Launched on June 29, it still topped the iOS and Google Play best-seller lists – it's been a long time since I've seen a new Korean tour that ranks so well and steadily.
How hot is it? "ODIN: Valhalla Rising" (hereinafter referred to as "ODIN") exceeded 4 million advance reservations; the queue phenomenon at the beginning of the launch was serious, and the number of servers increased from 36 to 63 urgently; in 19 days, the flow reached 100 billion won (about 570 million yuan); and the stock price of its publisher Kakao games rose sharply from 50,000 won to 80,000 won...
Good straight two lines
According to iGAWORKS statistics (iOS + Google Play), based on July 5, ODIN has 400,000 simultaneous online users, ranking second in all RPG mobile games, second only to "Cookie Parkour: Kingdom"; the total turnover of Google Play and iOS on that day exceeded 2 billion won, ranking 1st in all mobile games, beating "Paradise M" and "Paradise 2M".
Compared with south Korea's major RPG mobile games, it can be found that as a no IP product, the number of users on the first day of "ODIN" is not as good as "Paradise 2M" and "Two Kingdoms", but the 7-day retention is comparable, and the user stickiness is high.
In addition, the users of "ODIN" are mostly distributed in 20-40 years old, the proportion of men accounts for more than 70%, and the average daily use time is up to 4 and a half hours...
Kakao games said in its second-quarter results release that ODIN, as a "high-quality original IP", can achieve 100 billion won flow in 19 days, which is "significant" in the Korean market where IP adaptation mobile games are rampant - after all, in addition to "heaven", there are few games that can shake "heaven" (Extended reading: daily flow of more than 53 million yuan, "Paradise 2M" or will support the future of heaven?). ）。
So the question is, where did ODIN win?
Console-level, 4K open world
Most people's first reaction when they see ODIN is probably that this picture is also too delicate. The visuals of the large, seamless map, complex climate, and detailed terrain are excellent. The developer, Lion Heart Studio, has probably taken its own strength and Unreal Engine 4 to the extreme.
"ODIN" uses 3D scanning, motion capture, face deformation and other technologies commonly found in AAA console masterpieces to make the characters move more naturally and smoothly, "showing the maximum value that humans can achieve on limited mobile phones".
What is more interesting is the rather threatening monster image. Its art director designed it with the idea that "if I don't kill it, I'm going to die." For example, the monster Yolmongander, who has a huge body in Norse mythology, has a tooth that is even larger than the player character.
One of the features of ODIN is the seamless open world. Without loading cutscenes, players can move freely and quickly through the vast map. Before the game went live, its producer Lee Han-soon mentioned that they "will provide a game experience that goes beyond the usual MMO automatic hunting and class upgrades", allowing players to enjoy a console open world game as if they were enjoying it.
As a result, ODIN's open world is something to explore and interact with in addition to everyday hunting. You can fly in the air, swim in the lake, explore the hidden space inside the waterfall, or find treasures, complete NPC commissions, and so on. Places in other MMORPGs such as city walls, cliffs, etc. that can be difficult to climb without stairs can be easily reached in ODIN.
According to producer Lee Han-soon, they will also take advantage of the seamless open world, prepare a variety of content and immersive stories, allowing players to take full advantage of terrain features and explore interesting missions hidden in the map. In the future, in siege warfare, they will also design some interesting elements unique to ODIN, "such as climbing behind the wall to sneak up on the enemy." ”
The second feature of ODIN is the theme of Norse mythology. You can see the gods such as Loki, Thor, and Odin, who are well known in Marvel movies, and you can also duel with the giant snake Yemengard, who has become a boss. Including props named after weapons from Norse mythology, the game embodies elements of Norse mythology everywhere.
But you don't have to know Norse mythology to play the game. ODIN examines Norse mythology, but the story differs from the original Norse mythology, and some of the characters are reworked after adopting their original names. This, combined with races and storylines such as humans, dwarves, and giants, together constitute ODIN's dark, tragic worldview.
The main plot of ODIN is unlocked in chapters. To open the next chapter, you must clear the boss. However, every time you enter a new region, the boss who appears first has the highest ability, and the player's lack of combat effectiveness is easy to level. Moreover, the main plot of "ODIN" will give a wealth of experience points, and the impact of the card level on the player will be very large. In order to overcome these problems, the player has to liver or krypton.
ODIN's mission structure and game flow are very closely linked. The game's main quests, side quests, and village quests are intertwined, culminating in the core of MMORPG – PVP.
It should be noted that the player's equipment consumption is very fast. If an equipment boost fails (very easy to occur), the equipment will disappear regardless of how many levels it has been leveled. Therefore, players must collect as many materials as possible to enhance the equipment. This, coupled with ODIN's competitive level design and PVP system, stimulates players to play non-stop.
However, this design is stressful for most players, so the game provides a teleportation command that allows the player to quickly escape to the desired location at any time. It's a minimal insurance policy.
ODIN character growth relies on item collection and cultivation, players can choose to hunt for missions to gain equipment experience points, or they can choose Krypton gold - ODIN offers a buff-type paid project called "Mimir's Wisdom", similar to "Paradise 2M", which can get 100% gold and experience points as long as it is purchased.
However, Mimir's Wisdom only pushes a limited number of 30,000 players per day, which is in short supply, coupled with the mechanism of rewarding according to the player's level and ranking, so it has not been able to break the balance of the game for the time being.
Of course, ODIN also has something that players criticize - for example, there is no concept of dodging in battle, and even if it moves, it will still be hit by monsters. Fortunately, the skill can be used continuously, and multiple skills can be released even if it is quietly occupied. And with each attack, the camera shakes, scattering blood in the direction of the machete — ODIN battle footage is rather bloody — and the sense of blow largely fills the void of no dodging.
In general, from 4K image quality and open world, to unavoidable battle settings, paid projects, etc., ODIN has similarities with Paradise 2M. But it did beat Heaven 2M to become the most popular MMORPG in South Korea. As one player commented:
Star team, large marketing investment
Developed by Lion Heart Studio Studio, ODIN is Kim Jae-young, who won the Republic of Korea Game Award in 2014 for Blade Blade, and a comeback by Kim Fan, the original artist of Rocky Heroes, and produced by Lee Han-soon, who worked on the development of Three Kingdoms Blade.
With plenty of talent and strength, and the team's accumulation of Unreal Engine 4 in past projects, it makes sense that ODIN can achieve the quality of today's graphics.
Kim mentioned that his hope for ODIN is that it can succeed as an original work for a startup without relying on large Korean domestic and international IP. The reason why it can suppress "Paradise" to rank firmly in the best-seller list is not only because of its solid technical skills, it is also inseparable from large-scale marketing investment.
As the mobile game market, especially MMORPG, has become saturated, and users have flowed to more game-friendly and innovative overseas games, South Korea's marketing expenses have been hot every year. A representative example is Kakao games, the publisher of ODIN. Its second-quarter earnings report showed that marketing expenses increased by 311% year-on-year to 13.3 billion won, mainly for the warm-up promotion of ODIN and the global expansion of Moonlight Carver.
ODIN's marketing methods are also relatively common, such as 3D promotional videos, TV advertising, celebrity promotion, App resource bits, etc. - except for the Virtual Showcase held for ODIN on June 2.
This is the first online Virtual Showcase held by the Korean game industry, combining the cutting-edge technologies of AR and XR, Kim Jae-young appears in the background of the game, introducing users to the high-quality graphics of ODIN and the Norse mythological worldview.
ODIN opened two months in advance, and Kakao Games has produced film-level promotional films such as "Loki's Wrath" and "Prologue to War", showing large-scale battle scenes and narratives that embody worldviews. In just one day, the number of appointments exceeded 1 million. In less than a week, the promotional video hits exceeded 2 million times.
On June 2, the ODIN Pre-Event Character Name and Server Preemption Campaign was launched, allowing players to specify character names and servers through the official website and Kakao games' pre-appointment page before the game was launched – at this stage, the number of servers had increased to 30 due to the explosion of players.
In addition, thanks to the advantages of being a Korean Internet giant, Kakao Games also launched Kakao's multi-platform resources for ODIN.
For example, the opening screen advertisement of Kakao T (similar to Didi Chuxing) and the display of game advertisements that highlight game characters or logos in multiple App usage scenarios such as the itinerary page; the "ODIN Art Gallery" is opened in Kakao Page (comprehensive content software, included in manga, novels and movies on the whole network) to show Kakao Page users high-quality images of "ODIN".
Under this series of marketing combinations, ODIN successfully exceeded 4 million bookings on June 24.
Before and after the game was officially launched, Kakao Games launched a number of new TV commercials - moving out the well-known Thor and Loki, showing the fierce game battle screen. At the same time, it also invited the well-known South Korean actor Wu Zhengshi to shoot a promotional video for him, and the Number of YouTube views exceeded 6 million.
They've also launched a number of campaigns that stimulate users' playtime — kakao talk memes for all users whose characters have risen to level 5; and partnered with LG Electronics to give LG Ultra Gear (27-inch displays) and cultural merchandise coupons to users who reach level 40.
At present, ODIN has only decided to make the first stop of overseas expansion, Taiwan, and is expected to land in the first half of 2022. In their view, Taiwanese users are very similar to Korean users, and they can go to the region without even doing too much localized content.
The following is an interview with Lion Heart Studio representative Kim Jae-young, producer Lee Han-soon, and art director Kim Fan, compiled by the game Gyro:
Why choose nordic mythology?
Norse mythology is known to some extent by users through movies or TV series, etc., but the understanding is not deep. For the game, it is also a relatively new subject. From gods and humans to giants, dwarves, etc., the nordic theme of the world is very large, and there are mighty monsters, containing strong tragic colors, making the game very attractive. Therefore, Norse mythology was chosen as the theme of the game.
Users who are in contact with Norse mythology for the first time, mention Odin, Thor, and Loki, may first think of the Marvel gods. But the character design of "ODIN" is completely different from the existing Marvel image. How did you reinterpret Norse mythology and incorporate it into the game?
Indeed, compared to Greek mythology, the public is somewhat unfamiliar with traditional Norse mythology, and most people have come into contact with or met the nordic gods through popular Marvel hero movies. However, the traditional Norse mythology itself has been adapted over countless years in different countries. So, rather than a certain popular impression of Norse mythology, we focus more on its fantasy, adapted to the preferences of Korean users.
Is there a region to use as a reference for the art background? What was the special emphasis on when making ODIN art?
The main part refers to Iceland in northern Europe, but also to other regions to reflect the diversity of the game.
ODIN emphasizes both the open world and the tragic worldview, so our art mainly strives to present the majesty felt in the open world and the heaviness of the tragic world view. At the same time, although the Nordic nature is beautiful, Norse mythology is inherently rough and dark, so we also try very hard to reflect this delicately.
It is said that although the picture quality of mobile MMORPG is getting higher and higher, the style is being stereotyped. Do you have any parts of you that bother to make ODIN different?
It doesn't have to be different from others, and I don't think we can ignore stereotyped content. "ODIN" has a popular nature, and I don't think it is necessary to be so noble, or to pursue uniqueness and greatness. Still, the quest for something new is my motto, and ODIN is moving in that direction.