2009 Comic Book News Archives

July 25, 2009: DCU Online Panel Exclusive Report From SDCC

Superman Homepage reporters Luis and Ivan Jaime filed this exclusive report about the "DC Universe Online" panel at SDCC:

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The "DCU Online Panel" consisted of Wes Yanagi, Creative Director; Jim Lee, Executive Creative Director; Marv Wolfman & Geoff Johns, Writers; and Jens Anderson, Creative Director.

First they showed a DCU Online trailer before the panel. Their tagline is "The Next Legend is You"

The game is focusing on: "Save the World or Rule It"

Each person was asked what they did and what their favorite ice cream was:

Wes Yanagi: "Creative Director. Pistachio."

Jim Lee: "Executive Creative Director. Chunky Monkey."

Marv Wolfman: "Writer. Cookies and Cream."

Jens Anderson: "Creative Director. Mint Chocolate Chip."

Geoff Johns: "Writer. Superman."

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Everyone laughed and then cheered.

Wes Yanagi started by saying, "We want you to build your own legacy. We want to make it possible for you to become a member of the JLA."

Jim Lee said they are going over 70 years of DC continuity to find the coolest costumes to use in the game.

Geoff Johns said there's a reason why everyone, heroes and villains, comes together in the game. Geoff is writing the story for the game along with Marv Wolfman. "Sony will take a paragraph I wrote and turn it into 60 missions," said Johns.

"Think about a building. Geoff created the structure and foundation, and I'll be filling it with paintings and furniture," Wolfman described. "There's the overall story and then there are stories that can be totally unrelated. It all connects. A villain can win as well. There are missions where the villains win and the heroes lose."

Johns talked about the teaming up with DCU characters. "It's cool that you can team up with Superman or team up with Sinestro. 'Cause Sinestro rocks", Johns said enthusiastically.

Jim Lee talked about the challenges that he faced when drawing the DC Universe. "Drawing the back of buildings was challenge," said Lee. "What does that look like?" He also said that it was amazing that in the 70 years of continuity, there's no street map of Metropolis or Gotham. They want to make sure everything looks different. "You don't want to make every building look like the JLA watchtower," Lee said.

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Wolfman said that there will be "instances" in the game, similar to dungeons where you can have adventures with multiple people. There will be a visceral action component, heavy use of physics, and anything not nailed down can be picked up and thrown.

"There will even be giant pennies," said Lee.

One of the creators said that if you make a lame character, Geoff Johns will appear in the game, take your character, and make him cool.

They are going to focus on function over fashion. The choices you make for your costume in the game will be meaningful. It won't just be cosmetic. There will be costume pieces you can pick up throughout the game that become part of your "appearance collection." You have the option of altering your appearance as you advance or keeping it the same through the whole game. A comparison was made to Batman's many outfits. You can change as you see fit, or you can keep the same unaltered look like Superman.

There will be PvP (Player vs. Player) in contesting missions. For instance, if villains are committing a crime, and heroes show up to stop them, we have a Player vs. Player situation.

There will be other cities besides Metropolis and Gotham. Expect to see Central City, Keystone City and others. They may not appear right away, but there will be expansions that will add-on complete cities to the game.

Jim Lee joked about a Kandor expansion. "It's so small you can't even get in it," said Lee. "It's a five second download."

When you enter the game as a hero or villain, Geoff Johns wrote the transitions for you to interact with the characters within the DCU. You get involved with major characters right away and you are then introduced to other characters along the way.

Each person closed with what they like about the game.

Yanagi: "The breadth of the environments. It's easy to imagine yourself in the world."

Lee: "The Lighting. How much color there is in the shadows. It almost looks 'painterly.' Like someone painted the background, even though it's all in three dimensions."

Johns: "The depth of the characters. Sinestro, Blue Beetle, Black Adam. The fact that you will see everyone is awesome."

Wolfman: "The size of the missions."

Anderson: "The total package. This is the greatest super powered experience you can have."

There is no release date yet as they are still in the Pre-Alpha Development stage in the game.

More to come. Look to the skies.



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