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City of Villains: Birthday Q&A
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
It's been a year of evil at Cryptic Studios as City of Villains turns the big 1. Lead Designer Matt Miller submitted to an in-house Q&A to celebrate.
This Halloween Marks the City of Villains One-Year Anniversary |
Tuesday, October 31st marks the one year anniversary of City of Villains. Launched on Halloween of 2005, City of Villains finally answered one of the players top requests - to be the bad guy. To commemorate this first annual milestone, we conducted our own Q&A with Cryptic Lead Designer Matt Miller (Positron).
Q: What are some of the most valuable things that you have learned over the first year of City of Villains?
A: I learned to listen more to the users. We have lot of very passionate players in the game, and their insight and feedback can be really valuable as the design progresses. There are a lot of good ideas out there that help us prioritize our feature lists and at times will lead us in new directions that we might not have thoroughly considered. There are a lot of different desires the players have for the game, and its great to be able to deliver for them.
Q: When comparing to City of Villains with City of Heroes, what are some of the aspects of each game that you prefer over the other and why?
A: This is like asking me to pick which one of my children is my favorite, isnt it? City of Heroes has the unmatched aspect of playing a Hero. Doing good and right, and saving the day. Its something that just cant be offered on the Villain side. But City of Villains has a more proactive feeling to it. You have a sense that you are going out and causing trouble, instead of reacting to it like heroes do.
Q: How do you plan to further integrate City of Heroes with City of Villains (co-op play, social areas like Pocket D, etc.)?
A: We have plans for a co-operative zone where both sides band together under a common flag to combat a mutual threat. While Villains and Heroes obviously do not get along with each other, there are times when the enemy of my enemy becomes a friend, no matter who they are.
Q: Can you provide any insight into your long-term plans for PvP in the City of franchise?
A: We want to shake up PvP and address some of the rough edges with the system. One such issue is the disparity in effectiveness of certain Archetypes in a PvP setting. We are addressing this in part through the Invention system, and feel it will go a long way in shoring up overall balance and offering new ways to play certain Archetypes.
Q: Now that it has been a year, what is your favorite villain archetype and why?
A: Dominator. I love the fact that it couples Control abilities with some good damage output, and Domination is damn cool.
Q: Will there be epic archetypes on the villain side in the future?
A: You bet. We are working out how to include Nictus (evil Kheldians), and are discussing one more. Stay tuned!
Q: When can the players expect Cathedral of Pain to come back?
A: Unfortunately the Cathedral of Pain brought to light a certain exploit that can not be fixed quickly, and involves a rework of some of the systems involved. If I were to use my crystal ball I would say Issue 9, but there is always the possibility of it getting in before then.
Q: Is there anything else that you want to say to the City of community?
A: Thanks for a crazy year, Villains and Heroes. I hope the next year offers just as much fun for everyone as the past ones have!
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
Best MMO out there.
Still, I am currently aggroed at the HOs, IoPs, Shivans inside PvP zones with Nukes...as a PvE-grouper I feel these are all enforcing a gameplay I choose not to play...
Still...with my starvation for something good, I will prolly succumb and go back to the "less bad" MMO eventually, just not yet. Some Hamidon's jerk team get my angry level quite high...and I wasn't even in CoH, I was in CoV, it is just the way they talk and keep offending me, as a PvE grouper...Hatred is strong indeed (when the design of the game support them...). Especially when it is justified.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Worthless why?
I guess what you mean is "because it doesn't say anything new or in depth," but that's just my guess, and I suck at reading miinds.
Countless similar interviews exist in print and on the web (i.e., that don't make me go "Wowzers!"), so I don't know if that makes it have more or less worth than X. At most, I'd say that it doesn't break new ground, that's all.
Agree.
We will see if this game becomes great again after Issue 9 and the Invention system.
Did I miss something....something important?
(reads over interview 3 more times)
Apparently not.
The community here at MMORPG.com is some of the worst I have seen. You people are ridiculous! The f'ing "Have it Your Way" generation.
Not all interviews have to tell you who shot J.R. Some of them can be less meaty and still have plenty of flavor.
Let's see your interview with the CoH/CoV dev team. Oh, that's right! You can't get one!
Shut up and sit down, son!
Pinutbutter!
And don't tell me otherwise!
Okay interview, but I'd like to have heard more about what's coming up, especially since they decided to not do a boxed expansion. That means we should be seeing some really great stuff far beyond the invention system. I want details, dang it :P
*sniff *sniff /em gags
Umm, hate to tell you this but that is not pinutbutter so you better stop eating it.
A standard interview, didn't really shed much light on things. Not sure if you can blame the company for being vague or the interviewer for not asking better questions.
Still a great game though, always have fun when I logon. Other fantasy type games came and went for me, but CoX has remained constant. Plus the content patches are meaningful, not like in some other games where there is a patch and nothing seems changed unless you go to Zone A at Level X.
Oh and I can't wait for Issue 9, inventions look to be really good.