DC Universe Online: Jack Emmert Reveals What's Next After 10 Years of Content

Dimensional Ink Games CEO Jack Emmert spoke with CBR about DC Universe Online reaching 10 years -- and what could be next for the game.



DC Universe Online launched in early 2011, giving players the chance to create their own DC character -- both as heroes and villains. The long-living MMORPG has maintained its player base, with 2020 the most successful year of the game since its inception.

Dimensional Ink Games CEO Jack Emmert -- a veteran of other RPG games such as City of Heroes and Star Trek Online -- joined the DC Universe Online team in 2016 and has helped the game grow and expand to other platforms, including working with his team to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch in 2019.

During an interview with CBR, Emmert spoke about the growth of DC Universe Online over the last decade and teased the future of the game going forward.

Looking back on his time with the game, Emmert said, "There are so many people that worked on creating the game, that worked on getting it to the point where they handed off the baton to me. There was a lot of hard work by developers far before me, and I just stand on their shoulders. I'm thrilled that they made a game so rich, so deep that we can continue growing it year after year."

DC Universe Online reached new heights of player engagement in 2020. "The one thing I hope for people who play DC Universe Online, is that it's always there for them," Emmert told CBR. "It's there for them in trying times, good times and bad times. Metropolis and Gotham need you, and not just that, but there are other heroes and other villains, other players, who need you too."

Since the inception of DC Universe Online, there's been a massive influx of films, TV shows and video games that adapt superhero characters and settings -- which is something Emmert, a long-time fan of the genre, revels in.

"It's not only great superhero content, but simply great content," he said. "Batman: Arkham Asylum is an amazing game. It just happens to be Batman, too. Same thing with The Dark Knight or Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Those were fantastic movies that involved superheroes, but the superheroes were just a part of it. They weren't the point. Certainly, when I was younger, the superhero would have been the point, and sometimes the story would have been secondary or the gameplay would have been secondary to the license. That just isn't the case anymore."

Getting to help foster the growth of this superhero universe was "a dream come true" for the long-time developer. Emmert recalled, "When I was young... collecting comics was kind of for oddballs and weirdos. It wasn't something I bragged about at school. All my friends knew, but I was the only one who read comics like I did or, for that matter, played video games like I did. Now, that lifestyle is mainstream. That's totally normal. Nobody looks twice at a 30 year-old playing Assassin's Creed, right? Whereas when I was 14, heaven forbid I should say, 'I read comic books.'"

That love for superheroes translates to the player base as well, with a surprising divide of players who choose to be heroes over villains. Statistics from Dimensional Ink suggest a full two-thirds of players choose to play as heroes, something Emmert noticed was similar to other MMORPGs he had worked on. "It's actually that same ratio when I did City of Heroes and City of Villains. That was also the proportion of Federation to Klingon in Star Trek Online. Two-thirds play the good guys. One-third play the bad guys. That's just the way it is," he said.

"I think it is fascinating. I don't have the information from, say, Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row to know how people play those games because you can play an anti-hero as opposed to a flat-out villain there, but for whatever reason, I think people are pretty hardwired to be a good guy," Emmert continued. "It's the exception that somebody wants to be a bad guy... every single day, we go to work. We go to school. We have families, and it's a whole bunch of gray areas. The thing about video games is there's a purity to them. I get in, and here, I'm the hero. I'm saving a village town, city, rescuing people. That is a release from my everyday. Playing a villain requires... typically, you're not totally vile, so you're dwelling in that gray area, which, geez, I already deal with shades of gray every day."


Looking back at how DC Universe Online has evolved over the years, Emmert pointed to the consistency of its gameplay, noting, "I don't think we've ever fundamentally changed large sections of the game. Certainly, we've done rebalancing. We have done some tweaks, but the fundamentals is still there. Maybe one day, we will do a World of Warcraft-style refresh."

He also admitted he's long had hope to see the game someday introduce the characters from Watchmen. "I think that would be best. That would be really incredible." He added, "We already have Static Shock in the game, so it'd be nice to have maybe some of the other Milestone heroes," and he'd also like to see Kamandi added.

As for the future of DC Universe Online, Emmert said, "Starting with the anniversary event, we really will be trying to craft a larger storyline. Previously, each of our updates were very self-contained, but now, we're going to be working towards something that takes place throughout the year. While each story will be complete unto itself, it's going to be part of something much bigger."

Source: https://www.cbr.com/dc-universe-online-10th-anniversary-interview/

Nice message, but what did it really say about the direction of the game, next DLC or possible gameplay changes/updates? Sounds like maybe We'll see something Watchmen related? Larger storyline could mean almost anything like a return to an AF or WOL themed multi-episode arch spread over a few years vs the Metal1-2 back to back episodes, or more of an over arching 'Brainiac invasion' type story like the game had orginally, where each episode had an underlying drive to it, regardless of the main topic of that release. I'd guess the latter, but the proof will be in the pudding after a few DLCs.

Right now, I'd say getting the servers up would be a good step.

Re #4 In context he's referring to larger over arching stories like in a tv show where you have a villain-of-the-week but still have a subplot going that connects to a larger story and villain that will be paid off at a later time in later content.

As for future DLCs, I think it's safe to assume we'll get some sort of Flashpoint Episode either next or in the next couple DLCs. They likely wouldn't update the Flash's model for a seasonal/anniversary. They updated the Flash's model for a dedicated Flash centric episode and this story has been heavily referred to in dialogue. A Death Metal conclusion story is probably also happening to wrap up the Metal episodes we have already and it would allow them to do whatever they want in an Omniverse narrative wise.

I still wouldn't expect much for features or new gameplay things like weapons, powers, pvp and so on until they actually change direction on this issue.

I'm excited for this big update DCUO really needs this!

Yes....I understood that part, that's why I said...
"more of an over arching 'Brainiac invasion' type story like the game had originally, where each episode had an underlying drive to it, regardless of the main topic of that release" The first 3-4 years were like this with Brainiac, but we drifted away to smaller story arcs...some very small like BOP where it was basically a stand alone DLC.

The rest of it is assumptions (probably not wrong though...and flashpoint was already known from another message put out a week or so ago), and is not really the game's future, only story points.

Guess I was hoping(my own fault) for something more along the lines of... "we are planning on a major graphics overhaul", "Changes to the subscription model", "a return to focus on PVP" or "we are working on universal cross-play". Not that I need or want those specific things, but they would be a different direction than the game has gone or has sat at for a long while. Hey, at least it wasn't "we will be focusing more on micro-transactions"...yet.

And I kind of figured "Metal" was over.....unless Barbatos had a boss above him (not that familiar with the 'Death Metal' story).

Best not to look up Perpetua in web searches, then. LOL

I'm not terribly surprised with things being kept vague, even in interviews like that. The pitchforks and torches crowd tends to rear its head at the drop of a hat or the hint of a broken "promise" so it's one of the best ways they can help manage any unrealistic expectations.

I hear you. Same page.

And yes, the Metal stuff went further and Batman who laughs became a celestial or something and he was fighting against the creators of the multiverse Perpetua, and they used the story to reboot the [Rebirth] multiverse again and create an Omniverse.

Personally, all I'm waiting for in DC is DARE no more new stuff to come out of the DLC-only routine and usual event, as I can't hide to find some game fatigue with the DLC/event routine.

I'd like to see a redesigned housing offering more variety in basic architecture or theme, a wallpaper system, others would like to see vehicles arrive, I think there's still plenty of elements exploited to diversify the DCUO routine and by the way, why not imagine a basic object crafting system? In short, all this to tell Daybreak/EG7 that it would be high time to get off the beaten track and imagine more novelty !!!

I would like to see the mechanics they already have perfected for League Hall decorating to be implemented for Lair decorating, that way when we use the "Permission to Move Base Items" permission for another player, it actually, you know, allows them to MOVE base items.

In other words, fix a broken feature so that I can pay somebody else to decorate my base for me.

That's not a broken feature. It's working exactly as they intended, with permission you can move base items. What you want is for the permission to extend to picking up and putting down base items. That would be a nice addition but it isn't currently an intended function, therefore not broken.

Meh.

It is broken. It doesn't allow for the items to be moved. It allows for, at most, an item to be rotated in it's current place.

Even if I place the item, the other player cannot move it to where it needs to go.

The function has already been perfected for League Hall decoration. It is broken. Just because it has always been broken does not mean that it is "working as intended".

"Permission to move items" does not allow people to move items, which is literally what it says it grants permission to do.

A different interview at MMORPG:

https://www.mmorpg.com/interviews/i...-on-10-years-of-dc-universe-online-2000120717

Mentions that they want to do new powers as time permits. Also plays coy when asked if they’re working on a Marvel game.

Interesting excerpts:

1. This is somewhat disappointing since most of us are fans of and here for more iconic interpretations of these characters rather than modern takes. LoS is a good example of this.
2. I Guess I should sub again now. This is literally what I said I wanted. And it confirms what most of us understood had to happen anyhow.
3. See above.

Rotating an object is the same as moving it. It's restricted but still working.
I invite you once again to post it in the bug section if you believe it's broken.

Can i read this interview somewhere else? This website does not open for me in any browser ...

Yeah, I found it interesting that he mentioned "The Winter Soldier" in the original interview. Not like he didn't mention other things but the DC vs Marvel hate is strong. That line stood out as...something.

Well, to be accurate it's not. The process of picking up and moving an object is a separate action from rotating it. Not sure on KB, but rotation on a stick is the top buttons....moving it around is the sticks, so different input. Maybe the 'broken' part is that it's only translating some of the commands.

If it said 'Permission to rotate objects" it would be spot on.

While I am a longtime fan of DC Comics and vastly prefer some older designs, in my experience, most casuals definitely favor the updated costumes.

DC Comics have always kind of had an old-time visual look to them. Of course in the 90s they switched it up dramatically but as a company were heading back towards the traditional looks in the 2000s (see the return of Barry Allen during Flash Rebirth and him still having the straight across belt) before they blew it all up with the New 52. While the stories weren’t all that well-received early on, the redesigns and costumes (mostly by Jim Lee, also the original designer of this game) were immensely popular with newer and casual fans.

I definitely would rather have the iconic costumes but if the new stuff makes people stop and take a gander and try out the game whereas they wouldn't have before I'm all for it. And while I wasn't a huge fan of Barry's costume redesign at first, especially since they took Wally's V belt, (which yes originated on the original Flash TV show but became Wally's defining costume trait), and all the unnecessary lines and the chin strap but Francis Manapul's art did a great job of endearing me to it and the team at DC Universe Online did a great job rendering it in game.

I do think most players are more than recent fans of the comics and would prefer the more iconic looks, but the flashier edgier designs of the modern books can still be impressive. I'd be curious if there's any data on that or if they just make a creative call and go with their guts. Jack certainly doubled down on modern interpretations in that interview though so I'm guessing it's either a mandate from DC or they have some data driving the decision.