My latest project is yet another superhero RPG. Continuously pursuing these designs begs a few questions. Paramount among them is why?
Why did I create Hi/Lo Heroes, and eXceptional, and Hero DxD? Why am I back at the drawing board doing it again.
My answer is simple. I'm still not playing these games. The game among all of my designs that hits my game table is Five By Five. That's why it gets so much of my attention. However, it's still not my ideal superhero RPG. I keep telling myself that if I get it right, I will play the game.
As a designer, I like fiddling with different resolution mechanics. Dice, cards, whatever … I love playing with the numbers, and I perceive this as "game design." That's okay; I guess. I've enjoyed the process of making games as I have done it over the past 30 years.
But for all that effort, I still haven't found the RPG that I want. Recently, Biff! Bam! Kapow! came very close. I could "house rule" BBK and I might actually find the experience that I'm looking for. My recent post was a mechanical approach to recreating what Biff! Bam! Kapow! does using some (mechanical) ideas of my own. I playtested these ideas, and I think that something good might be discovered here.
However, I think I might again fail to create a game that I want to play, because I think that my approach has been wrong. I always begin with mechanics. Always. It's just how I've always thought about RPG design. Recently, I watched a video on YouTube that said something that really struck a chord with me.
"Start with moments, not mechanics."
What kind of "moments" do I want my game to create at the table? I think that Biff! Bam! Kapow! comes very close to creating the kinds of moments that I have been looking for. Which is why I have been drawn to it. It's possible that emulating some of what Biff! Bam! Kapow! does is going to produce exactly what I am looking for, but going forward I need to be clear about what that is.
I need to change my focus from mechanics to moments. So what superhero moments have I been unsuccessfully grasping for?
That's the magic question that I believe will set me on the right path. I've been mulling it over, and I believe that I have the answer.
Super Friends
I want moments like there were in the Super Friends cartoon where Batman and Superman and Aquaman and Wonder Woman could all work together and function as a super team despite their radically different power levels.
So, what do Super Friends moments look like?
The heroes cover a wide range of power levels and abilities.
Each scene sees the heroes separated and solving an individual challenge tailored to their abilities.
Scenes are separate but simultaneous and all apply to the same end goal.
Superhero comic books tend to be solo affairs. Superman, Batman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman all have their own comic books.
Upon taking a closer look at a Super Friends' story, it seems like each hero is solo and has a moment in the spotlight while still being part of the team.
Can I create moments like that?
I don't know. I haven't tried. Maybe that's why I haven't found my game yet. I'm pretty sure that other superhero games have never taken this approach. Maybe that's why I haven't found my game yet.
