Ask a Dev: Introducing Bruce Harlick!

Yay! New people!

Are you interested in working on game lore that will appear outside the game proper? I'm thinking of something along the lines of the Paragon Times on the CoH website.

If there was one thing that you could take from a previous experience (PnP, MMO, etc) and implement into the game what would it be?

Will you be working on helping Hero1 develop the game's story (things like the coming storm) or will you be working on stuff that is 'separate' from his work that will concentrate on different level ranges or parts of the game?

Will you be investing time in updating current content (I'm thinking Angus McQueen specifically but I'm sure there's other contacts that could use an update...or five )

If you were going to go and pick one, what would you use for a red name, why, and if ti's non-signature hero, what does the name signify?

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Hey Bruce! You'd better pick a character name, or we'll be forced to assign you one. I vote "The Can Man."

Will the new Mission Architect feature make mission writing easier for you guys?

What was your favorite mission/story arc that you made/worked on?

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Ack! Not the Can Man!

The poor guy would have to post in rhyme!

I think it's been asked before, but I'll try again.

Just how are your duties different from Hero 1's?

I don't think The Can Man suits you. I think your name should be Brucey Goosey.

That's all I got.

your desk is WAY too neat! Did you clean it up just for the photo?

Edited: cuz i caint spel gud

Welcome Bruce!!!

I really don't have a question for you, i'll leave that to everyone else. I just wanted to say HI and welcome you to this insane community I hope you enjoy you're time here and I hope you're transition was an easy one.
WELCOME

Is it possible to spice up the missions we have?

Example: Creating Traps in the mission. I.E. Ambushed when entering a empty room or having the doors close behind you and you have to smash your way out while trying not to get killed yourself.

Pretty much saying is... missions are bland atleast some are... Go kill Go Rescue. And you do that and thats it. Nothing exciting happened in the mission.

I'm not saying every mission...just every so often. =]

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B) Who would win in a fight, Blue Steel or God? Consider your answer carefully.

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Hey, this isn't Ask a Dev Trick Questions.

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It's not a trick question. The answer SHOULD be obvious.

Heya, Bruce, welcome to the insanity!

I'm also a Hero Systems player, and am looking forward to seeing a Foxbat-like individual coming along and trying to steal the Atlas statue in Atlas Park. With all the heroes standing underneath it in mid-costume contest, of course.

It's great to see you'll be able to bring your PnP RPGing background to bear here - best of luck.

My question is, what CoX backstory would you most like to write for a story arc? (For ideas, you can always look here.)

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Welcome.

How old are you?

Has Positron tried to eat you yet?

First of all, welcome to the COH project Bruce.

I wanted to ask what advice you have for those of us who want to spend our carriers creating market quality stories and adventures such as those that appear as COH story arcs and task forces (or just make extremely good story threads using the coming COH mission creator). In short, how do you develop and enhance the skills necessary to create compelling and driven plots for the COH missions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twoflower You'd need a scanning electron microscope to find me a violin small enough to play an appropriate song of pity for farmers, exploiters, or anyone else who gets caught bending the design intention of the game past the breaking point by MARTy.

Hi all,

Bruce, is there a way you can polish up some of the more repetitive 40+ content (Portal Corp mostly; many are fine but some feel...old) with tweaking the stories there and making them connect to existing content more?

Also: in the I13 update, would it be possible for you to include a system where a player/architect can link to screenshots taken from within the game? Like say, a Historian that will not talk to you unless you correctly pick the right portrait of Positron from a list (these shots would have to be on NCSoft servers I would think)?

Good luck,
Lucas aka Xin Yue and others.

Wow Well well, Hi Bruce,
Welcome to COH, And you thought you had a handful with us judges long ago.

Okay most of my questions were answered reading what happened since...

Can we expect storyarc's that have a direct result based on our heroic actions, Will more of the content be story driven to include main ideas?

As Rob use to say, Be A Hero!

American Valor

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Bruce Harlick got his start in the gaming industry way back in 1981 as Hero Games' first employee. Starting as an editor, Bruce enjoyed a 20-year relationship with the Hero Games, culminating with the job of company president. Bruce was responsible for the creation of some of Hero Games’ most memorable characters, including the ever-popular Foxbat.


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Bruce:

I can blame YOU for Foxbat?

Oh, sure, I could blame my GM for all the misery I went through in the late 80's with old crazy-boy, but I'd rather blame you

Welcome aboard the crazy train!

Question: What is your current work focus? Are you working new content or reworking old content (looking at you Positron TF)?

Question: Do you have a specific focus or scope in your role at NCSoft? (New Villains, New Groups, New mission types, New Story Lines?)

Hello. I feel I must express my concerns regarding your work. From my love of the superhero genre comes a great desire to experience other aspects of a hero's abilities. My hero is capable of more than combat, but there is no detective work, no puzzles to solve, no doors to unlock. I am never in a fight that I can't win with a laser beam or a right-hook, I am never seeking information that can't be gleaned from a contact or a quick romp. All doors are opened to me by nothing more than my security level and linear mission progress. Do you, as a story writer and level designer, feel as if the game could use non-combat oriented content? Hitting the street in a "civilian clothes" temporary power to track down a shady villain before me and my team bust down his door. Hitting up NPC's for names of witnesses, finding evidence, infiltrating the Circle of Thorns to steal an evil artifact. Going to the library to learn of a method of destroying it. Finding a stone that weakens a certain Archvillian like kryptonite....And NOT spelling out exactly what your hero must do. Is this something you see as workable?

I also have a few questions I would really love answered, I think some may already be asked but I can’t check all the pages so I’m apologising in advance. To start off I’d like to know about the character creation system, I mean are they all different images? How do you create all the possible combinations (does a compute calculate them all)? And how big is a character’s 3D image in byre size? Also is the City of Heroes teams planning on releasing any new villain groups because the huge variety of enemies is one of the game’s best point (in my view anyway).

Also, I’d really like to know if Cryptic are always looking for any new employers with story development skills or are they happy with the creative group they have? There’s one more thing I think I and anyone else who dreams of actually being able to work at Cryptic world like to know: what kind of program language and design programs you use in COH or are regularly used throughout Cryptic.

Thanks for your time!

Can I have your lil puppy?

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Just to answer a few immediate questions:

Bruce's red name: Bruce won't be posting directly on the forums.

How long can questions be asked? Questions will be collected on Monday, September 22nd from both the North American and European forums.

When will the questions be answered? Shortly after they are collected we'll post up Bruce's replies.

Not long after that, we'll introduce our next dev and ask for your questions for them.

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A question a bit off topic for Lighthouse or Bruce; Will this "Ask a Dev" be a recuring thing perhaps every issue or once a month? I like the idea because It serves to bridge that rift between developer and player. Making the game feel more like a community.

Hey Bruce,

With the upcoming Mission Architect System, will that impact your current job and focus more of your attention on player created story arcs? (Dev approved, Hall of Fame, etc.) Or will you continue to create cool story arcs in much the same way?

Can you tell us a few cool story arcs have you written?

Thanks!

It's the friggin' Marksman! Great to see you again, Bruce. My question is: Are there plans for "career length" story arcs for all player types, similar to the kheldian/arachnos soldier arcs? While some might say this is part of the "epic reward," the prospect of more fun for all seems like a great idea.

Ps: Can I join your tabletop? I miss the good ol' days at Beresford.

Will Issue 13: Architect allow us to create some of our very own Arch-Nemesis in the mission creation feature? If so, do we have access to costume and power changing, or just name changing?

Will new shield power set have attacks as well as defense? In paper rpg's shield attacks can be devastating, particluarly with pallidins and knight's.

Seeing as we're acknowledging Foxbat here. Will there be any content geared towards...well...crazies? You know, the random guy trying to conquer the music industry, running around screaming "SPOOOON!", breaking fourth wall to talk to viewers or a ticked diatribe about the editor....

You know. Stuff that's partially geared towards people RP'ing a toon for the laugh value as opposed to serious butt-kickery.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.