David Brevik on Marvel Heroes

With Marvel Heroes entering its closed beta next month we grabbed some time with game development veteran, and President and COO of Gazillion Entertainment, David Brevik to talk about the much anticipated free-to-play action-packed MMO.

With Brian Michael Bendis writing the script can we expect to see any characters he has worked on in his time at Marvel. Moon Knight, for example?

The great thing about this game is that we can draw from the entirety of Marvel’s history, so any of the 8,000+ characters within this universe is fair game. I can’t reveal any more characters that haven’t already been announced yet, but in relation to heroes that Brian has worked on, we’ve already announced Spider-Man, some of the Avengers & X-Men, and one of his personal favourites Squirrel Girl. Again however, anything is possible.
Moon Knight would be cool 😉

Gazillion Entertainment previously made Super Hero Squad Online, another Marvel MMO. How does designing a Marvel game for a more adult crowd compare to the slapstick fun the Super Hero Squad plays on?

Each game is very different from each other with very different audiences and goals. One of the fun things about the Marvel IP is that it is great for all ages and there are so many different ways the characters appeal to varying age groups. Super Hero Squad Online continues to be a very fun way to look at the Marvel characters and universe and it has a lot of appeal even to the hardcore Marvel fan because of the many inside jokes. When you want to get down to some serious action, Heroes is going to be the way to go. It is a hardcore game all the way.

After working on Diablo and Diablo 2 you’re considered as one of the grandfathers of the genre. What lessons have you learned? And how have you applied them to Marvel Heroes?

I don’t really think that this game would have been possible without making Diablo and Diablo 2 first. There are many, many lessons that I have learned from creating every game I’ve made from item systems to advancement and pacing to random levels and beyond. Not just from a game design perspective but also on the technology side. Creating my first PC and networked game with Diablo and then going to client/server with Diablo 2 has allowed me to help architect the MMO backend that Marvel Heroes utilizes. Each game I make I use the lessons to hopefully make an even better experience next time.

Are there any Marvel characters you would like to see added to the roster?

Of course! I have a huge list, but alas there is only so much we can do at once. Luckily this is an MMO that is going to get updated often, so I think we will eventually get to a lot of the characters I would love to see.

What does Marvel Heroes bring to the market that will help it stand out amongst the crowd?

I really feel that Marvel Heroes is something special. There haven’t really been any true Massively Multiplayer Action RPGs released to the market, so we feel that there is a great opportunity for our game to shine. Our game lets you play as the iconic Marvel Heroes themselves and team up with friends to create their dream teams of heroes to play through. The Marvel IP is one of things that really let us stand out from the crowd, we get to ride the wave of the amazing things Marvel has done these past few years with their movies.

Also as I mentioned previously, I feel that we’ve taken a lot of what was learned on Diablo 1 & 2 and really refined the game play so the minute to minute is just pure fun. On top of all this, we decided to make it free to play so everyone can play.

What platforms will we see Marvel Super Heroes on? Is there any talk of a console release?

Marvel Heroes will be released on PC and followed by a Mac version, but we haven’t really discussed anything beyond that at this point.

There’s is nothing quite like Marvel Super Heroes on the market aside from DC Universe Online, do you see them as a direct competitor?

DCU Online is a game that follows what has become the traditional MMORPG formula, one that we’re all very familiar with now. We wanted to do something fresh and unique, and still appeal to the core gamer crowd. Marvel Heroes represents a game design philosophy that I wanted to do with Diablo III originally and it’s an MMO Action RPG so while there might be some overlap in the super hero gaming crowd, it’s a fundamentally different game. With Marvel Heroes we are going to break nearly all of the MMO design philosophies that have existed in the past.

What is next on the cards for Gazillion entertainment and Marvel?

We are taking it one game at a time, but we have really enjoyed our relationship together. There are many game ideas I have. More than I will ever be able to build in my lifetime. But I am focused on finishing Marvel Heroes for now.

With such a renowned writer at the helm is there any chance of seeing another big name writing any expansions of different sections of the story?

We have been thrilled by working with Brian. Right now we are focused on finishing Marvel Heroes. We have some base ideas on where to go with the story and game after launch, but a lot of those plans are up in the air. We want to get it out there and see what people want the most and focus on delivering and supporting more of what is most popular.

And finally, if you could create a team of any four superheroes from any print, publication or movie who would you choose.

The Hulk from Planet Hulk, The Sentry from Siege, Black Bolt from War of Kings, and Pirate Deadpool.