Comic book junkies take heart! The ZAM team had a chance to sit down with the DCUO devs at GDC 2010, and we came away with nothing but excellent info. Read more to find out!

ZAM: Do you think art takes on even more of a precedence in a comic book-based MMO compared to the more standard MMO games?

Mike: At the beginning, we made a decision to not make a “comic book game.” We are a game based in a comic book world. We didn’t want to have a cartoon filter, we didn’t want to do black lines around our characters, we didn’t want to have panels…

We really just wanted to open the doors to the DC Universe, and you’re stepping inside. We didn’t want to make the game realistic, but we didn’t want to go cartoony either. There was a sweet spot in the middle that we wanted to hit, and we also had to factor in the fact we were on a PC and PS3 along with a more intensive combat system than what is in standard MMOs.

In short, a lot goes into the ultimate art style you pick for your game, from the engine and restriction you have to the concept of artistic longevity that so many companies are searching for.

ZAM: Does the art team worry about things like throwing cars and running up buildings when you create these assets?

Mike: It’s funny, the motto that we have in our department is that design comes first. Art is not fun. No matter how pretty your game is, no one will have fun simply looking at pictures. So when you ask, “Does art really worry about physics or does art worry about gameplay?” the answer is yes. We don’t have divisions of the studio, we have teams that are groups of designers, artists and programmers that sit together in groups that are part of various elements of the game like combat, servers, animations, and more. They’re broken down into these groups, because we want to make sure we’re looking at this game not as a fancy, pretty piece of artwork but as a really fun game with a very compelling art style that makes me want to see what’s around the corner.

ZAM: Because there are so many really bad ass characters in the DC Universe?

Mike: We have one of the best licenses that exists with some of the most iconic characters in the world. When a gamer gets into DCUO, we want them to always be wondering who’s around the next corner. They’ve seen Superman… is Batman standing just on the other side of this building?

I mean, we have so many iconic characters in the game that we’ve even been able to include characters that only a small portion of the fanbase will recognize, along with Batman, Superman, and the members of the Justice League.