Champions Online: Interview with Bill Roper (November 2009)

We had the opportunity to talk with Bill Roper -- Design Director Cryptic Studios and Executive Producer of Champions Online -- about the launch of the game and its future.

Bill Roper: Executive Producer buffed: You joined the Champions Online team when development was already well underway. Was that a difficult change for you compared to the games you worked on previously?

Bill Roper: It was actually more of a return to what I did for many years at Blizzard Entertainment. I think the real benefit to coming onto the project when I did was being able to provide a fresh set of experienced eyes on the development process and the game design. There were a lot of ideas that formed out of me not knowing what they’d tried before, and sometimes even bringing up a concept that had been previously dropped but was resurrected because of new technology and tools development. I enjoy the challenge of coming onto a game already deep into the development cycle and figuring out how to maximize what’s there and seeing how it can be pushed further.

buffed: What were the biggest challenges you faced during development?

Bill Roper: The biggest challenge was trying to get in a solid, broad foundation that we could build upon while still delivering a solid, quality game. MMO players are an incredibly picky group now – it’s a very different market than it was 5 years ago when World of Warcraft launched. I think that we delivered in some areas and fell short in others. The hardest part is that no matter what you do, you are inevitably compared to games that people are playing now. And when that game has had several years in post-launch development, it’s an impossible measure to fully meet. Trying to meet those expectations while also meeting a deadline to ship a title is an immense task.

buffed: If you had the chance to go back -- are there any particular elements you would like to revoke or alter? If so, what would you change?

Bill Roper: I think the biggest change I would make would be to have fewer power sets in the game so we could have had the time to test and balance them before launch. This would have had a rippling effect of giving us the proper time to test the experience / difficulty curve before we launched, which was really our biggest problem. This also would have allowed us the time to fill in the small content holes we had because we would have been able to see them once the game flow was locked in.
Bill Roper buffed: Which aspect of the game are you proud of the most? Which aspect turned out really well?

Bill Roper: The open power selection and customization system is really impressive to me in that I can really create a hero that I imagine without feeling “locked in” to a specific class or power set. I also think many of our game play systems – Nemesis, PvP, Open Missions, Crisis Zones, Patrol Missions, and Lairs - are really fun and greatly extensible.

buffed: Initially a lot of players were frustrated with the way the powers worked. Some felt it was too hard to figure out which abilities were worthwhile for their characters. Some felt the cost for “respeccing” a character wasn’t balanced because it scaled with level. What’s your take on the power-system? Was its design somewhat too hardcore?

Bill Roper: The system is incredibly flexible, which means that it can also be challenging to navigate. It’s easily the most hard core element of the game, and we tried to make it more user-friendly by organizing powers into sets. There’s a lot of information there, and since launch we’ve continued to work to make it more comprehensible and easier to use. We added in Power House Pro Tips that push players to make some basic power choices we know make for a better rounded hero, such as Block and Healing powers. We’re making a pass of all the powers in the game right now to make their descriptions better while also making them more balanced and useful overall.

buffed: Some players and reviewers mentioned that they felt Champions Online was too easy and too “solo-able”. They would have loved to see more enforcement of group-play. Are there going to be changes for the balance of solo- and group-play in upcoming patches or are you happy with the way this plays out in Champions Online?

Bill Roper: Of course, the players that love solo play will argue the other side of this as they don’t want to be forced into team play. The goal was to allow a player to achieve the level cap without having to team if they don’t want to, but then to provide incentives for them to desire to do so. The addition of Crossover missions has opened a lot of possibilities for players that want to group since it allows them to get special versions of missions that they aren’t eligible for from someone who is on that mission. They don’t count towards completion of the Primary version of that mission, and there is a different reward structure for the Crossover version so players are incentivized to help out. We’ve also added more group-oriented missions, including our upcoming Nemesis Confrontation lair for top level players.
Champions Online buffed: There are a lot of suggestions on how to improve the game via the official forums – how important is that feedback and how much of it is incorporated into patches?

Bill Roper: We live in our forums, both in the live game and on the public test shard. Many of the suggestions and desires expressed there have been added to the game since launch, and they will continue to be an important place for us to interact with our community. The changes we made to The Powerhouse are a great example of taking feedback from the gamers and putting it directly into the game. We’ve been fast to respond, creating a lot of content in the couple of months we’ve been live. And we will continue to do so to the absolute best of our abilities.

buffed: What kind of feedback did you get from players of the Champions pen and paper game? Are they happy with the way you transferred “their” universe to an online multiplayer game?

Bill Roper: We’ve received a lot of great, happy feedback from players of the tabletop system. They love the fact that we stayed very true to the spirit of Champions and that many of their favorite heroes and villains are represented. We’re working right now with the paper and pencil guys to build a new world book that brings some of the online elements into their world, as well!

buffed: The Blood Moon Event was really popular and you already announced an event for December. Can players expect regular in-game events and could you give us any hints as to what’s coming up?

Bill Roper: We do want to have regular events for our players, as well as updating content and powers on a very flowing schedule. Basically, our motto has been to address issues as fast and best we can and then push those out to the players while also working on longer-term projects and updates. Blood Moon was a good example of that, as will be Nemesis Confrontation which launches in time for Thanksgiving weekend, and then our event in December. You can get all the details on Nemesis Confrontation here: http://champions-online.com/nemesis_confrontation

buffed: How is development of the Xbox 360 version coming along and what changes can we expect compared to the PC version?

Bill Roper: We continue development on the Xbox 360 version, with our focus right now being on UI, controls, and graphics optimization. We’re looking at what console-specific changes we want to make to the game, and we’re anxious to have the business side of things hammered out so we can freely talk more about our plans.

Champions Online buffed: How big is the staff that’s currently working on Champions Online? With Star Trek Online launching in February we’d imagine parts of the original CO-team have now boarded the Enterprise in order to aid in adding the finishing touches?

Bill Roper: We did shift a few folks over to help get Star Trek out the door with much more content than we had in Champions Online (learning our lessons, and all that) but the vast majority of the team is still hammering away, making Champs better and better.

buffed: What are your next big plans for Champions Online? Based on what we hear, a lot of players would love to see more endgame-content.

Bill Roper: There’s a real divide amongst wanting end-game content (hence the Nemesis Confrontation lair) and alternate paths within the game for experiencing alternate heroes. The short answer is that we’re working on both areas with some big things coming down the pipe early next year. Right now, we’re very focused on getting the word out about the end-game UNITY / Nemesis crossover lair and the all-levels event in December.

buffed: To conclude – is there anything you would like to tell our readers?

Bill Roper: If you played the game in the first month and thought, “I’ll come back when there’s more to do” Now is a great time to check out all the additions and changes we’ve made. For our active players, we’re listening to what you’re saying, making changes that reflect that feedback, and will continue to do so to make Champions Online a growing, thriving game that just keeps getting bigger and better. All we ask is that you keep playing with us and bring along a friend!

A big thank you to Bill Roper and Cryptic Studios for taking the time to talk to us.