Head of Business Division Kim Hyung-jin: The original story started as a web novel and has steadily grown through manga and anime adaptations. We figured the next logical step had to be a video game. Above all, the greatest charm was that the original story is inherently about players enjoying and conquering games. We were dead certain that instead of awkwardly shoving a different narrative into a game shell, the true essence of the source material would naturally translate into a game.

Development Executive Producer Kim Kyoung-ryul: During development, our primary focus was nailing the vibe of 'diving into the world of ShangFron anytime, anywhere.' To recreate the feeling of the protagonist Sunraku diving straight into a game after school, we went with smartphones as our main platform and adopted a portrait screen control scheme. This let us authentically revive the original world and focus on making you feel like Sunraku tackling adventures alongside mates.

Head of Business Division Kim Hyung-jin: We are preparing for an early launch in Japan, which is the spiritual home of the original work. After soaking in player feedback and ironing out improvements from the Japanese service, we plan to roll out sequential launches for South Korea and global versions. As for an exact release date, we will wrap up collecting feedback from the Tokyo Game Show demo and announce it when everything is properly polished.

We also plan to steer clear of cutting content or slapping on discriminatory monetization per region, aiming instead to keep update gaps between regions as tight as possible. Specifically, the Japanese version features original voice lines freshly recorded by the original cast to ramp up immersion, and we are also looking favorably into a Korean dub. We are pouring our energy into localization that goes beyond mere translation to capture the original flavor.

Head of Business Division Kim Hyung-jin: Right at the start of the demo build, we dropped the battle against Wezaemon the Tombguard, the climax of the first anime season. It is an honest display of just how far we went to verify and recreate those iconic moments. Through this demo, we want to see if original fans feel like they are personally living through this moment right now, and whether the deep, satisfying tactical feel of tag battles shines through amidst the comfort of auto-combat.

Development Executive Producer Kim Kyoung-ryul: At first, we even looked into an Unreal Engine 5-based anime-style open-world RPG. But focusing on the core fun of hopping into the world whenever you have a spare moment, we landed on a mobile-focused portrait layout and tag battle format. Instead of free roaming in an open world, we opted to let players discover iconic spots from the original story—like Secondil or the Secret Garden—step-by-step as the narrative unfolds.

Head of Business Division Kim Hyung-jin: Our baseline story aims right up to Wezaemon the Tombguard, the aforementioned climax of the first anime season. The narrative foundations follow the original novels, while the visuals take cues from the manga and anime. On top of that, we plan to expand side stories covering tales not touched upon in the original, under the strict supervision of authors Katarina and Fuji. This basically gives us the bandwidth to constantly drop content independently of the original release pace.

Development Executive Producer Kim Kyoung-ryul: We want to prioritize reproducing the original work while expanding the universe with original elements. For instance, we are prepping side-story episodes like the Rabbit Kingdom tour featuring SF-Zoo characters. We are also adding original characters made alongside the authors; for example, the original author directly suggested the name Banini for a character that previously only had a name, formally weaving them into the lore.

Aside from that, so that players unfamiliar with the source material can jump in without feeling overwhelmed, we smoothly integrated Vorpal Bunny hunting as a tutorial right at the story's start. During the iconic scene recreations, we tweaked things like cutting the scene where the moon gets blocked out before Lycaon appears, paying close attention to minute details. While trimming down the focus on 'trash games' outside of ShangFron, we are trying out different combat experiences by condensing elements like Nephilim Hollow and GGC into cinematic presentations.

Development Executive Producer Kim Kyoung-ryul: Combat is designed to give you a rush of dopamine when judging and timing character swaps. It goes beyond merely switching characters; it is an organic setup where combo attacks build up your ultimate gauge and unleash massive damage during a break state. While auto-combat is supported by default, savvy players who manage buffs and debuffs and drop manual inputs at the exact right moment will find themselves steering fights much more advantageously.

To spell it out a bit more, out of a four-person party, two take the field while the waiting characters play roles as party synergies and swapping assets. Every character brings unique attributes and combo types, making quick tagging essential to match break conditions or monster elemental counters. We have also built in an action system where you can tag out to dodge enemy attacks right on cue, or directly parry incoming blows throughout the scrap.

Development Executive Producer Kim Kyoung-ryul: When building boss monsters, we stayed laser-focused on bringing out their unique original personalities and patterns. For instance, Mud Dig reflects the original scenario where movement was cramped in the swamp, so we added mechanics that mess with character swapping. The Seven Colossi—our ultimate goals—each sport distinct gimmicks, and rather than forcing specific combo types, we are balancing things so players can brainstorm their own party compositions and break methods.

For battles with different cooperative scales like the original's 'Cutanid Battle' which involved a five-player party, we are prepping them in a clan co-op format. As for rewards from squashing the Seven Colossi, instead of letting players wield them directly as standard gear, we are shaping them to focus more on prestige. Plus, we've tucked away original hidden quests and secret elements so players can stumble upon the joy of discovery themselves during their playthrough.

As for progression, each character gets dedicated gear and secret tomes, letting you morph skills and crank up performance. Dogmata rolls as a close-range tank, Banini acts as a ranged dealer, and so on. We’ve balanced things so that beyond picking optimal counter compositions, characters you grow attached to can still totally shine through dedicated gear. You can grab this gear through in-game content like dungeons and subjugations.