The First Descendant Steam Beta Preparation: Game Introduction (2)
Hello, Descendants!
This time, we’d like to introduce you the game’s development story as well as technical and game design objectives of the Steam Beta . Also, we’d like to share the much-discussed business model of The First Descendant.
Development Story of The First Descendant
We first started developing the game in the spring of 2019 with the goal of creating a global online RPG for PC. Not many attempted to develop the loot shooter genre at that time, but we decided to create a loot shooter game, for we had believed that loot shooter genre had much potential, and that it was worth the investment. The First Descendant project kicked off using the latest version of Unreal Engine 4. After some time, Unreal Engine 5 was revealed, and the development team was really fascinated with its graphic quality. We had already made some progress in the game’s development, but finally decided that we shift to UE5 for the best graphic quality possible. One of the major reasons behind the version up was ¹Nanite and ²Lumen of UE5. In particular, we believed that Lumen’s lighting quality would be essential in future projects. Now all the members of the development team are greatly satisfied with the outcome.
¹Nanite: A technology that renders high-quality environments with billions of polygons, adding detailed expressions to the vast map.
²Lumen: The latest technology that expresses realistic light sources, and is used to express the angle of the Sun that changes over time and the lighting that changes when the door is opened.
[Go to comparison video of Twitter]
Technical Objective of the Steam Beta
There are two main technical objectives in the upcoming Steam Beta: checking the stability of the UE5 game client and large-scale online access environment. Firstly, UE5 is yet to be adopted in commercialized games, so we’d like to use this opportunity to check its stability and optimization. Also, the upcoming Steam Beta will be the very first open testing of The First Descendant. We did carry out some closed testing on a small scale, but this will be the first time where a large number of global users will be accessing the game. While we are working on necessary measures, unexpected issues may arise. Your feedback from the beta test will help us greatly in preparing for the official service.
Game Design Objective
The First Descendant aims for a loot shooter genre, a mixture of RPG and shooting games. That is, the game’s core content will be defeating enemies and acquiring (looting) rewards. On top of that, it is an online game that requires constant access to the Internet. The First Descendant’s game design highlights three types of fun: “Looting, shooting, and co-op.” The objective of the Steam Beta in game design will be asking for the Descendants’ opinion on those three elements. Descendants will play as unique characters with different skills to carry out shooting battles and collect rewards, which will then be used to grow their characters and account. Then you’ll proceed to the next stage, work together with other Descendants to challenge yourself for even harder stages. Not all content will be available for the Steam Beta, but we will be providing as much as possible to get rich feedback from around the world. Also, we would like to make constant improvements based on user feedback in terms of graphic quality, manipulation, change in core PvE elements, UX, and even more.
Direction of Business Model
We are fully aware that there are mixed concerns about the game’s business model. The First Descendant is a free-to-play game that includes in-game purchases. Despite the negative perspective toward free-to-play games, in The First Descendant, you will be able to acquire all necessary rewards by playing the game. We are not planning on adopting a business model that hinders player experience (commonly known as pay-to-win).
Future Plans
We currently aim for an official release in 2023, but we have not decided on a specific date. This is because we want to make a plan by reflecting on the feedback from the Steam beta. We will improve and develop the game, and any further changes will be updated through announcements so keep posted.
Thank you.
This time, we’d like to introduce you the game’s development story as well as technical and game design objectives of the Steam Beta . Also, we’d like to share the much-discussed business model of The First Descendant.
Development Story of The First Descendant
We first started developing the game in the spring of 2019 with the goal of creating a global online RPG for PC. Not many attempted to develop the loot shooter genre at that time, but we decided to create a loot shooter game, for we had believed that loot shooter genre had much potential, and that it was worth the investment. The First Descendant project kicked off using the latest version of Unreal Engine 4. After some time, Unreal Engine 5 was revealed, and the development team was really fascinated with its graphic quality. We had already made some progress in the game’s development, but finally decided that we shift to UE5 for the best graphic quality possible. One of the major reasons behind the version up was ¹Nanite and ²Lumen of UE5. In particular, we believed that Lumen’s lighting quality would be essential in future projects. Now all the members of the development team are greatly satisfied with the outcome.
¹Nanite: A technology that renders high-quality environments with billions of polygons, adding detailed expressions to the vast map.
²Lumen: The latest technology that expresses realistic light sources, and is used to express the angle of the Sun that changes over time and the lighting that changes when the door is opened.
[Go to comparison video of Twitter]
Technical Objective of the Steam Beta
There are two main technical objectives in the upcoming Steam Beta: checking the stability of the UE5 game client and large-scale online access environment. Firstly, UE5 is yet to be adopted in commercialized games, so we’d like to use this opportunity to check its stability and optimization. Also, the upcoming Steam Beta will be the very first open testing of The First Descendant. We did carry out some closed testing on a small scale, but this will be the first time where a large number of global users will be accessing the game. While we are working on necessary measures, unexpected issues may arise. Your feedback from the beta test will help us greatly in preparing for the official service.
Game Design Objective
The First Descendant aims for a loot shooter genre, a mixture of RPG and shooting games. That is, the game’s core content will be defeating enemies and acquiring (looting) rewards. On top of that, it is an online game that requires constant access to the Internet. The First Descendant’s game design highlights three types of fun: “Looting, shooting, and co-op.” The objective of the Steam Beta in game design will be asking for the Descendants’ opinion on those three elements. Descendants will play as unique characters with different skills to carry out shooting battles and collect rewards, which will then be used to grow their characters and account. Then you’ll proceed to the next stage, work together with other Descendants to challenge yourself for even harder stages. Not all content will be available for the Steam Beta, but we will be providing as much as possible to get rich feedback from around the world. Also, we would like to make constant improvements based on user feedback in terms of graphic quality, manipulation, change in core PvE elements, UX, and even more.
Direction of Business Model
We are fully aware that there are mixed concerns about the game’s business model. The First Descendant is a free-to-play game that includes in-game purchases. Despite the negative perspective toward free-to-play games, in The First Descendant, you will be able to acquire all necessary rewards by playing the game. We are not planning on adopting a business model that hinders player experience (commonly known as pay-to-win).
Future Plans
We currently aim for an official release in 2023, but we have not decided on a specific date. This is because we want to make a plan by reflecting on the feedback from the Steam beta. We will improve and develop the game, and any further changes will be updated through announcements so keep posted.
Thank you.