EIN Preview

If it's short for something in Latin, it better be good.

Developers sometimes delve so thoroughly in their work that showing at a game convention can be the furthest priority from their mind. It takes time and resources away from the production cycle to deliver an edited and polished presentation, something that on such short notice, the team behind Neowiz's lucrative MMORPG EIN admittedly wasn't entirely prepared for.

All they could really show was an exclusive ten-minute trailer and field several questions on the conceptual level. But though it was a scramble, I'm glad they mustered the effort to do so, because as short as the meeting was, I came out more intrigued by EIN than anything else at G Star.



Short for Epicus Incognitus, EIN tilts the traditional fantasy MMORPG askew. The scale of the buildings in the city and the vividness of the natural environment and the sky is both regal and otherworldly. The word "magical" doesn't cut it. There's a haunting richness that covers the world, almost as mystical as a caldera (which, by the way, is one of my favorite geological formations).

If I had to compare the art direction to any other RPGs, it would be somewhere between Lost Odyssey and Final Fantasy XII, with citizens frequently roaming the streets in grayed-out, slightly tattered clothing or, if they are part of the military or a mercenary group, suits of light, belted armor. On the battlefield, the influence of steampunk technology is noticeable in the boxy transportation vehicles and cyclonic tank engines. The world's technological advancement has reached a level of rudimentary gunfire, with most soldiers still wielding swords and metal bucklers.

One particular weapon of choice is a gargantuan gauntlet, designed to have a claw to draw enemies into the weapon's short but deadly punching range. Its power is akin to a shotgun fired point-blank, easily decimating any unholy beasts wandering the Ezekiel landscape. Most of the races that have been shown so far remain close to the human form, though the Indigena tend to be swifter, more tribal folk who can dual-wield daggers and ride beasts of their own.



Everything else is up in the air. All we know is that a force of some kind called Caliga had forced some citizens to migrate about fifty years ago and that the kingdom wants to gather ruins of "Mother". There are also angelic beings known as Thtones that the people either worship or fear (likely both), and must kneel before them whenever they appear before them. It's not much to go on, but it's intriguing nonetheless.

EIN doesn't have a set date yet. It's not even in alpha. That said, I suspect that it will be released in early 2014.