Look, let's be honest, after absorbing Line Yahoo and going through a massive restructuring, Kakao Games is bringing out a high-profile title this October to turn the tides. It is Dokkaebi's World, developed in collaboration with Supercat, a studio whose development prowess was already proven by The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon. They are pushing forward with a Korean-style universe and story based on the web novel and webtoon currently serialized, combat where you combine skills to create your own style, and a friendly server environment that values cooperation over competition as its main strengths.

The detailed information was revealed through an online showcase broadcasted on the official YouTube channel of Dokkaebi's World on August 8. Kakao Games CEO Lee Si-woo, Business Director Cha Myung-soo, along with Supercat PD Park Sung-jun and Director Jang Soo-min, participated to introduce key details including their determination for the official service and the release schedule.

CEO Lee Si-woo stated, "I have constantly thought that it would be great to continuously keep alive the fun of growing and cooperating, which you might have forgotten in the harsh world of competition. I hope you can feel both novelty and comfort in a space where the Korean worldview and the retro vibe of dot graphics blend together." He added, "This contains the fierce time we spent contemplating to create Dokkaebi's World's own color, rather than just being another MMORPG. We will fulfill our responsibility so that it becomes a world where you can stay and enjoy for a long time."

Next, Supercat PD Park Sung-jun explained the worldview. Dokkaebi's World deals with the story 300 years before the original work Myeolgwisudojeon. PD Park announced, "Dokkaebi's World is a realm of their own hidden in various places of this world where humans cannot easily step foot. However, the door opens to those who have shared their hearts. You will become the first human to open the door to that world together with the protagonist."

Regarding the connection with the original work, PD Park explained, "The characters in the game live for a very long time. Their appearance 300 years later is in the web novel and webtoon. For those who play the game first, it is a special experience where the future of familiar characters is revealed, and for those who saw the original, it becomes the past. You can also directly experience the origin of figures and events that were only passed down as legends in the original work. We tightly connected the character settings and era background so that you can enjoy a single worldview in a three-dimensional way."

The game's background story is as follows. The protagonist steps into an era where humans and goblins do not completely trust each other, and distrust begins to crumble. Just as humans and goblins were trying to join hands for the first time, an unknown entity raided the protagonist's sect. Accordingly, the protagonist pursued them along with the goblin companion 'Mongryeon' and stopped a huge ritual, but Mongryeon was consumed by the dark energy. The place where the fallen protagonist opened their eyes again was the realm of goblins. From now on, the adventure begins to regain lost power, rescue the companion, and reveal the mastermind who destroyed the sect.

PD Park said, "Dokkaebi's World is set in a fantasy world where goblins, evil spirits, and humans live together. We added imagination to familiar goblin folktales to create our own K-fantasy." He continued, "That doesn't mean it's just a game set in Korea. An MMORPG is a genre where people meet, stay together, and sometimes compete in a single world. In this world, you become a Taoist who handles arts, growing with your sect in normal times, and designed to directly select and combine skills at crucial moments. Finding your own combat style is our goal."

Next, Supercat Director Jang Soo-min took charge of introducing the main contents. Dokkaebi's World combines 2D dot graphic characters with a 3D background. Director Jang Soo-min said, "The silhouette and sensibility unique to dots create a look that cannot be found in other games." He added, "The background is composed in 3D, so you can feel the depth and height of villages and fields, and it supports 360-degree camera rotation, changing the impression depending on the viewing direction."

It is also possible to customize the character by changing the hairstyle or wearing favorite clothes, and appearance items do not have stats attached so that they can be configured according to taste. Costumes and hair can also be dyed, and clothes can be stained with up to 3 parts in different colors.

Combat proceeds in a way that creates your own style by combining skills divided into 12 lineages without fixed classes. The 12 lineages are broadly divided into 4 types: 'Frontal Firepower' which strongly strikes a single enemy or deals explosive damage to a wide range, 'Distance and Flow' which drives opponents from a distance or becomes stronger as the battle prolongs, 'Variables and Control' which gradually collapses enemies with curses or binds enemy actions, and 'Allies and Frontline Defense' which includes tanking, healing, and buffs.

Except for some, skills can be purchased with yeopjeon (free currency) in in-game villages, and balance is continuously adjusted so as not to lean toward specific skills. The standard is to buff less-used types rather than nerf strong skills. In addition, skill combinations are not fixed and can be freely changed and utilized depending on the situation.

Equipping 3 skills of the same style triggers 'Divine Art Awakening'. Director Jang Soo-min conveyed, "It is not a simple stat bonus, but a combat mechanism applied only to that style opens up. The most intuitive effect is the ultimate skill. Some styles take ultimate skills to the next stage, others change the overall power and utilization of skills, and some kinds open up dedicated mechanisms. When you awaken divine arts of different styles, you can witness completely different battles. In Dokkaebi's World, combining skills according to the situation soon becomes your own combat style."

The flexible skill structure is also reflected in growth. Depending on growth, even the same skill changes in presentation or utilization. The approach is to raise frequently used skills, build combinations centered around them, and complete the combat style. Operational methods are also important. Director Jang added, "Even with the same skill, the results vary completely depending on when and in what order you use it." Furthermore, all skills were designed with post-judgments so that they can respond agilely to combat, and thus evasion is also possible.

Taoists who have grown stronger in their own ways gather strength centered around sects and servers. Director Jang Soo-min emphasized, "In the general server field, you cannot directly attack other Taoists. We wanted servers not to be places where conflicts repeat, but spaces to grow and cooperate together." Server bosses where multiple sects join forces to face huge enemies, and sect cooperative content where sect members combine each other's styles to achieve goals represent this area.

As a server-unit competitive content, there is the 'Battlefield of Fallen Flowers'. Three servers are matched to compete for the honor of sects and servers. It is always open during the season so you can participate at any time, and in addition to defeating evil spirits and opposing Taoists, points accumulate by contributing to battlefield objectives to raise ranks. Director Jang said, "Competition also strictly revolves around weight classes, and to gain the upper hand, you might end up spending money or playing harder," and added, "Matched servers are shuffled once every two weeks, and sect ranks are also evaluated based on the matched servers. If strong users come in, you might get pushed down to 3rd or 5th place, and if appropriate opponents come in, you can rise to 1st or 2nd place."

Regarding the reason for not creating a setup where all users gather and compete in one place, Director Jang said, "MMORPGs I've experienced so far demand, 'I'm 100th, so get into the top 10.' Because of this, we started to look at it negatively due to having to first meet conditions to enjoy the game. It is a philosophy to become free from that part."

The next part to look at is the economy, another important axis of MMORPGs. There are 3 types of main in-game currencies: spirit stones, which are paid currencies used to purchase memberships or passes; yeopjeon, growth currencies gathered through play; and geumjeon, used when buying and selling items at the exchange.

Director Jang explained, "Geumjeon is the center of the economy. Trading between Taoists is possible, and it is also used when exchanging for yeopjeon to use for growth or acquiring clothes, mounts, and more." He added, "Upper-tier users will consume a large amount of yeopjeon, so we adopt a form of resolving this with geumjeon. We are designing it so that latecomers gather geumjeon through play and purchase desired things through trading, generating a trickle-down effect." The appearance of so-called 'dragon characters' who alone deal with hundreds of people is also avoided.

Information regarding post-launch operations was also announced. First to look at is 'Myorong', an AI chatbot that helps with play. Based on user play records and growth data, it organizes and informs future growth directions and points to be supplemented. Information necessary for reward distribution, such as content participation status and roles for each sect member required during the sect operation process, can also be checked inside the game through 'Myorong'.

The official communication channel 'Dokkaebi Assembly' will also be operated. Kakao Games Business Director Cha Myung-soo emphasized, "We will gather opinions on a seasonal basis and share the development team's answers and review directions for major contents. Contents that can be reflected will be prioritized and put into service, and for contents that are difficult to reflect immediately, we will clearly state the reasons and future directions." He also previewed strict responses against abusing such as abnormal mass production of currency, abnormal transactions, and exploitation of battlefield rewards.

Finally, the main schedule was revealed. First, the official release date is October 8. Prior to this, a live Q&A answering pre-questions left by users will be held on September 18, and character name and server pre-selection will start from September 22.

Business Director Cha Myung-soo said, "After the official launch, we will operate a character name auction house. Character names that meet certain conditions can be registered in the auction house, and other Taoists can take over usage rights through bidding."