King's League has been a mobile gaming mainstay by Malaysian indie games studio, Kurechii, starting with the original and eventually a number of spin-off games. The long-awaited sequel is finally here and is an exclusive Apple Arcade title. We contacted the director and producer of King's League II, P'ng Yi Wei, and asked him about the trials and tribulations that come with making such a robust mobile experience.

What are the challenges that came in making King’s League II?

Going into King's League II, we wanted to go big. Bigger than we ever had with our games. One feature that we wanted to add was a full-fledged story mode, one that could help flesh out the world of King's League and Postknight. However, incorporating one proved difficult, especially for a team with little writing prowess such as ours.

King’s League II is a management game that runs on a calendar system that ticks away in real-time. This system provides our unique fast paced experiences. A story would have to stop that calendar and slow the experience down.

Early concept art

At first, we tried to tell a story the conventional way, by having characters speak when we want them to. This detracted from our core experience, stopping the game all too often and interrupting the flow of the players. From our testing, we saw an awfully high percentage of dialogue skipping from the players. We initially blamed it on the poor writing, thinking it was not interesting enough, and tried to improve it. Eighteen months of frustrating development forced us to realise that our approach to the story-telling was entirely wrong.

We arrived at a conclusion: the story should not dictate the gameplay but enhance it. In a management game, players have to make a lot of decisions and those decisions add up to unique playthroughs. Should the story take charge, player choices would become pointless.

We changed our approach. Instead of telling the story we initially wanted to tell, we changed it to telling a story the game could tell. Dialogue will only play out at specific moments, when there are natural pauses in the gameplay. For example, we would start a dialogue when the game pauses as players enter the Quests menu.

Screenshot of the map of King's League II.

To keep the game's pacing intact, we broke our singular story into multiple parts. They would prompt when players access certain features at certain times. We also focused more heavily on the characters themselves and limited the number of characters in a given scene. This way, most characters could get their time to shine, without making the scenes too long. Character-focused stories synergises well with our core loops of recruiting and managing characters as well.

Our original intent with the Story Mode was to flesh the world of the games out, but as we shifted to a more character-centric approach, lore had to take a back seat. Instead, we provided lore through flavour text in places such as city descriptions, weapon names and more. They're there for players who want it, and won't bog down the experiences of those who don't.

Training a party member.

Getting here was not an easy process. We had to drop many of our initial perceptions of game narrative and learn to tell stories in very unorthodox ways. In the end, I am very glad that we not only managed to tell a story, but we also became better game developers through it.

What does King’s League II bring to the table compared to the previous King’s League Games?

There is a reason why we decided to call this 'King's League II' rather than follow the conventions set by both Odyssey and Emblems. We overhauled almost every element, improving as much as we can while retaining the core loop of King's League.

My answer to the previous question covers some of this. There is the new Story Mode that tells the stories of the Champions of Kurestal. Also, there is an added focus on world building as we tie our multiple IPs together in a shared universe.

The start of a battle.

With the Story Mode comes an increased playtime. Previous King's League entries usually required about 2 hours of gameplay to complete. In King's League II's Story Mode, that number can go up to about 8 or 9 hours for each playthrough. There's also tons of optional content, so we expect players to try multiple playthroughs just to see everything.

Aside from the narrative elements, we leveled up the user experience. Everything you see, hear and feel all react to your decisions within the game. Most user interfaces are easier to understand, and there are a lot of visual cues that help players get to where they want.

What’s the most exciting aspect that you put into the game? Are there any special easter eggs we should know about?

The expanded lore! The King's League series has always shared its world with Postknight and Tiny Guardians. With King's League II, there are added efforts to properly unify them. You get more references to the Postknights and the inner-workings of how some social structures work in Kurestal. There are also mentions of other countries within the world, hinting at what's to come in the future.

Did I mention that you can recruit the titular hero of Postknight in King's League II's Story Mode?

The cast of Postknight.

What are the things that King’s League fans can expect in King’s League II?

King's League fans can rejoice in how similar King's League II is to the other entries in the series, despite looking and feeling better. There is also that shiny new Story Mode!

We also offer Classic Mode, which retains the original formula, for the fans who would rather play King's League without the story.

For those who just found out about King’s League II and are interested to play, how would you describe this game to new players?

King’s League II is a strategy simulation about managing a team of medieval fighters. Think Football Manager but with swords and magic! You recruit, train and manage fighters of different classes before sending them into simulated battles.

For the new players, we suggest that you play the Story Mode! The characters will lead you through the game, teaching the different mechanics along the way. As the main character and your team grow, you will in turn learn to be a better King's League player.

A typical battle in King's League II.

When we can expect a release date of King’s League II for Android?

Hahaha... Not anytime soon. King's League II is a timed exclusive game to Apple in regards to mobile platforms. That means the game won't be coming to Android for a long while. The good news is that this exclusivity does not affect anything outside of mobile platforms. King's League II will be available on Steam for PC and Mac later this year!

Nintendo Switch is a great platform for a lot of indie games. Will we see King’s League II on Nintendo Switch?

We do have plans to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch! It is something we have wanted for a long time now. Alas, we are putting our focus on the Apple Arcade and Steam releases first.

The team behind King's League II.

Editor's note: Originally, we split this interview into two parts, one focusing on King's League II and Apple Arcade. We have since combined both of these parts for a better reading experience. Please enjoy the rest of the interview below!

How did the Apple Arcade deal come about?

We have to apologise that we can't divulge too much on how it happened. What we can share is that the process was a long one. Getting into Apple Arcade required multiple pitching efforts and numerous levels of screening.

What sort of doors does Apple Arcade open for game developers in Malaysia?

Apple Arcade poses some implications on our industry. Apple Arcade is yet another distribution channel for games. What sets it apart is that the entry level for it is very high. Getting your game into Apple Arcade is similar to that of consoles, which are notoriously hard to submit your games to. Once you get your game in, however, you get an incredible opportunity to develop games you want to make. Monetisation is not a concern on Apple Arcade, freeing developers to focus on wholly unique experiences. Malaysian developers can make what they want to make, on an exclusive worldwide platform.

What’s your opinion about Apple Arcade and do you think it disrupts the current free-to-play market for mobile games?

Honestly, Apple Arcade would not even dent the immense size of the free-to-play market. Instead, I think that it would disrupt the existing Premium Games market. Free-to-play games provide a very different experience as compared to premium games. However, much of what makes Apple Arcade games so great overlaps with that of Premium Games. It is hard to tell if Apple Arcade will replace Premium Games entirely, but the Premium Games audience on iOS will most likely shifting over to Apple Arcade.

Should Malaysian developers look into other exclusive distribution channels ala No Straight Roads and Epic Games?

Honestly, I would suggest anyone to not overlook opportunities and take what they can get. If an exclusive deal offers the exposure you won't get elsewhere, take it by all means. It is especially worth it if that deal can fund your team's survival and the completion of your game. Some may complain about it, but at the end of the day you should decide on what is best for your team and your game.

What are your thoughts on players' negative perceptions on store exclusivity (eg: Epic Games Store and Apple Arcade timed exclusivity)?

As an avid player myself, I wholly understand why some are not happy about the exclusivity. In such situations, I believe that it is important to communicate our thoughts behind our decisions. With understanding, comes acceptance.

Are these sorts of store exclusivity good for the video games market as a whole?

I have a neutral stand on this as I believe that store exclusivity, like everything, has its pros and cons. The market is always changing, and we must adapt constantly to keep up. Store exclusivity may lock some potential players out of playing your game. On the flip side, there are tons of good games on the market, making it hard for some to stand out. Store exclusivity allows these games to get the exposure they need and deserve. Is Store Exclusivity good? It really depends on your own perspective and where you stand in the market.

Any advice for up and coming Malaysian game developers to get their games on the Apple Arcade platform?

Definitely play the games on Apple Arcade! The high standards required to get onto Apple Arcade make the games there some of the best in quality. Figure out those standards and make something that is on par or better than that. Once you have a very good game, pitch it to Apple. There is a link to send your pitch through on the Apple Arcade website.

Meanwhile, get familiar with Apple's platforms by publishing your games on the AppStore. Apple's ecosystem comprises of iPhones, iPads, Macs and even their Apple TV. Apple Arcade requires that you make your game work across all of these platforms. Get used to working with these platforms along with their workflows and technologies. These experiences will come in handy when you want to get your game onto Apple Arcade.

Thanks so much Yi Wei for this in-depth interview, and congratulations to you and the Kurechii team on the game's launch. Check out more of King's League II on their official website!