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A Massively interview with Cryptic's Bill Roper and Jack Emmert
As promised after yesterday's Cryptic Studios news, today we have an interview with the developer's new Chief Operations Officer Jack Emmert and Chief Creative Officer Bill Roper. If you're wondering exactly what these new titles mean and what Jack and Bill have planned for the future of both Champions Online and Star Trek Online, you'll definitely want to check this one out. Massively: When did the move to Chief Creative Officer occur and what's your overall job like now compared to your previous position as Executive Producer? Bill Roper: When Jack took on more COO responsibilities, he wanted someone who could spend more specialized, day-to-day time with the teams. For the past month I've been working with the Executive Producers and various leads within those teams to provide design, support, and guidance as requested. I'm also a liaison between the teams and the executives supporting and helping represent their individual game visions. I assist in coordinating systems and content concepts and technologies between the teams while being involved in their top-level design. Shifting from the very focused day-to-day duties on Champions Online to a broader role is a rejuvenating new challenge, and the teams have really welcomed me on. I'm not coming in with "the word from above" that must be followed. I'm here to support the vision keepers and creators of each game – to be a sounding board for ideas and a source of creative energy they can tap into.
Bill Roper made Cryptic's CCO, Jack Emmert switches to COO
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Bill_Roper_made_Cryptic_s_CCO_Jack_Emmert_switches_to_COO'; We here at Massively have recently discovered that Cryptic Studios' -- the developer behind Champions Online and Star Trek Online -- new Chief Creative Officer (CCO) moving forward will be Bill Roper, who was previously Executive Producer on Champions Online, a position now held by Shannon Posniewski. As for the previous CCO Jack Emmert, Cryptic informed us that he's moved into a new position as Chief Operations Officer for the developer. What all this means and what you can expect in the future from Cryptic will hopefully be answered in our forthcoming interview with the two men. You should expect to see that interview in the next day or two, right here on Massively.
'No plans' for Xbox 360 version of Champions Online, Cryptic says
Add another tombstone to the increasingly populated Xbox MMO graveyard. The Xbox 360 port of Champions Online is seemingly kaput. A forum user known as Jackalope -- Cryptic Studios CCO Jack Emmert, according to TeamXbox -- responded in a thread regarding the beleaguered port, saying, "100% of our focus is on making the current PC product the best it can be. There are no current plans for a console version of Champions." Previously, the Xbox 360 version of the MMO had seen its share of setbacks. In August last year, Emmert laid the blame for the delay squarely on Microsoft. "It just takes time for the big beast known as Microsoft to get moving," he said at the time, adding that "it's as baffling to developers as it is to everyone else." This marks the latest in a long string of failed-to-launch MMOs for the Xbox platform: Ensemble's Halo MMO, True Fantasy Live Online for the original Xbox, Marvel Universe Online, Age of Conan, Huxley -- all of them either canceled or in development limbo. Thus far, the only traditional MMO to see the light of day on the Xbox 360 has been Final Fantasy XI. We can only speculate as to what the bottleneck is for MMOs on the Xbox 360 but, given the litany of failed projects from multiple developers, Microsoft certainly appears to be the common thread. [Original photo source: Qole Pejorian]
Cryptic's Jack Emmert: No Plans For Consoles, STO over 100K subscribers
"100% of our focus is on making the current PC product the best it can be. There are no current plans for a console version of Champions." Thus sayeth Cryptic Studio's Jack Emmert on the official Champions Online forums, ending speculation when or if this event would happen. Over the past couple years, it looked as though Cryptic had console ports in its plans, from bringing on board console engine programmers to public plans of expanding their subscriber base into the console market. However, when the date for the supposed console release kept getting pushed back, players grew worried, and now it seems that the concern was justified. This might have been compounded by the fact that recently Champions Online experienced a major transition as executive producer Bill Roper stepped down and Shannon "Poz" Posniewski took over. The folks over at The Big Freaking Podcast grabbed a bit of face time with Jack Emmert, Cryptic's Chief Operating Officer, to expand on this news as well as the future for Champions and Star Trek Online. Read on for the highlights of this interview!
Being in it for the money
We might fight a lot of enemies in our MMOs, but a number of players will agree that there's one enemy that is bigger than anything else: the company that makes the game. Blizzard, Square-Enix, Funcom, Bioware -- according to this branch of the playerbase, they don't care at all about the people playing their game. All they're concerned about is making money. They just want to get your money by any means necessary. However, the people who claim that say that like it's a bad thing. Nobody ever smiles and says "boy, I'm sure glad Sony Online Entertainment is in this for the money." Oddly enough, when you start to think about it, the fact of the matter is that it's not only transparent that these companies are in it for the money, it's a good thing. We should be happy that most of these companies are there to get our money by any means necessary.
A quick Star Trek Online PvP interview with Jack Emmert
We recently had the opportunity to ask Cryptic's Jack Emmert a few questions regarding Star Trek Online and its PvP elements. With the looming open beta (tomorrow!) and similarly imminent February 2nd launch, we consider ourselves lucky to get some fairly definitive answers on topics like the game's Cryptic Store and the Klingon faction's future -- including if deeper customization is in the wings or not. It's a quick read, but with less than 24 hours until open beta kick starts, that's probably a good thing. We wouldn't want to take away from anyone's Star Trek movie marathon, which is obviously what everyone is doing the day before, right? Khan!
Developer round table: MMO betas, page 2
First, the question needs to be defined – open beta or closed beta? In a closed beta, the goal is to get everything fixed.
Cryptic's Jack Emmert baffled by lack of MMOs on Xbox 360
A number of massively multiplayer online game developers have touted the fact that their titles will be playable on both PC and Xbox 360 but, with rare exceptions, they've failed to deliver on MMOs for this console. But can the blame for this really be laid solely at the feet of the developers? That seems to be the typical reaction, as many of us get frustrated over these broken promises. However, looking at the various titles that were aiming for 360 and missed, perhaps we should look at what all of these stories have in common: Microsoft. (Lest the fires of console fanboy rage blaze out of control, we're not exactly inundated with PlayStation 3 MMOs either.) Patrick Garratt from VG247 recently spoke with Jack Emmert from Cryptic Studios about this issue, and his perspective on playing ball with Microsoft to get Champions Online on the 360. Emmert stated that Champions Online for Xbox is almost ready to go, but lack of action on Microsoft's part is holding up the project.
GenCon Indy 09: Mythic and BioWare and Cryptic, oh my!
Syp of the BioBreak blog drove five-and-a-half hours to Indianapolis to experience GenCon Indy 2009 for a day and he surely didn't waste any time chatting with a few of the biggest MMO developers out there. He managed to get some one-on-one time with Robert Mull and Andy Belford of Mythic, Chris Priestly of BioWare, and Jack Emmert of Cryptic.Andy discussed Mythic's revised approach to Warhammer Online's development, some misconceptions about server performance, and his role in the Second Skin MMO documentary amongst other things. Chris was unable to talk about Star Wars: The Old Republic specifically as he was there to pitch Dragon Age: Origins, however, there is a little tidbit about ehancements they're making to their morality system, which fans will be sure to speculate upon. Finally, Jack seems confident that Champions Online hype will drastically escalate via word of mouth once the NDA drops.Check out Syp's trip to Indy part one and part two. It's full of interesting information about the convention and boasts numerous photos of himself, some devs, and the growd in general. He notes a bit of disappointment that neither Blizzard nor Turbine were in attendance, otherwise, he'd surely have assaulted them with questions too.
Cryptic Studios clarifies microtransactions in Star Trek Online
We noticed quite a stir in our last post about microtransactions in an upcoming Cryptic Studios game. The post in question was about Champions Online, which explained how Cryptic plans to keep the microtransaction system balanced. Quite a number of commenters at Massively expressed the view that the game should either be subscription or microtransaction-based, one or the other, and not a hybrid of the two. That debate isn't confined to Cryptic's superhero MMO, however. The company's approach to microtransactions with Champions Online will be applied to Star Trek Online as well, according to a recent forum post by Jackalope (Jack Emmert) from the Cryptic Studios dev team.
Cryptic could make Champions counterpart, Nemesis Online
In an interview with G4TV.com, Jack Emmert was more than willing to say that if Champions Online should succeed, then a villain counterpart -- possibly Nemesis Online -- would certainly be in the cards. Well, you can considering us shocked. It's almost as though were one product successful, additional but slightly different products would be pursued.All joking aside, we're happy to hear it's something that Cryptic is considering. And so long as they please fans with Champions Online we really see no reason for them not to create another game for supervillains. One thing Emmert was clear on were his design intents this time around, saying, "If I were to do it over again, I would create a very different type of gameplay for villain worlds." in relation to his first swing at villainy with City of Villains.
Beckett Massive Online Gamer names Top 20 individuals in the MMO industry
In what's now become an annual event, gaming magazine Beckett Massive Online Gamer has put together a list of the most influential people in the MMO industry. Blizzard's Rob Pardo has taken the #1 spot, as he did in 2008, which should come as no surprise to anyone, really. But Beckett has named Hilmar Pétursson of CCP Games as the second most influential figure in the MMO industry (up from #4 last year), with SOE's John Smedley, Jack Emmert from Cryptic Studios, and Mark Jacobs from Mythic Entertainment rounding out the top 5. In addition to the major, established industry names you'd expect to see on the list, there are 10 newcomers this year, including Todd Coleman from KingsIsle Entertainment, studio director for Wizard101 which recently hit the milestone of 2 million unique users.While Beckett Massive Online Gamer makes the list available online, the magazine offers background on each individual and how they've influenced the future of the industry.
Champions Online dev diary by comic book writer John Layman
The next major superhero MMO to be released will be Champions Online, based off of the pen-and-paper RPG system and in development at Cryptic Studios, slated to be released in mid-July 2009. To add even more superhero cred to the game, Cryptic has hired writers well-versed in the comics industry like John Layman, of both Marvel and Wildstorm fame. IGN is hosting a Champions Online developer diary written by Layman that focuses on his work at Cryptic Studios. Layman introduces what he does,"I'm the writer-guy for Champions Online, a comic book writer imported specifically to write a comic book themed game. And, just like writing comics, coming up with the right words, concepts, and plots is the very first part of a very long chain of work." He writes about the process of hashing out the best ideas with other Cryptic notables like Jack Emmert, Randy Mosiondz, and Brian Gilmore, and then working to tailor those concepts to 'comic book-ese' that works for Champions Online.
Official Champions DevBlog: Randy Mosiondz, lead designer on roleplay and gameplay
It's been on a short hiatus, but Massively's official bi-weekly Champions Online DevBlog has returned with a column from lead designer Randy Mosiondz concerning the balance between roleplay and gameplay. If you happened to have missed the previous entries, simply follow our Champions Developer posts and easy access to even more thoughts and commentary from the likes of Randy Mosiondz, Bill Roper and Jack Emmert.
Official Champions DevBlog: Jack Emmert on "Why do another superhero game?"
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Jack_Emmert_Explains_Why_make_a_new_superhero_MMO'; Welcome, faithful readers, to the first of a series of developer blogs that will be hosted on Massively.com. In conjunction with the good people at Cryptic Studios, Massively will be playing host to insights directly from the developers themselves! We should be seeing a developer post about twice a month between now and the launch of Champions Online. If you're interested in following the insights straight from the team make sure to follow our very own Champions Developer blogger, who will be doing the honors of posting these interesting screeds.This morning we present the first in our Champions DevBlog series, written by Mr. Jack Emmert. Mr. Emmert is head of Cryptic, the force behind not only Champions but the much-anticipated Star Trek Online as well. Our first DevBlog offers up insights into why the company has taken on 'yet another' superhero game. Mr. Emmert explains why they've chosen to don the tights again, and looks back to their work on City of Heroes for inspiration. Read on below the cut for our first official Champions Online DevBlog!%Gallery-17946%
Take a video tour of Cryptic Studios
In what is said to be only the first installment of a new video-podcast series, Cryptic Studios have invited all of us to peak over their shoulders and see some of the members of their team at work. The video, titled "Day as a Dev", introduces us to the Production Team. Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert recaps the three titles that the studio is working on: Champions Online, Star Trek Online, and one unannounced super-secret game. Most of the developers we meet in the video are part of the large Champions team, but all three games are represented.It's always nice to get this sort of behind-the-scenes look at the development process for an anticipated game, and to see how the different aspects come together to make up the whole picture. We also get to see how Bill Roper is doing in his new role at Cryptic as Design Director for Champions Online. However, we're going to have to award the "best quote" to Randy Mosiondz: "It's a challenging job, but at the end of the day, I make video games, and what's more, a super-hero video game, so there's nothing wrong with that."
Champions Online announces Closed Beta signups
Cryptic Studios has just announced that players can now sign up for a chance to participate in the first Closed Beta of their forthcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online, with the Beta beginning in mid-November 2008. Applications can be made at the official website. The Beta is for PC only.Jack Emmert, chief creative officer of Cryptic Studios, announced 'This closed beta is an exciting step in the evolution of Champions Online... All of us here in the Cryptic offices have been playing the game for a while now, and we're excited to invite others in to have as much fun with Champions Online as we've been having internally.'As we've covered in considerable depth here at Massively, Champions Online features highly customizable character costumes as well as the option to create a super-powered nemesis for your character, action-based gameplay, and a large-scale comic-book universe to explore. The game is scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2009.
PAX08: Talking with Champions Online's content lead, Zeke Sparkes
After speaking with John Layman at PAX08, our second Champions Online interview was with content lead Zeke Sparkes. We talked sound effects, travel powers, character creation, controls and zone creation among other things. In fact, we actually got a short period of hands-on time with the game prior to the interview.So far, Champions Online had only been playable with the Xbox 360 controller, but we were able to finally try the keyboard and mouse controls at PAX. Instead of hitting a face button on the Xbox controller to do your basic attack, you tap an assigned number-key on your keyboard. As you do this, you build up energy and can move through the rest of the powers, which for us were set to the rest of the numbered keys. Overall, the keyboard and mouse controls feel tight and responsive for a game scheduled to launch in Spring of 2009.
PAX08: Interviewing Champion Online's writer, John Layman
Amidst the rather large -- but also surprisingly polite -- crowd surrounding the Cryptic Studios booth, we were able to talk with the writer for Champions Online, John Layman. Discussions revolved around the breadth and depth of content within the game's zones and the possibilities of space-based zones lying in wait for higher level characters. Two words to get you excited: interplanetary threats. We also learned about John's fondness for sprinkling lots of homages throughout the game. Overall, it was a fun trip into the mind of a man who really loves zombies, pajamas and nerdy in-jokes that future players of Champions Online will be able to find some humor from.%Gallery-30683%
A Star Trek Online interview about time travel and travel time
We've said before that the main source of information on Star Trek Online at this point is hints and implications peppered through interviews with Cryptic Studios' Jack Emmert. The latest of those interviews is lighter on details than were previous conversations, but it's still worth a read.Speaking to Ten Ton Hammer at Gen Con, Emmert started out vaguely answering questions about character customization. Nothing new there. But it got a bit more interesting when he used time travel as an example of something pivotal to the franchise, but that's made difficult to implement by technological and budgetary limitations. He spoke as if he'd already given a great deal of thought to it; perhaps that's a clue that despite the problems, time travel is something Cryptic intends to put in the game.Other topics included the uniqueness of Star Trek ship design, instancing, procedurally-generated areas for exploration, and travel time.
