Cryptic Studios Interview

Bitmob managed to track down Cryptic Studios' Bill Roper and Jack Emmert for a quick interview about the company's history, whether they've considered exploring other genres, what projects they're currently working on, and more.
TD: So you've got the MMOs down -- do you see Cryptic ever getting into other gaming genres?

JE: I'm interested in doing online RPGs, but not necessarily sticking to the MMO formula (grinding, PVP, crafting, etc.).

Bill Roper: I play all sorts of games --maybe TOO many -- so I'm up for making whatever is fun and interesting to play. I think that as an industry we need to be able to branch out from the stock MMO formulas.

TD: Some developers try to to "break the mold) when making a game. What are your thoughts on that, considering you've worked within the confines of the same genre so far?

JE: We've had a philosophy of targeted innovation. So with Champions, we added the Nemesis system. With STO, we had space combat and bridge crew.

BR: It's a double-edged sword, especially with MMOs. If you don't have everything from the (checklist) you get dinged for it, but if you do and don't execute it as well as another game, you get dinged for that. It's much more exciting to develop something that isn't required to be confined by (the mold,) so we've tried to find ways to break it while still staying true to what was expected from our games. I think that the real fun would be in creating the unexpected so we get to create the mold in the first place.