The last thing on my E3 agenda was to have a little sit down with Bill Roper, Design Director of Cryptic Studio’s upcoming game, Champions Online. He invited us special people to have a nice lunch at the Palm Restaurant while someone demoed the game and he took us through the fundamentals.

If you’re unfamiliar with the brand, it goes way back to the pencil game created in 1981, and it takes a lot from it. For instance, customization is a HUGE part of the game, both then and now. What he and the developers wanted to do was to allow gamers to create their very own, unique heroes. For instance, in World of Warcraft, there are a few classes and then some armor you can put on. However, when you get to the highest level, everyone looks the same because they’re wearing the best armor, etc. However, with Champions Online, you can create your own unique look, and keep it that way throughout the game, while still upgrading weapons and things of that nature.

Another thing that allows you to build the exact character you want, is the fact that there are no classes and no restrictions on which powersets you can use. For instance, if you want to create this badass fire character, but then later decide you want to throw in some ice or lightning attacks or something, then you can. There are 18 of these powersets, so as far as moves go, it is fairly extensive.

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