– Hwang Junha, Dungeon Lead, ‘Solo Leveling:ARISE’

In the world of game production, transforming a popular story into an immersive, interactive experience is both a challenge and an art. Solo Leveling:ARISE,[1] the first game adaptation of the Solo Leveling franchise—which has captivated millions with over 14.3 billion views globally—is a prime example of this transformation. As the gaming industry pushes the boundaries of visual storytelling, the technology behind the screen plays a crucial role in bringing these dynamic universes to life.

To explore this fusion of creativity and technology, Samsung Newsroom spoke with the developers behind Solo Leveling:ARISE. They shared insights into how they captured the webtoon’s intense action and stylish visuals in the game, and how the Odyssey OLED G8 has been instrumental in this process.

“[With the Odyssey OLED G8,] I could see attack animations more clearly, which helped me dodge more precisely. I also noticed effects and background details that I’d missed before.”

Kim JaeSeong, Combat Balance Part, Solo Leveling:ARISE’

▲ (From left) Hwang Junha, Dungeon Lead, and Kim JaeSeong, Combat Balance Part at Netmarble Neo, a developer of Netmarble ‘Solo Leveling:ARISE’

Q: What are your roles in developing Solo Leveling:ARISE?

Junha: I’m responsible for creating the dungeons and monsters in Solo Leveling:ARISE. This includes designing the environments where battles take place and developing the monsters-players encounter. Essentially, I establish the game’s META to ensure players have a rewarding and engaging combat experience.

*META: An acronym for “Most Effective Tactics Available,” representing the optimal strategies or approaches used by players in a game.

JaeSeong: I’m in charge of combat balance. My role is to allow players to craft their own combat styles by combining various elements like weapons, skills, hunters, and shadows. Players will enjoy the combination-dependent controls and actions, as well as the variety of buffs and debuffs that grant characters and enemies, which further enhance their attacks to clear dungeons and tricky bosses.

▲ With the Odyssey OLED G8, JaeSeong reviews the dynamic environments and monster designs, ensuring that each battle scene delivers a visually stunning and immersive experience

Q: Can you give us an overview of Solo Leveling:ARISE? What was your main focus in developing the game?

Junha: Solo Leveling:ARISE is an action RPG based on Solo Leveling, the popular webtoon. We strived to stay true to the original work while at the same time leveraging our expertise to enhance the experience with high-quality action scenes and cinematic cut scenes, immersing players in a way that only a game can.

JaeSeong: Given the popularity of the original work, our goal was to faithfully capture each character’s unique combat style as depicted in the webtoon. In the game, we allow players to experiment with different skills and weapons. Additionally, we wanted to offer something special, so we included new, original content and behind-the-scenes stories that weren’t in the webtoon. This adds a fresh dimension to the game, enhancing the overall experience.

▲(From left to right) Shadow Igris, hunters Cha Hae-In, Sung Jinwoo, Choi Jong-In and shadow Tusk in ‘Solo Leveling:ARISE’ (Provided by Netmarble)

Junha: For Solo Leveling:ARISE, we wanted fast-paced combat and the freedom to pursue a variety of fighting styles. The goal was to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and enable players to adapt their strategies based on the boss or challenge they’re facing.

JaeSeong: Our focus was on balancing the different characters, monsters, and dungeons to offer diverse combat experiences. For each character, we added specific skills and combos in addition to their unique abilities from the original series. The challenge was to maintain balance by tweaking attack ranges, damage rates, and speed to make combat more engaging, especially when playing as a team.

Q: As a game developer, what do you think are the most important elements of the gaming environment for players? Did the Odyssey OLED G8 sufficiently deliver during development and playtesting?

JaeSeong: In the RPG action game Solo Leveling:ARISE, players rely heavily on visual information like character movements and the detailed environments during combat. Therefore, having a display that can clearly present this information is crucial. A wide monitor, in particular, enhances the visibility of character motions and provides a broader field of view, helping you catch every detail during intense battles.

The Odyssey OLED G8’s wide screen and high resolution made it easy to catch even the smallest details in the game. This helps gamers play better, too. For instance, I could see attack animations more clearly, which helped me dodge more precisely. I also noticed effects and background details that I’d missed before.

▲ The monitor’s 4K OLED screen provides clear, vibrant visuals, allowing developers and the art team to fine-tune colors and expressions for smoother gameplay.

Junha: An outstanding monitor like the Odyssey OLED G8 that has great contrast and vibrant colors can really bring out the game’s unique art style, whether you’re exploring gates or summoning shadows. The Odyssey OLED G8 proved its value in the game development process. The 4K OLED’s clear images and wide color gamut were incredibly helpful for discussions with the art team on character effects, allowing us to discuss colors and expressions in greater detail.

Q: What other aspects are important for action-based RPGs?

JaeSeong: A high refresh rate is key for smooth gameplay. It ensures that the screen transitions are seamless, without tearing or stuttering, which reduces eye strain and makes for a more fluid and enjoyable gaming experience.

▲ JaeSeong uses Odyssey OLED G8 to monitor gameplay performance and fine-tunes combat mechanics, ensuring smooth and immersive action sequence.

Junha: To fully experience the intense combat and character animations in Solo Leveling:ARISE, you need a monitor with fast response time and high resolution. The high refresh rate of the Odyssey OLED G8 made combat in <Solo Leveling:ARISE> feel seamless and smooth.

Q: What features of the Odyssey OLED G8 would you recommend to Solo Leveling:ARISE players?

Junha: The Odyssey OLED G8 has a lot going for it, but what really stood out to me was the OLED Glare-free feature. Other monitors that use anti-reflection films usually end up dulling colors. This monitor, on the other hand, reduces glare while keeping the image vibrant and clear.

▲ Junha gives an overview of how the game allows players to choose their own playstyle, enabling them to adapt strategies to different bosses and challenges. The OLED Glare-free feature reduces glare while maintaining vibrant and clear colors, ensuring an optimal experience without compromising image quality.

Also, the Dynamic Black Equalizer feature really helps in dark dungeons, making hidden details easier to spot and enhancing the overall gaming experience. I highly recommend players take advantage of this feature to elevate their gaming experience and enjoy every detail.

*OLED Glare-free: A UL-verified technology that reduces glare from external light sources and provides a screen that is 54% less glossy than conventional Anti-Reflection film.[2]

* Dynamic Black Equalizer: A feature that analyzes the brightness of game scenes and adjusts sharpness, saturation, and black details automatically, while improving visibility in dark areas, allowing for more detailed black levels.

▲ The Dynamic Black Equalizer enhances visibility in dark areas by automatically adjusting sharpness, saturation, and black details for a more immersive gaming experience.

JaeSeong: One feature I think players will find super useful is the Game Bar. By selecting the genre you’re playing, the Game Bar automatically optimizes picture quality and sound for that specific genre. According to the selected genre, the display’s brightness is adjusted for better visibility and it delivers richer sound, which really pulls you deeper into the game.

▲ The Game Bar optimizes picture quality and sound based on the selected genre, adjusting brightness and enhancing sound to create a more immersive gaming experience.

Q: Any final thoughts for players enjoying Solo Leveling:ARISE?

Junha: I hope you get to fully immerse yourself in the amazing art and combat of Solo Leveling:ARISE with a gaming monitor that supports a high refresh rate and resolution. The Odyssey OLED G8, with its 4K 240Hz display and fast response time, is an excellent choice for this game.[3]

JaeSeong: The Odyssey OLED G8’s gaming features make it a great pick for smooth, immersive gameplay. My advice is to experiment with different strategies and combat styles in Solo Leveling:ARISE, to find your own playstyle and really get the most out of the experience.

For more information on Samsung’s Gaming Monitors, please visit: https://www.samsung.com/my/monitors/gaming/

[1] ⓒ DUBU (REDICE STUDIO), Chugong, h-goon 2018 / D&C MEDIA ⓒ Netmarble Corp. & Netmarble Neo Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[2] Based on internal test results.

[3] Refresh rate may vary based on the performance of the input source.

Members of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Division (from left): Hyun Mook Choi and Jessica BeomEun Kim, from the TV Product Planning Group, Sungchang Jang, from the Software R&D Group, and Youngho Jung, from the Panel R&D Group.

Since introducing Auto Game Mode to its TVs back in 2018, Samsung has made delivering next-level gaming experiences a key priority for TV development. Today, the fruits of the company’s considerable efforts include three consecutive ‘Best of Innovation’ nods in the gaming category of CES’s annual Innovation Awards.

Samsung’s latest QLED TVs build on that award-winning heritage by offering users their most immersive and enjoyable TV gaming experiences yet. To learn more about how QLED TVs are changing the game in this regard, Samsung Newsroom sat down with the product planners and developers who helped bring the displays to life.

More Immersion, Less Distractions

When it comes to fostering immersive gaming, one of the most important factors, the team explained, is what’s known as input lag – or the amount of time between the moment a command is entered on a controller and the moment it’s registered on the screen. The shorter the input lag is, the more immersive the gameplay becomes.

“Input lag is determined by how quickly image signal can be processed and displayed on the screen,” said product planner Jessica BeomEun Kim. Samsung’s team was able to minimize QLED TV’s input lag, Kim continued, “by enhancing the way the TV processes image signal, which consequently reduces video processing time.”

On QLED TVs, racing games – known for being graphics heavy, and for boasting lightning-fast gameplay – run smoothly, without screen freezes or delays. As developer Youngho Jung explained, FreeSync Premium, a technology that eliminates screen tearing and stuttering enabled this ability to seamlessly manage graphics-heavy games. Also, Game Motion Plus, which minimizes motion blur and halo effects helps smoother gameplay. “We prevented the screen from becoming distorted by syncing the performance of the graphics card with the output of the display,” said Jung.

Spotting enemies and objects in the dark is easy with QLED TV’s built-in Dynamic Black Equalizer. This innovative technology utilizes the TV’s AI Quantum Processor to enhance image quality in real time by analyzing a game’s dark scenes and detecting objects within them. It then optimizes black levels to help you see things that weren’t so clear before.

Gaming-Specific Features

QLED TVs also include a number of built-in gaming-specific features that make it easier for gamers to immerse themselves in the action.

Take for instance Multi View, a screen-splitting function that allows users to simultaneously game on one side of their screen and mirror videos from their phone on the other. The ability to game and watch a favorite streamer on a single screen eliminates the inconvenience of having to switch back and forth from focusing on your TV to focusing on your phone. The function can even detect when your phone has switched to landscape mode, and reflects this adjustment in real time.

Auto Game Mode is another clever built-in function that enables QLED TVs to automatically analyze connected devices and optimize settings accordingly. All you have to do is simply connect your console to your TV, and a “game mode is turned on” message will automatically pop up on your screen. The idea behind including this notification, Kim explained, was to emphasize that the TVs “transform into a gaming device the moment they’re connected to a console.”

Sound is another critical element that can make or break your gaming experience. Not only can realistic audio make games more fun, it can also mean the difference between victory and defeat. To allow users to enjoy the most realistic sound experience possible, Samsung packed its newest QLED TVs with a total of six speakers – two more than previous models. Built-in Object Tracking Sound (OTS) technology enhances gamers’ immersion by allowing them to sense where sounds are coming from and how far away they are.

QLED TV + Gaming: A Winning Combination

Once a simple display, the TV has evolved into the center of home entertainment, and a hub for users to engage in a wide range of fun and interactive experiences. As Software engineer Sungchang Jang, explained, the team went to great lengths to ensure that Samsung’s 2020 QLED TVs would offer gamers the most entertaining experiences imaginable.

“It was crucial that our 2020 QLED TVs would be able to work perfectly with any gaming devices that consumers might use,” said Jang. “This required us to develop entirely new technology. We had to test each and every gaming device we could find individually in order to ensure that they worked well with the TV. There was a lot of trial and error, but in the end, thanks to our team’s tremendous efforts, we managed to pull it off.”

To get a better sense of the kinds of features gamers want in a TV, the product planning team used MOSAIC, Samsung’s company-wide intelligence platform, to source suggestions from some 15,000 Samsung employees.

Looking ahead, the team members believe that TVs will continue to serve as the center of home entertainment, and will be recognized as bona fide gaming devices. “Going forward,” added the product planner Hyun Mook Choi, “we’ll continue to enhance our TVs’ gaming features, to offer gamers the most complete and satisfying gaming experience possible.”

^*Images on screens are simulated.