Naraka Interview: Dev Would Love To Create A Movie Or TV Series Based On The IP

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Naraka: Bladepoint is an action battle royale that has gained massive popularity in recent years.
The game went free-to-play on July 13, 2023, around two years after its initial release.
We interviewed Fei Hong, Lead Designer of Naraka: Bladepoint, over an email Q&A session.

The battle royale genre of video games is a highly competitive market with a myriad of unique titles. Among them, Naraka: Bladepoint is one of the more popular ones, gaining over 40 million players since its release. It offers martial arts-inspired melee combat incorporated into a rock-paper-scissors combat system. There is also a big pool of heroes with unique abilities and an array of weapons to choose from, giving you a ton of variety.

Naraka: Bladepoint was released initially on August 11, 2021, with a base price of $19.99 but went free-to-play in 2023. Since then, the game has been updated frequently with new content. There are many things that players want to see, like a new map, so we decided to take fans’ queries to Fei Hong, the Lead Designer of Naraka: Bladepoint, and ask him about the future of the action battle royale.

Could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your role in Naraka: Bladepoint?

Fei: My name is Fei Hong, and I’m the Lead Designer.

Naraka: Bladepoint has found immense success in a genre that many consider to be extremely competitive. What do you think the game does so well that players cannot find in another title?

Fei: Here are some elements that we feel separate our title from others:

We have incorporated traditional Chinese aesthetic elements into the overall look and feel of the game to truly bring this mythical oriental world to life.

The game utilizes a unique battle system that features martial arts-inspired melee combat.

Players will take control of legendary customizable heroes with epic abilities – inspired by the legends of the Far East.

Every now and then, the game adds new content, like the Yama’s Abyss mode, and these are sometimes not what you would expect to see in Naraka: Bladepoint, but the team does great in carrying the essence of the game into these modes. What is the studio’s philosophy when coming up with new content like this and making it feel part of the overall experience?

Fei: We have had many proposals for the new mode, but the key point is still to integrate the needs of the players and ensure that the core combat mechanism of the game remains unchanged, which has resulted in the popular PVE gameplay we have now.

While the game continues to receive several updates and crossovers, I am curious to know how long you plan to support the game.

Fei: Because of the passion we see for the game globally, our hope is to be able to continue creating new content forever.

Speaking of crossovers, Naraka: Bladepoint has some really interesting collaborations with the likes of Wo Long and NieR. Can we expect to see more of these in 2024? If so, could you give us a few hints?

Fei: Yes, we are excited and honored to work alongside some of entertainment’s biggest brands, and we have had really great engagement with content such as NieR, Wo Long, and Bruce Lee. We announced our upcoming collaboration with Gundam creator Kunio Okawara during NarakaFest last December, and we have other big collabs to unveil in our upcoming seasonal drops, so stay tuned for news!

Are there any plans to add a new map to the game?

Fei: Yes, in 2024. Stay tuned for details!

Can we expect to see more arena modes coming in 2024?

Fei: Yes, for S12, we will have two new casual modes for players. The first is called “Hot Potato Counter,” and it’s a turn-based mode where players will use charged and common attacks to bat a ball back and forth and be the last team standing. The second is called “5X Rage Match,” which is a type of deathmatch where players can select heroes that have the ability to transform into different characters, such as Feria Shen, Yueshan, Tianhai, and Hadi. You can find more information about these modes in our S12 Preview talk.

Speaking of the game's success, have you ever considered expanding the IP with spin-off titles?

Fei: Recently, we have launched a comic based on the Naraka: Bladepoint IP both domestically and internationally. The story is based on the game’s lore, and the main character is also a character from the game. If you are interested, you can continue to follow it. We are also considering more IP works in the future, so please stay tuned.

Which character is your favorite in the game and why?

Fei: Kurumi. She devotes herself to focusing on teamwork since she is a healer/supporter character.

If you could personally create a Naraka: Bladepoint spin-off, which genre would you go for and what would it look like? Also, who would be the main character?

Fei: If possible, we would love to launch film and television works based on the Naraka: Bladepoint IP. Because players have consistently given high praise to the quality of our trailer, many have expressed a desire to see a “Naraka movie.” So, if the opportunity arises, I would like to explore this area further.

Live-service multiplayer games have become the main focus of many studios now, but recent releases show that their approach to this genre does not reflect what the gamers want. What would you say the studios are getting wrong when making such games?

Fei: I think the most important thing is to understand the players’ needs. Teams need to continually conduct updates through testing and listen to player feedback each step of the way.

Video game development costs have increased drastically in the past decade. Do you think that is a big reason why studios are going in the live service route? And will this affect how microtransactions are traditionally implemented in games?

Fei: This question is difficult to answer, but I believe that a good game should not adjust its original and most suitable payment model solely due to development costs.

If this does continue, should players expect to see more and more games with forceful microtransactions?

Fei: I don’t think so. At least our original intention is to focus on providing players with a better gaming experience and optimizing the game to increase user stickiness rather than achieving long-term operation through mandatory payments.

Some live-service games have also gone through major overhauls and completely changed the base game that everyone loved initially. As a result, many fans have lost interest in those games now. Would you say it is better to have one long-running live-service game rather than multiple iterations?

Fei: Of course, we aim to expand with more interesting gameplay while keeping the core basic gameplay of the game unchanged, as our ultimate goal is to continue meeting the evolving needs of different players.

Naraka: Bladepoint is an action battle royale game developed by 24 Entertainment and published by NetEase Games Montreal. The game is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. We are thankful to Fei Hong for doing the interview and to Alex Armour for helping us.

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