Posi’s description of what went into the design decisions for I10. Interesting.
With Issue 10 we decided to advance the storyline. Like any ongoing game we have many unresolved plot threads and each is a great opportunity for introducing new game content. Our first thought for Issue 10 was to bring back the 5th Column, a villain group that disappeared when the Council was introduced in Issue 3. But in the end we decided to focus on one of the greatest threats to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles, the aliens known as the Rikti. We had revealed a lot about the Rikti in the past, but there was always the looming specter of a second Rikti War. There were already plenty of missions that involve shutting down attempts by stranded Rikti to contact their homeworld. For current players, Rikti are a familiar enemy and remain a giant pain in the butt.
Sean Fish (aka Manticore) had already determined what happened with the Omega Team who sealed the Rikti in their home dimension to end the first Rikti War, but this was knowledge hidden to the players. They only knew that Hero 1 and a small band of magic heroes closed the portals from the other side, never to be heard from again. We knew that this was a big question that needed an answer for the players, so it became a central point not only to the game, but the comic book we publish with Top Cow as well.