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City of Heroes unveils the full biography of Tyrant
In Paragon City, the living embodiment of what it means to be a superhero is Statesman. And it's hard to argue with that -- he's a combination of Superman and Captain America in one superhuman package, the apex of what a hero can aspire to be. But in the upcoming City of Heroes expansion, Going Rogue, the man behind the mask took a very different turn. Tyrant is neither villain nor hero, but a dictator whose rule over a parallel Earth is absolute. He has created a utopian, flawless world, held in place by his strength of arms and of will. And to no great surprise, he's received a full writeup on the official City of Heroes page for the upcoming expansion. Tyrant's timeline is a far darker one than took place in the real world, including the deployment of nuclear weapons in the Korean War and a full-scale onslaught of enraged elementals. His full biography traces an alternate history in a way that at least provides a glimpse into the mind of someone who chose to enforce world peace through absolute control, highlighting many of the moral gray areas on display in Going Rogue. Read the full dossier here, and perhaps start designing a Justice Lord costume for your favorite hero.
City of Heroes unveils new lead designer
It's been a quiet week on Lake Salamanca... well, actually, all across City of Heroes, when you get right down to it. For those of us not on the inside, it looked as if nothing of interest was happening with the game. But that's apparently quite far from the truth, since it appears there have been quite a few internal shakeups over the holiday season and most of the month. Matt Miller, longtime lead designer of City of Heroes, has passed the mantle on to Melissa Bianco. Miller is continuing to work on the game, but will be involved in rather vaguely-described endgame systems as well as some undisclosed projects. Bianco (also known as "War Witch" in keeping with the developer nicknaming scheme) has already given an interview on her plans and the state of CoH, with promises of new content before and after Going Rogue goes live. And speaking of Going Rogue, we're promised more frequent pieces of information on the expansion, which has seen very little revealed since its announcement. There's also an opportunity to take part in a community Q&A with Bianco. The quiet week seems to be over... which is really for the best, when you get right down to it.
Mission Architect contest launched in City of Heroes
If you like creating content, the Mission Architect system in City of Heroes offers a lot of venues for your creativity, and it's certainly one of the most-touted features of the game. Now, you might be able to get more than just the joy of having other people play through your creation as a prize. There's a new contest on the official site that promises to be the first in a series, allowing a lucky designer to receive a special title and possibly even the coveted Designer's Choice award for their mission. Sound like your sort of contest? There's a single catch -- you have to work within a given theme. In this case, the mission arc has to involve a hero doing evil for the greater good. That's a theme so ripe for exploration that we're all but certain several people came up with mission arcs just reading the line, so if you're firing on all cylinders take a look at the official rules and then get cracking. The contest ends on December 7th, plenty of time for crafting whatever story you think is best -- and considering City of Heroes: Going Rogue will be out before we know it, the submissions may wind up being more appropriate than you think. Considering that... well, who knows what winning might do for your future? Best to get to work.
NCsoft responds to City of Heroes speculation
A couple days ago, we had a post detailing some speculation on what City of Heroes: Going Rogue meant for NCsoft West, City of Heroes, and the future of the entire branch of the company. Ryan James, director of corporate communications for NCsoft, took the time to issue a direct response to us regarding that post. We also got an opportunity to ask him a few questions regarding NCsoft's current and future direction, which helps provide some context and some behind-the-scenes information to offset the speculative nature of the aforementioned post. The official response is as follows: "We wanted to respond to your post from November 2 on City of Heroes and clarify a few points for you and your readers. In short, the piece offers a rather sensationalist view of NCsoft West and our success thus far. We're very proud of what we've accomplished here in the West – we have several major MMO franchises, including City of Heroes, Lineage and Guild Wars. And our newest addition to the NCsoft portfolio, Aion, has just seen a very successful launch here in the West. As you point out, we have had to make some tough portfolio decisions, but this is very much par for the course for any major game publisher today. That being said, we remain extremely proud of the Paragon team's accomplishments with the City of Heroes franchise. City of Heroes is still the world's most popular super-powered hero MMO. Even with an increasingly crowded landscape, City of Heroes remains the gold standard for comic book-inspired MMOs – it has stood the test of time and we're excited to be bringing Going Rogue to players next year. As you note, the author of Vicarious Existence is indeed 'alarmist' in his assessment of NCsoft West and our future. We couldn't agree more. On the contrary, we're optimistic about our future." Following the statement, Mr. James took the opportunity to answer a few questions about the company's game portfolio and future plans. Take a look at the questions and responses after the break.
NCsoft and Paragon Studios announce HeroCon 2009 for October
Paragon Studios and NCsoft today announced that HeroCon has been expanded to a two-day convention and will be taking place on 24th- 25th October. This year's event, which is taking place in San Jose, California, is the 2nd HeroCon and offers a chance for fans of City of Heroes to meet up and share their passion for the game. As if you needed anything else to tempt you into attending, the tickets cost $79.99 and there's even a goody bag which includes a special con t-shirt and an exclusive in-game item.The event promises pre-con activities on the Friday night as well as developer panel discussions, live mission event and contests, social events with the development team and there's even a rather posh-sounding banquet dinner with live entertainment and an awards ceremony. As usual Matt "Positron" Miller and Paragon Studios head, Brian Clayton, will be doing a community address as well as the usual round of interesting announcements – hopefully including something about the Going Rogue expansion.For more information on the event and where to stay, check out the official site.
The Daily Grind: Do you prefer patches or expansions?
One of the big things that attracts gamers to MMOs has to be the protean nature of the genre; the games are forever changing and that keeps them fresh and interesting. City of Heroes: Going Rogue is just the latest example. However, the folks behind MMOs from World of Warcraft to Guild Wars have also realised that the time between expansions (sometimes a period of one to two years) is so long that players need something in the interim. This is where major content patches come in. Some companies, like Blizzard, have started treating these as mini-expansions but without the artbooks, CD soundtracks and other shiny extras.Personally, I think the idea of mini-expansions is a fantastic way to keep people interested and think of them as almost a free bonus for buying a game or expansion in the first place. Do you prefer lining up in the cold to get a limited special edition of your favourite MMO, or do you like major content patches and look forward to the next one with as much gusto as a full on expansion? What about the cost of an expansion versus the free patch? Is it worth it?
Heroes and villains go rogue in new City of Heroes expansion
What is left for a company that has released City of Heroes and City of Villains, two MMO titles focused on both sides of the hero/villain spectrum? Why, it's City of Toeing the Line Between Good and Evil, of course! Okay, not really, but City of Heroes Going Rogue -- the next full expansion pack from Paragon Studios -- might as well be called that.The new expansion will take players to Praetoria, a realm occupied by both the bad and the good that is ruled by Tyrant, the "evil incarnation of the game's main protagonist, Statesman." Praetoria will feature a new alignment system that will allow heroes to become villains, and vice versa, based on the decisions they make. This means that heroes who become villains can travel to the Rogue Isles for the first time, and the same will go for villains-turned-heroes, who may now experience Paragon City.There's no word on release date or price for City of Heroes Going Rogue right now, so hopefully E3 will swoop in and save the day. In the meanwhile, you can entertain yourself with a barebones site for the expansion here.
