City of Heroes Q&A

GameSpot recently talked to Cryptic Studios' Jack Emmert about the developer's upcoming online role-playing game, City of Heroes, which will let players create and play as a variety of superheroes. Emmert talked about some of the game's features, including the gameworld, the character creation options, and how City of Heroes will separate itself from the numerous other online role-playing games in development.

GameSpot: First, how did you decide to create an online superhero role-playing game? Were there any direct inspirations from comic books, TV shows, or other role-playing games?

Jack Emmert: [Lead game designer] Rick Dakan thought up the idea of a superhero massively multiplayer online role-playing game several years ago. What intrigued him about the comic book genre is that it is multidimensional. A comic book can tell just about any type of story: horror, espionage, war, and so on. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, in particular, offer a similar versatility by creating a persistent world in which every player has a part to play. Marrying the two ideas seemed like the best of two worlds.

GS: Will the city have normal inhabitants as well, or will it just be superheroes and villains everywhere?

JE: Paragon City will be a living city, with non-player characters galore, police, thugs--the whole works. NPCs will be reacting to events in the city, and their emotions will reflect the state of the city as a whole.

GS: Can you tell us more about the character creation process? What kinds of superpowers will be available?

JE: First, everyone will choose a particular origin background. Each origin provides its own unique benefits and drawbacks. After that, the player will receive a limited number of points to allocate toward powers, skills, flaws, and backgrounds. Depending on a player's origin, he or she might be able to purchase more powers or skills.

Powers are generally divided into two categories: control and core. Control powers contain several variations. Fire control, for instance, allows a hero to hurl fireballs or create a wall of flame (in addition to many other things). The limitation of such a power is that the power levels of these subpowers cannot be raised as high as their core power equivalents. Core powers are the basic powers available to superheroes--invisibility, energy blast, body armor, and so on. To counteract the greater power level of core powers, control powers are more versatile. Thus, both types of powers have their own advantages and disadvantages.

GS: Will players be able to re-create their favorite heroes, such as Superman or Spider-Man? If so, how do you plan to balance out such powerful characters?

JE: Every character starts off as fledgling hero. Take Spider-Man, for instance--in the early Steve Ditko issues, Spider-Man was agile and strong, but nowhere near the power level he exhibits today in Straczynski's Amazing Spider Man. Superman was quite powerful in Action Comics #1, but he couldn't just fly into space like today. We want our players to feel the excitement of growing their hero into one of Paragon's greatest champions.

GS: In addition to gaining fame and wealth from completing missions and defeating enemies, will characters gain additional skills or levels?

JE: Yes. A hero will gain experience points by defeating foes and completing missions. A player can spend these points on increasing his or her powers or skills. A successful hero might also gain financial rewards, such as bounties or even corporate sponsorship, which he or she can use to buy new items.

GS: City of Heroes will set itself apart from other online role-playing games with its unique setting and premise. Are there any other ways the game will stand apart from other online role-playing games?

JE: We think our mission system and interactive story arcs will raise the bar for massively multiplayer online role-playing games. We've also incorporated team building into our missions and storylines--players will find themselves fighting alongside the other protectors of Paragon City.

GS: Will players be able to fight crime on their own, or will they have to form an alliance with other characters? What are the advantages to teaming up?

JE: A hero can fight crime either by him- or herself or in a group. The larger, more intricate missions can't be done alone--they require players to join up. Players can form temporary alliance (team-ups, if you will) or create a brand-new ongoing superteam. As a permanent organization, heroes will be able to share resources and equipment, as well as tackle bigger threats than an individual would. Perhaps the best advantage being part of a team is the ability to build and customize a base.

GS: What have you learned from watching the problems that other recent online role-playing games have had during launch?

JE: Testing, testing, and more testing. That's the best remedy.

GS: How far along is the game right now? What is the development team working on at this point?

JE: We've been at this for a little over a year. We've got the fundamentals all in place.

GS: Will there be an open beta test?

JE: Yes--though we haven't hammered out exactly when. Look for an announcement in the coming months.

GS: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

JE: We definitely hear the fans. Come onto our forums, get your thoughts in--because we make sure to read them.

GS: Thanks for your time, Jack.

For more information about City of Heroes, take a look at our previous coverage of the game, and visit the official City of Heroes Web site.