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Massively in Metropolis: Why your time online trumps game design
We've been exploring the game mechanics and design philosophy of DC Universe Online for the last week. We've talked about superpowers, factions, and questing, among a host of other issues. Today we want to be sure to highlight a fascinating exchange we had with DCUO Creative Director Jens Andersen and SOE Austin Creative Director Chris Cao about the role of fun in DCUO. Check out our back-and-forth on this issue in our new interview-style format below. What is it about DCUO that's compelling the team to concentrate on the amount of fun a player is having moment by moment? It seems as thought that's a major focus for the the game. Jens Andersen: It's a design philosophy. The key to us is: the most valuable thing the players have is online time together. So anything we do that provides an obstacle to that means we're wasting your time. It might be a great way to keep players in the game, when we ask you to run across an entire continent to go get something for your group. For you guys, it stinks. We don't want to waste your time.
Massively in Metropolis: How your superpowers are going to work
The big question behind a game about superheroes is pretty blunt. How am I going to feel powerful? How are my powers going to work? If you don't feel superheroic there's been a failure right from the get-go. That's entirely the point behind the development process at SOE Austin, for the DC Universe Online project. We've been running our lengthy look at the game all week, talking about the game's approach to questing and how you'll be interacting with the iconic DC comics heroes. All of that pales in comparison to your own personal superhero story, your own tales of daring-do. Join us as we talk with the heads of the DC Universe Online project about just that. They'll lay out how you can combine a power source, a movement power, and a stylistic origin to create your own unique hero. Or, how you can ape the powers of your favorite iconic hero to live out your dream of being the next Batman. They'll also give us a little bit of guff about movement powers, and hint at big things to come! Read on!
Massively in Metropolis: Why DCUO is a game worth making
There are so many MMOs out there right now ... why do we need yet another one? And why does the DC Universe need an MMO? What's the point of having a title where you can talk to Batman and Superman? You may have already gotten a taste of the team's rationale in our ongoing look at DC Universe Online, but the SOE Austin team is a passionate one. They've got a lot of strong ideas about why this game needs to get made, and how they're making it.Join us below the cut for an exploration of why the DC IP is a great fit for MMO gameplay, even though we haven't seen much of the actual MMO parts yet. Find out why the product has already been out and seen by players at events like Comic-Con, and join us as we return to the developers' claim that the game has already launched ... inside SOE! The whys behind DCUO >>
Massively in Metropolis: Paper isn't play
During our lengthy look at SOE Austin's in-development game, we asked a followup question about DC Universe Online's concept of factions. Called causes, we've already outlined for you what we know about them in our discussion of making friends with Superman. Our innocent question, though, netted an interesting response from SOE Austin Creative Director Chris Cao that we think is highly indicative of the studio's outlook on game-making. Chris Cao: We always like to have someone play something instead of just talking about it. It's not a laziness thing, it's a clarity thing. That's why we started with this public event. The hardest thing to do in an MMO is to make an event that everyone can participate in, within a shared world. Arbitrary number of players, arbitrary space ... we tackled this hardest part first because we wanted to show we could do it. As we put each of these components in, we can show it to you so that you can really understand what we're doing. We can give you an explanation, but it just wouldn't be the same. We put the factions in because we know it's important to be able to make decision about what kind of hero you are. We want the flavor of both the Batman vigilante hero and the Superman boy scout hero. Having made a few of these MMOs now, I'd rather not promise all sorts of things specifically. I'd rather just show you when we have something to show you. Paper isn't play. Did you enjoy this? We've donned our capes and tights to explore SOE's DC Universe Online in-depth. Come explore more of Metropolis and Gotham with your friends at Massively!
Massively in Metropolis: Making friends with Superman
One of the most compelling elements of DC Universe Online is the opportunity to interact with and fight beside the great heroes of the DC comics. Superman, Batman, and all the rest are going to be important and notable characters in this world, just like yours. The SOE Austin team felt it was important, though, that icons like Batman be more than just 'quest dispensers with legs.'Instead, the personalities and idiosyncrasies we've all seen in the comics will be coming to the forefront of these characters through spoken and text interactions. If you blow off Superman by ignoring his pleas for help, he'll be cranky at you. Meanwhile, Batman will be spending his time just waiting for you to turn on him and his family ... poised to take you down. Some discussion of quests with personality, plus exploration of the DCUO faction system called 'causes' below the cut! Earn some Superman faction >> Did you enjoy this? We've donned our capes and tights to explore SOE's DC Universe Online in-depth. Come explore more of Metropolis and Gotham with your friends at Massively!
Massively in Metropolis: DC Universe Online goes beyond questing
As we referenced in our post yesterday about DC Universe Online's concept art, the folks at SOE Austin are looking to change the playing field fairly substantially with their superhero MMO title. In fact, in a number of ways they're looking to re-examine a lot of the basic elements we think of as part and parcel with the MMO package. One great example is the concept of questing. Your average experience in a massively multiplayer game right now involves seeking out quests - essentially 'todo lists' - from characters a story-centric quest hub somewhere in the game world.In DCUO, the goal is to let players do what they want to do with the time they have in-game. To that end, the designers are seeking to push content on players, rather than make players seek them out with their precious game time. Calling them 'encounters' rather than quests, these experiences are totally changeable based on developer intentions, and local conditions. DCUO offers traditional questing as well, with well-known quest givers and amazing quest content ... but they're definitely seeking something new in encounters. We also chat with the developers about the ways in which their physics-based gameplay fits in, the game's death mechanic, and how the game 'feels' like a 3rd person action game more than an MMO. Read on for all the gameplay details!%Gallery-34118%
Massively in Metropolis: DC Universe Online concept art sneak peek
Batman. Superman. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter. Black Canary, Oracle, The Question. The world of DC Comics is populated with amazing characters and fantastic stories. The entire four-color experience is coming to fans of the MMO genre in the form of DC Universe Online, a title in Sony Online Entertainment's stable of next-gen MMOs. Alongside the FPS title The Agency and casual/kid friendly Free Realms, DCUO looks to reinvent the concept of massively multiplayer game for comic book fans. And Massively has had a lengthy first-hand look at this groundbreaking title.We had extensive hands-on playtime with the game's combat and powers mechanics, and hours of face to face chat time with the developers at SOE Austin. Over the next week, Massively is going to fully explore this dyanmic in-development game. In the words of the developers we'll crack into the studio's philosophy of play and discover the value these developers place on your play time.To kick things off we've got a fantastic gallery of concept art taken right from the walls of the SOE Austin studios. Explore the work of Jim Lee and the other DCUO artists, with commentary on what you're seeing and hints on what is coming in the next week. Plus! Read on below the cut for Studio Manager John Blakely's insights into 'future screenshots'! To the Batcave >> %Gallery-34118%
