Sunday, October 13, 2013

Fanterview: Capa Devans


Name: Capa Devans

What do you for work in real life?
Designer.

What is your favorite food?
Jaflongi (dish from a great Indian restaurant in Coventry, UK; it has pineapple).

Favorite movies?
I could watch Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country time and time again. Plus the first bit of Generations with the ToS crew, not so much the latter part. Anything action/comedy is preferred for relaxation; preferably without a lot of violence. (My main in CoX was a Stalker and I preferred red-side, so I understand the irony!)

Any big events in your life this year you want to give a shout out about?
Getting thinner! Lost a stone already and still working on another one! Exercising more and getting stronger, leaner and looking better.

How did you first hear about Missing Worlds Media (MWM) and their first MMO project?
From Titan Network as a spiritual successor to the beloved and missed City of Heroes/Villians.

What would boundaries do you think MWM can push with their first MMO project?
Freedom. Their backgrounds mean they will understand flexibility and customizability is key. Who wants to look like everyone else? Who wants to play the same character all the time? I believe they will show real creativity and allow players to make very distinct characters in costumes, powers and playstyles.

Why do you think people should support the Kickstarter campaign for MWM’s first MMO project?
MMO’s miss two things: 
1) The freedom which I mentioned above and 2) a great community. 
If MWM provide 1) then we should be providing 2). By supporting KS we do what CoX players have always done and that’s pull together. Sometimes we pulled together to get through a Task Force or mission we have no right to expect to finish but do. Sometimes we pulled together to raise money for Real World Heroes; a charity supporting children and service men/women. Sometimes we pulled together to support each other in sad/hard times. No other community is like it, by supporting KS you help support that community.

What is it that attracts you to the Superhero genre?
Nothing to be honest. I avoided playing it for months because I wasn’t interested in comics or anything like that. I couldn’t stand Superman and three attempts at watching Spiderman had me giving up in under five minutes.

But the flexibility of the game … that’s it for me. What can we do? What powers can we build to be truly unique? How can we use ‘odd’ power combinations to be effective? What else can I do in game?

What is your favorite super power and why?
Invisibility. I LOVED assassination strike.

What do you think defines a hero (or a villain?)
The player. How good or how bad is defined by their goals.

If you had them, do you think having super powers would be a blessing or a burden?
A burden. I couldn’t sit by and leave people, I’d have to use them. I’d want to solve the problems of the whole world and while the idealist of me says “good”, the realist says “one person can’t do it all”. Now if I had a supergroup …

Have you witnessed any acts of heroism lately that have inspired you?
My other half stepping in front of someone who wanted to do me harm. Not a big guy but really appreciated. On a wider note, when you watch people coming back from wars, or stepping in to try and prevent harm coming to others … that’s inspiring.
What kind of content engages you in video games?
Flexibility. Sometimes I don’t want to play content, but if there’s the opportunity to do something else (design a base or a costume) that has me engaged. I loath grinding.

How do you like stories to progress in a game (i.e. cutscenes, battles, mission text, etc.) and why?
I prefer mission text. I can read it at my own pace. Cutscenes can hold up the action and it’s easy to be distracted by the voice acting (save us from faux accents). I love it when the mission text can be read by everyone and not just the mission leader. Much better for the whole team to keep up with the story that way.

What sort of missions in games do you enjoy the most?
Clear parameters. I’m not a puzzle person. I like to go to my mission door (which is much more preferable to open worlds), identify the objective and kill everything on the way. Speeding through doesn’t appeal.

What is your favorite quote and why?
"Strive to be happy”. It’s the last line of “Desiderata”. Because it’s not a bad philosophy; in fact the whole poem is not a bad philosophy. 

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