Chapter 140: Transition Strategy
On top of that, the period when many 2D MMORPGs were developed was also the absolute peak of MMORPGs, so the users secured at that time continued to remain. Korean gamers were also relatively conservative toward IP and tended to focus more on communities than direct experience, so those games simply survived for a long time.
In contrast, the American game market showed a clear dominance of 3D. Even in packaged games, Eastern countries and Japan still released quite a few 2D graphics games, but here, almost everything was truly 3D.
Even 2D games often created only the models in 3D, then converted them back into 2D images.
Therefore, if he wanted to follow global mainstream appeal and prevent MMORPGs from declining as they had in the original history, instead allowing them to keep prospering until they became virtual reality, Insu concluded that they eventually had to be made in 3D.
‘And even when thinking about virtual reality, I need to make them in 3D first.’
It was unrealistic to start making 3D games only after virtual reality technology appeared. For a bird to fly, it had to flap its wings, and even airplanes needed runways.
Moreover, Insu had no intention of waiting quietly until VR technology arrived. In his previous life, VR had still not become particularly mainstream by 2025, when he died, so if he waited passively, he had no way of knowing when he could create virtual reality.
This did not simply mean investing in technological development. Of course, he would invest, but more importantly, he would create the necessary environment, and for that, 3D games were needed first.
However, there was a concern.
Since the currently developed and serviced TLF Online was 2D, a transition was necessary.
Thinking simply, they could just release a sequel called “TLF Online 2” at the right time. In reality, several MMORPGs had attempted generational transitions in that way.
Lineage and MapleStory did so, Ragnarok attempted a transition from 2.5D to full 3D, and although it failed to launch, Gersang Online had also developed a sequel in that manner.
(Translator’s Note: Ragnarok — Korean MMORPG released in 2002 by Gravity. Based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-jin, the game became known for its 2.5D isometric graphics, class system, and strong social/community-oriented gameplay.)
‘But every transition like this failed.’
In Lineage 2’s case, it recovered its development costs and generated a certain amount of profit, but it failed to replace Lineage 1, which had been its original purpose, so it could still be called a failure.
There were several reasons for this.
First, although it continued the series name, it was not merely the graphics that differed. The system and many other aspects were also different, causing users of the existing game to perceive it as a “different game.” Because of that, gamers did not transition as much as the developer expected.
Also, advantages such as better graphics and fresh gameplay failed to overpower familiarity, sunk costs, and in-game communities.
Sunk costs, in-game society, communities, and similar factors were powerful elements that kept people playing MMORPGs, but when it came to transitioning to a new game, they acted as serious obstacles.
‘Well, I can understand it from a developer’s perspective.’
Even if a game was made with the purpose of absorbing users from a previous work, no one would want to make a game with no originality whatsoever. Moreover, from a business perspective, when a large amount of money was being invested, it would be hard to accept if the result merely preserved existing users and ended there.
So they would have wanted to make something better, absorb existing users, attract new users, and even take gamers from competitors.
But no matter how beautiful ideals were, reality was cold.
‘Thinking I alone will succeed when everyone else failed would be stupid.’
Honestly, he did still have the thought that perhaps it might work if he made it well enough. After all, there were not that many cases of MMORPGs releasing sequels, so there was not a large enough sample to be certain.
But thinking coldly, this was still not the answer.
Then only one method immediately came to mind.
‘A remaster.’
It was the process of improving an older game whose graphics no longer fit the era due to technological advancement. This was a fairly active business, commonly seen not only in MMORPGs but also in single-player packaged games.
However, it was usually done by increasing resolution or improving texture quality. Extreme remasters that converted 2D into 3D were almost nonexistent.
It would not be technically easy, but he was also worried whether existing gamers would accept it without resistance.
‘For now, I do intend to maintain the existing 2D version to some extent.’
This too was not Insu’s original idea. It was a method sometimes used by game companies that had done remasters. Games that performed extreme remasters by remaking even the modeling from scratch often used this kind of system after anticipating or experiencing backlash from existing users.
‘Warcraft III did that, right?’
Insu had played some Warcraft III when he was young. So when the remaster came out later, he bought it immediately, only to be horrified by its disastrous quality.
‘In the end, I locked it to the classic version and played that way.’
But while such a two-track method might work for a packaged game like Warcraft, it was burdensome for an MMORPG that required continuous updates. Additional content would have to be made continuously in two versions.
But he could not avoid doing it.
He planned to conquer the world with TLF Online.
Of course, right now, global internet penetration was too low, so there were no places outside America where they could service it.
Here, at least, the penetration rate was around twenty percent of all households, but other developed countries averaged only around three percent. Even the highest among them, the United Kingdom, was estimated at around six to eight percent.
It was an overwhelming difference. Honestly, looking only at internet penetration and the industry these days, it felt like watching ancient Rome and the surrounding barbarian states.
But some countries were catching up quickly, so in two or three years, countries like Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and Germany would probably reach the level where MMORPGs could be serviced, much like America now.
‘When that time comes, it might be possible to reach millions, almost ten million, concurrent users like WoW.’
This was more of a hope or goal than a prediction, but in any case, after creating such a dominant game, he could not allow it to rot away without growing further, pushed aside by newer games.
As for systems, he had already designed them while looking to the future, so he was confident they would not lose to competitors. Considering the content he planned to keep adding, they might even overwhelm them. But the thing that always gathered customers was a pretty shell.
Of course, this was still somewhat far off. TLF Online itself had not even been out for half a year, and as mentioned earlier, overseas expansion would have to wait at least two more years.
Even two years after overseas expansion, MMORPGs required more resources than single-player games, so graphical development would not be very fast. Early 3D graphics would likely be lower quality than 2D graphics.
As Insu remembered it, within MMORPGs, 2D graphics remained in their golden age until 2000, and even until 2003, 3D graphics were still in an experimental period where proper quality had not yet emerged. So they should probably target 2004 as the true transition period.
‘But honestly, even the 3D graphics that came out then were hard to call high quality.’
The titles that appeared during the post-2004 transition period included WoW, RF Online, and City of Heroes. They were at a level where the market could move from 2D to 3D, but not at a level where 3D could overwhelm 2D in quality. Even then, MMORPGs made in 2D, such as Trickster and TalesWeaver, were released and competed with 3D games.
(Translator’s Note: RF Online — Korean science-fantasy MMORPG released in 2004 by CCR. Known for combining fantasy and science-fiction elements, large-scale three-faction warfare, and full 3D MMORPG gameplay.)
(Translator’s Note: City of Heroes — American superhero MMORPG released in 2004 by Cryptic Studios and NCSoft. Focused on superhero character creation, cooperative missions, and comic book-inspired urban settings.)
(Translator’s Note: Trickster Online — Korean 2D isometric MMORPG released in 2003 by Ntreev Soft. Known for its anime-style graphics, drilling system, and casual fantasy adventure gameplay.)
(Translator’s Note: TalesWeaver — Korean MMORPG released in 2003 by Softmax. Based on the fantasy novel The Children of Rune, it featured 2D sprite characters with anime-inspired storytelling and action-oriented combat.)
So even if he aimed more leisurely for 2005 or 2006, it would not be particularly late.
‘Then there are almost ten years left…’
Of course, development would probably take almost two or three years, so the project itself would begin earlier. Even so, quite a long period remained, so he intended to take his time and prepare gradually.
This would require enormous manpower and cost, so preparing in advance with such a long view would definitely give them a strategic advantage over other developers.
In truth, other developers were not fools either, so even if they were not as clear about it as Insu, they probably had thoughts about graphical remasters or sequels. But the reason they failed to do it and faded away was likely because they could not make such long-term predictions and preparations, leaving them blocked by realistic problems such as cost.
So Insu had to make sure his future knowledge and these plans did not go to waste.
Tak-tak-tak!
Insu focused and continued writing the proposal, entering the timeline and required resources.
‘And the 2D side of the two-track strategy isn’t necessarily a loss either.’
It would allow them to keep holding onto users with low-spec computers, but Insu, who knew the future, could also think of the perfect place to use it. Without realizing it, Insu smiled and wrote it into the proposal.
The year 1996, when he had successfully launched the MMORPG he had continued planning since realizing his previous life, passed before he knew it.
When he was running only while looking at the finish line, he had not noticed it, but time continued flowing even after he passed that point. Even though he was no longer sprinting desperately, it pushed him forward as if he were standing on an escalator.
Looking at the calendar printed with 1997, Insu felt a slight chill down his spine at the thought that if he simply stood around blankly, he might accomplish nothing and arrive once more at the time when he died.
Of course, this was merely a feeling. It did not mean Insu had actually become lazy.
Even after TLF Online launched, he had continued many businesses and projects, and even now, Project Volder was still progressing and had entered prototype development.
And a few days later, on January 6, 1997, the prototype build was completed.
‘Oh…’
The title screen showed a laboratory-like space full of white colors and mechanical straight lines, with a researcher kneeling toward a hole, or portal, rippling with ominous red light.
Dark red shadows spread here and there across the laboratory, and bodies were scattered around, maximizing the ominous feeling.
And in the center, the word “Volder” was embedded in a font so clean it felt sharp.
He had already checked the drafts several times and remembered seeing the completed version, but seeing it implemented inside the game felt different.
And although it went straight to the title screen now, that was only because this was a prototype. Originally, an opening video was planned to be inserted before the title screen.
If they set the mood using narration based on the setting they had created earlier and several image videos, this title screen would feel even more meaningful.
The first thing that caught his eye on the title screen was Multiplayer.
Insu clicked it even though he already knew everything.
As expected, there was no response.
This was planned to support multiplayer like Battle.net. By Volder’s scheduled release period in 1998, internet penetration and the internet environment were expected to improve much more than now, so a Battle.net-level service should be possible.
However, he did not intend to do it exactly the same way as Blizzard.
Honestly, from a long-term perspective, Battle.net was not a particularly wise service.
For competitive games like StarCraft, there was not much for the servers to bear, and there was not much data to store, so perhaps servicing it for free was not that heavy a burden. But in Diablo’s case, it required almost MMORPG-level resources. Continuing to service that for free was not wise from a business perspective, nor was it particularly good for gamers.