Legend of Martial Arts exclusive interview

First there was Kung Foo!, and now here's Legend of Martial Arts, a new free-to-play MMO game from Perfect World Entertainment, about to enter closed beta phase.

FreeMMOStation.com spoke with Jon Belliss, Director of Marketing, to find out what changed since the Kung Foo! closed beta. Read on for all the details.

Can you introduce yourself and your role in Legend of Martial Arts?

Hi I’m Jon Belliss, Director of Marketing for Perfect World Entertainment. My primary role with Legend of Martial Arts is to oversee the launch of the game as well as outreach to organizations such as Free MMO Station and tell you why you should try the game out.

How would you describe Legend of Martial Arts?

Legend of Martial Arts is a fun and light-hearted game that incorporates an incredible cartoon style. Based on the popular Chinese TV drama, “My Own Swordsman”, all kinds of gamers, even those not familiar with the show, will be able to enjoy the lore and humor weaved within the game content.

Legend of Martial Arts rose from the ashes of Kung Foo. What was wrong with that game and what important aspects did you change to turn it into LOMA?

Player feedback is extremely important to us when we are working on a game. We decided to give ourselves more time to incorporate some of the feedback we received from Kung Foo!’s closed beta in order to launch a game that we feel 100% about. As a result, we added a ton more content including a new race, the Reavers and expanded the dungeon system and starting zones to give players more to do. We also updated the graphics to overall produce a higher quality game.

Is Legend of Martial Arts keeping the humor and nonsense that Kung Foo! promised, or is it a more serious game?

Given that most users outside of China will not get most of the inside jokes related to the TV show, we’ve decided to remove most of the slap stick humor. Instead, we’ve localized most of that content into lore and humor that is more “western friendly”.

How many races are in the game and which one is your favorite?

So far there are two races and over a dozen classes. The Reavers race is incredibly unique and currently has two classes available, the Berserker and Oracle class. With physical transformation abilities and a way to summon gods from the underworld to activate powerful magical spells, I continue to discover new options as a Reaver, which doesn’t leave me bored at all.

What can you tell us about the Closed Beta?

Closed Beta will begin on November 24 and we are excited to hear everyone’s feedback on Legend of Martial Arts.