User Interview: Tremor of the PeaceKeepers

In our next User Interview, we sat down with the "real" Tremor and got some of his opinions on the state of DCUO and the community pre-release.

"Say the Vanguardians, one of our allies, disagrees with something we're doing in a story? How epic would that be to see the Vanguardians .vs. the Peacekeepers? Like Civil War, baby!"

You're the man "behind" the mask, the guy who brought Tremor to life, How and When was it he sprung from your brain?

Tremor came about in 2009 as a class project for animation. Our task was simple: model, texture, and rig an organic character. I was on an Incredibles (Pixar) high at the time and had watched the film several times within that week. I grew fond of the character Frozone and wondered about the possibilities of him having a brother who controlled earth/rock. Given Frozone's slender, almost pencil-like figure, for contrast's sake, I made his brother more rotund to mimic the extremities of Frozone's skinniness. So that's how he was first conceptualized: your stereotypical fat guy comedic relief character. As I grew more fond of the character, I respected him more and couldn't do that to him. He needed to be serious, he needed to be memorable, and he needed to be iconic. To make a long story short, several months later I created what he is today, and with the help of Slipshod's amazing writing talents, recreated his origin. He's also copyrighted! I have plans on taking him in other directions, so it had to be done. I'm excited to see where I'll take him from here on out.

What's your previous Superhero MMO experience?

City of Heroes was my first. It was my first MMO period. Its reminiscent of losing your virginity for the first time. You don't know what to do, where to slot your enhancement, or what to explore. I put 4 1/2 years of my life into that franchise and then switched over to Champions Online for their Alpha, Closed Beta, and Open Beta testing. We'll just say I never made it to launch. That's a whole other interview within itself.

Were you influenced at all by comics and tabletop RPGs?

Mostly comics. I found the tabletop RPG thing to be pushing the limits of cool and geek, but since I was knee-deep in City of Heroes, creating characters and roleplaying I suppose I was way past those limits at the time.

Is DCUO the realization of a long-time dream for many hardcore fans of Comics and RPGs?

Perhaps. It really depends on SOE's deliverance. Til this day I still watch the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series and I'm able to get completely immersed in the stories that are told through animation. If SOE is capable of delivering those same stories and epic combat that is seen in the show and comics through a game, then I believe it will be a dream come true.

What made you pick "The Good Guys"?

Honestly? Who wants to run around hurting people? Haha! I grew up pretending to be Batman and Superman, not the Joker and Lex Luthor. There's something about a superhero that speaks volumes. Their almost like an escape from reality; something we can forever hold onto no matter how old we get. Who doesn't want to fly? Who wouldn't mind super strength? That's probably why I'm so committed to being "the good guy" in these types of games.

You've made it clear how you feel about SOE's decision to split PC and PS3 players. Explain why you feel the way you do.

It was a decision that hit the Peacekeepers and hit us hard. We never intended for our league to be divided like it is today; however, there was not much we could do about it. No sense in crying over spilled milk, right? So we took some time to discuss what we should do internally and came out as a PS3 and PC team, or what we like to call the PS3Keepers and the PCKeepers. We're still a united team and we have a story that explains why we've been split, so it all works out. We're hoping SOE will merge the servers in the future, but we aren't holding our breath. One of the good things that came from this was allowing us to expand and bring in more members. This is the decision that forced our hand into launching our Gamma intake so early.

What impresses many people about the PeaceKeepers is your level of Presentation, what inspired you guys to set the bar so high?

The DC Universe is full of heroes who's iconic status reaches both national and international audiences of all ages and generations. The two most prestigious icons are the "S" and "Bat" symbols. You see those anywhere in any style you know those mean Superman and Batman. The bar has been set high by the DC Universe and the writers and artists who have labored at it for over 70-some years. We want to respect that and bring our own roster of iconic heroes to the table, or at least try to. We don't know if we'll ever reach such audiences Superman and Batman have reached, but we'd like to try to be one of the strongest leagues within the DCUO Community. We're also a home to a lot of artists ranging from wide variety of backgrounds, so with that comes an appreciation and respect towards presentation. We're always cautious and anal about the Peacekeepers' image, but its all fun to us. We love this league and the community we've built, so we want to respect it.

Don't you believe in Hero/Villain loyalty? Why the villainous Alt Accounts?

Definitely! I assume you're talking about the Warbringers when you mention 'villainous alt accounts', so I'll go with that. Some of us will be playing our Warbringer and some of us won't. They were created to give us villain counterparts and to be used in roleplays and/or inside the game. Will I personally be creating mine? Probably not. I'm on the 'good guy' bandwagon too much to be a villain.

How were you introduced to DCUO?

I remember reading about it somewhere. Not really sure. I never paid much attention to it because I wasn't sure if it was going to see the light of day. Back then we didn't know if you could be one of the iconics or your own character, and there was far too much speculation and rumors going around to care.

How does DCUO avoid the pitfalls of games like City of Heroes/Villains and Champions Online?

Dumping all of their resources into front loading their character customization. Seriously? Total customization was okay, but it never guaranteed a quality game. It really destroyed the image of the superhero. To see characters with cat heads, giant eyes, nubby arms, and large gorilla hands running around Canada really made the game feel like a hodge-podge of whimsical, Tim Burton-esque creations dressed in tights. I've seen people say, "I was able to create druids, warlocks, and witches with Champions. DCUO doesn't look like it will give me those options, so it must suck." This is a game focused on superheroes. Druids, warlocks, and witches can be found in WoW, EQ2, LotR, or any of the other fantasy games out there. Too much customization can ruin a good thing and a game with a lot of potential, and I think that's what happened with Champions. That isn't to say to not add more customization, but do it in a way that respects this genre. Do we really need a slider that can grow eyelashes?

Let's say DCUO introduced Guild Wars/Matches (where teams of "supers" could organize and battle each other) in the coming months? would it be a Good or Bad thing?

Both. Good for more content, bad for a potential waste of resources. If its not something the player base is demanding I don't see a need to implement it so quickly. I've never played through Guild Wars so I don't know the mechanics of this system, but it would be cool for roleplaying reasons. Say the Vanguardians, one of our allies, disagrees with something we're doing in a story? How epic would that be to see the Vanguardians vs. the Peacekeepers? Like Civil War, baby!

If you could take down one DCUO NPC Villain, who would it be?

Granny Goodness. We have a love/hate relationship. I love her voice. Hell, I can do her voice, but she's such a..."bish." Sometimes I wish Darkseid would end her life, really. Haha!

Which player-controlled evildoer would you put behind bars?

The only ones I really know of are the Warbringers. I'd love to throw down the gauntlet with Jackalynn, Gray Wolf's arch-nemesis.

This PeaceKeepers Recruiting Video ( http://tinyurl.com/3xmsud9 ) was really inspiring, how did it come about?

Ah. The Intake: Gamma video. That is the fruits of my labor. Haha! I storyboarded, scripted, animated, and all of the above for that video. We wanted to do something special for our Gamma intake. Something we didn't do with Alpha or Beta, but we knew it had to be larger than life. It was the first recruitment that would be a month long and we wanted to keep the interest circulating for the entirety of the 4 weeks. I've always wanted to see our characters come alive a bit more, so this is how this came about along with our 'Why I Am A Peacekeeper' series, the action figures, comic book, and Jones' soda bottle collection.

What are the three things DCUO can implement to keep you as a long-time player?

More character customization that respects the genre, more content, and a growing, progressive world. I'll explain because those are broad and very vague. DCUO, from what we have seen, has implemented character customization but not to the extent of the other two games in this genre. This has troubled so many people. Cryptic Studios has done a fine job at setting expectations when it comes to character customization for this specific genre, but have also proven that too much can ruin a good thing. No two heroes look alike. Even the Green Lantern Corps vary from uniform to uniform given the character. I would like to see them continue to build up on what they have. Let us create a world full of new legends, new icons, and new symbols that emulate the heroes already established in the game, but keep our options in good tastes that respect both the DCU and the genre. As far as more content is concerned, I'd like to see our experience become more epic as we grow in level. Reaching the level cap shouldn't be the end, but a beginning. I want Superman to tell me, "You're here. You're at 30. ""Big whoop, wanna fight about?"" You haven't seen anything yet." I want to travel to Themyscera with Wonder Woman and defend Gorilla City with Vixen. I'd even like to see Honorary Justice League of America memberships handed out. This game has 70 some years of lore backing it up. The fun should not stop at 30, and I guess I explained my last point with that long-winded paragraph too!

In the same vein, what three things can guarantee you won't be around long?

Bad decisions. That sums up all three to be honest. The game can start out great, but over the years I don't want to see Sony dropping nerf bombs and implementing changes that hurt the game versus improving it. They've shown us that they're focusing on quality versus quantity, so we can only hope they stick to this in the years to come.

If you could have one dream game feature, what would it be?

Vehicles. Its been talked about since City of Heroes, but has never been implemented before. The Bat Family is big on vehicles for transportation. It would be nice to see this finally realized in an MMO and be able to travel down the street on the back of a motorcycle or something.

What other game elements are a MUST in DCUO?

Non-combat content. Yes. Superheroes fight. I get it; but they don't fight all the time. SOE has talked about clues at one point but I forget if there were any specifics dropped on it yet. They're doing this already with the Booster Gold tour guides and the movement mode races it seems. Fun little mini-games and other "side attractions" like these will give the players something to do when the combat starts to become tedious.
WOW. This one gave us chills. one of the best suggestions we've seen in a long time. Imagine game modes in your secret identity, great dialogue with NPCs, the Virtual Comic Shop Cross mentioned and other non-combat but ultimately character building aspects of the game. The possibilities could be endless.

What unconfirmed new DCUO content would you like to see?

Becoming a Green Lantern. They've talked about it but it hasn't been confirmed. This would be the icing on the cake for me.

If there was one change you could make to DCUO in its current form, what would it be?

Adding in the remaining 4 powers: Atomic, Electricity, Earth, and Light. There are a ton of people who have had to put their characters on a back burner because of these missing sets. Thankfully, I have Plants (Nature) to fall back on, but some other people may not be so fortunate as far as a back up power set is concerned.

In your opinion, what is DCUO's greatest strength?

That its the DC Universe. That alone will bring in the fans the IP has collected through generations of avid comic book lovers and action figure collectors.

What weakness hurts DCUO the most?

From what I've seen: SOE. Their track record speaks for itself. They've had their ups and downs, but I'd like to think people will give them another chance. If I could do it for Jack Emmert and Cryptic Studios, others can do it for Smedley and SOE. Ha!

What are you on the lookout for in the Beta? How important is BETA Feedback?

I'm on the look out for an invitation! Beta feedback is very important. No matter how much internal testing is done, something can still be overlooked.

We recently suggested how much a well done Arch-Enemy/Nemesis system ( http://tinyurl.com/36wqj3g ) could add to the game, what say you?

Champions tried this and I wasn't a fan, but I'm sure for those who would like something like that it would be enjoyable if done properly.

With anti-heroes of questionable background and moral character like the Dark Enforcers around, is the Vigilante Class a must-have in DCUO?

We have our own vigilante-types such as Nighthawk. We also have some characters of a slightly darker nature than some of our campier heroes such as Lunar Ray or Overdrive. We also have the Gray Wolf, who may be even more grittier than Nighthawk, but the character has grown and developed to be a lot less violent once she joined the league. Also, we're allies with The Others. They do the job that the Peacekeepers can't due to our ethics and moral code. So to answer your question, I support the vigilante-class. They do the same thing we do, only bloodier.

Is a Danger Room environment where we can match-up and practice against other heroes (or AI) a necessity?

I really don't see the harm in an environment like this. It would be great to practice new combos and powers aquired.

Throughout your MMO career, who's your biggest superhero MMO rival? Why?

Not sure if I really have a rival. I will always respect City of Heroes for what it is. It was my first MMO and it was good to me. I'll never discredit it. Champions Online was, well, lets just say Freedom Force gave me more bang for my buck.

Can we depend on the PeaceKeepers to submit some wonderful user-fiction to our blog when the game releases?

We have some very talented writers on our team. They're responsible for the story and dialogue in our upcoming Peacekeepers comic, as well as several different roleplays on our forums. One of our stories, the Virocchocan (sp?) Keystone, is a great roleplay that puts us in Peru pitted against Gray Wolf's greatest arch-nemesis: her sister Jacklynn. She's in Peru trying to obtain a god-like power and we're forced to stop her. It sounds basic, but the way Gray Wolf introduces the story and the plot will have you wrapped up it from the beginning. So yes. You all can expect something!

PVP or PVE server, and why?

We're keeping this close to the chest for the time being. We draw a lot of our attention to ourselves and with that comes some negativity that we cannot get rid of no matter how much we do within the community. Due to threats from people deliberately wanting to go out of their way and take our league name and character names we're extremely cautious and will not be releasing this information until we're inside the game. Not all of us will get our names because someone else may have a character named Tremor or Samson, and that's the risk we take, but for those wanting to do it out of spite we chose not to give them access to that type of information. Even if someone did to that, it wouldn't do much good. We're always prepared. We have back-up names for our back-up names. Sigh...hopefully SOE Will add the ability to make name variations. For example ^Tremor^, if Tremor is taken.

What new things would you like to see in Character Customization?

Different body types, but those won't come until after launch I'm sure.

What Villain group is the biggest threat to the PeaceKeepers?

I'm not really sure. We'll have to see once we're on the streets of Metropolis or Gotham!

Is it difficult to "begin anew" with a character that has gained so much status, power and influence in other MMOs?

This will be the first MMO I'm bringing Tremor into, so the answer to that question would be no!