By JO TIMBUONG

KUALA LUMPUR: Three Malaysian companies will get the chance to co-develop the sequel to a popular South Korean MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) which is set to be released in 2011.

In a partnership deal worth US$10mil (RM34mil), South Korean animation house CyberChicken Animation Studio and game developer Born2Game have engaged local 3D modelling and game company VR4U Technologies Sdn Bhd, 3D animation company Shock3D! Sdn Bhd and content development company BigBeak Pictures Sdn Bhd to help develop the sequel to Korean Fantasy.

According to Korean Fantasy developer Born2Game, the 2D MMORPG has a huge following in South Korea and Japan with about 1.6 million subscribers.

The next instalment, tentatively titled Korean Fantasy Returns, will be a 3D game and the developers hope to bring it into the South-East Asian and China markets.

Development phases

According to VR4U chief executive officer Raja Chik, the game will be developed in phases.

The first phase is expected to be completed in time for the inaugural South Korean Formula One Grand Prix next October.

The developers plan to introduce the game to the market and gather feedback during the event before launching a full version of the game in 2011.

“We will leverage on this event to test the market and also do specific enhancements based on the feedback we receive,” he said.

The developers have already come out with a demo of the game which it regards as a 20% completion of the project.

“The other 80% would involve other investments such as buying servers to support the game,” said Shock3D! business development director, Syed Hezri Syed Hisham in a press conference to announce the collaboration.

Once completed, Hezri said the co-developers aim to get US$1mil (RM3.4mil) in revenue from monthly subscriptions.

Symbiotic relationship

The collaboration is also expected to add a dash of cultural diversity into the game, which will make it even more appealing for a larger market, said Raja Chik.

“A mix of culture is always a good thing and I think this can make the game more attractive to gamers outside South Korea and Japan,” he said.

Big Beak Pictures managing director Azlan Pa’wan views the collaboration as a symbiotic relationship between industry players from South Korea and Malaysia.

“We get to learn more about game development from the experts while we can help them with the story development for the game, which they have identified as one of their weaknesses,” Azlan said.

He added that the collaboration also serves as a catalyst to develop the local computer games industry that is still in its infancy.

“By working together with Born2Game and Cyberchicken, local players like us are also learning about what it takes to make a popular game thus enabling the local game developer industry to meet international standards faster,” he said.

Kamil Othman, Multimedia Development Corporation vice-president of creative multimedia said the collaboration will also give local players a better chance of having a slice of the videogame industry pie.

At this year’s E3 international game summit in the United States, Bobby Kotick, chief executive officer of game publishing giant Activision estimated that the global games market will hit the US$55bil (RM187bil) mark in 2012.

“We hope collaborations like this can also create a larger game developing fraternity so local content developers can get a slice of this pie too,” he said.