Nexon Korea recently launched Pocket MapleStory in English, while Asiasoft is preparing Pocket MapleStory SEA for those in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. I had a quick Q&A session with a representative from Nexon Korea to find out more on the game’s past, present, and future. Once again, Pocket MapleStory is now available worldwide, except for the 4 mentioned countries!
Q: Hi there, could you please introduce yourself to our readers here at MMO Culture?
A: Hello! My name is Myoung Il Kim, and I’m the director of Pocket MapleStory at Nexon Korea. I’m thrilled to give you answers to all of your questions about Pocket Maplestory!
Q: Before Pocket MapleStory, I understand there were already a couple of mobile games based on MapleStory. Why the decision to make a new mobile game based on MapleStory?
A: The previous game under the title MapleStory Live focused on simple content updates, while Pocket MapleStory focuses on party and community forming, from meeting up with other players in towns and making new friends, to founding guilds and growing up together with fellow members.
Q: The playable characters in Pocket MapleStory is based on standalone ones found in the PC version of MapleStory. Is there a reason for this, instead of having players create their own custom characters?
A: Due to the nature of this being a mobile game, it is a challenge to provide as much variety in initial character selection, so instead, we focused putting the variety in the in-game shop (Candy Shop).
Q: Was the development mindset just to try and port as many features found in the PC version of MapleStory over to Pocket MapleStory on mobile devices?
A: We did bring the elements from the PC version, but at the same time considered the mobile environment constantly, and added features not existing in the PC version, like auto-battle.
Q: I suppose the team developing Pocket MapleStory is different from the one developing the PC version of MapleStory. Do the two teams interact with each other for ideas and suggestions?
A: In previous games we have been sharing content ideas such as Meso linkage and Pygmy. Pocket MapleStory is more independent, but we are still getting help in the graphics/sounds department.
Q: What were the biggest difficulties the team met when developing Pocket MapleStory?
A: When we first launched Pocket MapleStory in Korea, the servers literally ‘melted’ due to so much interest by our beloved Maplers. I can still remember staying up many nights for stabilizing.
Q: One of the biggest charms about the PC version of MapleStory was the abundance of costumes. Is this a feature which players can look forward to, with new costumes to purchase down the road?
A: We are well-aware of the popularity of costumes in MapleStory, and the players in Pocket MapleStory will also be able to use an astonishing variety of such items, as well as pets and mounts, in the coming updates progressively released.
Q: Are there any elements (features, monsters, costumes etc) which are unique to Pocket MapleStory when comparing with the PC version?
A: There are perhaps too many unique elements in Pocket MapleStory to mention here; the two may seem quite similar on the surface, but as you venture deeper and deeper…
I dare you to find out the fun and exciting uniqueness of Pocket MapleStory in the game yourselves! 🙂
Q: What new features or content can players expect in the near future to arrive in Pocket MapleStory?
A: On top of hundreds of costume items I mentioned earlier, players will also meet new characters like Kaiser and Mechanic, and improvements to features such as guild and gear enhancement, and much more!
