Story by: Danielle Riendeau

One of the most exciting and unique experiences of E3 was a very cool luncheon/demo of the upcoming MMO Champions Online with design director Bill Roper. While I’m not personally involved in the closed beta (yet!) I saw the workings of an excellent, truly innovative MMO, with the ability to customize the game experience – and your hero – down to the tiniest details.

I arrived at the swanky Palm restaurant entirely unsure of what to expect. The original description of the event was a bit vague – it involved the legendary Bill Roper (he of Diablo, Warcraft and StarCraft fame), his new design venture with the currently-in-beta Champions Online, and food, so I was stoked to be there, if a little confused. I joined the rest of my t-shirt clad brethren, looking uneasy amidst the upscale citizens chowing down around us.

All of that changed as we were led into a special screening room and Roper got the party started. “This is going to be the most important meeting of E3, because we’re going to feed you!” he joked, before launching into a free-form 90-minute demonstration of the game.

We started with a very in-depth demo of the insanely robust character editor. You can choose damn near anything for your hero – costume, physical attributes, and crazy accessories – everything from stylish hats and capes to bionic attachments. We spent 20 minutes building a bulky, Superman-ish dude, after abandoning a more beast-inspired character and playing with the color options for his outfit. One of the cooler options in the editor was the “randomize” feature – where you can pick a range of options to play with and let the computer go nuts.

Already, I was picturing myself creating an entire fleet of speedy, super powered chicks in 70s inspired leisure suits with crazy hats and satellite dish shoulder mounts. I dream big.