Asta is one of NHN's four new titles to be shown at GamesCom. The CryEngine 3 MMO has confirmed for North America and Europe market before and today, the developer Polygon Games explained the backstory composed of eastern myth, the concept of designing the visual style, and some gameplay details in a developer trailer.
Video:
http://news.mmosite.com/content/2011-08-18/asta_brings_western_gamers_the_eastern_myth_and_aesthetics.shtmlAsta means the path to nirvana, and the story is about the journey to nirvana and the conflict between people with different beliefs. The game belongs to eastern fantasy but it's not just about kung fu and eastern culture. To make this genre fresh to gamers, the graphics are made to cartoon style and the world is colorful, and even the buildings are avoided to be too "eastern".
As for the combat system, it doesn't use the non-targeting system that many Korean MMOs use, because the developer hopes gamers who are new to MMORPGs and not very good at using keyboard + mouse can also enjoy the game. What's more, gamers who don't have too much time to play can choose to beat a dungeon alone. There are several difficulty levels for players to choose, based on the number of party members.
The game is still on its way to find a NA and EU publisher so nobody can tell when it will come to the west.
