Tag: Cryptic North

Lessons From 2013 #13: Until We Say It's Over


champs

You have to hand it to Cryptic, the company just won’t give up whether you want them to or not. Champions Online launched way back in 2009 and while the game was pretty fun it suffered from the effects of being the first game on a new engine. Systems weren’t fleshed out, the game is still pretty clunky, and the system feels bogged down by all of the new features that Cryptic has piled on over the years. Rather than leaving the game in the dust, Cryptic Studios announced earlier this year that they are opening Cryptic North, a brand new studio primarily made up of ex-Flying Lab Software employees. The studio has one goal, to improve Champions Online and allow the game to fully utilize the current Cryptic Engine platform.

Everything’s been quiet on the western front, so we have to assume that the team is busy plucking away. Hopefully we will hear more about Champions 2.0 in 2014.

Lessons From 2013 #13: Until We Say It’s Over


champs

You have to hand it to Cryptic, the company just won’t give up whether you want them to or not. Champions Online launched way back in 2009 and while the game was pretty fun it suffered from the effects of being the first game on a new engine. Systems weren’t fleshed out, the game is still pretty clunky, and the system feels bogged down by all of the new features that Cryptic has piled on over the years. Rather than leaving the game in the dust, Cryptic Studios announced earlier this year that they are opening Cryptic North, a brand new studio primarily made up of ex-Flying Lab Software employees. The studio has one goal, to improve Champions Online and allow the game to fully utilize the current Cryptic Engine platform.

Everything’s been quiet on the western front, so we have to assume that the team is busy plucking away. Hopefully we will hear more about Champions 2.0 in 2014.

Cryptic Opens Studio To Polish Champions Online


champs

Better late than never, I suppose. Champions Online is a game that, despite its potential, has seen some neglect over the years. The game has been subject to a number of updates over the years that are either never fully realized or have spent their lives in a perpetual prototype or broken state. It appears that even Cryptic Studios is aware of this, because the developer recently announced the opening of Cryptic North in Seattle, Washington with the function of taking the ailing MMO and bringing it up to snuff.

In an interview with Gamasutra, Jack Emmert discusses the idea behind opening up an entirely new studio. Cryptic North is made up primarily of the old Flying Lab Software team responsible for Pirates of the Burning Sea. The team wants to give Champions Online the polishing that it deserves, and depending on their success may branch out into new projects.

Make better games. Make cost effective games. Treat our players better. Take care of our talent. Focus on working business models. A tried and true way to mitigate risk is diversification. And we also have a crazy diverse portfolio of games at [Perfect World Entertainment].

On another positive note, Cryptic is once again looking at porting their games over to consoles, with the upcoming PS4 and Xbox One. You may remember that Cryptic had plans to port Champions Online over to the Xbox360, but the project was cancelled last minute due to Microsoft’s lack of cooperation. With at least Sony having an open platform for MMOs, the likelihood of seeing a Cryptic MMO on the next generation consoles seems all the brighter.

(Source: Gamasutra)