How to make a good Superman video game...

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Okay, so yeah, that would make a whole lot of sense to make a decision-making game like that for Superman. I might actually give that a look. Thanks

Most of their games are very good. Definitely worth a look in my opinion.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

IMHO, it would be cool if you could do your own custom costume if you wanted, placing what emblems on the suit as you wish.

Plus different possible paths for a character in a game are good because they encourage curiousity. Who cannot say they were not tempted to do both good and evil in Fable or various Star wars games? I would add to your idea of alternate paths the idea that you could unlock different battles based on different characters you interact/romance with as well.

Ah, an in-game design tool? That would be cool. With all the shield designs seen in all forms of media since 1938. I'd also hold a design contest for a future DLC.

As for the other part, agreed. Would you try to reason with the enemy, classic Superman style, or kick their asses first and ask questions later, n52 style? And what if you needed some Intel? Persuade or intimidate?

[Ascended]

I love how this topic gets brought up every six months. At some point I'll be smart and save my reply.

For me, I'd basically just take your standard Elder Scrolls game (the real ones, not that MMO) and mod the hell out of it until its Superman. In fact, I'd make sure that Bethseda's mod stuff is enabled; some of the coolest things in those games are fan-made mods, and for a character like Superman it could raise the game from "okay" to "best thing ever." I know that I myself have tacked on a lot of extra hours on Skyrim because of various mods I found, and I dont get nearly as crazy with them as other people I know. My Skyrim is still largely the basic game with a few extra flourishes, but I know people who basically have a completely different game, from graphics to content. Sure, that causes problems if you're not careful, but its worth it, and it would allow people to customize so they can have "their" Superman, exactly as they want it. And we all know how picky Super-fans are.

I think it'd be cool if you could tweak your Superman during "character creation." I say be able to pick between Face, Hair, Costume, Shield, and Body. Take the most popular and iconic examples of each and let players mix and match. So, maybe George Reeves face with 90's era mullet, Man of Steel movie suit, original Golden Age "S" (complete with metallic gold sheen) and Curt Swan body, just as an example. Or maybe McGuiness face with MoS movie hair, t-shirt & jeans (with or without cape) costume, electric-powers "S" and 90's cartoon body.

Players should have the full powerbase but be able to upgrade it as they level. Maybe you focus on your super senses, flight, and heat vision, and spend most of your time sniping villains from the air, halfway across the map, but never bother with the physical skills. Or maybe you invest in speed and strength abilities at the expense of flight and heat vision and super senses and go all Juggernaut on Metropolis. Or maybe you keep it even across the board and play as a classic version of the powerset.

Krypto should absolutely be a follower (akin to Skyrim) along with, perhaps, the likes of Supergirl, Steel, and Superboy. They shouldn't be necessary but should be available.

Investigating as Clark Kent is a must. Half the fun would be making sure no one sees you use your powers. If you get shot, you fail the mission because they see the bullets bounce off. If they see you fly or crush a wall, you fail the mission. It would add a different kind of challenge, and if done as side-quests it would offer a nice alternative for when you're not in the mood to beat people to a pulp.

Actually, I support lots of side missions. Investigative journalism as Clark, helping STAR Labs, stopping minor crime and arson.....and these things should have a progression. If you do all the Daily Planet stuff, at the end you should be promoted to EIC to replace Perry. If you help out STAR, you should get some sort of reward for that too. Not unlike how in the Elder Scrolls you can join one (or more) of the various Guilds, and if you play through their story you typically end up in control of the Guild.

I think the parameters for failure need to be dependent on the mission. Maybe you have a time limit for some missions. Maybe for others you have to prevent collateral damage to the city. For others, it might be about how well you execute the mission's goal. Everyone hates escort quests but they have their place too and mission success depends on getting those people to safety. And of course, sometimes it should just be about the health bar.

Open world is a must. And I want immersion; I want to be able to enter buildings, and fly through them, and throw robots into them. And I want to explore different buildings and pick stuff up too.

And to get Superman out of Metropolis, I'd have smaller maps as "dungeons" you have to "teleport" to (as in, loading screen and limited space), set in places like the 5th dimension, the Phantom Zone, Almerac, the moon, the JLA Watchtower, Brainiac's ship, Apokolips, and so on.

I think for combat, DCUO actually has a real solid system. You'd have a loadout with your powers, and physical attacks would be done by a series of fighting game style combo's. So you'd do your whole "tap-tap-hold-towards+punch" for a series of boxer like body blows and then hit your loadout for the heat vision. Block breaking, charged attacks....DCUO actually has a real solid combat system; easy to start with, but surprisingly complex when you start getting into it.

The funny thing is, as wild as all that might sound, anyone with a lot of time on their hands could do it to Skyrim already, and that game came out years ago.

[Prime]

Superman should be hurt. Why not just do it in the PZ?

[DieHard200904]

Superman should be hurt. Why not just do it in the PZ?

Like I said, a regenerating health system by percentage is a good simulation of Superman's increasing durability. He starts off weak that way, but since it regenerates by percentage, that means that regeneration occurs so fast when you leveled up so much in number of health points per second that what used to hurt you is no longer effective any more. I also would do a "bullet time" feature to allow the player to react fast enough to handle Superman flying really fast in the game.

[Ascended]

Superman should be hurt. Why not just do it in the PZ?

For the sake of variety? So players can enjoy the feeling of bullets bouncing off their virtual chests when they're not getting beat to hell by super-villains? You certainly need physical challenges and the threat of imminent death, but at the same time, its Superman and at least once in a while you gotta feel like a unstoppable god.

If it were up to me, the health bar would always be there, but not every area or mission would prove a serious threat to it.

Like, if a mission calls for Superman to put out a fire, that health bar should be meaningless. What matters is how fast he can get everyone out and extinguish the fire. And if the fire can hurt Superman, then he's not really going to feel like Superman. The mission after that though, might involve taking down a new kryptonite-enhanced security drone Lex has stalking the city, and there the health bar would be a consideration. The mission after that might be two-fold; trying to lead Lobo out of the city before you fight him, so in that case you'd have to worry about collateral damage *and* your health bar. Mission after that might involve escorting a STAR Labs truck containing that LexCorp drone to a new facility, and you'd have to worry about Lex sending people to retrieve his tech, so maybe the mercenaries he sends can hurt you, but aren't a serious physical threat (unless you're not paying attention) but you have to protect the truck. The next mission might involve teleporting to Brainiac's ship, and there every single fight could potentially defeat you if you're not careful.

Just seems to me that "hit the bad guys until they go away faster than they hit you" is a little too cut-and-dry for Superman. And while you could certainly put a game in the Zone or on Apokolips or wherever, is it really going to feel like Superman when every random mob can potentially defeat you? Even if you're dealing with mobs who actually are capable of it? There absolutely should be threats that can hurt/kill you, but should that be *every* single fight *every* single time? This is why I support a multitude of mission parameters so you get the full spectrum. Some missions you'll feel unbeatable, others you'll stagger away bleeding with broken bones.

Anyway, I dunno. Im not the biggest gamer out there. But it seems to me that if your win/loss parameters are mixed up then that creates a more engaging, less predictable game. If you have to worry about different conditions you have to practice skills beyond combat.

[victorsage]

It should be open world, using the Lois and Clark themes to the fullest. Multiple "cases" can be solved in many ways as both Clark and with the S on his chest. Get the feel of the early stories where Clark is using every aspect of his personality to make the world a better place, from his journalism and mystery solving side, to his Superman side. Mix in some Justice League stuff. Have all the villains, with Luthor in the background as a major problem in the long run even if he isn't the main big bad.

[Ascended]

It should be open world, using the Lois and Clark themes to the fullest. Multiple "cases" can be solved in many ways as both Clark and with the S on his chest. Get the feel of the early stories where Clark is using every aspect of his personality to make the world a better place, from his journalism and mystery solving side, to his Superman side. Mix in some Justice League stuff. Have all the villains, with Luthor in the background as a major problem in the long run even if he isn't the main big bad.

It would be fun to pull the League in, either as backup for specific missions or as part of an ability tray. DCU Online has items that call in either a sidekick or several backup agents, who fight with you for a limited amount of time and then fly off.

I'd be down with either option for the League, but I really like the idea of having Krypto (or Steel or Supergirl or Conner) as optional followers who stay with you until you dismiss them.

[Last Son]

I want a highly interactive environment, destructible terrain, where just about everything can be lifted or destroyed, including skyscrapers. Destruction porn might be bad in a superhero movie but I'd be pretty alright with it in a video game. Potentially, as Superman, you should be able to blow hundreds of cars away with super breath or cut right through a tanker ship with heat vision. Or if someone detonated a nuclear bomb near the city, you could actually fly around the explosion at super speed and collapse it, or do the same to a tornado or hurricane to dissipate it. I feel like other games just make it about fighting bad guys who just happen to have weapons that can hurt Superman, with a few supervillains thrown in, and not enough attention is paid to his heroics and feats. I want to see Superman dealing with bombs, earthquakes, hurricanes, asteroids, tsunamis, collapsing buildings, stuff you never really see in any superhero games.

[DCStu]

My idea of the way to do this was to do it in the same style as Rocksteady's Batman Arkham games.

At the start of the story have an event which closes off Metropolis. Say President Luthor declaring martial law. No one can get in or out of the city and there are no cops around. In a title sequence that begins the game - have Luthor attack Superman with some kryptonite ray or something which depletes his powers.

Then you begin the game like that. Supes is still pretty tough and can fight hand to hand but can only jump great distances as opposed to flying. As the game progresses he slowly gains his power back. At the end of the game you can play as the full Superman with his full range of powers - but you have to earn it over the course of the narrative.

Maybe that approach could work?

[666MasterOfPuppets]

The whole usable/ destructible environments is a must.

I'm really not into a health bar for Superman. The twist given to that parameter in Superman Returns felt just right to me.

As for him starting depowered, I don't think so. I mean, people would buy this game in order to be Superman and do all the incredible things he does. Finding a depowered Superman would be a huge letdown IMO, let alone the fact that he's been in that state too many times in the comics (and I guess fans wouldn't want to see that scenario again. Well at least I wouldn't).

[DieHard200904]

It should be open world, using the Lois and Clark themes to the fullest. Multiple "cases" can be solved in many ways as both Clark and with the S on his chest. Get the feel of the early stories where Clark is using every aspect of his personality to make the world a better place, from his journalism and mystery solving side, to his Superman side. Mix in some Justice League stuff. Have all the villains, with Luthor in the background as a major problem in the long run even if he isn't the main big bad.

That sounds like something that they could pull with a Superman Telltales game. Now, if only WB/DC can actually get around to making a decision-making game like that for Superman, because they had something of that sort online with the Superman homepage where, it was simple text and decisions with java, but at the same time, you can really update it into a game where you have decent cinematics based on decisions, as well as letting the player move around as Superman talking to various characters.

[DieHard200904]

I love how this topic gets brought up every six months. At some point I'll be smart and save my reply.

For me, I'd basically just take your standard Elder Scrolls game (the real ones, not that MMO) and mod the hell out of it until its Superman. In fact, I'd make sure that Bethseda's mod stuff is enabled; some of the coolest things in those games are fan-made mods, and for a character like Superman it could raise the game from "okay" to "best thing ever." I know that I myself have tacked on a lot of extra hours on Skyrim because of various mods I found, and I dont get nearly as crazy with them as other people I know. My Skyrim is still largely the basic game with a few extra flourishes, but I know people who basically have a completely different game, from graphics to content. Sure, that causes problems if you're not careful, but its worth it, and it would allow people to customize so they can have "their" Superman, exactly as they want it. And we all know how picky Super-fans are.

I think it'd be cool if you could tweak your Superman during "character creation." I say be able to pick between Face, Hair, Costume, Shield, and Body. Take the most popular and iconic examples of each and let players mix and match. So, maybe George Reeves face with 90's era mullet, Man of Steel movie suit, original Golden Age "S" (complete with metallic gold sheen) and Curt Swan body, just as an example. Or maybe McGuiness face with MoS movie hair, t-shirt & jeans (with or without cape) costume, electric-powers "S" and 90's cartoon body.

Players should have the full powerbase but be able to upgrade it as they level. Maybe you focus on your super senses, flight, and heat vision, and spend most of your time sniping villains from the air, halfway across the map, but never bother with the physical skills. Or maybe you invest in speed and strength abilities at the expense of flight and heat vision and super senses and go all Juggernaut on Metropolis. Or maybe you keep it even across the board and play as a classic version of the powerset.

Krypto should absolutely be a follower (akin to Skyrim) along with, perhaps, the likes of Supergirl, Steel, and Superboy. They shouldn't be necessary but should be available.

Investigating as Clark Kent is a must. Half the fun would be making sure no one sees you use your powers. If you get shot, you fail the mission because they see the bullets bounce off. If they see you fly or crush a wall, you fail the mission. It would add a different kind of challenge, and if done as side-quests it would offer a nice alternative for when you're not in the mood to beat people to a pulp.

Actually, I support lots of side missions. Investigative journalism as Clark, helping STAR Labs, stopping minor crime and arson.....and these things should have a progression. If you do all the Daily Planet stuff, at the end you should be promoted to EIC to replace Perry. If you help out STAR, you should get some sort of reward for that too. Not unlike how in the Elder Scrolls you can join one (or more) of the various Guilds, and if you play through their story you typically end up in control of the Guild.

I think the parameters for failure need to be dependent on the mission. Maybe you have a time limit for some missions. Maybe for others you have to prevent collateral damage to the city. For others, it might be about how well you execute the mission's goal. Everyone hates escort quests but they have their place too and mission success depends on getting those people to safety. And of course, sometimes it should just be about the health bar.

Open world is a must. And I want immersion; I want to be able to enter buildings, and fly through them, and throw robots into them. And I want to explore different buildings and pick stuff up too.

And to get Superman out of Metropolis, I'd have smaller maps as "dungeons" you have to "teleport" to (as in, loading screen and limited space), set in places like the 5th dimension, the Phantom Zone, Almerac, the moon, the JLA Watchtower, Brainiac's ship, Apokolips, and so on.

I think for combat, DCUO actually has a real solid system. You'd have a loadout with your powers, and physical attacks would be done by a series of fighting game style combo's. So you'd do your whole "tap-tap-hold-towards+punch" for a series of boxer like body blows and then hit your loadout for the heat vision. Block breaking, charged attacks....DCUO actually has a real solid combat system; easy to start with, but surprisingly complex when you start getting into it.

The funny thing is, as wild as all that might sound, anyone with a lot of time on their hands could do it to Skyrim already, and that game came out years ago.

There already is a "Superman" mod for the Batman: Arkham games, so if DC really wanted to, they could do it.

[phantom1592]

The whole usable/ destructible environments is a must.

I'm really not into a health bar for Superman. The twist given to that parameter in Superman Returns felt just right to me.

As for him starting depowered, I don't think so. I mean, people would buy this game in order to be Superman and do all the incredible things he does. Finding a depowered Superman would be a huge letdown IMO, let alone the fact that he's been in that state too many times in the comics (and I guess fans wouldn't want to see that scenario again. Well at least I wouldn't).

I hate depowered idea. When I buy a superman game... it's to be SUPERMAN. I remember the Spider-man games with a huge tutorial and an early level or two in 'wrestler costume' and it always annoyed me. Game says 'Spider-man'... give me a Spider-man costume.

Now, the Spider-man games had some neat combo's that you could earn as you leveled up. I could see fun things like that coming into play to better USE your powers... but I absolutely want ALL the main core powers to start with. I want flight. I want Speed. Come level three if I earn 'Fly in circle at superspeed and create tornado'... that may be fine. I don't mind unlocking power stunts... as long as the core abilities are there from the beginning.


Something else I was thinking of when some friends an I were talking about he old cartoons (I LOVE the Ruby Spears ones, a friend loved the Fleishmen ones)

I would LOVE to see some awesome silver age sweetness in a game like this. This is SUPERMAN. Brainiac can show up with some robots.... Lex can attack with some battlesuits... someone wakes up Doomsday... That's all pretty standard.

How about an alien space ship attacks? Giant robots? A Dragon?? Giant Gorilla?? A DRAGON???

Seriously how cool would it be for Superman to fight a dragon?

This kind of stuff happened ALL the time to him. My major complaint with Superman Returns was that the enemies were VERY redundant. 3 types of robo drones that flew around and each needed one specific attack to drop... First 5 or 6 times it was pretty fun, but by the 70th? Yawn...

Mix it up. Not EVERY story has to be lex or Brainiac... lets see some really cool things that 'look like a job for Superman!!!"


As for having the JLA in the game?? Ehhhhh personally I would rather NOT. If you show Hal or J'onn flying around or walking around or whatever... then I'll instantly get bitter that I can't PLAY as Hal. As much as I love some classic Superman, Green Lantern is still my #1 DC guy. But adding in a lot of other heroes around takes away from the 'ONLY I can save the city' Feel.

There already is a "Superman" mod for the Batman: Arkham games, so if DC really wanted to, they could do it.

That is both awesome and horrifying. Seeing Superman drop those thugs and break their bones... /SHUDDER...

[DieHard200904]

I hate depowered idea. When I buy a superman game... it's to be SUPERMAN. I remember the Spider-man games with a huge tutorial and an early level or two in 'wrestler costume' and it always annoyed me. Game says 'Spider-man'... give me a Spider-man costume.

Now, the Spider-man games had some neat combo's that you could earn as you leveled up. I could see fun things like that coming into play to better USE your powers... but I absolutely want ALL the main core powers to start with. I want flight. I want Speed. Come level three if I earn 'Fly in circle at superspeed and create tornado'... that may be fine. I don't mind unlocking power stunts... as long as the core abilities are there from the beginning.


Something else I was thinking of when some friends an I were talking about he old cartoons (I LOVE the Ruby Spears ones, a friend loved the Fleishmen ones)

I would LOVE to see some awesome silver age sweetness in a game like this. This is SUPERMAN. Brainiac can show up with some robots.... Lex can attack with some battlesuits... someone wakes up Doomsday... That's all pretty standard.

How about an alien space ship attacks? Giant robots? A Dragon?? Giant Gorilla?? A DRAGON???

Seriously how cool would it be for Superman to fight a dragon?

This kind of stuff happened ALL the time to him. My major complaint with Superman Returns was that the enemies were VERY redundant. 3 types of robo drones that flew around and each needed one specific attack to drop... First 5 or 6 times it was pretty fun, but by the 70th? Yawn...

Mix it up. Not EVERY story has to be lex or Brainiac... lets see some really cool things that 'look like a job for Superman!!!"


As for having the JLA in the game?? Ehhhhh personally I would rather NOT. If you show Hal or J'onn flying around or walking around or whatever... then I'll instantly get bitter that I can't PLAY as Hal. As much as I love some classic Superman, Green Lantern is still my #1 DC guy. But adding in a lot of other heroes around takes away from the 'ONLY I can save the city' Feel.









That is both awesome and horrifying. Seeing Superman drop those thugs and break their bones... /SHUDDER...

It doesn't make me feel bothered like in Truth, where Superman kicked a guy in the groin with a loud Crunch sound.... That made me cross my legs in how it happened.