http://www.newsarama.com/games/brian-mi ... 10428.htmlFollowing a press conference held Thursday evening in San Francisco, a lot more is known concerning the upcoming Marvel massively multiplayer online role-playing game, with the biggest piece of news the naming of Brian Michael Bendis as writer.
"The reason I was so desperate to be a part of this is that I'm a big believer that the Marvel Universe is more than a fictional universe of characters, it's kind of a lifestyle for a lot of people," Bendis said.
In contrast to the DC Universe Online MMO released earlier this year, the Marvel MMO — which currently has no release date — will be free to play. Also, users will play as established Marvel characters, rather than player-created heroes and villains.
Jeff Lind, director of Marvel MMO developer Secret Identity Studios, said he's aware of the problems that playing as established characters — how do you deal with thousands of people who want to play as Wolverine? — but says that there are plenty of opportunities as well, and that they're dealing with the issues being raised. They're also discussing ways to monetize the game given that there's no monthly subscription fee.
Details are still scant at this point about specific characters included, though it was confirmed that Dr. Doom will be the main villain. Heroes mentioned including all the ones you'd expect — Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man — plus, according to Bendis, his current New Avengers cast member Squirrel Girl.
The storylines will draw largely from the mainstream Marvel Universe, but the development team is also taking cues from sources like the Marvel Studios films and the current animated series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Bendis equated the MMO to a "tour" of the Marvel Universe, with some of the publisher's most notable moments reimagined through gameplay.
The writer said players will essentially create their own continuity, calling the game, "the ultimate answer to message board bitching."
"The tagline of the box is going to be 'Marvel Universe: Now Leave Us Alone,'" Bendis joked.
Marvel has its own MMO in the works and Bendis will be writing the story for it. The 2 main differences from DC is that it will 1) be free & 2) people will be allowed to play as established characters.
This all sounds good but I won't be playing. MMO's are not my thing
