“The FPS game market is changing. Games that fit the trend come out every era, such as ‘Counter Strike’, ‘Crossfire’, ‘Battleground’, and ‘Hell Divers 2’. However, the basics do not change. I think it is moving within these two criteria: the impact of the FPS game itself and the fun mode.”
PD Moon Jae-sung of Doktaek Studio is a recognized authority on domestic FPS (first-person shooter) games. He has developed various FPS games across PC and mobile platforms for over 20 years since the early 2000s, and has achieved surprising results in the global market every time.
PD Moon, who oversaw the planning of ‘Crossfire’, which is recognized as the best FPS game in Korea and China, and established the core game play and balance, went on to release games such as ‘Phantom Strike’, proving that his games are popular not only in China and Southeast Asia, but also in the North and South American markets. Therefore, it seems worth paying close attention to his emphasis on the ‘impact feeling’ and ‘mode’, which are the basics of FPS games.
“We have started a new challenge by gathering all of our know-how in FPS games over the past 20 years. We are developing ‘Zero Break’, a mobile FPS game with a more advanced impact, unique modes, and optimization that will be a global hit.”
PD Moon Jae-sung said that he paid attention to the gun’s recoil, control, and production aspects in order to maximize the impact of ‘Zero Break’. He included hit productions customized for various impact situations, such as a direct hit and a miss, in the UI.
Just as fighting games differentiate between regular hits, counters, and critical hits in detail, PD Moon Jae-sung said that FPS games also need such detailed hit productions, and he was confident that players would be able to feel the “unique shooting sensation” if they played the game themselves.
He also emphasized that it has the basics of a traditional FPS game system while adding new elements by adding Extrusion Mode and Chaos Mode that can induce empathy and interest from users.
“Recently, modes that involve looting high-value items in specific areas and getting out safely have become popular. Games like Tarkov or Arena Breakout are examples. In Zero Break, we have thoroughly tested authentic team death and deathmatch modes, as well as a loot shooter mode.”
PD Moon Jae-sung explained that the world of ‘Zero Break’ is set in the near future on Earth, and that a natural disaster of unknown cause has caused a shift in the Earth’s crust, creating a high-value mineral called Ixnium. He said that the game’s core structure is the confrontation between individual hunters and groups who are after it, and that they are preparing nine different modes, including a mode that infects like a zombie mode and an escape mode.
“Mobile FPS games are all about control. After working on mobile FPS games for over 10 years, we’ve come up with our own optimized control method. With the ‘drag rotation’ technology, it’s a control method that allows even beginners to be just as powerful as intermediate players.”
Another advantage of ‘Zero Break’ is that PD Moon Jae-sung introduced a new control technology that makes it easy to switch screens while also correcting the aim. When I actually played the game, it seemed helpful in coordinating with the enemy and dealing with them with just a simple left and right touch.
PD Moon introduced that DokTak Studio conducted tests with beginners of various mobile FPS games and found that compared to other games, you can quickly get into the game and once you get used to the controls, you can often go toe-to-toe with intermediate or more experienced gamers.
“The title ‘Zero Break’ has two meanings. It means that I want to break the low success rate of FPS games in Korea these days. Another meaning is that the Zero Zone, which was the first area cut off from the outside world due to an abnormality in the Earth’s tectonic shift in the game, has been broken out.”
PD Moon Jae-sung said that this ‘Zero Break’ game is not a triple-A masterpiece. However, he introduced it as an all-weather game that has sufficient impact, draws interest based on various modes, and is optimized to cover South America and Southeast Asia while also featuring sophisticated graphics.
Above all, since the development team, including PD Moon Jae-sung, are all experts in FPS games, he asked people to look forward to ‘Zero Break’. Attention is focused on whether ‘Zero Break’ will be able to surprise the mobile FPS game industry once again.
Game Donga Reporter Jo Hak-dong [email protected]
2024-08-27 04:13:28