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There is a long interview with Richard Garriott aka Lord British at Salon.com. Basically, it deals with Lineage: The Bloodpledge, but there are some personal thoughts in it, too:
And now that Lineage is growing popular among Japanese players, historical conflicts between Korea and Japan -- World War II occupation, the use of Korean "comfort women" -- are affecting Lineage's gameplay, says Garriott. "The bad blood, so to speak, that exists between Korea and Japan is surprisingly present from the Korean side," he says. Retribution for past grievances goes down online. "The game players in Korea are very well organized, and usually win out over other countries when it comes to castle sieges and other activities, and they take particular vigor in tromping on the Japanese players."
All this makes me wonder if the cultural divide is too yawning for Lineage to work in the West. If the Asian ethos is more geared toward the group dynamic and the strict hierarchy demanded by the game, what will Americans make of it? Garriott acknowledges the challenge. "People in the U.S. are taught to be individuals, and find creative solutions to problems, and a bunch of other things that make the U.S. great in many ways. However, a downside is that it's very difficult for U.S. players to swear fealty or swear their allegiance to some random other person for long periods of time when they generally think of themselves as superior."
Still, he insists, the game's fundamental appeal is universal. "Is it fun to advance your character? Is it fun to quest with friends? Is it fun to join a pledge and fight over the territories of a castle? Is that fun factor and accessibility the same in Korea as it is in the United States? I think that fundamentally the answer to that question is yes."
Be warned that the site spawns popups on every page, a little bit annoying. |
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Lord British Interview
