When Cryptic announced that the famous Bill Roper was going to be joining the Champions Online team, I have to be honest, the first thing that popped into my head was the disappointment that Hellgate: London turned out to be. Most of his fans were excited and eager to give him another chance; however, some felt differently. We sat down to talk to Bill about his new project, the vision that he brings to the team, and what he learned from Hellgate: London.

Tamat : Hello Bill! Thanks for joining us today to talk about Champions Online. How are you settling in at Cryptic?

Bill Roper : Really well, thank you. Cryptic is an awesome place to work. The people are incredibly talented and passionate about what they're doing, the games we’re making are great, and I'm incredibly energized and eager to come into the office every day. It's also great to be able to focus on making games as opposed to dealing with the ins and outs of running a company.

Tamat : You've been in the gaming industry for more than 14 years. How do you keep the creativity flowing and maintain a high level of excitement for both yourself and the players?

Bill Roper : I have a true, deep-seated love of games, and that keeps me motivated to make the best games I can. I've been playing games literally for as long as I can remember, so they've always been a part of my life. And at Cryptic, I've been given the opportunity to get back solidly into design which has me excited and driven!

Togikagi : You worked with Blizzard for years, so you have some added insight into the MMO dominance of World of Warcraft. Do you feel that Champions Online can compete with WoW? And if that’s not your target, how will Champions stand out against other comic games such as City of Heroes and DC Universe Online?

Bill Roper : In a heads-up comparison it would be almost impossible for any MMO to compete with WoW based on the sheer amount of resources Blizzard can put into the game. With Champions Online, we're creating a game that specifically doesn't go head-to-head, but focuses on the huge number of gamers who want exciting action, enjoy MMOs, and love four-color comics. World of Warcraft has done an incredible job of opening up the  Western markets to MMOs and has made the genre accessible and known to the masses. We’re building on that appeal and recognition and folding in the incredible popularity of superheroes. And while it's been done before by the key members of this team, we've got some incredible new twists that should excite gamers of all levels.

Tamat : You playtested the Champions RPG in the back room of a game store. What can fans of the pen-and-paper game expect from the MMORPG? What are some similarities and differences they'll see? Any Easter eggs for die-hard fans?

Bill Roper : We've been spending a lot of time lately looking at what translates the best from the paper and pencil game and making sure it's represented in Champions Online. First and foremost are the incredible amounts of freedom and customizability found in both character creation and growth. We’re including the core concepts of talents, perks, and even exposing the stats system to a degree. We've streamlined some of the concepts of the game to make it more accessible to a broader range of players, but without losing the beauty of what makes Champions the great game and IP it is.

Togikagi : You became part of the Champions Online team at a time when a lot of the designs were already far along or completed. Can you give some examples of what really blew you away when you first came on board?

Bill Roper : The amount of attention and care that had been given to making the game feel like you were running through a four-color comic was really impressive. From the incredible visuals of the game to the mission and powers designs to the storyline and characterizations, it was obvious that everyone on the team loves comics. And the work that has gone on under the hood is really impressive, as well. It was obvious that the team had worked on something successful before and was building on that knowledge and experience to make a game that has the potential to be really special.

Togikagi : In the same vein, were there any elements of the game you saw and immediately said to yourself, “I know how to make that even better”?

Bill Roper : There were areas where adding a fresh eye certainly helped, and this is the case with any game. The team has been very open to working through areas where they knew the game needed to kick it up a notch, and the results have been incredibly energizing and satisfying.

Tamat : You said in your “Meet the Team” segment that you're looking forward to bringing social and community aspects to Champions Online since you didn't get it right in Hellgate. Can you elaborate? What social aspects can players expect to see?

Bill Roper : A persistent game world with specific instancing is one element that is different than Hellgate: London, where instancing of the entire game play area led players to solo more often than not. Also having areas that players naturally congregate is a huge difference. We're designing areas within locales like Millennium City that promote social activity in their layout and functionality. Less traditionally, and as a nod to what I've seen in MMOs out of Asia, we're going to provide in-game support for players to have their own special events, such as weddings.

Togikagi : Speaking of Hellgate: London, what lessons were you able to learn from that experience? Are there other examples aside from the social aspects that you'll be working to improve in Champions?

Bill Roper : While we certainly learn from our successes, we learn so much more from our failures. The amount of personal and professional growth I went through over the past five years has been invaluable, and I've been striving to bring that as an asset to Cryptic Studios and Champions Online. One example is in the design work that we’re doing right now, which is focused on getting in the core set of features and then polishing them as best we can. With Hellgate: London we ran out of time to get all of the bugs addressed, and a portion of our efforts were wasted in the wrong places. Being much more precise and directed in what we're doing over the last months to ensure the best experience possible on day one is a priority.

Tamat : You've emphasized the fact that players will be able to travel to numerous locations in the Champions world. Approximately how big will the world be, and what will be the various modes of travel?

Bill Roper : Unlike the City of Heroes / Villains, or what we've seen of DC Online, we want to break players out of the monotony of just being in a city setting. This is also a big lesson learned from Hellgate: London where we didn't change up the environment types anywhere near enough. In Champions Online heroes travel to vastly different locales in their defense of justice. The arctic tundra of Canada, the arid wastes of the Southern Desert, and the untamed wilds of Monster Island have already been experienced to a degree by our beta community. We've started leaking some images from the technological city center in Millennium City, but there's much more to the town than that. There are also more areas to be revealed that will take heroes into a completely different environment with unique and dangerous enemies to face. Interwoven into all of this are outdoor adventuring areas and interior instances for both solo and group play.

Togikagi : Although the game hasn't launched yet, players are always concerned about the end game. Will there be a variety of activities for players to enjoy regarding end-game content, including the Omega system? Can you elaborate on any of them?

Bill Roper : We're layering in some of our initial end game content right now, and this is an area that we'll be focusing on post-launch. Both the technology and design teams have been working in tandem to add some new wrinkles to the game that didn't exist just a few weeks ago that will give players who have reached the level cap something fun and meaningful to do. We’re also making sure that we have the foundations for numerous systems in the game on launch so that we can quickly build on them to greatly expand those systems and game play elements that our players like. We want this to be an iterative process where we continue to listen and respond to the gamers.

Tamat : Creating your own Nemesis sounds like a great idea. Can you give us any more details on this aspect of the game? Will this enemy be with you for the long haul, such as through future expansions?

Bill Roper : The Nemesis system allows players to create a series of villains that become a part of their personal storyline and challenge them unlike any other enemies in the game. Players create a customized Nemesis, including their costume, power set, minions and THEIR power sets, and their motivation. We'll have reasons for you not only to defeat your Nemesis, but to create others once you lock your first away in Stronghold. Best of all, this is just the foundation of the future for the Nemesis system. It’s a big part of our current and future plans for the game, so expect to see them with you for a long time.

Togikagi : Is there anything else you'd like to add about Champions Online?

Bill Roper : I'm incredibly excited to see the changes happening in the game every day right now. And within the next few weeks we'll be pushing big things out to our beta community which we'll also be growing as we get closer and closer to the game's release. The team is really working together to make Champions a real game of heroes.

Tamat : It was stated in the most recent "Ask Cryptic" segment that players will have the opportunity to create specific roles for their characters based on the powers they mix and match. How will characters be balanced? What's to stop one character from being too powerful?

Bill Roper : The best way I can describe this is to lay out a battle scene. Let’s say Meatshield (a classic brick/tank-type) and Snikt, (a high-offense claws character with regeneration), are fighting against Viper agents as they escort a team of scientists to safety. Meatshield takes a huge hit and is knocked unconscious, so Snikt has to step in and take over the role of a defender. Roles are designed to provide ways for players to easily change load-outs of items and powers, as well as add slight bonuses to different aspects of combat. They aren't designed to let anyone be anything at will, but they do let you specialize in a team and also fill in a slot to a degree, as needed.

Togikagi : Cryptic is known for its character customization, and we know Champions Online will follow suit. Can you go into some more detail about what players can expect to see as far as character creation options are concerned?

Bill Roper :We're doing a huge revamp of the entire UI system right now, and the changes going into the character creation system are vital because the options you have are, in a word, incredible. The sheer number of items just for costumes and the customization with them items is awesome. When you factor in the ability to customize the powers you have, where they come from (hands, chest, eyes, etc) and their look, it gets even better. I think players will literally spend hours coming up with the perfect look and power combinations to bring their heroic concept to life.

Tamat : Approximately how many powers will be in the game? It's been mentioned that more powers could be added in future updates. Will there come a time when you'll say "OK, we have enough" or do you plan to keep adding them as needed?

Bill Roper : We don't quite have a final count, but the number is very healthy. The best part, of course, is that you can mix and match powers to create any hero you can imagine. We’ll always be looking to see what we can add into the game, but a lot of what we do in terms of adding individual powers and entire sets will be driven by what our players want.

Tamat : Well, we're extremely excited about seeing Champions Online in person soon! Thank you so much for your time today!

Bill Roper : Thank you for the opportunity to talk with your readers and to get the word out about the game. Hopefully we'll see you all online soon!

Andrew "Tamat" Beegle
Editor-in-Chief
Allakhazam.com

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Darryl "Togikagi" Gangloff
Editor
Allakhazam.com