JC: What David is referring to is that, when we originally launched City of Heroes way back in 2004, that was already with an engine that had been in development for quite some time. It's unlike any City of Heroes zone that's ever existed, and it really pushes the art in the game forward and keeps it relevant. So we could build our first-ever skyscraper metropolis with real reflective buildings. We just released a major graphical upgrade with Ultra Mode and Issue 17, and not only does that make all the old assets look instantly better with the real-time shadows and cube map reflection and that sort of thing, but also, when we built Praetoria, that was built with Ultra Mode in mind. Yeah it's absolutely, I think, of great interest to our peers in the industry.ĭavid Nakayama: Yeah, and artistically, I think, the way to keep things fresh is. With MMORPGs, it's always challenging to make sure that we deliver content and gameplay and systems that are compelling and are repeatable so that players feel like they've accomplished something and get a sense of pride for doing things in games. Trying to keep this game fresh has always been a challenge, especially because it's not like a traditional console game where you just ship it and you're done with it. Jesse Caceres, senior producer, has been with the game since shortly after its 2004 launch, and describes himself as 'probably number five or six in terms of total veteran status.' David Nakayama, the game's art lead, worked with Top Cow and Marvel Comics before transitioning to concept art and then lead art on the game.Ĭity of Heroes has been running successfully for such a long time, and it's been running successfully for that time. Gamasutra recently sat down with two members of the team at Paragon Studios and uncovered how they've shaped the game over the course of the last few years. This week NCsoft launched Going Rogue, the game's first full boxed expansion since 2005's City of Villains - and that seemed the best the opportunity to speak to them, and find out how a six year old game reinvents itself. How does the team manage to keep the game fresh while maintaining a large, fairly casual audience and still supporting dedicated hardcore fans who wouldn't dream of switching to another game?

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