Massively multiplayer online role-playing games let players create a character and then explore a persistent and colorful world with thousands of like-minded adventurers. Groundbreaking games like Ultima Online and EverQuest combined colorful graphics with role-playing features like fighting monsters, gaining experience levels, and outfitting your characters with powerful weapons and armor. But while these games were taking hold in North America, NCsoft's Lineage was taking the Asian market by storm. The game reportedly has millions of subscribers--a level of success that has prompted developer NCsoft to get to work on a sequel, which will be launched in North America this April.

　　Lineage II will let you play as both an adventurer seeking fame and fortune and a guildsman fighting for an organized clan. Lineage II will attempt to improve upon everything that was enjoyable about the original game, while streamlining certain features and also offering a powerful new graphics engine. You'll be able to play as a character who belongs to one of a number of different fantasy races, then join a long-standing player association, or "clan" (also known as "guilds" in other online role-playing games), not only to seek fame and fortune, but also to struggle for political control of the land against other clans. NCsoft's internal Team E&G is working on this promising online RPG sequel, and we sat down with the team's lead designer, Raoul Kim, for an update.

　　GameSpot: Give us an update on Lineage II's current status. What aspects of the game is the development team working on?

　　Raoul Kim: We've been working hard on the first installment of Lineage II, known as chronicle 1. The castle war, alliance functions, and the earth dragon Antharas, as well as various party-type monsters, are major parts to chronicle 1. We have also been adjusting the balance between all the classes, which has gone really well. On the whole, I'd say our recent work has made the game more fast-paced.

　　GS: We know that Lineage II has already been released in Asia. How well have players received the game? Which suggestions that you have received from players in Asia do you plan to implement into the final North American version of the game?

　　RK: The success of Lineage II in Asia has been even better than we expected. We are hearing from every branch office we have about what players want. We definitely are listening to our players--we go through the suggestions submitted to us and pick those that support our game concept best, prioritize them, and implement them. There are too many suggestions that we have taken to list here, but rest assured that we are listening to our players--including those currently in the North American beta.

　　GS: Now that Lineage II has launched in Asia and is in testing stateside, tell us about some of the player-versus-environment (PvE) content that has been added to the game. If players don't wish to immediately join a clan and get into large-scale battles, how much content, such as quests, crafting, and treasure-hunting, is available? Could you give us some examples?

　　The game will attempt to incorporate strategy into its hunting parties. RK: The first chronicle includes unique PvE factors. A typical example is the emergence of various monster groups that think strategically and behave in a party. I believe this system will make players more excited about hunting. Newly added quests have been developed to be like minigames. Also, there are plenty of items for players to craft. Some of them have an additional spell effect when combined as a set. The most exciting part of the PvE system, though, is the confrontation with Antharas [a powerful dragon]. We put a lot of emphasis on the visuals; I bet players will be really excited about it.

　　GS: More specifically, does the game have better options for solo players who have limited time in their schedules and can't necessarily commit to hunting parties or a clan? Will Lineage II support solo play all the way into the highest character levels, or will players be forced to join groups and clans at some point to continue their careers?

　　RK: Lineage II is well balanced for solo play. The balance between party play and solo play is constantly being adjusted. We will always support players who wish to go it alone, even though party play is a special feature of the game.

　　GS: How will clans change the overall game of Lineage II in the long term? Will the entire game eventually become less about hunting monsters and more about joining the right clan and engaging in power struggles?

　　RK: The clan in Lineage II basically is an organization whose purpose is to attain power. But the clan does not only exist to engage in power struggles--it is also about community. When it comes to hunting, rewards are based on how much work each individual in the clan did to help accomplish a particular goal. But as mentioned before, clan or party play is not necessary to enjoy Lineage II. There are also political aspects to solo play in the game, should a solo player want to engage in them.

　　GS: What other long-term plans are in the works for Lineage II? We assume that the development team will continue to improve and rebalance the game with continuous updates and add some new content as well. Can we expect to see the development team implement short-term events such as raids or invasions by developer-controlled characters? Can we expect to see large-scale changes that will affect the game's story, background, monster population, and geography?

　　The world of Lineage II will change over time--and not always for the better. RK: Like Lineage, Lineage II will have many world-expanding updates over the next couple of years. The updates in Lineage II are called chronicles. The first chronicle, Harbingers of War, will launch with the game in North America this spring. The second chronicle is expected to reach North American markets around the third quarter 2004. And yes, you can expect to see some really cool changes to the game over time!

　　GS: Thanks for your time.