City of Heroes: Guest Author Interview

Tell us how the Guest Author Program has been working?

It's been going very well! It was an absolute blast working together with Bill Willingham, Scott Kurtz, and the guys over at Rooster Teeth to deliver these new Architect arcs to the players. So far their arcs have been well received by players and we're confident that players will be happy with what we have planned for the future with this program.

What gave you the idea for such a great community system to enhance game play?

The tools provided by the Mission Architect system were originally in-house tools for our designers to create missions with. It then took on a life of its own and well, here we are today! From the beginning, we believed that the Mission Architect system was a viable way for not just our players, but writers and aspiring game or story designers to publish custom stories and missions directly into City of Heroes. The Guest Author program came about as a way to showcase what other authors could do when given the tools in the Architect system. As designers, we read a lot of material for inspiration, and like most people, we're huge fans as well. This program was the perfect way for us to connect with these writers and authors that we respect, and inject original high-quality content into City of Heroes. It also provides the unique opportunity for these writers and authors a new interactive medium for bringing their ideas to life.

What are the criteria for getting into the program?

Although the program is potentially open to any professionally published author, we're generally working with writers who align with the interests of our player base. So far, we've worked with writers for the gaming community, comic books, and science fiction and fantasy novels, but the future is open. The first phase of Guest Authors showcases the wide spread that this covers.

How has the Mission Architect tool helped City of Heroes players?

Mission Architect has essentially created near limitless content for players to go through - with all of the arcs that are up, players will always have new content to play through. Interestingly enough, we've seen a very dedicated community spring up around Architect, with one group of players focusing on the creation of arcs, and another group of players dedicated to reviewing arcs.

How does the system cross over to City of Villains players?

Architect works exactly the same in City of Villains. Players can set the alignment for their missions to hero or villain, and anyone can play any alignment mission, regardless of what side you're on.

Where do you see the Mission Architect tool going in the future?

City of Heroes continues to be one of the most customizable MMO experiences, and Mission Architect is one of the critical components that reinforce that. Moving forward, we're going to continue supporting the system. In both Issue 15 and 16, we've made adjustments and refinements to the Mission Architect, and we already have the groundwork in place for additional refinements we'd like to make. There will definitely be more exciting additions to the Architect System and we really hope our players will enjoy the continued support behind this feature.

What other player developed enhancements are you looking to add to the game?

In terms of player developed content, we're focused on improving Mission Architect, given that it is the first of its kind in the MMO world.

Does City of Heroes/Villains have any other big plans for 2010?

It's safe to say we have nothing but big plans for 2010, we'll definitely have more exciting news for our players and fans in the near future..

What would you say to players coming to the game for the first time, even after it has been out for a while?

City of Heroes is a game unlike any MMO out there at the moment. We're the original and most popular super-powered hero MMO, and our customization is unparalleled. You have the ability to create a truly unique Hero or Villain, as well as your own gameplay experience with the Mission Architect system. On top of all that, we have over five years of content and systems in our game, and our focus on providing additional content and improving the overall quality of life in our game that is second to none.

City of Heroes remains the original hero game, tell us about why it has such staying power with its strong community.

We have an extremely loyal and dedicated community, which we're absolutely grateful for, and our customization experience is unparalleled. There's an attachment that players have to their characters and their experience because each character they create is unique to the other. There are dozens of posts in the art section of our forums of players showing off art pieces they have done of their characters. This is even truer now with the introduction of powers customization in issue 16 and the Mission Architect system. Not only can they design their own unique appearance, but how their powers are displayed and even their own storylines to play through in Mission Architect, should they choose to.