No doubt about it: The Kingdom Under Fire series is always changing. After dabbling in action and role-playing elements in the traditionally real-time strategy series (even combining the two in the action-heavy Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom), developers are bringing it back home and online with the RTS-focused Kingdom Under Fire II. Revolving around a concept they're dubbing MOARTS (multiplayer online action real-time strategy, naturally), the game looks to be well on its way to once again redefining the KUF series. To get a better handle on the game's new direction, we spoke with Blueside's executive producer and director, SangYoun Lee.
GameSpot: How did you decide which direction to go in for a new KUF? The series has gone in a few different directions now, so how did you decide which way to go this time?
SangYoun Lee: Kingdom Under Fire II is the true sequel to Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. It is being developed with the goal to perfect the genre of action real-time strategy, which was first introduced in The Crusaders. In order to achieve that goal, the elements of action and strategy must be fused perfectly well. We've implemented many deep and sophisticated game mechanics, so that the action in Kingdom Under Fire II can go beyond just delivering the fun of hack and slash; the game is designed in a way such that the action can add to the aspect of strategy by being part of its tactical gameplay. Also, we believe that the real excitement and fun of strategy games can be enjoyed when you play them with other people. To create a game that can be enjoyed by a lot of people and for a long time, we are re-creating and enhancing the online multiplayer portion of the game, to be presented with battles of unprecedented scales.
GS: How much did player feedback on the last game affect development on KUFII?
SL: A lot of user feedbacks were taken into consideration in development of the game. After the release of Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, many of those who played the game gave us lots of feedbacks, and we agreed with many of the points made in those feedbacks, and it helped us a great deal in making a better sequel. The tough learning curve of the game and the aspect of strategy being a little weak in online multiplayer were pointed out as things to be improved upon. And those improvements we've implemented in Kingdom Under Fire II. The steep learning curve is no more, and the new sequel will be more accessible than ever to all gamers. As for the multiplayer aspect, we've added a number of new concepts, such as "mothership," "providing support for troops," and "capturing of bases." The tactical aspect of gameplay, encouraging the players to exploit different geographical features of each battle map, which has already been introduced in Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, will also be present in the new sequel as well, and with all tactical elements mentioned above or to be revealed, Kingdom Under Fire II is going to test your tactical battle skills more rigorously than all other strategy games. You will be introduced to battles with the most extensive scope of strategic choices.
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