Friday, October 11, 2013

Fanterview: Geekanomicon

Name or your preferred online alias
Mike or Geekanomicon (pewlagon), my YouTube channel name (Link)

What do you for work in real life?
Writer for what I call my Top Secret Project.

What is your favorite food?
Chicken Wings, but not the five alarm type. I prefer the stinky garlic kind.

Favorite movies?
Ghostbusters, Zombieland, Big Trouble in Little China, How to Train Your Dragon, Under the Red Hood

Any big events in your life this year you want to give a shout out about?
As I mentioned I am working on a Top Secret Project. This, actually, came about because of the City of Heroes shut down. My head started spinning with concepts that had no place to go. Thus, I created one. Don’t worry it’s not an MMO, but rather a long term book series.

How did you first hear about Missing Worlds Media (MWM) and their first MMO project?
I have been an active supporter of what was once dubbed Plan Z on the City of Heroes forums. I have been following MWM very closely and have been supporting them with News Updates, whenever my time permits, via my YouTube Channel. (That’s Geekanomicon or pewlagon on YouTube… Shameless plug.)

What would boundaries do you think MWM can push with their first MMO project?
There is a lot that can be explored. I always heard, from the devs at Paragon Studios, that the coding for the game was like a massive tangle that was difficult to add to. Being able to design an MMO from the ground up, and knowing the struggles that came before, will help MWM make a game that can be just as flexible for the developers as it is the players. Other than that, I hope they can find a way to expand upon their lore and make a truly immersive experience where whatever the player does has a definitive impact on the world they are striving to protect or dominate.

Why do you think people should support the Kickstarter campaign for MWM’s first MMO project?
I have been playing Video Games and MMOs since their very beginnings. In that time I have never seen a community grow to the point where this type of project has gotten off the ground. The passion that is there and the sense of family within our community brings up all sorts of warm fuzzies when I look back on where MWM came from. And i think I just hit upon why it should be supported; we are a family that wants a home. And not just any home, one where we can invite others to come and play.

The Kickstarter finally launched! Yay! Were you excited to see it finally go up?
Heck yeah! I had been waiting to be part of the hype machine!

What was your reaction to seeing the KS campaign explode in the first three days?
Unbelievable! When I first saw the goal I was a little shocked, but then I saw how quickly the numbers were rising and I knew it would go beyond quickly. I think I refreshed that page at least five times an hour while working on my computer.

Where do you think the campaign is likely to finish at?
I don’t want to jinx anything, but I will say that those first three Stretch Goals are very obtainable at this point. Mac users, on City of Heroes, were always left a little behind. I’d love to see them get a version at Launch.

I know we’ve leaked very little so far about the game, City of Titans, but what are things you’d like to know about?
Energy/Endurance. I’d like to know a little about how powers consume and regain their source pool. One thing I will mention, I loved how simple CoH was and because of how subtle things were immersion was barely broken there. In Champions, you have to block to build up your resource pool, which is very immersion breaking for me. I’d just like to see if immersion is being taken into consideration, at least with regard to powers.

Did you read Cube’s update about instanced content? If so, what do you think about the plans for an immersive environment experience? Link
I did and that brings me back to immersion. I’m ok with utilizing the environment for effect as long as my character’s power don’t need to rely on it. “Unless” it’s part of the mission to utilize an object or smash something up, like the Respec Task Forces in CoH where you had to grab a coolant weapon to freeze the reactor. Something more dynamic along those lines would be awesome!

What will be the first thing you do in Titan City when the game launches?
Badge Hunting! I got into YouTube to support City of Heroes and the Badging community. After our first year we scrapped and relaunched (seriously, those vids were aweful.) Sadly, the week we relaunched was the very week of the closure announcement. My little badging team is chomping at the bit in anticipation of grabbing badges and putting content up as soon as we have access.

What draws you to badging in game? Is it having to achieve a specific accomplishment?I never got into Pokemon, but I have a feeling the same type of mentality goes into badging. “I gotta have em all.” For me it’s all about, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, grinding away at specific combinations to get the elusive badge that ties them all together.

How could you not get into Pokemon?
I fell behind, quickly with no hope of catching up. I do enjoy watching people LP Pokemon, though. Heh! I’m one where if I can’t play the first game I really can’t get into the new ones.

Do you PvP at all?Uhg! PvP and me… Very rarely. I’m the type that feels guilty if I beat someone or gives up too quickly when confronted with marginal skill. I enjoy watching PvP, but participating is something I avoid. I looooove watching League of Legends and DOTA2 matches, for instance, but hardly play. At this time I’d like to shout out to Hitstreak and Riot! Jinx rocks!

Would you get into PvP minigames, however? Like PvP soccer or PvP Capture The Flag?
Yes. One thing about WoW, that I like, is how they handle PvP on non-PvP servers. Que up for the instance and go. Once it’s over it’s over. I never had to worry about being ambushed there unless I was in the mini-PvP game. I loved Alterac Valley!

To turn the tables a bit - what questions do you have MWM?
I do things in threes, it’s a theme number for me so how about three questions…
As a journalist, and someone that’s worked in the industry, I understand if you must remain silent on some of the answers until a later date. *wink nudge*

1) City of Heroes stuck with a Five Wheel Origin setup. Will there be specific origin types (ala technology, magic, mutation..) or will we be just designating our origins in our bio pages?

2) Will powers level up with our characters or on their own?

3) In City of Heroes we had factions (like the Hellions) that really didn’t get any type of Late Game showcase. Are there factions like this and, if so, can demand be generated to give them a bigger story arc if the players like them enough?

Do your alts have ever have ‘in combat’ attire and ‘out of combat’ attire?
Hmmm… One character, we created, did have an outfit for every occasion, but most were ready to fight at a moment’s notice. The whole hidden identity thing never seemed to fit our concepts. This is shocking for me, as I write it, because I grew up with comics and that was normal in those pages, but when given the chance I threw it out the window and I just now realized it. LOL.

What is your favorite super power and why?Dual Blades. I lost a dear friend to Leukemia several years back. She and I came to City of Heroes from Everquest. She had always wanted a Dual Blade Shadow Knight. This was not really possible in either game until CoH launched the power set. On that day I made a character in homage to her Everquest character Dual Blade/Shadow Armor. And, yes, I struggled with the defensive set, but I made it work, by gosh!

What do you think defines a hero (or a villain?)
Selflessness. A true hero acts to better the people around them without really worrying about their own personal well being.

How do you feel about the trend of villains who were really good guys but just went about it the wrong way?Unlike many readers of comics I like giving these villains chances to redeem themselves. Everybody loves Rogue, now, but she was initially a villain. I think it’s wrong to say people can’t change, if given the chance. (I’m looking at you Marvel, I liked Juggernaut’s redemption!) Tragedy does happen, though, and sometimes that step into the shadows just can’t be erased. In these instance the lore should be a bit heavy so you can see the fall of the character. The emotional investment will have the players craving more.

If you had them, do you think having super powers would be a blessing or a burden?A mixture of both. There’s an episode of Green Lantern: The Animated Series where Guy Gardner has a Heart-to-Heart with Hal about it. Basically, it’s great to be the hero, but kiss any hope of a normal social life goodbye.

Have you witnessed any acts of heroism lately that have inspired you?
Yes. Being part of this community I have seen countless individuals step up to help where it’s needed. I’ve seen people reaching out for help with loved ones who aren’t doing well and then I see the immediate response of well wishes and help sent which is why, above all, I want to see this game succeed. Charity has always been a part of the CoH community and a definite strength.

What is your favorite quote?
You told me once to start impressing you, General. I hope I have.” -Bigwig, Watership Down

or

We came, we saw, we kicked it’s [ceonsored]!” -Peter Vinkman, Ghostbusters

In the fight between chocolate and bacon who would win - and why?
Three words, “Chocolate Covered Bacon.” YUM!

1 comment:

  1. "Energy/Endurance. I’d like to know a little about how powers consume and regain their source pool. One thing I will mention, I loved how simple CoH was and because of how subtle things were ..."

    I agree here. I know MWM loves to make things 'better' but I hope they can at least keep this mechanic the same. The CoH system was more rewarding than any current or past MMO as I could increase/decrease my endurance via power and enhancement choices. I could either go for a little more accuracy or damage and forgo some endurance or vice versa. I got to choose how I filled in the holes in my build.

    ReplyDelete