Crossfire Interview with Producer JT Hwang

Crossfire is a well balanced and a very enjoyable MMOFPS. The game is quite popular in many countries. It offers pick up and play experience to any gamer interested in FPS games but it also offers some unique game modes. We sat down with Crossfire's producer JT Hwang and discussed Crossfire, other shooter games in the market, Warface, f2p challenges as well as battling hackers and aim-bots we see in many MMOs. He even gave us a couple of tips for Crossfire. Click read more for the full interview.

An interview with Crossfire's Producer JT Hwang

DevilsMMO: How important is pick-up-and-play "fun" in an online shooter, as opposed to deep customization options and trick shots (such as no scoping in Call of Duty)?

Hwang: Customizing definitely adds replay value for players. It makes players want to keep playing because they have a goal and something they want to unlock. Just picking up a game and having it be easy and fun is less appealing to players because I will most likely not want to go back and play after awhile. For a competitive FPS player, I think the fun comes from working towards a goal or to unlock something. However, if you need fast-pace action and something ‘free’ to enjoy right away, CrossFire is all out there available for this purpose. We have tons of servers of more than 100,000 unique visitors in-game waiting to be played and compete.

DevilsMMO: CrossFire has some unusual game modes. What's the story behind these? Are they popular? Do you feel that extra push towards doing something unique was worth it?

Hwang: Each version tends to have a different background story for characters and modes that the development team provides. In the North American version, for example, when we had AI mode update in September, we tied in a new Boss (Mega Warmonger) and a new map (Crater) into the Zombie Mode story.

Even with the unique game modes, players still love to play Team Death Match and Search and Destroy more than any other modes. Elimination and escape mode would be the best preferable modes.

DevilsMMO: How do you feel big AAA shooters (Call of Duty, Battlefield) affect user's expectations for F2P shooters?

Hwang: Free-to-play and AAA shooters really are two different animals. In the case of Call of Duty, the game is designed to play on console and developed in the traditional “make it, ship it, maybe update and forget it” model. Free-to-play looks to the “long game” as it were.  SmileGate looks to be on player’s computers for three to five years, not three to five months. They’re always looking to the next game. We’re looking to the next in-game experience.

In many ways, free-to-play shooters like CrossFire are kind of a “placeholder” between long development cycles, a game you can jump into, play a bunch of matches to keep you fresh when the other “main” game has been exhausted. And we love that. Plus, because we’re free, and have lower system requirements than many graphic-heavy AAA shooters, we can offer a similar game experience to a larger audience.

DevilsMMO: Similarly, how do you feel Crytek's Warface is going to affect CrossFire and the genre as a whole?

Hwang: I think this is still on Beta stage. After checking, I think it's worth noting for competition, but only for players in US and Canada.  Brazil, Turkey and Egypt won't be playing this one any time soon just based on the PC requirements.

CrossFire is a global game, in a way that Warface just can’t be, and won’t be until it’s been “in the wild” for a while. Ask me again, a year after they launch.  

DevilsMMO: How difficult is it to balance the free items with the paid-for items? Is there another way to monetize a free shooter?

Hwang: I don't think it's all that difficult; I think it's best to sell weapons for both cash points and in-game points so that players have options on how they get their favored weapons.

DevilsMMO: How hard is it to battle hackers and people who use tools such as aim-bots? How much is it a case of the community policing itself?

Hwang: It is very difficult and frustrating to be honest. I personally don’t see the appeal in cheating, because you’re just hurting yourself. I mean, anyone can win the Tour de France on a Motorcycle. Free-to-play games have it so much harder, because the loss of an account isn’t really a deterrent when you can spoof your IP and create another in a matter of minutes. Our best bet is once we find a hacker in game, is to focus on tracking down that hacker and killing the account. We’ve tried to use the community to help police the hacking, with mixed results. While I don’t want to give away our strategies, our goal is to expel the hackers and then make it near-impossible to create a new account. 

DevilsMMO: Do you have any quick tips to reach the top rankings in CrossFire?

Hwang: Train your reflexes. Train your Aim. Know the map. Tap and shoot. Properly Zone around the corner. Check your back once in a while. Don’t mind about your death. Pay attention to your radar for your team’s death. AND Use a strong gun!

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Crossfire's producer JT Hwang and Darek Connole at SG Interactive.

See DevilsMMO.com's Crossfire review with gameplay video here. For other MMO Shooter games and reviews visit our MMO Reviews section