more detailed explanation?
seaweed: The most important strategic aspect of this game is when and where to place it rather than ‘strategic’. Considering the synergy effect or compatibility according to the type is the most important factor in battle. It does not require excellent physical skills in battle, and each spirit adjusts when and who uses the skill first. In addition to the basic skills, there are ultimate skills that use common party resources for each spirit, which can be used by users according to the situation by watching the battle.
Through this, it proceeds in the direction of pursuing the strategy. Of course, automatic battles are also available. Eversoul is well filled with the strategic elements that have been built up in the Legion of Heroes. As placement is important, there are also skills related to location, such as a spirit that goes behind the furthest enemy or turns off the aggro of the nearest enemy.
Q. You recently released a new illustration. Is there a message in the design of the illustration?
seaweed: It is an illustration that imaged a part of the scenario development. I thought it was meaningful as it was a scene in which the ark, an important material in the Eversoul worldview, broke the long silence and the balance of the front was changed in the situation of an enemy invasion.
Q. What kind of content do you plan to present to users before release?
seaweed: Various contents such as characters, world view, illustrations, and OST will be released sequentially.
Q. You said that a male character (spirit) might appear, is it going as planned?
seaweed: According to the world view, Adam, the first spirit body created, was discarded for some reason, and since Eve produced later became a popular model, most of the spirits took the form of women. By default, spirits do not have a gender, but as you play the game, you can see some spirits with masculine appearances, and you can also meet neutral characters. These contents are subject to change according to plans for future collaborations, etc.
Q. What kind of competitiveness do you think Eversoul has in the global market?
seaweed: We expect that many people around the world will like Eversoul’s animation-style graphics, unique atmosphere, and worldview. In addition, I think that you can feel the depth of Eversoul in the part where elements that can be attached to the character are carefully put aside from the rules of a simple collection game.
Q. When is the most important release date for ‘Ever Soul’?
seaweed: Advance reservations have been made since October, and the launch is expected to be around November. It is scheduled to be released simultaneously worldwide including Korea, excluding Japan and China. The two countries will be prepared and released separately later. We hope to see you within the year.
Q. Interview impressions, words to users waiting for Eversoul
seaweed: You’ve been waiting a lot since last G-Star. Eversoul is a beautiful, strategic and deep game because it has a unique worldview with beautiful graphics. This depth includes not only the depth of the game, but also various depths such as the depth of emotion. We hope to see you soon, and please look forward to it.
