In an interview with Game Rant from last year before the game’s release, Minseok Joo, the director of The First Descendant, shared some intriguing insights into the game’s development.
The First Descendant is a looter shooter game, but it aimed to stand out by making the grind for loot less tedious. Although, given recent player feedback regarding the immense grind needed to unlock certain characters, it’s still pretty tedious.
Balancing and Progression in The First Descendant
Responding to a question by the interviewer regarding failures and successes in looter-shooter games, Minseo responded by saying:
As a development team that’s making a looter shooter game for the first time, we do look to Destiny for reference, Warframe, and so on. What caught our attention was that Warframe very actively serves and communicates with its players. That’s something we feel we are good at, especially with an MMORPG.
He further added,
As a gaming company, we’re especially certain we’re experts in the field of communicating with the players. We’re putting a lot of time and effort into implementing our experience and our techniques to better service and better communicate with our players.
The team wanted players to spend a reasonable amount of time farming for items and then use what they gathered to try different strategies. This approach was designed to keep The First Descendant engaging without making it feel like a chore, as is needed for a long-lasting game.
Minseok mentioned that the game would feature 19 different characters and 22 weapons at launch. Each character was supposed to offer a unique power fantasy, and the game encourages players to experiment with different builds, and try out new stuff.
Balancing and Community Feedback Was a Big Focus
Balancing these characters was a significant focus for the team. They constantly tweaked and adjusted to ensure that no single character outshined the others, making for a balanced and enjoyable experience for everyone, that was pretty fun ultimately.
For players who invest varying amounts of time in the game, the game would air to offer a flexible experience. Those who play extensively can collect a wide range of characters and materials, while more casual players can focus on a favorite character that they love.
This approach was done so that friends with different playtimes could still enjoy the game together. The team was also working on a trading system to enhance this experience, although it was going to be introduced only after the game launched.
The team hasn’t directly shared an update regarding this, but it’s safe to say that it will come out eventually, once the other issues have been fixed.
The First Descendant’s development team placed a high value on community feedback as well. Minseok highlighted that they’ve conducted multiple public tests and engaged in open conversations with players on platforms like YouTube and Discord.
This feedback has led to significant changes, including the removal of certain unpopular microtransactions. The team is committed to transparent communication and quick responses to player concerns, which they believe sets them apart from other developers.
After The First Descendant’s release, how true do you think these statements hold up? Let us know in the comments!
