The City Scoop ~Front Page~ January 9th 2009
By
Niviene,
Posted on: 2009-01-09 13:41 in Announcements
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Behind the Walls3. The truth is ...... most of you will never have any contact with a GM. That's meant to be a compliment. Not just for you, but for the developers of the game and our support system. Most of it's automatic, it mostly works as intended and it's fun. Mostly. Have you ever used "Support", under "Menu" in your City of Heroes/Villains toolbar? What you write in there, we call "petitions," whether it's a complaint about something wrong with the game or a problem with another player-controlled character. We read and respond to petitions. This is a large part of what GMs do. It's our job. Of course, no one ever told you that. We figured you didn't need to know, that you probably wouldn't care, so long as if you ever got into a jam, you'd be helped out, somehow. For the most part, that seems to be the case - and frankly, that makes our jobs easier. GMs aren't part of the world where Paragon City and the Rogue Isles are. We're not supposed to be. Everyone who has ever been involved with City of Heroes would rather you focus on what's enjoyable and interesting. It's worked out pretty well so far. But we've noticed some things. Some of you are more aware of us than others, and talk about us, privately and in open channels, including these message boards. We don't mind you talking, but we'd rather not be regarded as some unknowable creatures of myth and legend. We're real people, even though we might not seem like it sometimes. What we do is with a purpose in mind. We won't lie to you. Might not tell you everything you want to know, but there are reasons for that. We'd usually like to tell you more, and that's part of what this column is about. Next time: Disciplinary Measures. Or, "We do other things besides ban people."
| ArenaThough things have quieted down considerably on the Arena front, I've been lucky enough to track down the legendary ELF STALKER from Champion Server. He agreed to take a few minutes of his time for this one of a kind interview. What can you tell us about yourself? Natural Habitat, age, job, etc. I'm and 26 I live in Sacramento, Califronia. My jobs include being a business owner and law enforcement. What is your favorite movie or music? Many, but when I was kid it had to be Ghostbusters. Hip Hop/ R&B and any other music that sounds good. When did you find out about City of Heroes/PvP in City of Heroes? I was looking for an online game. The only online game I can remember playing before COH was the Diablo series. I first went to EB games in mind of buying Matrix Online but i decided to ask the guy at the counter what good online game he suggested City Of Heroes. I bought the game and enjoyed since. As for my PvP experience, I can say it's very high. I was PvPing Bloody Bay when it was real active... I miss defending the beach. The good Siren's days...and even Warburg days. Are you involved in any PvP or other SGs? Well I first got COV I join this SG... can't recall their name. I earned a lot prestige and recruited new members and the guys there didn't want to promote me. I made my VG called ELITE LEGENDS. I took some of his members with me and surpassed him in Presige rank which was real joyful. Hero side I joined Protectors of Neverland, Scott's Heroes and Sons of Atlas, which is now my SG. As for PVP SG... I was in Team Tanzie which was fun. We became champions. Creator/Leader of EXILE which never went through due to i13. ELITE LEGENDS' rivalries include the Blackguards, VORI, Shadow Kings, Stryke-Force, Protectors of Neverland, Shadow Kings and many more. What are your impressions of I13 PvP? I was hoping for the new pvp... more zones for pvp. They should have kept I12 content but with some little changes. What are some of your most memorable PvP Moments? Great moment for 2008 was when that dude from Freedom challenge me to an Arena match on the forums. He transferred this toon over to Champions and got slaughtered. Poor guy didn't even want a rematch. It was a big win for Champion... Author's note: Having had the pleasure to compete with and against Elf in the Arena, he is nothing if not a ton of fun. Make sure to say hi if you're on Champion server! | |
Get Involved!Events and You!At this point, we've talked about community groups and global chat channels. Hopefully, by now, you're aware that the forums are a wonderful resource to turn to when you're looking for ways to get involved! Also, you should have at least a few friends, whether they're people you chat with on a regular basis or people you team with every night or members of your super group or villain group. Well, that's all you need! This time we're talking about events! That's right, events! You know the Player Events section on the forums? Well, this is what it's for! An event can be anything, anything at all! If you want to give out prizes (and have the wherewithal to do so!) you might want to do a costume contest or PvP tournament or a trivia contest; if you don't want to give out prizes, what about hosting a themed Task Force or a dance party to show off your super group's awesome base? To host an event by yourself, first you need to decide what kind of event you want to do. Do you want to run one specific event or multiple events? You could combine events, like costume contests, relay races, and trivia contests, and have a party in Atlas or Pocket D, or you could decide to do an All-Scrapper Sister Psyche Task Force or an All-Blaster Positron Task Force or a Cartoon Character-themed Imperious Task Force and make the Task Force itself the whole event! You'll want to be as familiar as possible with the event or events you choose, and if you do choose multiple events, you may want to ask your friends for some help. The possibilities for in game events are nearly limitless. Once you decide what kind of event you want to do, you'll need to figure out if you need prizes or not, and where you'll get the prizes from. If you're in a super group or villain group, you can approach your group leader with your event idea and ask if it can be sponsored by the group. This is a great way to get a few extra hands to help, and to get assistance with prizes. When choosing a date and time for your event, there are a few things to keep in mind. You want to plan the event with enough time in advance to get the word out to people, and you also want to choose a day and time when people will be in game and looking for something to do. Weekends are better than weekdays, most of the time, and after 7 is usually the most active time. You also want to make sure no other big events are going on on your server on the date and time you want-not only can other events draw attention away from yours, you don't want to be rude and try to steal someone else's spotlight. Unless it's an event where people will be getting experience points, never run an event on double experience weekend! | Once you know exactly what you'll be doing-what kind of event you want, what prizes will be distributed, and a date and time-you can post it in the Player Events section of the forums! Make sure you post the server and location of the event so that people can find you, and if you're doing a Task Force, it's a good idea to ask people to sign up in advance with their global name, toon name, level, archetype, etc. Post in the thread and let everyone know when the team is full or keep an updated list of people on the team in the thread, and make sure to sign on a few alternate players in case someone doesn't make it. Post the event in the Events section and in your server section for maximum exposure, and keep people updated on any changes by posting them in the same thread! Read the stickied thread on posting events in the Events section-it is extremely informative and invaluable to people who are just starting out as hosts/hostesses. For more free publicity (yes that's right, free publicity!) try contacting CoH/CoV fan sites or online radio stations. Sometimes they'll post your event on their site or allow you to record a brief commercial about it to play on the air. The more people who know about your event, the better the chances that you'll get a great turnout! When the day comes for your event, you'll want to log on and be in position early-really early. It's never good for a host or hostess to be late to their own party! If the event is in a zone, you may want to announce it on broadcast several times prior to the event's start, and keep people updated on what is going on-for example, twenty minutes before a costume contest, broadcast something like "Costume Contest under Atlas in 20 minutes! The theme is Silver Age Costumes! First Prize is 3 million influence!" You may want to repeat the broadcast at 10 minutes to start and 5 minutes to start, as well as use the broadcast channel to announce the winners so that there can be no doubt. If your event is a Task Force, be ready at the contact to start inviting people who have signed up to your team, and make sure everyone is clear on the length of time the Task Force requires. You may also want to make sure (if it's not an All-Specific-Archetype Task Force) that you don't get four tanks and three blasters and a scrapper. Sometimes people will switch to alts if you ask nicely and if they understand the need. Remember to be friendly and polite to the players who come to your events, and be prepared to answer questions about any rules you may have and about the prizes. The best way to learn how to host an event is to do it! Trust me, with patience and a willingness to learn, any player can host wonderful, fun events! Just make sure to remember the advice people give you, to respect the people who come to your events, and to give yourself plenty of time to prepare and get the word out, and don't forget to ask your friends for help if you need it! This is one of the absolute easiest ways there will ever be to get involved-so do it! Go on, get involved! |
The People On... | SM: So is the government in the wrong? PE: The government should calm down and not be so paranoid. They're worried that if they don't have someone on file they have no control over them. If a hero blows up a building because there's a bomb in it, they need to know who to blame. If that person is a "vigilante" then they can blame them and label them a villain, all the while claiming Longbow or some licensed hero saved the civilians. If the government could police crime, they wouldn't need heroes. They should be thanking them, not slapping rules on them. SM: I'm kind of surprised you think this way as an Arachnos soldier. PE: Look, I'm practically in an army. I chose this. The only reason we're registered in the Isles is because we go to jail. No one cares about our loved ones or family unless they have a vendetta. We want to be known so we can get credit. Just because I live in this environment doesn't mean I don't have opinions about my enemies. SM: I see. That's a very interesting point of view there. PE: I calls'em as I sees'em. SM: Thank you for speaking with me. PE: Whatever. I hate to admit it, but I think our Arachnos friend here is right. The government shouldn't put restrictions on the people who save them for free out of the kindness of their hearts. Unless the person does something genuinely bad or unwholesome, they shouldn't be punished for it. His comment about more government involvement in the first place also brings up a good point. Why does the government want them to register other than having someone to blame and punish? What is the point? I'll keep digging to get the scoop! A Villain ChristmasHey all, Hostile V here. Sorry for dodging the last few issues; I've been learning from ancient monks to hone my focus and ideas. And I sincerely hope to post more in the New Year. Until then, please enjoy this little holiday poem. Christmas in Etoile There's rubble's lying in the street, The people look dog-tired and beat, But it's a special time of year, A time for fun and joy, not fear. Now everyone from Snake to Tsoo, Crey, Family, Spiders, Rikti too, Can't help feeling different in these days. (Alas, it just ain't here to stay) Just think: this time of year is fleeting, You've a bigger mission that needs completing, By honoring all of those you love, Or hate, or loathe (All of the above?) So get a tree from the DE, Tape holiday films from the TV, Sling Arachnoid webbing 'round the tree, Plug in new lights from Dr. Æ. Hang up the masks and capes and cowls, Tuck away the sneers and scowls, Relax with family, minions, friends, And enjoy it 'til the season ends. Let's celebrate and deck the halls, Find a hero, make him bawl, Loot everything from house to mall, It's Christmas in Etoile.  |
Under the Hood: Pet SlottingTime for a new series of articles, this time on slotting powers. Today I'll be discussing how to slot Pet powers. Now the game internally treats LOTS of effects like pets, but I'll be sticking to the traditional pets that follow you around and attack your enemies. This includes Controller and Dominator pets (Animate Stone, Fire Imps, Singularity, Jack Frost, Phantom Army, Phantasm, and Fly Trap), Mastermind Henchmen (lots), special Henchmen (Gang War and Soul Extraction), Villain Patron Pets (Arachnos and Coralax), Peacebringer Photon Seekers, Warshade Dark Extraction, and Arachnos Soldier pets (Spiderlings and Disruptors). I'll go over the basics of what you want to slot, add some extra tricks about what you can slot, and I'll put it all together with a few examples. One of the biggest differences between pets is how often you summon them. Most Controller and Dominator pets are persistent pets, so they'll stay around forever. You only need to re-summon them when you go to another zone. For them, you generally don't need to slot them for Recharge, though you can in case you're particularly rough on them. Slotting for Recharge will not improve the recharge on the powers that your pet uses. Mastermind Henchmen are in the middle. You'd often like to slot them for Recharge, but you can't directly. They don't allow Recharge Reduction Enhancements, and the normal Pet IO sets don't include Recharge. For the rest of the pets, you usually want a lot of Recharge Reduction. They're balanced by being strong but having a long Recharge compared to their duration, so they are more effective if you have them around more often. Phantom Army falls into this class because it has a short duration. Next is Accuracy. Controller and Dominator pets are summoned at the level of the caster except for Fire Imps which are one level below. Mastermind Henchmen are even level, -1, or -2 depending on whether you summon 1, 2, or 3 of them. If you regularly fight higher level mobs, you'll need to take that into account. Pets have a 75% base chance ToHit, just like characters. Slot even level pets like you would your own attacks, and add a bit more Accuracy if you have -1 or -2 pets. Most pets exist to do damage, so you usually want to slot them around the ED damage soft cap of 95%. But there are many other effects that you may want to balance with damage. Singularity uses lots of Control powers, so it may be worthwhile to slot it for those. The middle tier Mastermind Henchmen usually have powers worth slotting for other effects, like heals, buffs, or debuffs. The last general concern is Endurance. Slotting for END Reduction will reduce both the cost to summon a pet and the cost of the powers that the pet uses. Only Masterminds tend to worry about the END cost to summon pets, as they summon and upgrade all of their pets at the start of a mission. Pets usually don't run out of END just by using their powers, but I hear Protector Bots from Robotics Masterminds are an exception. That's the basics of what you want to slot. Now let's look at what you can slot. Obviously there are TOs, DO, SOs, and common IOs. You can certainly start with those, but eventually you'll want to work up to Pet IO sets because they provide higher total Enhancement bonuses. These include various combinations of Accuracy, Damage, and Endurance. There are also unique IOs in these sets to grant pets Taunt and Placate Resistance (fairly useless), Defense (5% within 20 feet), and Damage Resistance (10% within 20 feet). The set IO bonuses on the regular Pet sets are underwhelming, so you're better off picking IOs based on their Enhancement values. | There are two new Recharge Intensive Pet IO sets that contain combinations of Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, and a little END Reduction, with their own Defense and Resistance IOs. Most of the set IO bonuses for these are underwhelming as well, except the 6.25% Recharge Reduction they both provide for having 4 IOs in a set. Finally there is the purple Pet set that looks like the Recharge Intensive ones, though it has a Chance for Build Up proc. You can slot all of these wherever you want except that the recharge Intensive IOs can't go in regular Mastermind Henchman powers. Note that the purple Build Up proc only affects the pet it is slotted into, but all of the other unique Enhancements count as set bonuses for you that affect all of your pets. As set bonuses, the unique IOs should still work when you exemp if the IOs are low level as well. You can slot other set IOs in pets as well, though mainly the regular Mastermind Henchmen. They often accept Knockback or various Debuff sets. What about the procs in those sets, like Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge, or Achilles Heal: Chance for Res Debuff? From what I understand, those IOs work for the pet they are slotted in, but they can have some strange effects. I heard that Phantasms slotted with the Force Feedback proc love to go into melee range. If anyone ever tests Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge or damage procs on various pets, I'd love to hear the results. For the wealthy high level char, Hamidon Origin Enhancements are worth considering. Nucleolus (Acc/Dam) Enhancements improve Accuracy and Damage by a decent amount for a single slot. You can improve all of the Mezz effects of Pets by using Endoplasm (Acc/Mezz) or Peroxisome (Dam/Mezz) HOs. Membranes (Defense and ToHit Buff/Rech) can be used on Thug Enforcers and Protector Bots to improve their Recharge. Lysomes (Acc/ToHit & Defense Debuff) are fairly cheap and easy to get, and useful on Necromancy or similar pets with ToHit debuffs. Now let's see what we can do... A Thugs/Traps Mastermind can slot their Enforcer with 2 Defense IOs at level 50, and the Maneuvers from two Enforcers will give all of the Thugs 25% Defense. Add a Force Field Generator for another 15% Defense. Top it off with one of the unique Defense IOs and the Thugs will have soft capped Defense of 45%. As long as they all stay close together, those Thugs are VERY hard to hurt. The same strategy likely works with Ninjas, Force Fields, and even Dark Miasma with ToHit debuffs. A Singularity with a Nucleolus, Endoplasm, and two Peroxisome HOs has a solid Accuracy bonus, plus ED capped Damage and Mezz Enhancements. Three Nucleolus HOs give ED capped Accuracy and Damage in just 3 slots to any pet, leaving 3 slots for anything else you want to squeeze in. Slot both unique Resistance IOs from the regular and Recharge Intensive IO sets to pets with high Resistance (Singularity or Animate Stone), and those pets will be even harder to kill. What have I missed? Probably a lot. Dark Servant from the Dark Miasma set seems like a regular pet, except that you can't slot it with any pet IO sets or even damage. Gun Drone from Blaster Devices only accepts Ranged IO sets, but otherwise it acts like a pet. If you know of any other interesting pet slotting tactics, let me know! |
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Because I have to |
As you can see, I went with the lovely "Always a Bridesmaid" line from last February, keeping with the tone she loves so very much... As well as a similar color scheme... but honey that hair and headband had to go! Jem and the Holograms might sue, you know! Anyways, a nice dye job and cut is far batter than merely being truly, truly, truly outrageous! Sweety-sweety, I think if you merely wore THAT in Pocket D, folks wouldn't be so cruel... Unlike the blue and white suits of Icon that scream "Please Serge, not in the kneecaps!" I certainly hope you all had a happy whatever-it-is-called... If you have any questions on fashion, needing tips or what have you, write to my at Equation on the COH forums! See you on the Runway! *A Note About The Author: Arbiter Reginald Fabulous lives in the Etoile Islands, St. Martial in particular, with his loving girlfriend and several pets. He enjoys reading fanmail, recieving Christmas presents, and compliments from passers-by in nightclubs, however, due to recent events he doesn't seem to like the holidays too terribly much... Also, he's beginning to suffer from split ends, which is doing NOTHING positive to his mood, much to his underlings lamentations.* **A Note About The Author Of The Author: Equation is a guy who likes making folks laugh, crafting costumes, and has nothing but the most sincere respect for the makers of City of Heroes and Villains. He loves snarky humor and satire, and hopes that the catty remarks are not taken personally by any that may receive them, he loves you all, after all! He also hopes his design of Trina may get looked at by Sexy Jay... He loves Jay to peices, but was actually getting called out to post a redesign. Forgive me, Sexy Jay, crafter of all that is good and wholesome?** | ||
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Q) Who is your base designer and who are your supergroup leaders? A) Our Base Designer is myself Shadow Rouge @shadow rouge who is also the SG leader. Second in command is Offline and his global is @Offline Q) What server is your base on? A) Virtue Server Q) When was your supergroup established? A) I would say probably late May in 2004 Q) What is the approximate value of your base? A) Our Super group is currently number 7 in the top 100 SG's on Virtue and climbing with over 73 million prestige Q) How much time do you spend working on your base? A) I would have to say that many hours were spent working on this base. An SG member said that the base was too bare for his taste so I just went to work one week and probably spent at least 14 hours during that week completely redoing everything and decorated everywhere. I can't take all of the credit for decorating though. The pack is also set up to have what I call "base housing" which allows members of the SG to decorate their own rooms after they have made it past a 30 day probation period and they have earned at least 150k of prestige between their main and any alts they might have in the Super Group. Q) How much time have you invested in your base so far? A) I spend a lot of time in the base and I have been a member of the pack for over 4 years so I'm not really sure how much time I have really spent in there. I like to keep our enhancement tables with IO's so I spend my influence crafting them for my SG members to use. I also use it frequently for traveling. The Pack is equipped with telepads for every zone that a beacon is available at which is why we have two large rooms with teleporters in them. Q) What is your favorite base item? Least favorite? A) Wow favorite base item... I really can't pick a specific item. I love everything arcane really, which is why most of the Pack base is in an arcane style. My least favorite thing right now would have to be the new version of storage units for salvage. The Pack members were awesome about pooling everything together for the SG members to use so now that we can't store as much salvage for the base and buffing machines I thought that the devs really gypped us and other SG's out there for the use of that base salvage. If they would give us the same amount of storage capacity that we used to have I would be happier about it. | Q) What is your favorite thing about base editing? Least favorite? A) My favorite thing about base editing is seeing how to take something and make it look different. Like the pool of water design that is in the hospital room. Very different look and it was fun to do as well. My least favorite thing about editing is the extremely limited amount of things I can put on top of other things. I think they should add things like pop bottles and heck maybe even a vending machine or something. The technology is there because you see similar stuff at pocket D. Windows would be a cool thing to add with maybe a scene of steel canyon or atlas park to make a base seem like its in a building instead of under ground. I have felt for years that bases have been ignored for too long and they could really use some love via decorative items as well as getting the cathedral of pain fixed or replaced all together. We would love to get an item of power in our base if that option ever works again Q) If you could give just one piece of advice to a new base editor, what would it be? A) Have fun with it. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have completely redone the base and started over. You won't lose any of your prestige except for maybe salvage on some items and that you can always get back!
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Thank you everyone who has read and enjoyed my comic strip over the last year. I've had a great time poking fun at the game, the community and the dev team that we've all grown so fond of over the years. In 2009, I'm going back to full-time work in game development, and will not be able to continue creating my comic strip for 2 or 3 (or more) months as I get settled in and get through some crunch time at work. If you'd like to see my entire CoX comic gallery (including a few made before I joined up with The City Scoop), you can see those here. Lattice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vol. 2, Issues 29
January 9, 2009
The City Scoop a publication for Supers by Supers! Read the latest publication and then join in on the community discussion!
If you have concerns regarding the content of the Scoop please direct your comments via PM to Ex Libris.
If you would like to do a feature article, have an event covered, or join "The City Scoop" team please PM Snow_Globe
If you need some Advice contact Lady_Athyna or would like to Ask The X contact LiquidX
If you have a base you would like featured, please contact EnnVee
Finally if you have a Classified Ad or Recipe you would like included please contact: MistressNoire
The City Scoop
Vol. 2, Issue 29
January 9th, 2009
Community
Behind the Walls
Arena
Get Involved!
Secret Ids: Part 2
A Villain Christmas
Under the Hood
Fashion
Because I Have to Look at You
Base Showcase
The Pack
Comic
Masthead
Merry Xmas COH by Baquitania
Ms. Frost by MMOART
January 2009
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Critical Biography
By Gregory McKee aka Testify
Hey, I'm Gregory McKee. I'm an undergrad at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, AZ. I'm majoring in Game Design, and thus my ultimate goal once I've completed my degree is to find a job out in the industry doing design work. Probably the biggest hurdle for me has been the feeling that finishing the degree is like climbing up an ever increasing slope. The closer I get to the top the farther and farther away it becomes. For one of my English classes this semester the final was to write a critical biography of someone. What we were asked to do was interview someone, write their biography, and then write a critical reflection as to what we felt and what we learned about ourselves from that interview. Partly out of curiosity and partly out of a desire to salve my own concerns I decided to conduct my interview with someone who was inside the industry already.
This decision wasn't terribly easy to make because people inside the industry often feel very difficult to approach, at least to me. I had to put all that aside however and just go with it or else my final wouldn't have gotten done. To make it easier on myself I decided the best place would be somewhere I knew the developers were friendly and a game I love and play myself, so CoH (City of Heroes) was the natural choice. "Castle" is the lead powers designer for City of Heroes. Ever since he came into that role Castle has had a very direct influence on the course and content of the game. Castle is in the position I want to find myself in ten years from now and as such I thought this would be a great look into my potential future. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have a little Q&A with Castle, and I would like to relay what he was kind enough to share with me.
What's your quick and dirty bio?
(Copied from the BIO page we did for Hero-Con) Floyd "Castle" Grubb is a Senior Designer at NC Norcal. He has worked in the gaming industry since 1993 and has been a "game nerd" since 1981 when he was introduced to Dungeons and Dragons. He is an avid MMO player and spends far too much time playing and researching various games. His past design work includes Stonekeep, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Masters of Orion III.
Why did you get into the gaming industry?
I've always been into games. Board games, card games, Pen and Paper games, football, baseball, games of all sorts. When the startup company I had been working as office manager for went under early in '93, I needed a job. A friend of mine was working as an artist at a company called "Interplay" and told me I should apply for a QA job there since I was good at deconstructing games and giving feedback on them. I got the job and here I am, 15 years later.
What kind of past design/industry experience do you have?
I started off in QA. That's basically a hideous but necessary job. You'd think 8 hours a day of playing games would be great; then you get the job and realize it's 18 hours a day and you're stuck playing "Barbie's Interactive Playhouse" or something. I was lucky enough to get into the industry during a huge growth phase, so my tenure in QA was only 9 months before I was promoted out to work as a Line Producer. During this period, I was given my first design gig, as well; a side job to flesh out the details of the Ice Sharga level in a game called "Stonekeep." After a while, I was offered a promotion with a choice of direction: I could become an Associate Producer on a couple of titles, or I could be the Lead Designer on a Star Trek title. I chose the design path and have been doing that ever since.
I've worked on numerous games, some of which were never published, some which have done poorly and some of which were moderate hits.
How did you get your current job?
I applied. I had been playing COH [City of Heroes] since first wave of closed beta and loved the game. I knew I wanted to work on an MMO [Massively Multiplayer Online game] and, preferably, COH. The company I was working for at the time was on a skeletal crew after the failure of Master of Orion III and the inability to pickup a new project. So, I applied at Cryptic, was interviewed and, a few weeks later, was offered the position.
What's the best thing about your current job?
"Immediate" feedback -- normally in the game industry, you work on something and players may not see it for a year or two. On a live MMO, though, it's rare for a long period of time to pass without an update. In this atmosphere, you are constantly working on new things and getting feedback from your players. It's very dynamic and usually quite fun.
What's the worst thing about your current job?
The dark side of immediate feedback is when you do something that players don't like. Dealing with unhappy customers is definitely the worst thing about my job.
What are your passions?
I love games and gaming, movies, reading. I'm a fanatic when it comes to trying to find a balance between "game balance" and "fun."
How do your passions tie-in with your work? Or do they?
My passions *are* my work. I'm one of the lucky people who get to do EXACTLY what they love for a living.
I know most if not all the developers play the game. What are some of your favorite characters?
My Supergroup started an offshoot group of "teenage sidekicks" for our main characters. I chose to make a Kinetics/Dark Defender. A couple years down the line and she is effectively my "main" character now. I still split my play among about 14 different characters; she just gets the most. I have a horrid case of alt-itis.
Does your playstyle in-game reflect what you do for a living? Example - Because you are a designer you enjoy crunching numbers and min/maxing builds, or is it the opposite?
Quite the opposite in fact. Unlike most other games, I play COH very "soft" -- my character goals are all soft role playing goals, rather than numeric improvements. As the powers lead, I spend a lot of time making min/max builds for testing purposes. I know how to make near godlike, nigh-invincible characters. So, there isn't any challenge in that for me when I'm actually playing.
Given the chance to be 18 again, would you of done anything differently? Specifically relating to your career path, but whatever you want to say works.
I wouldn't want to be 18 again. Ugh. To answer the question, though, I can't think of anything I'd want to change -- everything I've done in my career has led me to the point where I am now, with a job as near to perfect for me as exists. Why would I want to change that?
Anything you'd like to add?
If you are going to school to become a game designer, the best advice I can give you is "play games." Don't ever use walk-thru's. Don't "buy gold." Play good games and bad games. Never approach the game as work -- play it because you want to play it. Deconstruct it after you've logged out and/or put the joystick down.
I appreciate very much that Castle took the time out to answer my questions. I know we as players and even my fellow undergrads who are studying in this field feel something of a disconnect between us and the industry. Little things like this really do bridge the gap between all of us, and I feel very privileged to be a part of that.
Thank you again to Floyd "Castle" Grubb and the entire City of Heroes team.
Gregory McKee
Editor's Note- Thanks to Castle and Testify for agreeing to let this be in the Scoop as well as the paper, and thanks to Ex Libris for letting us know it was going on.