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Picking up the Threads

The super hero genre was pioneered by Cryptic back in 2005 with the launch of City of Heroes and later expanded upon with that title’s evil twin, City of Villains. While it would be easy to assume that Champions is simply a bigger, better version of the studio’s previous efforts, you might be surprised to hear that perhaps the most significant link between the projects comes in the form of Perks. Character customization has obviously taken the spotlight in the media, but the transition of the CoH Badges into a more robust, reward-based achievement system in Champions ala Perks is a meaningful step forward not just for MMOGs, but for gaming as a whole. Otherwise, what’s the point of having a massive ‘gamer score’ on a service like XBox Live if the points do nothing more than earn you bragging rights? Amassing a gleaming pile of points may be cool, but getting to spend them is cooler by far.

Next up would be an unexpected twist on the concept of the dreaded death penalty. Earlier this year The Chronicles of Spellborn introduced an interesting take on the death mechanic in MMOGs by granting players a bonus for staying alive rather than a penalty for being defeated. This system, called Personal Experience Points, has been neatly packaged into the superhero setting of Champions in the form of Hero Stars. Not only does this serve to reinforce the more heroic aspects of the game, but it also eliminates one of the more cumbersome gameplay mechanics of yesteryear. Expect to see this system iterated upon many, many times in the years to come.

Last but not least we have the first meaningful implementation of the Public Quest system from Warhammer Online. When that game was released late last year, this was the one key element that not only turned the heads of media outlets and developers alike, but also scored the “most likely to be used in all new MMOGs” award across the board. If the Open Mission system in Champions Online is any indication, it looks as though those claims did indeed have legs. While the basic elements remain largely unchanged, Cryptic’s take on the concept has shown what’s possible when you use it more sparingly, or as a means of enhancing the PvE experience rather than being its main focal point.

While the inclusion of open missions in Champions is definitely something worth being excited about, Cryptic has taken that core design philosophy to a whole new level by introducing a more dynamic MMOG experience across the board.  

Dynamic Content as Core Design

Champions Online will no doubt go down in MMOG history books as much for the introduction of a more dynamic gaming experience as it does for raising the bar for character customization. I’ve included a number of examples here that, when taken as a whole, help illustrate how Champions is leading the MMOG pack boldly into the future.

The Nemesis System – Nemesis is perhaps Champions Online’s biggest leap forward on a scale that rivals WAR’s public quests. By combining player created content, random spawning and a self-contained reward structure this system shatters the mold of linear gameplay. Add in the fact that the entire thing is wrapped in a story-driven mission arc and you have the makings of a new way of playing MMOGs that’s never been experienced before.

UNITY Missions – This system has taken both the concept of ‘end-game’ content and the faction grind of daily quests and turned them on their ears to create something wholly unique to the Champions universe. By offering a rotating series of missions on a daily basis which culminate in a massive confrontation, UNITY missions will surely change the way we look at the level cap from this point forward.

Instance Scaling – One of my biggest pet peeves in MMOGs is that if you want to solo you’re typically forced to stick to overland zones, with only the occasional soloable dungeon or instance thrown into the mix. For the most part, Champions has done away with all of that thanks to a system that will scale the difficulty of a given instance based on how many players are currently in your team. This lets soloers experience a much broader spectrum of content while still providing full groups a meaningful challenge and potential rewards. This is how you do dungeons and instances folks.

Reinforcements – The same design philosophy behind instances applies to overland zones as well thanks to the reinforcement system. The same critters that you can handle while solo will attempt to run and get additional help if you approach them with a larger team, once again providing a scaling challenge that caters to both solo and social gamers all in one neat package. While ‘social’ mobs have been around for quite a while now, Cryptic’s taken that core design idea to a whole new level.

Patrol Missions – What if interesting quests or missions could come to you instead of the other way around? That’s exactly what Cryptic has done with patrol missions. While the missions themselves tend to be somewhat quick and easy distractions from your normal quest chains and story arcs, they add a whole new layer of immersion by giving the world a much greater sense of interactivity and depth.

All told, the above examples barely scratch the surface of the various types of dynamic content available in Champions. The game certainly offers plenty of familiar elements for most players to feel comfortable, but once you move beyond the crisis zones and into uncharted territory Champions truly pushes our current understanding of how MMOGs can be experience to new limits. Cryptic Studios has given us an unexpected glimpse of industry’s future, and this writer certainly likes what he sees.