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Aion (video game)

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Aion: The Tower of Eternity
Developer(s)Aion Team Development Dept
Publisher(s)
EngineCryEngine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • SK: November 25, 2008
Genre(s)MMORPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Aion: The Tower of Eternity (Korean: 아이온: 영원의 탑), known also as The Tower of AION (タワー オブ アイオン) in Japan, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by NCsoft, a major Korean game developer. Aion was (up until May 20, 2009)[citation needed] known as "Aion: The Tower of Eternity" but was released in North America under the one-word title of Aion. The game combines PvP and PvE (a concept the developers call PvPvE) in a fantasy game environment. As of May 20, 2009, Aion has 3.5 million subscribers in Asia.[5] AION's first major expansion was released to North America and Europe on September 7, 2010 under the name AION: Assault on Balaurea. NCsoft had held a tournament during the AAT festival, 100 players had signed up. The winner of the tournament was 'Malaka' who is on the Vaizel Server.

The most notable event to ever occur in North Anerican Aion history was the Battle of the Divine in the fortress raids of the Abyss on the 28th of November 2010. Over 800 Asmodians and Elyos gathered for the battle. The Elyos gathered in Terminon landing 1 hour prior to the battle with over 400 players, led by Argos. The Asmodians gathered in Miren fortress with over 450 players ready for battle and they were led by Tkayy, one of the most well known and famous players in Vaizel's history. At 8pm Eastern Standard time, Divine fortress turned vulnerable, and the war for the long awaited content began. Hundreds from both factions began to fly to the fortress. The Asmodians landed first at the fortress gate.

Plot

In the beginning, Aion benevolently watched over his world Atreia. He created the humans, and the Balaur to safeguard and watch over them. Eventually, the Balaur became obsessed with power and subjugation. Five of the Balaur rose to a height of strength above the rest, and became known as the five Dragon Lords. When Aion refused to grant them the power they desired, the power to rival his own, they revolted and declared war on the god that created them. Aion's hand was forced, and he created the twelve Empyrean Lords, beings of divinity and power to protect the Tower of Eternity.

Some humans "ascended" to become Daeva and, like the Empyrean Lords, had wings and the ability to fight the Balaur. With time, enough Daevas rose to form an army. The Empyrean Lords would lead the Daeva into battle and fight ceaselessly. Eventually an attempt at peace with the Balaur was made. The five Drakan Lords were invited inside the barrier for peace talks, but before the peace-talks could begin, one of the Drakan Lords was nearly assassinated by an unknown assailant. In the fighting that followed, the Tower of Eternity was destroyed, resulting in the cataclysm that broke Atreia in half. Five Empyrean Lords, most of whom opposed the peace treaty, came to power in the dark part of the world, "Asmodae," and became known as the Shedim Lords. Another five who had mostly desired peace became the Seraphim Lords and ruled over the lower half of Atreia, "Elysea." Two of the Empyrean Lords sacrificed themselves to keep Atreia from crumbling entirely.

Those that lived in the light part of the world, the Elyos, saw little change. These followers of the Seraphim Lords created the city of Sanctum. The inhabitants of the upper part, the Asmodians, saw many changes. Their hands became claw-like, their feet became talons. The darkness made their complexion cool, and their eyes grew red adapting to the absence of light. They live in the city of Pandaemonium under the rule of the Shedim Lords.

Players begin the game as a character whose background isn't totally known. It is hinted, through early quests, that the player's character came to the various factions through an accident, though they (the player) do not remember where they came from. Due to this memory loss, it is assumed that the player is human, and they are treated as such. However, over time, by completing tasks increasing in magnitude, preventing the Balaur from being summoned to the beginning zone, they "ascend" as winged, immortal Daevas. The ascension process takes place at their respective capitol cities, though the tone is different depending on the race chosen. In the case of the Elysea, the ascension is met with great celebration and treated as though the player's "friends" (NPCs from the quest chain) suspected all along that the player was one of the immortal Daeva. However, in the case of the Asmodae, the tone is very different. The character's quests leading up to that point had them acting as a "scavenger" of sorts, and they are seen and treated as being a "lower" life form of a lower station. However, when asked to prove their divinity, under penalty of death, the Asmodae player spreads their wings to the shock (and horror to some) of the assembled guests. From that point on the questing experience is relatively similar, though further minor nuances are found that do differentiate the two races.

Gameplay

Character customization

The character creation system allows customization such as adjusting the height, weight and scale of various body parts. Different hair styles, skin colors, facial textures and voices can also be chosen. Further detailing can be found in the selection of eye shape and color, nose shape, ear size and shape and tattoos for the character's face and body.

The game allows players to dye their equipment to change its color and to change the graphics of one weapon or armor to that of another that they have in their inventory. This allows a player to display equipment graphics of items which they find visually appealing, while benefiting from the actual stats of different weapons or armors. Players can only change the graphics of a piece of equipment to that of another piece of equipment of the same type.

This adds another layer of customization (as it allows players to control the look of their avatar without sacrificing the better stats of an item that they find visually unappealing[6]) and strategy to the game.

Skill chains

Many of the skills acquired as characters progress may only be performed in a certain order, or chain. Generally the skills located farther along in the chain are more powerful than those at the beginning, or those that have no prerequisite.

PvPvE system

The end game of Aion revolves around battles within the Abyss (PvP zone). Within the Abyss are fortresses which can be controlled by individual Legions (Aion equivalent of a guild). Battle for control of these castles involves combat against players of the opposing faction and computer controlled NPCs at the same time, using siege weapons obtained from end game PvE raid content. Legions in control of a castle are entitled to funding from taxes and players within the faction get specials from NPCs and discounts for travel and vendor items.[7] The game currently does not allow factions to fight against those of their own race, except for casual duels or practice in the Arena.

The participation in PvP is rewarded with Abyss Points in the game. The game ranks players as battles are won against fellow players based on their participation in the Abyss. At higher ranks the character's wings will change in appearance to show the character's elevated status. Also certain items can be purchased with these points such as high-end armor and weapons. This is referred to as the Abyss Rank system, and there can only be a limited number of high ranking players per server. The highest ranking players compete for the relatively few rank positions available.[8] Abyss points are gained by killing other players in combat, and points are lost by being killed by another player. Higher points are awarded for a kill of a much higher ranked player than for killing an equal or lower ranked player.

Classes

There are four primary classes, and eight specialized classes in the game. Players start the game by choosing one of the four primary classes: Warrior, Mage, Scout, or Priest. After attaining level 10, the player must choose from two specialized classes associated with their chosen class. Warriors may become a Templar or a Gladiator; Mages may become a Sorcerer or Spiritmaster; Scouts choose from Assassin or Ranger; and Priests from Cleric or a Chanter.

Grouping

Up to six players may form a group, to assist one another in battle, and share the benefits of victory. Certain areas are designed for group play and a group is required to enter some areas in the game. Up to four groups may form an Alliance for situations that call for greater force of numbers. Being a member of an Alliance restricts you the rewards received when a quest designed for single or group play is completed. [citation needed]

Crafting

The base process involves learning a particular form of crafting, of which there are six in Aion: weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, handicrafting, tailoring, alchemy, and cooking. Players can learn all six crafting professions, but can be an Expert in only two.

Any item that can be crafted is actually composed of several individual components, or materials. The player can either learn which materials are needed for a particular item automatically or via purchase of the design. Generally these materials must be purchased from vendors or from other players, gathered out in the wild (via collection or extraction), crafted already, or morphed. Not everything can be crafted, however.[9]

Flight

There are many different aspects to flight in Aion, which plays a vital role in Travel, Combat, Quests, and Crafting. Flying is only permitted in certain areas, known as flight zones. Flight is limited to 60 seconds but can be increased with various armor, titles, and other items in-game.[10]

Quests

There are three type of quests in Aion: ordinary quests, campaign quests and Work Orders. Ordinary quests require the player to complete a task to receive a reward. Campaign quests are focused on story, and are crucial for player progression. Work Orders are used to increase skill in a chosen profession. Some quests are repeatable. Some quests especially campaign quests, cannot be shared or abandoned.[11]

Development

Aion was first announced and previewed at the May 2006 E3 Expo.[12] It was developed at NCSoft's software design studio in South Korea. The Korean closed beta test began in late 2007,[13] followed by an open beta test in November 2008. A localized Chinese version began closed beta testing in December 2008, with open testing beginning on April 8, 2009.

The game was then localized for Western markets, including North America, Europe, and Australia. NCSoft held six weekend long closed beta tests for North American and European players beginning in June, 2009. An open beta began in September 2009. During the course of this open beta, the anti-cheat program GameGuard was removed. GameGuard is used in many Asian-market games to stop botting and cheating, but was abandoned for Western markets due to a range of issues experienced during the open beta. GameGuard is still used in the Asian markets.[citation needed]

After the release of patch 1.5 NCSOFT began opening up Public Testing Servers for NA and EU users. Since Korean players had this ability at launch. Players can experience the new patches with slight increase of exp and drop rates before they're sent off to the live servers. NCSOFT offers no In-game support for PTS.

Expansions

AION: Assault on Balaurea

Released on September 7, 2010, this expansion evolves the game’s story and terrain as it expands the game world of Atreia far beyond the traditional territories of Asmodae and Elysea. In this expansion, characters take the fight against the invading Balaur into Balaurea, the Balaur’s homeland. Players will receive new challenges, novel and updated instances and zones, an increased level cap from 50 to 55, and fresh weapons, items, skills, and flight mechanics. The expansion also introduces functional pets equipped with in-game benefits that will rapidly become constant character companions.[14] While Assault on Balaurea is a free expansion for NA and EU players, NCSOFT released a retail box version with bonus content such as an in-game pet, which varies depending on the retailer from which the purchase is made.[15]

Music

The official "Aion: The Tower of Eternity" Original Soundtrack was released as a single CD featuring 22 tracks written by composer Yang Bang-Ean (Also known as Ryo Kunihiko in Japan). The soundtrack was released in Japan and Korea on October 21, 2008, and in North America and Europe as part of the Collector's Edition. The soundtrack was also released on iTunes on October 20, 2009.[16]

AION ~ The Tower Of Eternity ~ tracklist
No.TitleLength
1."The Tower of Eternity"4:01
2."The Wings of Knight (Original Version)"2:54
3."A Fairy of The Peace"4:30
4."Kingdom of Light"4:30
5."Song of Moonlight"3:24
6."Solid State Battle"3:06
7."Death Waltz"2:44
8."Magma & Beast"3:14
9."Blue Forest"3:13
10."Forgotten Sorrow (English Version)"4:02
11."Step to The Next World"3:20
12."Darkness in Your Heart"3:28
13."Voices from The Ruins"4:35
14."Attack The Unsion"2:17
15."Arabesque"2:12
16."Dream of The Shepherd"2:59
17."Red Land"3:40
18."Dark's Innocence"3:30
19."Raging Strings"3:23
20."Flying Dragon"3:20
21."Heaven's Gate"3:21
22."Forgotten Sorrow (Korean Version)"3:55
Total length:72 Minutes

The Second official album called "AION - Annales of Atreia" was released on May 10, 2010 via the iTunes Store for $9.99 USD. Composers Inro Joo and Wonki Kim created the Original Soundtrack with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.[17]

Aion - Annales of Atreia ~ tracklist
No.TitleLength
1."Prologue - Birth"1:39
2."Chapter 1 - Dawn"1:19
3."Chapter 2 - Becoming"3:36
4."Chapter 3 - Conspiracy"3:28
5."Chapter 4 - Collapse"2:12
6."Chapter 5 - Disruption"1:17
7."Chapter 6 - Deva's Marcia"2:53
8."Chapter 7 - Blessed Land"2:57
9."Chapter 8 - Darkened Land"2:23
10."Chapter 9 - Abyss"1:56
11."Chapter 10 - Banned Reunion"1:31
12."Chapter 11 - Chaos"2:36
13."Chapter 12 - Irreversible 1000 Years: Tchaikovsky Homage"2:32
14."Chapter 13 - Aion, Chapter 14 - Quietude"2:41
15."Chapter 15 - Annales of Atreia: Main Theme"5:44
16."Chapter 16 - Epilogue - Deva's Oratorio"3:28
17."Shugo Medley (Bonus Track)"5:36
Total length:47.7 Minutes

Release

  • South Korea: Aion was released in South Korea on November 25, 2008, making this the first country to get a final release of the game. Given the success of NCsoft's previous games, Lineage and Lineage II, Aion had been a highly anticipated game in South Korea ever since its announcement.
  • Japan: NCSoft released the game on July 17, 2009 in Japan under NCSoft Japan. As of February 2, 2010, Pixiv collaborated with NCsoft for a special fan art contest.[18]
  • Australia: NCsoft is distributing Aion in Australia through QV Software, and was released on September 22, 2009. In Australia, 3 editions were released: Collectors Edition, Limited Edition, and the Standard Edition.[19] The game is also being distributed via Valve Software's digital distribution platform, Steam, within this region.
  • Taiwan: NCsoft began an open beta of Aion in Taiwan on June 7, 2009, and was released on July 21, 2009. v1.5 was released on October 21, 2009. v2.0 was released on October 13, 2010. And v2.1 was released on November 24, 2010.
  • Europe: NCsoft released the final version of Aion in Europe on September 25, 2009.[20] In Europe, Aion was available in two editions: Standard Edition and Collectors Edition. The latter includes many in-game items, figurines, posters, and the Official Aion Soundtrack CD by composer Yang Bang-Ean (known as Ryo Kunihiko in Japan).
  • North America: Aion was released in North America on September 22, 2009. The release was accompanied by a free comic book from Wildstorm, Aiva's Story by writers David Noonan and Ricardo Sanchez, with art by Neil Googe[21] for those who preordered. Also for those who preordered gained a 3 day head start before launch. Aion was in available in two editions: Standard Edition and Collectors Edition. The latter includes many in-game items, figurines, posters, and the Official Aion Soundtrack CD by composer Yang Bang-Ean (known as Ryo Kunihiko in Japan). The Game was made available through Retailers for DVD purchase, and Via download from NCsoft, Steam, Gamestop's website, File Planet and Direct2Drive.
  • Russia: Aion open beta running since December 8, 2009.[22] In Russia, Aion is supposed to use a mixed payment model with monthly subscription and additional payments for in-game items and benefits.[23]

Sales and revenue

Aion was the biggest MMO release in recent years according to NCsoft, with 400,000 pre-orders in the US. The game generated 40.6 billion won ($32.7 million) in the fiscal quarter in South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Japan.[24] In China, over 1 million players logged in within the first four days of release.[25]

On its western release, Aion became the best-selling PC game of September 2009.[26] It also managed to remain at No. 1 on both the Steam and Direct2Drive charts for several weeks.[27][28] By 9 November 2009, the game had sold nearly 1 million copies in the west, with 500,000 units sold in the US and 470,000 units in Europe. The success of Aion resulted in NCsoft's quarterly revenues to rise 112% for a total of $142 million.[29]

Reception

Aion has received generally positive responses from professional reviewers. Review aggregator Metacritic lists an average review score of 76%.[31] Positive reviews have cited that Aion provides a "refreshing look" from an artistic perspective and a "great first impression", with a lot of polish and balance.[33] IGN states that Aion "tries to offer something for everyone and succeeds at it, albeit in varying degrees and at different stages".[32]

Negative reviews focus on the game's tendency towards "grinding" and its lack of innovative features. GameSpot's review noted that the first levels of the game were "fast-paced and intuitive", but that grinding "quickly became obtrusive".[34] X-Play reviewed that "after a few hours it'll become apparent that there isn't much radically different here". GameSpot also noted that the servers appeared to be unable to handle the number of players involved in large-scale PVP.

Awards

  • Best MMORPG, 2009 RPGLand.com RPGs of the Year 2009[41]
  • Best New Game, 2009 MMORPG.com 2009 Awards[42]
  • Best Online Game, 2009 Gamescom Awards[43]
  • Best MMO, 2009 Inside Gaming’s Best MMO of PAX[44]
  • Best Korean Game of the Year, 2008 Korean Game Awards[45]

References

  1. ^ [1] Aiononline.com, June 23, 2009
  2. ^ [2] aion.qvsoftware.com.au, June 24, 2009
  3. ^ [3] Findlay Marketing Ltd., July 21, 2009
  4. ^ [4] Eu.Aiononline.com, June 23, 2009
  5. ^ http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/985/985368p1.html
  6. ^ GC2007: In-depth Aion Overview and Impressions Curse.com
  7. ^ GC 2007 In-Game Presentation GameTrailers.com
  8. ^ "Aion Online: The Official Aion Fantasy MMORPG Website - PowerWiki". Aiononline.com. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  9. ^ "Aion Online: The Official Aion Fantasy MMORPG Website - PowerWiki". Aiononline.com. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  10. ^ "Aion Online: The Official Aion Fantasy MMORPG Website - PowerWiki". Aiononline.com. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  11. ^ "Aion Online: The Official Aion Fantasy MMORPG Website - PowerWiki". Aiononline.com. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  12. ^ CGOnline, Aion Announced by Josh Williams, GCOnline, May 3, 2006
  13. ^ "NCsoft Announces 2007 Second Quarter Financial Results" Business Wire, August 7, 2007
  14. ^ http://powerwiki.na.aiononline.com/aion/Patch+Notes+2.0
  15. ^ http://forums.aiononline.com/na/showthread.php?t=18031
  16. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/aion-original-sound-track/id326637458
  17. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/aion-annales-of-atreia/id389013162
  18. ^ "完成型MMORPG　「The Tower of AION」公式サイト :: ニュース:". NC Japan. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  19. ^ "Aion - Australian Home Page". QV Software. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  20. ^ http://na.aiononline.com/en/news/aion-launches-this-september.html
  21. ^ NCsoft and DC Comics Unveil "Aiva's Story" (press release), Comic Book Resources, September 2, 2009
  22. ^ [5] Innova Systems press release on DTF.ru in Russian, December 8, 2009
  23. ^ [6] Innova Systems press release on DTF.ru in Russian, April 4, 2009
  24. ^ http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/25303/Aion_Preorders_Reach_400000.php
  25. ^ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/04/24/one-million-play-aion-in-china/
  26. ^ http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/20/ncsofts-aion-perches-atop-the-us-pc-charts-for-sept/
  27. ^ http://kotaku.com/5365525/pc-sales-charts-yeah-yeah-aion
  28. ^ http://kotaku.com/5370618/pc-sales-charts-aion-aion
  29. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/nearly-1-million-copies-of-aion-shifted
  30. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/932526-aion/index.html
  31. ^ a b "Aion: The Tower of Eternity PC Reviews". MetaCritic. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  32. ^ a b "IGN Aion Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  33. ^ a b "X-Play Aion Review". G4TV. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  34. ^ a b "Gamespot Aion Review". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  35. ^ http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/aion/1046013p1.html
  36. ^ http://pc.gamezone.com/reviews/item/aion_pc_review/
  37. ^ http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/pc/games/157054.Aion/reviews/133932.Aion/
  38. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/aion-the-tower-of-eternity-review?page=3
  39. ^ a b http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/aion/review.html?mode=web&tag=scoresummary%3Bcritic-score
  40. ^ http://g4tv.com/games/pc/62664/aion/review/
  41. ^ "RPGLand.com RPGs of the Year 2009". RPGLand.com. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  42. ^ "MMORPG Best New Game of 2009". MMORPG.com. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  43. ^ http://aion.ign.com/articles/news/3959/Aion-claims-gamescom-Best-Online-Game-prize
  44. ^ http://blog.me0w.co.uk/aion/2009/09/14/aion-wins-inside-gamings-best-mmo-of-pax-2/
  45. ^ http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/51791
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