Character Breakdown: Atomic Theory

Our newest Character Breakdown was with the man behind Atomic Theory. Joker3000. He was kind enough to provide an in-depth description of his character including his motivations, history and potential nemeses.

Describe Atomic Theory.

Atomic theory is a 11^th level intellect super villain who no longer considers himself human since his fight with batman, but now he considers himself a alien. Atomic Theory has a number of abilities one being his intelligence, fire abilities (nuclear bomb element), radiation and toxic waste creation as well as manipulating atoms to his will.

Superman is a character famous for his sense of justice and near-invulnerability, what makes Atomic Theory notable?

A number of things make Atomic Theory notable; one is his intellect which he prides himself for however he does have a dislike for Braniac as Braniac is the only one who has a higher level intelligence than Atomic Theory. Also Theory has been toe to toe with two kryptonians one is Superman within the beta and the other was in a RP with Superion.    

How did you come up with the abilities for him?
The abilities seemed to spawn from the name as well as miscellaneous elements. However I do have a small interest in physics as well as the other sciences and one of my favourite topics are Nuclear bombs and Radiation so I combined it with my character and added toxic waste ha ha.  

What superhero characters influenced you to create yours?

Originally my character was called “Atomic Clown” as I am huge fan of the Joker and I wanted to add the atomic elements within it, however when I was creating my character using Hero Machine I decided I needed to change it, so I had multiple influences such as Braniac and Lex Luthor, both of which are incredibly smart which I admire in a villain.

Describe your character’s moral code would he take a life? Torture someone?

Atomic Theory has no moral code he would say “It died with me” and this reflects a lot in his actions, one of which was threatening to destroy Washington DC for his own purposes. Another act saw him kill a hero to send a message to his arch rival batman. In a nutshell he believes “Morals and Emotions suffocate humanity”.

Did the DCUO Character Creator allow you to complete your vision of Atomic Theory?

When I first got into the PC beta during the NDA period it didn’t which disheartened me a little as I tried to create him but it didn’t look very well, so I ended up creating a alt named “Death Smile” however when I got into the Ps3 beta I tried to create Atomic Theory again and I created him how I wanted him to be, so I was happy.

Should DCUO have a Bio Section where you can click on a character and see his backstory/origin?

Yes, the main reason being is that a characters back-story/origin paints the picture for you character and lets other players know “okay that guys hero/villain looks awesome I wonder what his story is? Was he born on planet krypton or was his family killed and so now he is seeking vengeance”.  

What are his motivations?

Atomic Theory is strongly motivated in one goal....killing batman, the reason he has such hatred is that batman accidently killed his pregnant wife during a fight with poison ivy, something Atomic Theory has never forgotten since his transformation.

There are heroes, anti-heroes, vigilantes and villains which group does he fit in?

He fits into the villain category.
 

Does your character have a history in any other MMOs?

This is Atomic Theories first appearance in a MMO, in other superhero MMO’s such as COX and CO my character wasn’t really personal to me.

Who would be your character's DCUO NPC Nemesis?

Batman for the reasons stated above.

Do you see any potential player-characters that might be an arch-enemy?

Ermmm I have two that I have fought with on a couple of occasions one is “Superion” and the other is “the flame”.  

Tell us about his personality.

Atomic Theory has no remorse, no emotions however if you help him he will be your ally for life. He does enjoy one type of “earthly” music and that is operatic music, he believes this passed on from his once human self. He has a slight reformed formal psychotic behaviour.

What are some of his fears?

Atomic Theory has no fears however when he was human he did have a huge fear of losing his loved one “Lauren”.

Tell us a few things no one knows about him.

Atomic Theory has a strong allegiance with Poison Ivy as she helped him after his accident. Atomic Theory is also related to Death Smile in that Death Smiles sister was Lauren Night who was Atomic Theories wife. Atomic Theory also has only ever showed one sign of emotion and that was shedding a tear after his transformation.

Some time ago we printed a suggestion for an Arch-Enemy/Nemesis ( http://tinyurl.com/36wqj3g ) option among players. Give us your opinion of it.

I think we should have our own Arch-Enemy/Nemesis because Batman has the Joker, Lex has Superman, Flash has Gorilla Grodd. So I believe we should have our own enemy to make us feel that extra sense of immersion.

What are some of his weaknesses?

The main weakness he has are his emotions which he likes to think he doesn’t have (I think of Atomic Theory in the sense of Davey Jones keeping his heart left in treasure chest so that he cannot feel pain no longer).

Should we see larger group sizes in-game?

I think so.

Lairs, Hidden Bases and super-vehicles, should we see those things in DCUO?

I think so, having our own lair or base would be a fantastic idea for leagues and legions especially, but a hero or villain should have their own base of operations to show off trophies to other hero or villains or a place to just hang out or plan attacks on other leagues of legions. However Super-vehicles I am not overly keen on as we already have travel powers.  

Emblems and Insignias have been pretty hotly debated what's your view?

I don’t really have a view on the debate as I really don’t emblems but I have heard that they should be resized to fit quality but that is all.
 

How would you do Secret Identities?

Ermm of the top of my head I would have it so that the hero or villain has a alternate costume (civilian) and also maybe a civilian story along with your supers story, but I think this could be quite complicated to implement at this moment unless it was in a expansion then it could work.

Rate your Beta experience from 1-10.

A definite 10, the first Superhero game where I felt like a villain or hero and that I was crafting myself to become a legend.

We recently suggested how much Spatial Chat adds to the social aspect of online gaming ( http://tinyurl.com/27qpep6 ) what's your opinion?

I agree, asking others within an area about something rather than the world would be helpful, I recently saw an interview with a hero and I agreed with the point he made.    

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

Yes, I believe the vigilante class is a must because not all heroes are upstanding and have the same moral code, some have a darker side to their hero persona.

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

Yes I believe so, it’s good to practise your powers or combo’s ready for the real fight. You may find that you don’t know how to employ a power correctly so training yourself to use it in the right situation would be good, this is why I believe a training or danger room is a necessity.

Why do you think user-fiction/short stories play such a huge role in games like this?

A lot of people get really into their character’s myself included so creating a short story and etc really gets you into your character more and also the DC universe.  

In your opinion does a PVP or PVE server offer more character development?

PVP I believe does as when you fight other players you can settle grudges and create nemesis’s and arch rivals which adds to your characters development I believe.  

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

I would like to see better hairstyles this was the only problem for me in character customization apart from that maybe a few more costume pieces.

Can some players be designed too powerfully?

I think if the powers are not properly balanced then maybe so however if a player is properly put together powers, combos then they can be powerful.

Do you think the Emotes have added content to the game?

Marginally I believe so, I use them rarely but they are fun to use, and other players seem to like them.