Peria Chronicles: An MMO With A Focus On User-Created Content

Peria Chronicles is an upcoming Korean massively multiplayer online game with a focus on user-created content. Think of it as a cell-shaded alternative to Everquest: Next Landmark.

The game features a creation system that allows players to create both entire environments and individual decorations. Entering creation mode loads a new set of hotkeys into the player’s loadout. These hotkeys can be used to terraform the land as you see fit. Example structures include a mansion in the sky and an underground cave.

A new spin on the crafting system allows you to physically combine separate items in order to make new creations, such as attaching legs to a round board to form a table. In order to discourage trolling, if someone wants to destroy a creation, the matter must be put up to a vote by the community at large.

Town-building is similar to the Dark Cloud series, but without the overhead perspective. Players can ‘summon’ buildings and place them where they wish. Large towns require groups of players numbering between 300 and 500. Towns will grow smaller as the population decreases. Empty towns will gradually cease to exist, ensuring that ghost towns don’t litter the landscape.

But the open-ended creation system goes further than just environments. Although there is a main questline, the developers want players to focus on their own content. So it comes as little surprise that players can also create their own quests.  When a player creates a quest, he can choose a goal, such as ‘Save the Princess’. If approved, the quest will then be patched into the game. When a player completes a quest, he will be rewarded with gold and other treasures. If he loses, it is the creator that gets the gold.

The creator can also choose rules for his quest, such as ‘No Magic Allowed’. Towns can vote on whether to remove or keep these rules, meaning that the local community controls the difficulty level. The developers hope that this player-driven system will minimize the need for farming and grinding.  Player-created emotes, dance motions, recipes, dungeons, defense maps, and MOBA maps are also planned.

Combat is based on a unique summoning system. The player catches or purchases summons, which do the majority of the fighting. Each summon, called a Kirina, is assigned a hotkey. Currently seven Kirinas can be used at one time. Each one has its own equipment and skills separate from the player.

Peria Chronicles employs a classless job system, so your fighting style depends wholly on your Kirina loadout. Some Kirinas like to fight up close and personal, while others prefer to cast spells from afar. Each Kirina has its own strengths and weaknesses, meaning that certain Kirinas are more effective against others. Kirinas can also be combined to from new, more powerful creatures.

Reports indicate a late 2014 beta and 2015 release in Korea. An English client is not currently in development.