The Statesman is a legend to City of Heroes videogame players: He formed a team of superheroes known as the Freedom Phalanx, saved the metropolis of Paragon City from alien invaders and destruction, and returns to the city occasionally when the bad guys get out of line. He's also a hero all over America; he roams exhibit halls at comic conventions and videogame trade shows in a flowing blue silk cape. He greets fans, signs autographs, and tries to stump know-it-alls with his vast knowledge of superhero trivia.
The Statesman of comic conventions and trade shows is mild-mannered Jack Emmert, creative director at Cryptic Studios, which developed City. Creative director and crime fighter become hard to separate every Wednesday, which, as all good geeks know, is new-comics day. On that day, just after lunch, the Cryptic office empties and the game designers rush to the local hobby shop, Hero, to meet the delivery truck as it unloads the latest titles. Emmert leads the charge, his inner child barely in check.
In his office on a recent Wednesday, the 36-year-old brandishes his score du jour: an elegant hardbound edition of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ($95). "I have a ton of comics," he says. "Literally a ton." Emmert makes a point of buying 87 specific titles each month, including four-incarnations of Spider-Man, seven variants of the X-Men, and more-esoteric fare like Rann/Thanagar War. There are so many that he tracks his subscription list in an Excel spreadsheet. "A good comics shop is like the bar in Cheers," Emmert says. "They know you. They know what you like. You're all sharing this ideal moment of escapism."
But comics are anything but escapism for Emmert and the programmers at Cryptic. The Los Gatos, California, company steeps the massively multiplayer online role-playing game with the action and lore of superheroes. More than 150,000 people pay $14.95 a month to log in and fly around the mythical Paragon City, fighting crime, developing their powers, and tweaking the look of their capes and tights.
Having cofounded Cryptic - his first foray into the industry - just five years ago, Emmert is a relative newcomer to videogames. Before that he was a PhD student in classical literature at Ohio State, where he was on track to become a professor of ancient languages. "Nothing about game development is as hard as reading Thucydides in the original Greek," he says.
Emmert's study of Virgil and Homer (combined with equally intense examination of Wolverine and Superman) paid off in City of Heroes. The game's world has a richly detailed past, centered around the Statesman. Emmert invented the character during a tabletop dice session of Villains and Vigilantes more than a decade ago, initially conceiving the superhero as a stealthy assassin for justice. But as Emmert and his cohorts worked up the game's backstory, the Statesman evolved into a Greek god incarnate - fans of the game recently learned that he gained his powers when he took a drink from the legendary Fountain of Zeus. (This origin was revealed in a tie-in comic book - yes, the game now has its own comic.)
Emmert is most proud of City of Heroes' fast-action mechanics. There's no need to barter or perform repetitive tasks to build your character here. If you want to play with someone who has a much higher experienceé level, simply become a sidekick (a Robin to a Batman, in other words), and - pow! - you're off doing battle in underéground fortresses and active volcanoes.
As afternoon turns to night, Emmert's design team is still in the Cryptic office, powering up with pizza for an evening's work. Reading comics will have to wait - it's crunch time for the Halloween release of a new buildout for City of Heroes, called City of Villains. This expansion lets players assume the role of nefarious archfiends, commit heinous crimes, and battle superheroes (and one another).
Despite the looming deadline, Emmert takes me to his secret hideout. We climb into his '00 Plymouth Breeze and drive to Game Kastle in nearby Santa Clara, a shop that sells the guidebooks and miniatures used in tabletop war games. "I'm usually here three nights a week," he says. In a back room, a dozen players are carrying out tiny military campaigns. They roll dice and use tape measures to move their hand-painted figurines around the battlefields. One enthusiast shows off an elaborately designed miniature with an internal LED light that makes its eyes glow. Emmert begins to introduce himself, but the young man interrupts him. "I know who you are," he says reverently. "And I love your game."
Emmert winces. He hates it when people uncover his secret identity.
- Chris Baker
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