Interview: Rick Tacular

Recently we had the pleasure of interviewing Rick Tacular, one of the more prominent members of F.L.A.G about the vision for his character, the history behind it, and some of the things he'd like to see in DCUO. Read on for the entire interview.



Describe Rick Tacular.
    Rick Tacular is me, if I were strong, buffed out, had all my hair & my natural hair color.  Oh, and flying, super strength, invulnerability, and so on. ;)  Because he's based on me, he's a family man first, so his ties to his wife, Snowdrop, and their daughter, Little Bird, are strong.  He's a rather straight-forward and simple kind of guy, who realizes that might doesn't always necessarily make right, but one has to play to hit strengths, you know?

How long have you been crafting your character?
    Rick's been my main for over three years now, starting when I began playing City of Heroes.  After a time my wife joined me and we became a full-time superhero married couple in the game and our Supergroup, F.L.A.G.  So much so that we renewed our vows with our friends in our SG base.  When DCUO announced their beta and that it would ship soon (eventually), I knew I'd be bringing the family along, hopefully for many more years to come.

How did you come up with the abilities for Rick Tacular?
    Well, I didn't want to have to think or strategize too hard.  "There's nothing that can't be solved without brute force and stupidity, and I've got plenty of both!" I say self-deprecatingly.  I like to jump in the middle, wail away at things, and get out.  I do like tanking somewhat, but my first love is beating Bad Guys™ up.  That being said, I've also thought of RT as not being superly-super-powered.  He's strong, but not "lift an island out of the sea" strong.  He's durable, but not "doesn't flinch when shot in the eye" durable.  He's fast but not "turns back time by flying around the Earth" fast.  Some make their characters to be too super.  Not me.  Rick gets his butt handed to him constantly.  It's his will to get up and try again that I think makes him truly heroic.

What superhero characters influenced you to create yours?
    Easy.  The Big Blue Boy Scout (see above).  And, even though he can do all the things he does, he shows a tenacity to get the job done that's admirable.

So many hardcore fans of DCUO have gone to lengths of detailed character bios and of course GREAT artwork, why do you think so?
    We make an investment in our characters, we like to see the better sides of ourselves in our creations.  As someone who does not have an inkling of artistic talent I can say that I wouldn't want myself to draw a picture of Rick Tacular, but would want someone who does.  Someday I even will. ;)  And, let's not forget that we're all comic geeks.  Who wouldn't want their place with the comic characters they've been reading about for years.  Now that we have the opportunity, we can, and let's go nuts while we're at it!

Will the DCUO Character Creator allow you to complete your vision of  your character?
    Happily, it does.  And, what I like is that you can start with a base and add things from the game you collect if you care to.  It's a nice way to allow for a lot of personalization while giving out rewards in the way of armor upgrades in the same manner that other MMOs do, just optional.

Should DCUO have a Bio Section where you can click on a character and see his backstory/origin?
    They do, but it's a bit of a pain to get to.

What are Rick Tacular's motivations?
    To provide a good role model to my daughter, love my wife, and do the right thing by helping any and all in need in whatever capacity I can.

There are heroes, anti-heroes, vigilantes and villains which group does your character fit in?
    Rick is absolutely a big boy scout type, so, Hero.

Does your character have a history in any other MMOs?
    The aforementioned three years in City of Heroes, where he and his wife were high-ranking officers in F.L.A.G.

Who would be your character's DCUO NPC Nemesis?
    A mad scientist mopped up some blood Rick left behind and made a clone of him.  The scientist made the clone female, however, in hopes of more easily controlling her ("mad" scientist, indeed.  Apparently he doesn't get out much).  This clone is Regina Tacular, who has the same abilities as her "brother" but having a different set of experiences to draw from finds herself on the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak.  Rick sees her a "misguided".  Regina doesn't like her goody-goody "brother" to be nosing in her affairs and reacts in the contrary just to piss him off.

Do you see any potential player-characters that might be an arch-enemy?
    Not at the moment, but I'm sure Rick's had to have upset somebody out there.

Tell us about Rick Tacular's personality.
    Rick is a jovial, happy guy who thinks he's funny.  So much so that when he wife says he's being "funny" (yes, in quotes), he's not.  He cracks wise, tells jokes, and is often a goof-ball despite his dark colors (what can I say?  Dark red & black just look good on the guy).

What are some of his fears?
    To not life up to others expectations.

Tell us a few things no one knows about Rick Tacular.
    Rick is an open book.  Not too much to know about him that it's known, or is volunteered by him (sometimes to the other's chagrin).

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.
    Ooooh!  Nice.   I like it!  This is good for those who may not want to PvP vs. a stranger, but pwning a real-life friend would be fun!

What are some of your character's weaknesses?
    He's not quite as strong as some other alien-born Kansian-raised superheroes.  And he likes pizza too much.  Could probably slip him something deleterious if you put it in a pizza.

Should players be able to "switch sides" in DCUO?
    Absolutely, it opens up more of the game to players.

Lairs, Hidden Bases and super-vehicles, should we see those things in DCUO?
    Yes, because while having the Watchtower of the Hall of Doom is nice, each sub-League or Legion should have a place to call their very own and to decorate as they see fit.  As for vehicles, we fly (well, some run and some jump, but still).  I'm not completely sure of how a vehicle could be implemented.

Emblems and Insignias have been pretty hotly debated whats your view?
    Rick doesn't have one, except for a star for his F.L.A.G. uniform, but Snowdrop and Little Bird have 'em, so it's an option that should be available.  It's not as if you have to have one if you don't want one.

How would you do Secret Identities?
    That's a secret.

What are you on the lookout for in the Beta? How important is BETA Feedback?
    I'm looking for the "Quality of Life" things.  How easy it is to chat, share missions, bring up menus, emotes, things like that.  Sure, they're not in right now, and more will be added as the game goes on, but it's the little things that add up to big things that cause players to leave.

We recently suggested how much Spatial Chat adds to the social aspect of online gaming ( http://tinyurl.com/27qpep6 ) what's your opinion?
    Sure, it sounds good (get it??), but what happens when you get a mess of people all talking at the same time?  Think about the Spatial Chat griefers who know their setup causes feedback or sound artifacts.  It is a good idea, don't misunderstand me, I'm just thinking of the dingleberry's who'll make a mess of it for others.

With anti-heroes of questionable background and moral character like the Dark Enforcers around, is the Vigilante Class a must-have in DCUO?
    If it's in the DC Universe, then it should be in the game.  I'll wait for it to be added, though.  Let's get the core game implemented and (reasonably) bug-free and then put the polish on it later.

Is a Danger Room/Training environment where we can match-up and practice against other heroes/villains (or AI) a necessity?
    I don't think so.  There's plenty of opportunity to get into scraps as it it, and if you really want to square-off against a friend, connect with that friend and pop into a match.  Insofar as putting it in an an option one may want, however, yes, absolutely.  Give the players as many options as they could want.

Why do you think user-fiction/short stories play such a huge role in games like this?
    As I stated before, we all invest a little bit of ourselves into our characters.  Me, for instance, I've dragged my family into this, so I want to make sure that they're portrayed in the best possible light.  If making stories support and add to your enjoyment of the game then that's what you should do.  If you don't need fiction to enjoy the game, that's good too.  At the end of the day each will say, "I enjoyed myself", and that's what's most important.

In your opinion does a PVP or PVE server offer more character development?
    Depends on if you like PvP or PvE.  Again, it's whatever fulfills you when you're playing.  Some get a rush from the PvP experience, and some not.

What new things would you like to see in Character Customization?
    More matching pieces.  For instance, there is a pants that has three color ability, but no matching top (unless I'm missing it somehow).  Also, just plain more options!

Can some players be designed too powerfully?
    You're always going to have people who Min-Max their characters.  They're the ones who look at every little number and crunch every detail to get the maximum numbers from their characters.  As always, if that's how you enjoy the game, good!  :-)

Should DCUO have a Sidekick feature where new players can use more experienced players as Mentors?
    Honestly, I'm not 100% how the High-Low level teaming works, yet.  That being said, I think there should be something official.  My daughter's tribute toon, Little Bird, is the sidekick to my friend's character, I suppose it would be nice to have something official when they do team up.