▲ (From left) Hwang Junha, Dungeon Lead, and Kim JaeSeong, Combat Balance Part, at Netmarble Neo, the developer of Netmarble’s ‘Solo Leveling:ARISE’
What are your roles in developing Solo Leveling:ARISE?
Junha: I’m responsible for creating the dungeons and monsters in Solo Leveling:ARISE. This includes designing the environments where battles take place and developing the monsters-players encounter. Essentially, I establish the game’s META to ensure players have a rewarding and engaging combat experience.
* META: An acronym for “Most Effective Tactics Available,” representing the optimal strategies or approaches used by players in a game.
JaeSeong: I’m in charge of combat balance. My role is to allow players to craft their own combat styles by combining various elements like weapons, skills, hunters, and shadows. Players will enjoy the combination-dependent controls and actions, as well as the variety of buffs and debuffs that grant characters and enemies, which further enhance their attacks to clear dungeons and tricky bosses.
▲ With the Odyssey OLED G8, JaeSeong reviews the dynamic environments and monster designs, ensuring that each battle scene delivers a visually stunning and immersive experience.
Can you give us an overview of Solo Leveling:ARISE? What was your main focus in developing the game?
Junha: Solo Leveling:ARISE is an action RPG based on Solo Leveling, the popular webtoon. We strived to stay true to the original work while at the same time leveraging our expertise to enhance the experience with high-quality action scenes and cinematic cut scenes, immersing players in a way that only a game can.
JaeSeong: Given the popularity of the original work, our goal was to faithfully capture each character’s unique combat style as depicted in the webtoon. In the game, we allow players to experiment with different skills and weapons. Additionally, we wanted to offer something special, so we included new, original content and behind-the-scenes stories that weren’t in the webtoon. This adds a fresh dimension to the game, enhancing the overall experience.
▲ (From left) Shadow Igris, hunters Cha Hae-In, Sung Jinwoo, Choi Jong-In and shadow Tusk in ‘Solo Leveling:ARISE’ (Image courtesy of Netmarble)
Junha: For Solo Leveling:ARISE, we wanted fast-paced combat and the freedom to pursue a variety of fighting styles. The goal was to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and enable players to adapt their strategies based on the boss or challenge they’re facing.
JaeSeong: Our focus was on balancing the different characters, monsters, and dungeons to offer diverse combat experiences. For each character, we added specific skills and combos in addition to their unique abilities from the original series. The challenge was to maintain balance by tweaking attack ranges, damage rates, and speed to make combat more engaging, especially when playing as a team.
As a game developer, what do you think are the most important elements of the gaming environment for players? Did the Odyssey OLED G8 sufficiently deliver during development and playtesting?
JaeSeong: In the RPG action game Solo Leveling:ARISE, players rely heavily on visual information like character movements and the detailed environments during combat. Therefore, having a display that can clearly present this information is crucial. A large monitor, in particular, enhances the visibility of character motions and provides a broader field of view, helping you catch every detail during intense battles.
The Odyssey OLED G8’s wide screen and high resolution made it easy to catch even the smallest details in the game. This helps gamers play better, too. For instance, I could see attack animations more clearly, which helped me dodge more precisely. I also noticed effects and background details that I’d missed before.
▲ The monitor’s 4K OLED screen provides clear, vibrant visuals, allowing developers and the art team to fine-tune colors and expressions for smoother gameplay.
Junha: An outstanding monitor like the Odyssey OLED G8 that has great contrast and vibrant colors can really bring out the game’s unique art style, whether you’re exploring gates or summoning shadows. The Odyssey OLED G8 proved its value in the game development process. The 4K OLED’s clear images and wide color gamut were incredibly helpful for discussions with the art team on character effects, allowing us to discuss colors and expressions in greater detail.
What other aspects are important for action-based RPGs?
JaeSeong: A high refresh rate is key for smooth gameplay. It ensures that the screen transitions are seamless, without tearing or stuttering, which reduces eye strain and makes for a more fluid and enjoyable gaming experience.
▲ JaeSeong uses the Odyssey OLED G8 to monitor gameplay performance and fine-tunes combat mechanics, ensuring smooth and immersive action sequence.
Junha: To fully experience the intense combat and character animations in Solo Leveling:ARISE, you need a monitor with fast response time and high resolution. The high refresh rate of the Odyssey OLED G8 made combat in Solo Leveling:ARISE feel seamless and smooth.
What features of the Odyssey OLED G8 would you recommend to Solo Leveling:ARISE players?
Junha: The Odyssey OLED G8 has a lot going for it, but what really stood out to me was the OLED Glare-free feature. Other monitors that use anti-reflection films usually end up dulling colors. This monitor, on the other hand, reduces glare while keeping the image vibrant and clear.
▲ Junha gives an overview of how the game allows players to choose their own playstyle, enabling them to adapt strategies to different bosses and challenges. The OLED Glare-free feature reduces glare while maintaining vibrant and clear colors, ensuring an optimal experience without compromising image quality.
Also, the Dynamic Black Equalizer feature really helps in dark dungeons, making hidden details easier to spot and enhancing the overall gaming experience. I highly recommend players take advantage of this feature to elevate their gaming experience and enjoy every detail.
* OLED Glare-free: A UL-verified technology that reduces glare from external light sources and provides a screen that is 54% less glossy than conventional Anti-Reflection film.2
* Dynamic Black Equalizer: A feature that analyzes the brightness of game scenes and adjusts sharpness, saturation, and black details automatically, while improving visibility in dark areas, allowing for more detailed black levels.
▲ The Dynamic Black Equalizer enhances visibility in dark areas by automatically adjusting sharpness, saturation and black details for a more immersive gaming experience.
JaeSeong: One feature I think players will find super useful is the Game Bar. By selecting the genre you’re playing, the Game Bar automatically optimizes picture quality and sound for that specific genre. According to the selected genre, the display’s brightness is adjusted for better visibility and it delivers richer sound, which really pulls you deeper into the game.
▲ The Game Bar optimizes picture quality and sound based on the selected genre, adjusting brightness and enhancing sound to create a more immersive gaming experience.
Any final thoughts for players enjoying Solo Leveling:ARISE?
Junha: I hope you get to fully immerse yourself in the amazing art and combat of Solo Leveling:ARISE with a gaming monitor that supports a high refresh rate and resolution. The Odyssey OLED G8, with its 4K 240Hz display and fast response time, is an excellent choice for this game.3
JaeSeong: The Odyssey OLED G8’s gaming features make it a great pick for smooth, immersive gameplay. My advice is to experiment with different strategies and combat styles in Solo Leveling:ARISE, to find your own playstyle and really get the most out of the experience.
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