@Apos said in POLL: Super Hero MU Gut Check:
@BobGoblin said in POLL: Super Hero MU Gut Check:
In the mid-2000s there was a very (40+ player) successful X-men game based on the cartoons of X-men Evolution. It was limited to just the Brotherhood and Xavier's (although I think unaffiliated were in there as well.)
The more focused the game, the more impacting things can be on the micro level. Too many games are these giant monstrosities where what happens doesn't really matter. I'm assuming this is springing from the United thread. But even marvel 1963 which I've dabbled on is the same. More focused on # of players online then impact of story.
We have enough games where the big picture doesn't change, would love to see something with a new focus.
While this might sound weird or hypocritical from me since I run one of the larger games, I strongly agree. I enjoy storytelling smaller, very impactful events for characters, but due to the scope I really don't get to do that very often, and instead I need to focus on the very wide ranging changes that have the largest impact on the overall game world and prioritize things that change the narrative for the most characters.
To be honest, I think it's very difficult to run a FC focused game in a comic universe that doesn't have a lot of stasis pushback against any attempt to have dynamic changes. I love comic settings, but the draw of those games when they have FCs is the desire to play (and play with) recognizable characters, and it is -not- the world, meaning that derivation from that is intrinsically offputting to anyone but the people directly involved in the stories. Pretty much any significant change to any character runs the strong risk of being alienating to anyone that would find the game appealing, and without significant changes you have stasis. So you could do like World of Reboots, where you run a series of alternate universes, let whatever happens to FC happen for a year, then reboot over and over again, so someone coming into the game fresh isn't wondering why Batman's been dead for 3 years, Superman is now a regular guy, Lex Luthor reformed, etc.
I personally find established intellectual properties a giant headache to work with as settings or characters and would rather not because of that stasis effect.
One of my other comic book MU ideas was an Exiles-based game (still mixing DC and Marvel and maybe others) where basically, versions of characters got dragged in, but never really the "original" versions.
And I especially like the idea of Amalgam-style mixes. Like Dark Claw (just to name the most famous one).
I'd probably do something like, 'max 3 versions of a superhero at a time' and that version is basically 'yours'. You created it. Try not to copy anyone else. You also basically get run of your 'universe'. So if you're Matt Murdock, the Batman of Earth-02AH45(WHO WAS ADOPTED BY THE WAYNES AFTER HIS FATHER WAS KILLED IN A BOXING MATCH IN GOTHAM AND WAS BRUCE'S ADOPTED BROTHER WHEN THE WAYNES DIED SO DOUBLE THE TRAUMA FOR BLIND MATT) (and the first character from that universe), you also basically get veto on things that happen there (as long as they aren't multiverse-spanning effects that affect the entire game. Plus, that character is yours, so you can take a vacation or hiatus, come back, whatever. No fear of leaving for a bit and then having the character be played by someone else.
Course, if you're playing Elektra and you and Matt are a thing and you leave for a while, when you comes back, you may find that Matt is getting it on with another Elektra.
Or with Bullseye. Because he's a good guy in his universe. And also both are gay now. WHUT.
And then the game is basically running around different alternate realities fixing shit, because the Panopticon is like 'ERRYTHAN BROAAAAK'.
You might also not even be always at the Panopticon--maybe you're just "on-call".
I mean it might not be everyone's cupa, but it's mine.
You know. Just, let people run wild.
I also really like Matt Murdock as Batman with Bruce Wayne as something else idea. Sue me.