Cryptic wants to bring the world of superhero action into reality for players all over the world. Work on their upcoming masterpiece, Champions Online, continues but what would it be like with fulltime player villains? This week we look at how this could become reality and point out what is already designed, a few things needing work, how to get into beta, and why artists fear bright light.

Cryptic Studios hopes to make this the year of Champions Online by following up their hit City of Heroes with another superhero theme. Currently it’s approaching a “more open” closed beta that you can still register for, and there is still a little development time left before its projected mid-2009 launch. As I mentioned in my SOE vs. Cryptic article, one of the major advantages DC Universe Online has is the ability to play a villain. While Champions does have an interesting and personalized Nemesis system, could players theoretically don the black hat and commit delicious evil full time in a future content update or expansion? What would Cryptic need to do in order to bring playable villains into the world, and would we accept them? Are the mechanics suited for such an endeavor and what will the developers need to overcome in order to succeed?

Wil evildoers make their way into Champions? Take a look inside to see our verdict!