I was at GenCon and had a look at the game (wasn't able to get my hands on it as so many others were playing it). The thing that struck me the most was the graphic quality. They seem to have gone with a more cartoonish/comic book look and feel with bright colors and characters outlined with a subtle black line. To me the graphics looked pretty ugly, and I was immediately turned off by them. Some may like this look, but I was hoping for something more along the lines of CoH or CoV. I was really looking forward to this game, but I'm not sure that I can get past having to stare at graphics that just look so cartoonish and to me unappealing.

Gen Con Interview with Randy Mosiondz

While attending Gen Con Indy in Indianapolis last week, the MMORPG.com team had the opportunity to sit down and talk to with Randy Mosiondz, the Lead Designer for Champions Online at Cryptic Studios, where they discussed fan response to Champions, design philosophy, and the features that make Champions an upcoming MMO to watch.

We had the chance to sit down and video an interview with Randy Mosiondz, the Lead Designer for Champions Online at Cryptic Studios. This convention marks the first time players have had the chance to get their hands on a playable version of Champions Online and according to Randy the feedback has been amazing so far. Over 5,000 people have visited the booth and played the game so far during the convention.

We also talked briefly about their forums, which went live about three months ago. Feedback has been coming in fairly steadily and Cryptic seems to be really listening to what their potential players are saying even though they haven't even laid hands on the game yet. One great example is how initially the game was designed to use an Archetype system for the characters. People on the forums were pretty vocal about not wanting to be locked into defined roles as superheroes... Instead of being "an elements guy" or such, they wanted the freedom to mix and match powers and create more unique characters, so Cryptic made the change.

Touching on one point that Cryptic has always been extremely well known for, the character creation and customization aspects of their games, Randy talked briefly about how they're taking what they've done so well in the past and really moving it to the next levels. You'll even be able to customize aspects of your character such as stances, even to the point of having a superhero who scurries about on all fours.

We also talked briefly about the lessons they've learned from previous superhero games they've worked on in the past, their overall design philosophy to making games, the challenges involved in turning a Pen & Paper RPG into a MMO and other exciting topics. Be sure to check out the video when we post it!

Is that all there was? Every time I click the heading or a "read more here" link, this is all that comes up.

That's it at the moment. I suspect they will add the video in next week. I'm honestly not sure why they bothered with these small blurbs. It's like semi-news or something.  I'd prefer to wait for an actual article.  Honestly, I don't even want the video -- I'd much rather read a transcript. Most of the videos of interviews I've seen were pretty pointless. Do you really care what the devs look like??  :)

I've lost all faith in cryptic after I heard the news that they are making STO cross platform.

Sadly I really like Champions P&P, it's too bad I won't be playing it.online.