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Peek #5 into the lore with Steven-Elliot Altman

Got Fu?

An introduction to the allure of the lore in 9Dragons


Steven-Elliot Altman, best-selling author and Hollywood screenwriter, is the Lead Writer on 9Dragons, the first authentic martial arts massively multiplayer online game. Think of the world of Hero, House of the Flying Daggers, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Jackie Chan's classic Drunken Master. He wrote in to give us a taste for the gameplay.

your clan's adversaries will defend their hidden treasures from you with their secret arts... but unlike MMOs that have no final agenda, the elusive secrets of the lost Nine Dragons shall be discovered by those who seek them.

When I was a kid, I demanded the crusts be cut from my sandwiches (because crusts will ruin your creativity), and I lived for Saturday morning kung fu movies. I wanted to be one of the Five Deadly Venoms. I'd boast to any adult who wandered by that my Mantis style could defeat their Crane style! And in the afterglow of Enter The Dragon, out on the playground, I secretly knew kung fu.


Now grasshopper, so can you...


You're a peasant in China during the Ming Dynasty, without a lick of fighting skill. You've heard the legend that, following a duel of epic proportions, the headmasters of each of the nine most powerful clans, the Nine Dragons, have vanished. Some are dead, some live in seclusion - what do you know? You're a peasant who dreams of adventure. And now, word in your village is that the kung fu schools have mysteriously reopened their doors, and once again seek pupils.


You must first audition, so you find a local trainer and beg him to teach you some basic fight skills. But he won't teach you to fight until you first learn how to breathe. One must learn to perfect one's inner powers of chi kung as they learn kung fu.


So you learn to throw a punch, or swing a sword, or hurl a throwing star... that doesn't mean you'll do it well at first. The trainer will make you practice your moves in cool little mini-games until you get them right. Then, and only then, will you have successfully "Learned this Kung Fu" and be able to use it in-game.


You'll also need to learn to meditate if you want to stop your internal bleeding after someone kicks the crap out of you.


I believe players will find it extremely satisfying and refreshing to go through these initial skill steps and gain their confidence - unlike most MMOs, where you just pick up an axe and start hacking.


Now it's time to join a clan, seek a master, and begin your real training.


There are nine in all, including The League of Beggars, Shaolin, Wu-Tang, Heavenly Demon, and the women-only Sacred Flower Clan to name a few, each based on actual historical clans.


Take some time when choosing your school, because you'll live and die by its philosophy as well. The League of Beggars is easy to join; that's why it's the largest clan, and with them you will learn Drunken Monkey style fighting. Shaolin monks shave their heads and seek enlightenment as they master the Praying Mantis style. Wu-Tang students strive to balance their yin and yang using Tai Chi and White Tiger. The women of Sacred Flower look down on men as they master disciplines from all the deadly venoms.


Our design team has paid meticulous attention to the period authenticity of all the available weapons, moves, costumes and locations used in 9Dragons.


Once you've joined a clan, you set your foot upon the Road to the Dragon, and the whole world of martial arts chivalry opens up to you, a rich genre of Chinese folklore that dwarfs our collective Western mythology. In 9Dragons, the historic codes of martial arts chivalry form an enormous story-generating engine for unique characters, noble truths, quests and monsters that you've more than likely never seen before.


And after fighting off your thousandth Orc, new is good.


As you journey, your clan's adversaries will defend their hidden treasures from you with their secret arts, as one might expect... but unlike MMOs that have no final agenda, the elusive secrets of the lost Nine Dragons shall be discovered by those who seek them.


I am so pleased to be writing the lore of 9Dragons, and hopefully all you future disciples out there will know the sound of two hands clapping as we proudly enter beta.






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