Hometown hero

A 24-year-old Brainerd native is behind the scenes of what is considered one of the hottest new games on the Internet.

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Jimb Esser left Minnesota for San Jose, Calif., after being sought by Cryptic Studios, makers of the City of Heroes online game. The game is a marriage of a comic book universe with a three-dimensional graphic world where people do not just read about characters but become one in the city.

Reached at his office in San Jose, Esser said he was adjusting to life in California even though it was a bit of a drastic change from Minnesota and far removed from family and friends.

"Very quickly I realized the weather out here was just wonderful compared to Minnesota," he said.

City of Heroes is a marriage of a comic book universe with a three-dimensional graphic world where game players can pick from diverse costumes and super powers to do battle with villains in the metropolis of Paragon City. Players may join forces with other superheroes or go on personalized missions to rid the city of criminal elements.

Cryptic Studios sought Esser after finding him -- where else but online -- through the TopCoder Web site and a programming tournament.

The TopCoder Open is an international programming tournament sponsored by Microsoft. Software is developed during the tournament, complex problems solved and $150,000 is awarded during a 14-week time period.

Job recruitment is part of the mix.

When Cryptic Studios contacted Esser, he was ready for the opportunity.

"I always wanted to get into online gaming," he said.

That was more than a year ago. The California company offered a fun work atmosphere. And Esser said he is finding his place there.

He started out working in support of the tools artists used and then worked with servers and networking. Currently Esser is in graphics programming and is one of nine programmers with Cryptic Studios. He is the main person working to put new graphics features in the City of Heroes game to make the game appealing and a little more polished in its look to users.

City of Heroes is a marriage of a comic book universe with a three-dimensional graphic world where game players can pick from diverse costumes and super powers to do battle with villains in the metropolis of Paragon City. Players may join forces with other superheroes or go on personalized missions to rid the city of criminal elements.

Esser works with different video card vendors to achieve that goal.

Esser said they were pleasantly surprised by the City of Heroes popularity. He said with thousands of people playing the game at the same time the scenario is similar to the more established EverQuest, where people can assume characters like elves, dwarves and humans, among others.

But he said the visual and game style is quite different.

In City of Heroes, people choose a character empowered with superhero abilities. The game is set in Paragon City, which resembles an East Coast urban setting like New York City. The detailed character creation system allows users to choose from a diverse costume list.

"You never see two people that look the same," Esser said.

Since he was a small boy, Esser said he looked at the computer his parents bought and the games on it and wondered how they worked. He started playing around with programming languages that created the games.

He enjoyed the creative process.

City of Heroes

-- Individuals create their own super hero character complete with costume and powers to battle villains, aliens and other criminals (with thousands of other players) in Paragon City.

-- Players can join forces to create super hero groups or go it alone in the metropolis with personalized missions against evil foes. That is the online gaming opportunity City of Heroes is gaining attention from.

-- Forbes.com reported the Internet game -- with 180,000 users living out their comic book adventures -- is adding 6,000 new customers every week and is one of the fastest-growing online games ever.

-- People pay $40 to $50 initially and a monthly fee of $15. What they receive is an ability to design and become their own virtual super hero.

-- Michael Lewis, Cryptic Studios owner, spent $2.5 million of his own money, plus loans of $4.5 million from his distributor, the U.S. arm of South Korea game company NCsoft, to create City of Heroes, Forbes.com reported, adding NCsoft is spending another $18 million a year to market and operate the game and provide customer support.

It is an interactive experience for programmers. When Esser makes changes, or upgrades to the game, users provide feedback. He said the exchange is rather unique to online games compared to the traditional board game that goes to the family home in a box.

Changes in content with upgrades (attempts to make the game better) happen online every three months or so for City of Heroes.

Esser said the average customer is likely to resemble those involved in other online games -- adolescent to 20-something males. But he said there are females and couples playing the game. Family members, even when separated by great distance, can play together.

"You meet friends while you are doing it," Esser said, noting people have formed long-lasting friendships after meeting online in City of Heroes.

Recently the company hired its fifth Minnesotan. "We don't know why we just keep getting Minnesotans," Esser said.

He met one co-worker who was commuting from Ely. The co-worker drove out to California from Minnesota and worked for three weeks then drove back to Ely for a little more than a week. Now he telecommutes and does his work from his Ely home.

Cryptic Studios employs 35 people. The company has yet to make a profit. But Esser said the company is paying back advanced royalties and anticipates making a profit much earlier than expected.

Esser said he sees a long-term future for the game with the company strong for many years to come.

The company is working on an expansion to the game with a city of villains that could play against the city of heroes, Esser said.

"Beyond that the possibilities are endless, I guess."

RENEE RICHARDSON can be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.