Aion™ is the most visually stunning MMORPG (massively multiplayer
online role-playing game) ever made. Cutting-edge graphics redefine
your expectations of online role-playing and reveal a true fantasy
world where divine beings wage a war that will determine the future of
the world.
Plot:
"In Aion, players are divided between those that are "The Chosen" and
those that are "The Fallen." The Tower of Eternity exists as a gateway
into the Abyss, and acts as a portal between dimensions. When a great
evil opens the gateways, it awakens the Dragons imprisoned within the
Abyss, who seek revenge on both worlds. It is here that an epic
conflict begins, as you take your first steps on a journey to bring
salvation to the world."
"In Aion: The Tower of Eternity, players must choose a side between two
warring factions: the Chosen or the Fallen. Once their world was whole;
a perfect union joined at the center by The Tower of Eternity. When a
great catastrophe shattered The Tower of Eternity, it split the world
into two halves - and awoke the Dragons, a warring race exiled within
the extra-dimensional Abyss. The Dragons now seek revenge on both of
these new worlds, sparking an epic conflict. The part you play, the
side you choose and the decisions you make will help determine the
ultimate fate of Aion."
Factions:
There are 3 factions in Aion, 2 of which are playable. The two playable factions are The Chosen and The Fallen.
~The Chosen:
The Chosen live in the lower portion of the World of Aion which is said to be "more alive, vibrant." (Ju-hyun Jang, Producer)
~The Fallen:
The Fallen live in the upper portion of the World of Aion which is "more somber... darker." (Ju-hyun Jang, Producer)
~The Dragons:
The third faction which are server-controlled are the dragons. "The
(Dragons) are a server-controlled NPC faction, so players cannot choose
to play them. However, just because they are controlled by the server
doesn't mean they are stupid; they can make choices, and players will
never quite know what they are going to do. For example, imagine a
castle siege-style scenario, where one of the player factions, the
(Fallen), is attacking the (Chosen) faction's castle. In the middle of
this siege, the Yong may appear. When they arrive, no-one will know
what they are going to do. They may have previously helped the
(Fallen), but that doesn't matter; in the siege, they might betray them
and help the (Chosen). Or they might help the (Fallen) to siege the
(Chosen's) castle. Or... they might try and take the castle for
themselves, fighting against both the (Chosen) and the (Fallen). The
important thing to realize is that the (Dragons) are not typical NPCs.
They are the third faction in the game, and they have free will, which
makes them very unpredictable." (Ju-hyun Jang, Producer)
~Factions
Unfortunately there have been no pictures released of The Fallen
faction yet. All the people that are seen in the screenshots and
concept art have been from The Chosen or The Dragon factions. However,
it has been said that The Fallen are "darker and more opulent."
Classes:
There's not a lot known about the different classes other than pictures of them and their names:
~Wizard
~Ranger
~Fighter
~Priest
The World
Atreia, the name of the world of Aion, is not like any other conventional world.
"In the beginning, Aion was a single world, a hollow globe intersected
vertically at its core by The Tower of Eternity. After a cataclysmic
event that occurs in the game's pre-history, the top and bottom halves
of the world are split in two, with the Tower of Eternity reduced to a
shattered ruin."
Ju-hyun Jang explains:
“The world of Aion resembles a globe, divided horizontally into two
halves. The lower half is the world of the Chun (The Chosen), the upper
half is the world of the Ma (The Fallen). So basically the world-map of
Aion is not on a horizontal plane, like a traditional fantasy world;
instead it's vertical. With this in mind, some parts of both worlds can
only be accessed from the air - such as floating castles, and islands
in the sky. Because of this, all of the player characters can gain
wings."
The area lying in-between these two worlds is referred to as the Abyss.
"The Abyss is the great battlefield of Aion, which consists of flying
rocks and pieces of land. Located on these flying "islands" are
military bases and strongholds. Large battles and sieges take place
here between the Chun (The Chosen) and the Ma (The Fallen) and the
third NPC controlled faction Yong (The Dragons)."
The Abyss will also host flying dungeons to explore and dominate.
Flying
"Glide effortlessly through the skies in Aion™. Flying is not just a
means of transportation – flight is an extension of the combat system
and can be an integral part of taking on your foes in battle. Clash
swords high above the ground and use flight-specific skills to defeat
your rivals. Aion™ adds a whole new dimension to combat as you pluck
your enemies from the sky, rain down destruction from above, toss your
opponent into the air, and more. This isn’t your usual MMORPG combat –
you will need to form new strategies to slay your adversary."
~Tell us about the free-flying function in Aion. How is it being designed?
Though I cannot discuss any specifics at this time, I can tell you we
are trying to design this feature so that it has a unique feel to it.
Free-flying will be one of the most important skills players will learn
in Aion. However, you won't have to spend an extensive amount of time
in the game to be able to learn this skill.
Worthplaying.com, Interview with producer Ju-hyun Jang
PvPvE (Player vs Player vs Environment)
"Combat in other online role-playing games consists of PvE (Player vs.
Environment): fighting computer-controlled monsters, and PvP (Player
vs. Player): human-controlled characters fighting each other.
For the first time in the MMORPG genre, Aion™ brings these two game
features together in an evolving and seamless system. PvPvE manages the
complex relationships and alliances between realms, races and guilds;
it also controls the mighty Dragons, a non-player faction and a common
enemy to all players, regardless of faction."
Game Play
~A frequent criticism of certain MMORPGs is that there can be too much
'grinding' in the game - the repeating of certain tasks for experience.
Is that the case for Aion?
During development we've focused on not adding grinding based on
numbers to arbitrarily extend the lifecycle of the game. In Aion, you
won't have to repeat one quest 100 times or kill 1,000 monsters just to
gain experience.
Worthplaying.com, interview with producer Ju-hyun Jang.
System Requirements
The systems Aion will be running on today at Gstar were optimized for
performance. I believe the suggested specs will be slightly higher than
Lineage 2. (Note: For reference, the suggested specs for L2 are Pentium
4 2.4GHz or better, 1GB RAM or more and GeForceFX 5700 or better)
Engine:
The engine that is currently being used for Aion is the CryENGINE that
was developed by Crytek as a demo. Shortly after it's creation Crytek
and Ubisoft realized it's potential and used it in it's first game Far
Cry. Soon enough it made it's way into Aion.
Videos
Aion G-Star Trailer
Aion E3 Trailer
