Alltern8.com recently had an opportunity to talk to Bill Roper, the Executive Producer of the hit MMO game Champions Online. In the interview below, he discusses his previous experience at Blizzard, Cryptic Studios' relationship with Atari, what could have been done differently with Champions Online's 2009 launch, and much much more.

Alltern8: For those amongst our readership who are unfamiliar with Cryptic Studios or Champions Online, would you please take a moment to introduce yourself and your responsibilities as CO's Executive Producer?

Bill Roper: I’m Bill Roper, and my job on Champions Online is to maintain the vision and direction of the game and the franchise. I work very closely with the entire development, although my main focus is production and design. I’ve also lent my voice to some of the characters in the game.

Alltern8: You're something of a household name, assuming the household is full of gamers. In what way do you feel your previous experience at Blizzard and Flagship Studios has helped you in helming Champions Online?

BR: I learned a great deal from my time at Blizzard Entertainment and Flagship Studios, experiencing both the highs and lows of the gaming industry. We have to learn not only from our successes, but also our mistakes, and I’ve certainly had my share of both.

Blizzard is an exceptionally rare company in that they have earned and are afforded the opportunity to take vast amounts of time to iterate and polish their games. Their ability to put whatever resources are required onto a project is a testament to their past success and also a key to their continued dominance in the industry. I learned a great deal about attention to detail, making games easy to learn but difficult to master, and overall design and production philosophies.