Search your game
Other Game
Blade and Soul
Buy Gold
Buy PowerLeveling
Buy CDKey
Aion
Aion Gold
Aion PowerLeveling
Aion Card
Aion Classic
Buy Gold
Albion
Albion Gold
Allods Online
Buy Gold
Anarchy
Anarchy Gold
Anarchy Items
Anarchy CDKey
Apex Legends
Buy Gold
ArcheAge
ArcheAge Gold
ArcheAge PowerLeveling
ArcheAge Items
ArcheAge CDKey
ASTA
ASTA Gold
Atlantica
Atlantica Gold
Atlantica PowerLeveling
Atlantica Items
Nexon Cash Code
Aura Kingdom
Buy Gold
Buy Items
Black Desert
Buy Gold
Bless Global
Buy Gold
Bless Online
Buy Gold
Buy PowerLeveling
Buy CDKey
Bless Unleashed
Buy Gold
Borderlands 3
Buy Gold
C9: Golden Continent
Buy Gold
Cabal
Cabal Gold
Cabal PowerLeveling
Cabal Cash
Cronous Online
Buy Gold
Buy Items
CSGO
CSGO Items
Dark and Darker
Buy Gold
DC Universe Online
Buy Gold
Dekaron
Dekaron Gold
Diablo 4
Diablo 4 Gold
Diablo 4 PowerLeveling
Diablo 4 Items
Dofus Touch
Buy Gold
Dragomon Hunter
Buy Gold
Dragon's Prophet
Buy Gold
Buy Items
Buy CDKey
Dream Of Mirror Online
Buy Gold
Dungeon Fighter Online
Buy Gold
Buy PowerLeveling
Eden Eternal
Buy Gold
ELOA
ELOA Gold
ELSword
ELSword Gold
Escape from Tarkov
Buy Gold
Eve
Eve Gold
Eve Time Card
EverQuest
EverQuest Items
EverQuest Krono
EverQuestII
Buy Gold
Buy Items
EverQuestII Krono
FFXI
FFXI Gold
FFXI CDKey
FFXIV
FFXIV Gold
Fiesta
Fiesta Gold
Flyff
Flyff Gold
Flyff Universe
Buy Gold
Buy Items
Forza Horizon 3
Buy Gold
Forza Horizon 3
Buy Gold
GrandFantasia
Buy Gold
Guild Wars
Guild Wars Gold
Guild Wars Items
Guild Wars 2
Buy Gold
Buy PowerLeveling
Buy CDKey
Hero Plus
Hero Plus Gold
Karma Koin Card
Buy Card
Knight
Knight Gold
Last Epoch
Last Epoch Gold
LastChaos
LastChaos Gold
Lineage 2M
Lineage 2M Gold
Lost Ark
Lost Ark Gold
Lost Continent
Buy Gold
Buy Items
Lotro
Lotro Gold
Lotro PowerLeveling
MapleStory Worlds
Buy Gold
Marvel Heroes Omega
Buy Items
Metin2
Metin2 Gold
MIR M
MIR M Gold
MIR4
MIR4 Gold
Mortal online 2
Buy Gold
MU Legend
MU Legend Gold
Myth of Empires
Buy Gold
NeverWinter Online
Buy Gold
New World
New World Gold
New World PowerLeveling
Night Crows
Buy Gold
NosTale
NosTale Gold
Onigiri
Onigiri Gold
Palworld
Palworld Gold
Palworld Items
Phantasy Star Online 2
Buy Gold
Pirate101
Pirate101 Gold
Pirate101 Items
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Buy Items
Ragnarok
Ragnarok Gold
Ragnarok Items
Ragnarok M
Ragnarok M Gold
Ragnarok Transcendence
Buy Gold
Ragnarok2
Ragnarok2 Gold
Rappelz
Rappelz Gold
Rappelz Items
Ravendawn
Ravendawn Gold
ROM: Remember Of Majesty
Buy Gold
Rose
Rose Gold
Shaiya
Shaiya Gold
Shaiya PowerLeveling
Shaiya Items
Aeria Points
SilkRoad
SilkRoad Gold
SilkRoad Items
Silkroad Silk
SilkRoad R
SilkRoad R Gold
SilkRoad R CDKey
Skull and Bones
Buy Gold
SoulSaver
SoulSaver Gold
Soulworker
Soulworker Gold
Star Citizen
Buy Gold
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Buy Gold
Buy PowerLeveling
Buy Time Card
Star_Trek
Star_Trek Gold
Swords of Legends Online
Buy Gold
Temtem
Temtem Gold
The Elder Scrolls Online
Buy Gold
Buy PowerLeveling
Buy CDKey
The Secret World
Buy Gold
Buy CDKey
Tibia
Tibia Gold
Toram Online
Buy Gold
Torchlight Infinite
Buy Gold
Trove
Trove Gold
Trove CDKey
Uncharted Waters Online
Buy Gold
Undecember
Undecember Gold
V4
V4 Gold
Vindictus
Vindictus Gold
Vindictus PowerLeveling
Vindictus Items
Nexon Cash Code
Wakfu
Wakfu Gold
Wildstar
Wildstar Gold
Wildstar PowerLeveling
Wildstar CDKey
Wizard101
Wizard101 Gold
Wizard101 Items
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
Duel Links Accounts
Home » Site News » DC Universe Online Intervie...

DC Universe Online Interview with Creative Director

Tags :     

DC Universe Online, the first project out of Sony Online's Austin studio, explores the various worlds of DC Comics' superheroes and villains. A massively-multiplayer experience, DC Universe Online brings high-energy action to the forefront with a combat system designed to deliver a fast-paced action experience with the extraordinary powers of your personally created heroes and villains at your disposal. Battle with or against their favorite DC Super Heroes and Villains including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker. We recently had the chance to chat with Jens Andersen, the Creative Director on DC Universe Online for Sony Online Entertainment-Austin, now let him give us more details about DCUO.
 


CES 09: Developer Walkthrough

MMOsite: I am glad that we have this opportunity to do an interview with you. To start, can you make a brief introduction to yourself and your team?

Jens Andersen: My name is Jens Andersen and I am the Creative Director on DC Universe Online

MMOsite: Could you give us a brief introduction about the gameworld of DC Universe Online in your own words?

Jens Andersen: Sure!  DC Universe is an action-MMO for PS3 and the PC.  Players get to step through the door into places like Gotham, Metropolis and tons of other fantastic locations from the comics.  Once there they will fight along side or against some of the most famous heroes and villains in the world.  And the cool thing is, we're making you their equal.

MMOsite: How would you describe the artistic style of DC Universe Online? And the background?

Jens Andersen: The entire game is based on the artistic vision of Jim Lee. He is the comic book legend at WildStorm Productions and he's also the executive creative director for DCUO.  It's a slick looking game and every time we show it people are really amazed at what they see.  I think the game looks amazing and I can't wait for people to see how each of the environments contrast each other.  Gotham feels very different from Metropolis.  The game looks amazing!  Kudos to our Art Director Jared Carr and his amazing team.

MMOsite: Frankly speaking, this game reminds me of City of Heroes and City of Villains. What impacts have these past comic book games had on the development of DC Universe Online?

Jens Andersen: Well I'll be frank as well, we need to get this game in your hands so you can put that notion behind you.  Other than the fact that we are a super hero genre we are completely different.  And it isn't just the IP that sets us apart.  We've built a game form the ground up focused on the power fantasy of being a super hero.  This meant we were willing to make changes to the MMO mold that supported that direction.  There is no auto attack, to hit rolls, etc.  We didn't just skin an MMO and put capes on our characters.  This is a completely new breed that includes action, physics and an epic scope to the world we are creating. 

MMOsite: Where does the development for DC Universe Online stand now? Can you reveal us some info on the dates for commercial launch?

Jens Andersen: We are really pleased and excited with how development on DCUO is coming along. We have not announced a release date yet.

MMOsite: What major challenges did you encounter while developing DC Universe Online? Any difficulties now?

Jens Andersen: There were several.  First, as a steward of an amazingly popular IP we have to make sure we get it right.  The choices we make on what stories to tell, where to tell them and who to tell them with are critical to our success. To that end we work very closely with several movers and shakers from the world of DC Comics like Jim Lee & Geoff Johns.  Second, the physics portion of our game.  We made a commitment to this feature as a key element in delivering the super hero fantasy.  So we made sure to get all of our technical ducks in a row so we could deliver it on the city wide scale.  Third, I would say the action combat.  Trying to make all this stuff work in a server authenticated environment with all the considerations for potential lag due to connection speed was hard to tackle and still keep it feeling responsive.  Not to mention we had to make sure we could maintain balance as the game progressed.  It's easy to tackle the problem in a single player experience or in a short multiplayer session with less persistence.  But our game has to live and breathe for months and years not minutes and hours.  These were all tough challenges and the team handled them beautifully.

 

MMOsite: Come back to the game itself. Will there be any faction classification? And how will the combat look like in DC Universe Online?

Jens Andersen: Players will choose to be a hero or villain.  Once they are in the game they can band together with like minded players and form leagues, legions or societies to try and save or rule the world.  Our combat is very responsive and is more skill based in its tactics.  In our game when someone throws a car at you we don't want you to hide, we want you to catch it and throw it back.

MMOsite: Can we choose some super heroes such as superman and Batman as my avatar? Or they are only NPCs?

Jens Andersen: You can't play as Superman or Batman because they already exist in the DC Universe. Plus, you can't have a game with thousands of Superman characters running around for obvious reasons. However, you will be able to create your own character in their likeness. So, for example, if you want to be a ninja character who uses gadgets, you'll have something similar to Batman that you'll be able to make your own.  And players shouldn't worry about not being as powerful as these characters.  If we're truly making you Batman like or Superman like then you can assume you will be their equal, not their inferior.  However, I still don't recommend just punching Superman in the face.

MMOsite: What kind of player economy can we expect to see in DC Universe Online?

Jens Andersen: We will be talking about that at a later time.  Look forward to some cool information in the future on how we're handling our economy. 

MMOsite: What major challenges did you encounter while developing DC Universe Online? Any difficulties now?

Jens Andersen: There were several.  First, as a steward of an amazingly popular IP we have to make sure we get it right.  The choices we make on what stories to tell, where to tell them and who to tell them with are critical to our success. To that end we work very closely with several movers and shakers from the world of DC Comics like Jim Lee & Geoff Johns.  Second, the physics portion of our game.  We made a commitment to this feature as a key element in delivering the super hero fantasy.  So we made sure to get all of our technical ducks in a row so we could deliver it on the city wide scale.  Third, I would say the action combat.  Trying to make all this stuff work in a server authenticated environment with all the considerations for potential lag due to connection speed was hard to tackle and still keep it feeling responsive.  Not to mention we had to make sure we could maintain balance as the game progressed.  It's easy to tackle the problem in a single player experience or in a short multiplayer session with less persistence.  But our game has to live and breathe for months and years not minutes and hours.  These were all tough challenges and the team handled them beautifully.

 

MMOsite: Come back to the game itself. Will there be any faction classification? And how will the combat look like in DC Universe Online?

Jens Andersen: Players will choose to be a hero or villain.  Once they are in the game they can band together with like minded players and form leagues, legions or societies to try and save or rule the world.  Our combat is very responsive and is more skill based in its tactics.  In our game when someone throws a car at you we don't want you to hide, we want you to catch it and throw it back.

MMOsite: Can we choose some super heroes such as superman and Batman as my avatar? Or they are only NPCs?

Jens Andersen: You can't play as Superman or Batman because they already exist in the DC Universe. Plus, you can't have a game with thousands of Superman characters running around for obvious reasons. However, you will be able to create your own character in their likeness. So, for example, if you want to be a ninja character who uses gadgets, you'll have something similar to Batman that you'll be able to make your own.  And players shouldn't worry about not being as powerful as these characters.  If we're truly making you Batman like or Superman like then you can assume you will be their equal, not their inferior.  However, I still don't recommend just punching Superman in the face.

MMOsite: What kind of player economy can we expect to see in DC Universe Online?

Jens Andersen: We will be talking about that at a later time.  Look forward to some cool information in the future on how we're handling our economy.