Marvel Heroes MMO

Marvel Heroes – Free to play MMO

Gazillion Entertainment’s Marvel Heroes MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game is a blast to play. It’s a Diablo-style 3rd person action game in which you can play a huge variety of Marvel characters FOR FREE! I wrote the in-game dialogue for many of the characters in the game, including THE AVENGERS’ archer extraordinaire: Hawkeye and other Marvel favorites.

For those who want to learn more about this Diablo meets the Marvel Universe game, you can check out the official website:
Marvel Heroes website

Check it out!

Marvel Heroes – The Story So Far

I talk a lot in my blog about my life as a U.S. Foreign Service spouse living in Uzbekistan. I don’t tend to write a lot about my career in comics and video games. That’s because half the time I’m not allowed to talk about the things I’m working on. You see, most entertainment project contracts include some form of non-disclosure agreement. Whether the project is a big deal or a small one, the publisher likes to maintain control over what information is released when. In today’s Internet culture where a film that costs 100+ million dollars can be spoiled by anybody who sneaks a cell phone onto the set, it’s an understandable concern.
That said, I thought it would be fun to talk a little about a recent project. It’s called Marvel Heroes and it’s the upcoming MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) based on the Marvel Comics characters. I wrote in-game voice over dialog for some of the heroes and/or villians appearing in the game.
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That’s just about all I can say. See what I mean? That doesn’t make for much of a blog entry. However, even though I don’t know when the game will be released, can’t answer any questions, and won’t speculate based on what I do know, I can still tell you about what’s been officially announced.
So far, a few of the game’s characters have been made public, along with their character designs.
Here are two of Marvel’s most fun-filled characters, both of whom I’ve written on previous projects. I’ve done Spidey here and there in comics and games. Deadpool, the “merc with a mouth” is Spidey’s equal in the smart-mouth category. I wrote his lines in a Wolverine video game. These guys are a blast to write because they say all the sarcastic things I’d think but never actually let slip in a polite conversation. I guess if you’re wearing a mask you can get away with it. Having super powers probably helps.
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Here’s one of my favorite comics characters of all time. Ben Grimm, aka the Thing is a rough-around-the-edges blue collar type despite years of living in what is probably the most expensive real estate in Manhattan. Writing a fight between this Fantastic Four strongman and the Incredible Hulk was a highlight in my career.
Thing
This next guy, the one with the white hair, robot arm and big gun is Cable. I don’t think I’ve ever written Cable, though I may have written about him back when I worked on the Wolverine Encyclopedia. In a genre where character backstories can get complicated, Cable’s history should win a prize for being the most tangled web. You seriously need a flowchart for this one. Here’s a taste: Cyclops of the X-Men married Madelyne Pryor who looked just like his (at the time) dead ex-girlfriend Jean Grey, aka Phoenix. Madelyn and Cyclops had a baby named Nathan who got infected with a virus that was turning him into a robot. To save Nathan, they sent him into the future with a stranger who claimed she could cure him.
In the future, Nathan’s saviors used some of his as-yet-uninfected flesh to clone him so that there would be a version of him without the virus. That clone was kidnapped by bad guys and grew up to be a villain called Stryfe. Nathan was raised by a couple called Slym and Redd. He didn’t know it, but Slym was actually the mind of Cyclops projected into a different body in the future so that he could raise his son. Redd was Jean Grey, now back to life and spending time with Cyclops after his wife turned into a super-villain and died. Nathan grew up and became Cable: a freedom fighter in the future, battling his clone Stryfe and assorted threats. Once he was old enough to have white hair, presumably older than Cyclops in the “present day” of Marvel comics, Cable travelled back in time and started hanging out with the X-Men, including Cyclops, his dad, now younger than Cable himself.
Seriously. I couldn’t make this stuff up. Okay, actually, I can. And do. And get paid for it. Which is pretty damned awesome.
Cable
As the Marvel Heroes MMO team reveals new character art, they’ve started with silhouettes of the characters to tease the audience before revealing the actual designs. This is a perfect example of what designers call the “silhouette test.” Basically, if you want to design a unique, easily-identifiable character, you should be able to figure out who you’re looking at just by seeing their outline in shadow. Here’s Canada’s most prominent hero, Wolverine.
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Pretty obvious, eh?
I’ve never written Marvel’s version of Thor, but my own version of him announces high school sports games in my Pantheon High manga graphic novels. Still, even when it’s just an outilne, you can’t miss the Norse god of thunder!
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And finally, America’s super soldier, Captain America. I’ve been enjoying watching the movie in English and in Russian to practice my language skills.
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So, turns out I have a lot to say about comics and video games, even when I’m not yet at liberty to reveal any details.
In the meantime, if you want to follow news about the game as the latest details are released, click on this link:
Or go here, to the home of the game’s developer, Gazillion Entertainment:
Heroes_Group

I Was a Diplomatic Housewife

Okay, I’ll admit it. That Algeria post is a monster. That really should have been about four different posts. From now on, I’ll endeavor to post shorter pieces with greater frequency.

That means you’ll have to wait to see photos from Halloween, Thansgiving, and an Uzbek wedding, as well as pics from our recent trips to Vienna and Prague. Instead, I’m going to hit you with my first time as a diplomatic spouse in an official entertaining capacity.

Last night we had a party for local press at our home. Normally this would be done at Lisa’s boss’ house, but we have a better space for entertaining, so we invited around 75 Uzbeks over to our place. My diplomatic spouse responsibilities began around 11:30 AM as I tidied up the place. At 1 PM, one of Lisa’s colleagues came by and dropped off all the food. She couldn’t stay because there was another press conference she needed to run, so it was up to me to cut up shishkabobed meat into chunks, remove skewers from samsas (savory stuffed pastries), and cut up a bunch of loaves of the local, round lepyoshka bread. I left the bread for last thinking that would be easy, but after the drive over in frigid air, I needed Wolverine’s adamantium claws to cut that stuff! (Next time I’m going to nuke each one for a few seconds before I get out the bread knife.) Later, a team from the embassy arrived with tables, plates, glasses and such. The set everything up and then Lisa and another colleague arrived to do the actual decorating. When 6 PM rolled around, we had a throng of reporters waiting outside the gate for security screening. Lisa and I opened the gate and it was like a teenager’s party from a movie, where everyone arrives all at once. I shouted out one of my favorite Bill Murray lines from Stripes “A surprise party? For me? You guys!” It probably would’ve landed better if more of the reporters had seen Stripes. spoke English. Or, y’know, spoke English.

Here’s a shot from before the crowd flooded in. I wonder what they thought about the video game plaques and my comic book covers hanging from the wall.

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When I hear stories about diplomats’ wives entertaining at their homes, I get a distinct image in my head of what that looks like. Sorry to disappoint, but I wasn’t wearing a 1960s cocktail dress with my hair up in a beehive. I don’t have any pics of myself at the party, so you’re just going to have to take my word for it.

I do, however, have this photo of the official backdrop from the embassy, right next to my toy display case full of battling action figures.

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I can’t show pictures of the crowd since the embassy would have to get permission from each individual, but I can show the Ambassador making official remarks. I’m pretty sure this is the first time Galactus, devourer of worlds was involved in an official U.S. diplomatic event.

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Yes, fellow geeks, that middle shelf is indeed a recreation of John Byrne’s classic cover from Fantastic Four #243 with “Everyone versus Galactus!” The top shelf is Magneto and the X-Men fighting a giant Sentinel robot and the bottom shelf is a Lord of the Rings tableau.

After the press left, it was time to clean up. Those of you who favor budget cuts will be glad to know that there was no hired help to wash up afterwards. Even the Ambassador pitched in for the clean up effort. Thanks a lot, Congress!

Marvel Adventures Hulk Vol. 3 Strongest One There Is


MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK Vol. 3 STRONGEST ONE THERE IS
Available in bookstores and on Amazon.com
Cover by David Nakayama, Written by Paul Benjamin, Pencils by Steve Scott, Inks by Nate Massengill and Terry Pallot, Colors by Chris Sotomayor, Letters by Dave Sharpe. Collected covers by Steve Scott, Sean Murphy, and David Nakayama.

 

This digest-sized collection features every story from MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #9-12. Brilliant scientist Bruce Banner, cursed to transform into the rampaging Hulk, encounters heroes and villains from across the Marvel comics universe! In this volume, Hulk goes up against the Juggernaut, Fantastic Four strongman the Thing, gamma powered psychiatrist Doc Samson, and the Champion of the Universe to find out once and for all if Hulk is really the strongest one there is!
All Ages

Interested in buying the book? Click here: Amazon.com – Hulk Digest Vol. 3