Was it on your side, or was it on DCs side?
Ad content continues below
Ryan Peters:Well, you know, it was a meeting of the two.
The developer, Sony Online Entertainment, have been in on the MMO game for over a decade.
Theyre not mutually exclusive by any means.
Weve been doingEverQuestfor 12 years now, and theres still people who are, like, thats theyre game.
Do you still have a full team dedicated to your MMOs forever?
Right now, with this game, it was a tremendous effort to get it out of the door.
I would certainly say I dont anticipate them shrinking the team any time soon.
So everyone on the team is still working very actively on DCU.
So is doing a European press tour a bit like a vacation for you, then?
TJ:Sort of, yeah.
RP:Doesnt he look rested?
How did you approach that?
Its a tremendous challenge.
And Marv Wolfman did a lot of the character mission stories.
And Jim Lees been incredibly hands-on with this game, hes so much more than just an artist.
So, were fans ourselves, and if we werent it would show.
Theyve done the crossover narratives before.
RP:Totally, and ironically enough, Marvs wife works for Blizzard.
Shes their Video Director.
Blizzards very much an elephant in the room.
Are you worried aboutWoW?
RP:Am I worried aboutWoW?
There are things that WoW pulled fromEverQuest, because that was the original one.
And theres things from WoW that weve incorporated here.
But the gameplay experience is something completely different, this plays much more like an action game.
Its not turn-based combat.
Its not a high fantasy setting.
Weve have a physics engine.
It couldnt be more opposite of an experience.
And I think theWoWplayer is a different customer.
That doesnt really fit into what were trying to do here.
So I wouldnt say Im worried aboutWoW.
[laughs] You have your best TV and sound system set up in your living room.
Chat is done through wireless voice chat, so theres no need for a keyboard.
But the game is absolutely identical on both platforms.
In fact, weve done events at E3 where the two play against each other.
It reminds me a lot of Crackdown, actually.
RP:The open world is, for lack a better term, its massive.
Gotham and Metropolis are each a thousand square blocks thats twice the size of Vice City.
So youre talking a tremendous open world something no ones seen on the PlayStation 3.
Or any console, for that matter.
When youre designing a huge game world like that, one problem is filling the space.
How did you go about that?
The good thing is, we have 75 years of content to pull from.
And his parents house.
Little things like that, that the hardcore DC fans will pick up on.
The loading screen art seems to be Jim Lee, too.
So was his involvement very deep?RP:He blessed every single piece of art in this game.
So, from the buildings to the characters, and we have over 85 iconics.
And the feel of Gotham and Metropolis.
Im sure working on a game like this is similar where youre continually adding to it or polishing it.
But you gave players the chance to try out the game as part of a beta programme.
How did that go down?
Did that bring about any last-minute changes to the game?
Or inspire future development of the game?
Were not going to force-feed the players content, we want them to get whatever is the most fun.
So what are your plans for updating the game in the future?
Have you announced much in the way of extra content?
RP:We havent announced anything.
Weve loosely touched on what our content releases are going to be.
Did that happen much with this game, were DC editorial scrutinising everything?
RP:Well, theres no death in our game, either.
So there are certain rules that DC has, their parameters.
But were using their IP, so we have to be respectful of what that is.
It actually allows us to improve the product.
RP:As a team, they have an incredible eye for detail.
And theres so much that they have to pay attention to when theyre evaluating a game like this.
Its amazing to me, the little intricacies that theyre able to find.
TJ:Theyre experts.
Were all great comic fans, but they know exactly.
The stuff we would have missed.
RP:At at the end of the day, the winners the fan.
The comic book fan gets the truest representation that wed be able to bring to you.
All these characters have appeared in so many different iterations.
Is Mr Freeze tossing out puns like Arnold Schwarzenegger inBatman And Robin?
TJ:As a comics fan myself these are very close.
The team has been very respectful of the IP.
And for Mr Freeze, its all about his wife, he wants to bring her back.
Its not corny Schwarzenegger, throwing out one-liners.
Its not a Jack Nicholson Joker, its much closer to the Heath Ledger Joker.
So youre not trying to evoke any specific version, or slot in with the current canon?
TJ:Its a good blend.
We arent pinning down an exact timeline for this.
There are such different iterations.
How many Supermen have there been?
Its current, but were not addressing 52 or Infinity Crisis.
Its bi-weekly, and I think weve sorted out 16.
It follows along that premise, but is it directly linked to the game?
We throw around the idea of incorporating a player character into the comic if you became legendary enough.
How cool would it be to see your character in a print medium?
Thats something we left the door open for.
Do you worry that people arent taking the time to play it before reviewing it?
So I know theres so much content beyond just the linear character progression in this game.
Theres group content, theres raids, theres alerts.
you’ve got the option to PvP in arenas.
Theres all these different facets that weve created.
Because its so much different than a console game.
Otherwise, you could playArkham Asylum and thats a fantastic game, I loveArkham Asylum.
TJ:Ive actually been on both sides.
I started by writing a lot of MMO reviews, and its really hard to do.
I personally hope that people, like you said, just take the time.
Even getting all the way to level 30, youre probably in the ballpark of two-thirds of our content.
Even if you played all the way through the endgame, theres so much more to do.
TJ:Youre just getting started at level 30.
Level 30 is actually where a good chunk of our game begins.
I want them to review the final product.
But, at the same time, all journalists are not created equal, so what can I say?
Gentlemen, thank you for your time!
DC UniverseOnlineis out now on PC and PS3.
