With Bless Online due out on western shores this coming May, players who’ve never paid much attention to this Korean-born MMO may be wondering about how the world actually looks and feels, particularly since its overhaul overseas last year. That’s just what Neowiz is addressing in its latest Steam dev blog.
“We aimed to make something new but still stay true to the essence of fantasy worlds,” says the studio. “This philosophy guided our choices in deciding how to create the races, cities and other aspects of Bless. For example, when creating the dragons, we did a lot of research about the appearance of dragons in myths and legends before deciding that a ‘classic’ dragon type was the most suitable for the Bless fantasy world. In short, we wanted our audience to see a Bless dragon and say ‘Yes, that’s exactly what a dragon is,’ not ‘It looks like a dragon.'”
That goes for other fantasy critters too, like lizard people and the Naga – both of which are fleshed out with cultures and environments that actually “make sense in the world.” And Neowiz does acknowledge that those detailed environments are probably one of the game’s big draws – in particular, Spezia (inspired by Venice) and Hieracon (reminiscent of French gothic architecture).
“Bless Online is a game that focuses on the often hidden, deep details of the world,” the studio argues. “Because of that, we believe that Bless is a more complex and interesting world, and players will be able to have a more immersive experience in it. ”
Don’t miss the launch announcement video and our interview on the game from last week! The images from today’s piece are down below.
