GDN: Killing doesn’t get you XP in Hello Kitty Online, so how does that change the dynamic of the game over all and how is the character motivated to keep playing?

AR: There is no killing in the game, as killing just doesn’t fit anywhere in Sanrio’s philosophy. You can defeat an opponent by whacking it over the head with your broom (or other “weapon”) until it becomes dizzy and falls over. You as the player can be defeated in a similar manner and must restart from a respawn point.

XP is present in the game, and so is a level system, but the system is a bit different from other MMORPGs. XP is gained primarily by getting better at your various resource collection skills (Woodcutting, Gathering, Planting and Mining), as well as completing quests. Defeating opponents and crafting yield little (or no) XP, but practicing a given skill will usually make you better at that skill.

As for player motivation, we can safely say that HKO has something for everyone: crafters, quest addicts, explorers, analysts of mechanics, collaborators, socializers, advancers, competitors, role-players, casual gamers and hard-core gamers, and many more. In designing HKO we tried to move away from the current system popular in almost all MMORPGs, which is the race to the level cap followed by a crawling end-game. In HKO you can start working towards your goal right away, whatever that goal may be. You can leave any aspect of the game – such as the quests, mini games, farming, housing, and other activities – for later if you so wish.

For example, take the person whose goal in a MMORPG is having the coolest equipment. The best gear has to be crafted, so this person – let’s call her Jane – has two main options: either Jane works on raising her resource collection skills in order to collect the best raw materials with which to craft the best gear, or she gets an expert crafter to make equipment for her. How she does this varies – the crafter Jane approaches might be her friend, her guild-mate, or a player with an astute mercantile sense whose own goal is the accumulation of massive wealth. The possibilities are endless.