Korea, was [MUD-Dev] [News] NCSoft + Richard Garriott

[SavantKnowsAll at cs.com]

In a message dated 5/29/01 4:34:03 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Dave at Nexon.com 
writes:

>    Diablo.  Diablo is much more successful in Korea than US.  It's
>    accidental blending, but it's a real consequence.  It's not an
>    MMOG, so if non-MMOGs are beyond the reader's consideration,
>    never mind this point.  It's also not alone, but it was probably
>    the first.  More than any other software, it created the huge
>    Korean cyber cafe infrastructure that paved the way for MMOGs to
>    sprout upon (Source: Jay Kim, Nexon Corporation, 1998).

Yes, Diablo, Starcraft, even Ultima Online are examples of successful
crossovers.  However, I don't feel they can account the success to any
real attempt at "blending," but moreso that the type of games just
happened to appeal to the culture more than most US games.

>    Hey.  :) I consider my effort real.
  
>  I apologize for the self-promotion to follow (I edited for
>  objectivity and relevance), but if you're going to talk about
>  Korean-American development there's two events prior to "NCSoft +
>  Richard Garriott" /archives/meow?group+
  
>    A) Nexon US from 1997-Present B) Shattered Galaxy from 1998-2001.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if I'm not mistaken, Nexon's work
prior to Shattered Galaxy (Tactical Commanders?) was purely
localization - rather than (re)design (read: Blending) for the US
Market -- Thus, why I did not include you.

>  A) Nexon US (mostly me) started localizing Nexon Corporation games
>  in 1997, and began designing for US and Korean markets.  Nexon has
>  been exchanging work locales of employees since 1997.  Some Koreans
>  come to the US office for a couple of months.  Some Americans go to
>  the Korean office for usually a month or less.  Every day we
>  cooperate.  And Nexon also has development offices in Japan (1999)
>  and Singapore (2000?).  So Nexon is consciously blending Korean,
>  US, and other cultures.

Alright, so I believe I was right in that it was mostly
localization...  I don't consider localization blending, since it's
not really an attempt to remake/restructure a game for a different
cultural market.

>  B) Nexon's most impressive success for joint Korean-American
>  development is Shattered Galaxy (www.sgalaxy.com or
>  www.tcommanders.com in Korea), which is a Korean-American
>  development team: mostly Korean artists and programmers plus a few
>  US game designers (primarily Kevin Saunders).  At GDC 2001,
>  Shattered Galaxy won 4 of the 6 IGF awards: Grand Prize, Audience
>  Choice, Best Game Design, and Best Technical Execution.  As Nexon
>  is self-published, we've entered the IGF every year--all 3 years
>  it's been offered, though only succeeding this time, perhaps
>  because it was the first title aimed to satisfy Korean and American
>  market.

You're right on Shattered Galaxy, however.  I did see you guys at GDC
and your presence was well-done.

It's a good first step, you're right -- In fact, probably the first
real step at "blending."

Jake being Austin, for me, signifies a more structured blending since
he (and whoever he brings with him) will be able to offer the input
and experience of Lineage and culture to Garriot, who in turn,
understands the US market equally well.

Daniel "Savant" Manachi

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