14 DAY TRIAL // Gazillion might be working on a full fledged Marvel Heroes MMO, which might arrive during 2012, but the company has also launched Super Hero Squad Online, a game which uses the same characters but makes them kid friendly.
Jason Robar, who is the general manager and the vice president of Gazillion, spoke to Gamasutra about the super powered MMO and stated, “The second thing is we really set out to make a game in which fans feel that they can share their passion for the Marvel universe with the next generation of fans. So dads or moms who are really hardcore fans who know these characters now have a new way to share that passion with their kids and create a whole new generation of Marvel fans.”
The developer believes that the art style is very important when it comes to appealing to kids and that the game needs to be accessible for young players while also delivering some punch lines that appeal to their parents.
Robar added, “In my studio, almost 80 percent of our staff has kids, so we really brought an understanding of a challenging game for the adult, but that's really approachable, easy to get in, browser-based, free-to-play, all the kinds of things that need to be there for a family-friendly MMO online experience.”
The executive says that many developers fail to actually test their content on kids and settle for just putting well known characters in prominent positions but Gazillion has found that the mechanics of the game need to match the graphics and the presence of Marvel heroes.
Gazillion is now working on Marvel Heroes, which will apparently allow gamers to take on the role of Iron Man, Human Torch, Wolverine, Captain America, Thing, Nova, Cable, Deadpool, Storm, Hulk, Spider-Man or Thor.
The developers have not revealed the mechanics that will allow more than one player to be the same Marvel superhero.