Throne and Liberty (also known as TL) is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by NCSoft. It was supposed to be part of the Lineage series and a sequel to the first Lineage game, but it was repurposed and restructured well into development. The game was first announced and titled as Lineage Eternal in November 2011 but has suffered numerous delays in its release schedule, with the earliest beta testing planned. The first South Korea Closed Beta began in 2016, starting on November 30 and ending on December 4. NCSoft has rebooted the game as Project TL in NCSOFT Director Cut private event.
Q. The story came out 5 years ago. <TL> was actually <The Lineage> at the time. The background of changing the official name to <Throne and Liberty> revealed an attitude of breaking away from <Lineage> to some extent. So, is this a completely new game? Or is it related to <Lineage>, but to the extent that you want to keep a distance?
A. Ahn Jong-ok PD: This is a cautionary tale. It is true that <TL> started from <The Lineage>. It is a project that started with the intention of promoting the core fun of <Lineage> to the world. Therefore, <Lineage> is at the root of <TL>, and this cannot be denied.
Han Gu-min, Narrative Director: In the past, when it was the most fun, <Lineage> was synonymous with Korean MMORPGs, but it is difficult to completely separate it from the project. I thought it was not necessary to get rid of all the parts that users enjoyed and liked in the tradition of <Lineage>.
Lee Mun-seop, general manager of planning: The name <Lineage> was both a strength and a constraint for us. Even with a very small attempt, an internal opinion came out that it was “different from the existing ones.” Conversely, making it the same as <Lineage> did not mean that it would become the game the company wanted. I had to try new things like this, but I kept getting stuck in the name of <Lineage>.
I wrote it again because everything from the story to the global trend has changed. After making several attempts that fit the latest trend, there was a gap with <Lineage>. From then on, I thought a lot about whether or not it would be beneficial to keep the title of <Lineage>. We also boldly declared ‘different’ and came up with a differentiated strategy, but we changed the name as we came to the conclusion that we should bring the fun core of the original <Lineage>.
Ahn Jong-ok PD: There were many twists and turns in setting the direction in the beginning. If it’s different, it’s different, if it’s the same, it’s the same. Right now, the team is in a situation where they are good at judging what to put in or take out, and how to fix it, but at first it was difficult because those standards were not clear.
Q. You are saying that you pursued two innovations that fit the tradition and trend of <Lineage> at the same time.
A. Lee Mun-seop, general manager of planning: The representative element that we tried to protect is, of course, group content. I think this is the part where the early PC <Lineage> users felt the greatest achievement and joy. In <TL>, we made siege warfare quite early, and it was so good that we even shouted among ourselves, so I felt I had to take it. I kept this kind of fun because I thought it would work for anyone in the world if I conveyed it well.
On the other hand, what made it different is the story. It is an element that allows users to find reasons to become stronger instead of only pursuing growth unconditionally. And if you are curious about the story and explore the world, you can discover a lot of content. I think this kind of fun is unique to <TL>, not found in the <Lineage> series.
Ahn Jong-ok PD: Another tradition we tried to keep is the unintentional skinship that occurs when players collide with each other on the field. A lot of interesting things happen here. The goal was to make it more realistic and more fun.
A new challenge is the dynamic change of the field. As the natural environment or situation changes, even if it is the same fight, the aspect can change. Unexpected events often occur. These elements are important to each other with the encounters between users in the foreground. We tried to make more natural and colorful encounters.
Han Gu-min, Narrative Director: From the point of view of me coming from <Lineage>, nothing seems to be the same (compared to existing NC games). (Other users) will feel that it is a completely different game, a new game, until they deepen the game. However, if <TL> has inherited the heart and DNA of NC MMOs, it is that when you see an opponent on the field, it makes you want to fight.
As you know, existing NC 2D MMOs are characterized by the fact that character specifications are not externally revealed. So I didn’t know if my opponent would be stronger than me until I actually started fighting. On the other hand, in general, in 3D MMOs, strong players are overwhelming from the outside, so you don’t want to touch them.
On the other hand, <TL> is not a very flashy game in this respect, so the opponent’s capabilities are not easily visible. It seems that the unique sense of being able to gauge the level of an opponent only by actually competing, and deciding the next action according to the merits or disadvantages afterwards, is almost the same. It is the most similar part to <Lineage>.
Ahn Jong-ok PD: On the other hand, <TL> does not cover all of the opponent’s HP or damage values, as in the previous <Lineage>. To some extent, you can gauge the strength of your opponent. In addition, as the appearance is also a 3D game, changes according to the type of item are also applied. It may not look too flashy, but…
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