Jim Lee To Direct DC MMO
Kotaku has a press release stating that Jim Lee will be Executive Creative Director for SOE while they develop a DC-branded Massively Multiplayer game. Jim Lee is best known for his work on Batman and the X-Men series of comics. From the article: "SOE will be developing and publishing a game based on the DC Comics universe for next generation gaming platforms and the PC. It is expected that Lee will serve as Executive Creative Director on the game, bringing his artistic flair and talents to the world of online gaming for the first time ... said Jim Lee; 'The truth is that I love gaming as much as I love drawing and telling stories and look forward to bringing the DC Universe to life for players and comic book fans all around the world.'"
So they're making a cheap knockoff of City of Heroes, banking on the DC name to sell it? No thanks.
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...on Batman!
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
When I read the title, I thought they might be talking about Washington, D.C. In fact, I think that might actually be a better idea for a MMO.
Uttering logically derived and empirically supported truths to the disciples of the orthodox establishment.
Making stories and making games are on opposite ends of the creative continuum. I predict failure. And more failures as long as traditional story-based entertainment conglomerates continue to think they can cross over into games without seeing the radical differences.
We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
Why they didn't talk with NCSoft for a collaborative effort? Or anyone but Sony... Still best of luck to them, quite a crowded market.
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How do you make it the 'DC' universe? In the case of Star Wars, there's lots of attendant setting stuff and other trappings to make it recognizable. But DC is a modern-era 'verse (for the most part). The thing that makes it recognizable is the characters, which leaves two possibilities: the canonical characters will have all sorts of story and stuff going on around them, making the PCs secondary, OR we have a case where the most powerful players are these giant Mary-Sues that go out and save Superman and fight The Joker etc etc. That screws with the feel of the 'verse by introducing characters that no one has ever heard of and making them the focus, in essence. This can be pulled off, if done carefully, but the kind of careful that makes it unlame involves novel-length work. And we're talking about MMO power players, here. Also, hero density is going to be an issue. The DC 'verse has, what, a few dozen heroes on the entire bloody planet? Few enough that crossovers are a special event. Between the reduced world size necessetated by modern technology, and the increased player base, running into another hero is going to be about as common as seeing drunk frat boys in the beer aisle at 1 AM. The territory that a lone superhero normally encompases is really big; a whole city and the surrounding area. I suppose that instances can go a long way toward solving that, but you can't instance the whole world. Then it stops being MM. But if you've got a crossover every issue, then suddenly you've got CoH/CoV. I think what they're going to end up with is a CoH clone with copyrighted characters duct-taped on as bait.
SOE - the most incompetent gaming studio on the planet - was handed the creative rights to Star Wars, easily the most prolific franchise in American pop culture.
And what did they do? They totally screwed it up. Their failure is an embarrassment, and yet another reason why this studio should close its doors. Oh, and their ex-employees should be blacklisted from the gaming industry as to prevent them from ruining more games.
One only needs to look at SOE's track record to see how much they utterly suck. Infantry Online (smaller game, I know) was promised new content after it went pay-to-play. Long story short, SOE removes the only semi-competent dev and leaves a total idiot in charge.
Then there's PlanetSide. Great concept, but terrible implementation (as only SOE can do). Between the Core Combat Expansion and the BFRs (giant mechs), what little glimmer of hope there was in PlanetSide was totally ruined.
I only loathe SOE because they destroyed games I really liked, games I wanted to succeed.
Have fun SOE. Ever since Guild Wars, WoW, City of Heroes, etc., you've been relegated to a second-rate MMO studio.
PS: Does anyone else wonder how the hell these superhero MMOGs will work? Unlike Marvel, DC really only has a few *big* names (Batman, Superman). Their other characters are kinda fruity. What happens when everyone wants to be Superman or the Dark Knight?
A Dreamcast MMO! AWESOME! Those crazy hackers will never let it die!
DC? DC Comics? A DC Comics MMO? Bullocks!
-Tom
A few dozen on the entire planet? Not hardly. There's actually a thriving low-rate hero convention scene, ok, so thriving isn't the right word, there's still a bunch of low-ball heroes around. Heck, a recent issue of one of the Countdown books pulled like 2-3 dozen characters together just from those with some sort of quasi-mystical connection.
The only reason cross-overs are a special event is that frankly, they're easier to promote.
Why did I think that DC stood for dreamcast, I gotta move with the times I guess.
Good karma sticks to me like velcro on a piece of plexiglass.
Move along, citizen.
But only if I can create a character in the mold of Judge Scalia!