Non-superhero superhero game idea [Interest check]

Started by mia h, November 18, 2016, 09:35:12 AM

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mia h

I have part of an idea for a game so I'm looking firstly to see if there is any interest but also looking for ideas to fill in holes and point out things that don't look like they'll work.

Now in the not too distant future there a pair of non-superhero superhero shows destined for TV, both of which are comedies that share at basic premise -
What's it like to have to have to clean up the mess left behind when 'Gods' decide to trash down town?

DC's Powerless focuses on an insurance company who deals with all those pesky claims that result from things like The Flash tearing down the street at supersonic speeds and shattering all the windows in Central City. Where as Marvel's Damage Control concerns a group of Z listers who clean up after Avengers and the like and make sure that hazardous objects get back to their rightful owners, such as the bits that drop off Iron Man's suit or Thor's hammer (OK, maybe not the hammer).

So why not combine both of those into a humours sandbox game that focuses on the little guys that work for company that specialises in dealing with the aftermath of Darkseid's latest failed invasion etc. Now for the most part I don't see that any well known hero or villain would make a significant appearance in the story, and likewise the inclusion of powered characters is extremely unlikely and any of those powers would be very limited.



I imagine THE COMPANY having several different and interesting departments that might not always get along :

R & R (Rescue and Recovery) - Much like the Damage Control team, these guys are on the front line of the clean up and have to deal with all kinds of hazardous situations and objects on a daily basis/

Claims Research - A team that investigates those insurance claims that don't sound entirely right. "Ma'am I don't think Darkseid kidnapped your cat, because your house hasn't been turned into a steaming crater."

Antiquities - A team that has the most secure vault on the planet, where it stores all those dangerous gadgets that haven't (and in some cases shouldn't) be returned to their owners.

Alien Immigration - Sort out the paperwork needed by extra-terrestrial visitors along with offering a range of cultural integration services.

Outreach - THE COMPANY acts as a superhuman Switzerland seeing to the needs of both heroes and villains, the Outreach team is how THE COMPANY maintains contact with the villains.  It's how THE COMPANY return's villains gadget's to them and maintains villain's equipment and secret bases when they are on holiday at Club Fed.



Hopefully there is enough to give a general idea of the set up, and if anyone has anything else to throw into the mix it would be welcome.
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Sally Aces

#1
So, to be clear, none of the characters would ever go superheroing. They're more pencil pushers/custodians/librarians etc?

To my mind, it feels like you're going for a Warehouse 13 + The IT Crowd feel, am I right.

I can so see playing an Alien Immagration case worker with a thing for extraterrestrials or an Antiquities operative who's a secret thrill seeker and constantly has 'accidents' in the field with the tech she secures because she just has to know what it feels like to use them once..

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Mac84

very interesting, and unique perspective. I like it!

Though I'm not sure between Alien Immigration Officer, or Outreach Custodian.

Captain Whitebread

Damage Control is actual comic book canon from the late 80s.  Converations in thei9r lost and found must have been hilarious.

I think some extremely low grade powers could come in very hand in this department.

Telekinesis - limited to ojbects of less than an ounce (pens, sheets of paper etc)

Speed Reading and Photographic Memory - better than a filing system

Even without them the possibilities are endless.
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mia h

Quote from: Sally Aces on November 18, 2016, 10:03:59 AM
So, to be clear, none of the characters would ever go superheroing. They're more pencil pushers/custodians/librarians etc?
Usually when people try these type of stories, people write as Superman etc. the big guys with everyone else like the cops, firefighters being background NPC's. This game is the opposite, the little guys are the main characters and the big household rarely appear. Taking Superman as an example, you might get a quick glimpse of his cape as he leaves the site of a train accident but that's about it.

Quote from: Sally Aces on November 18, 2016, 10:03:59 AM
To my mind, it feels like you're going for a Warehouse 13 + The IT Crowd feel, am I right.
Throw in a bit of The Office, Parks & Recs and The Liberians and it's that ballpark. Silly, but in a good way   ;D

Quote from: Captain Whitebread on November 18, 2016, 03:47:09 PM
I think some extremely low grade powers could come in very hand in this department.

Telekinesis - limited to ojbects of less than an ounce (pens, sheets of paper etc)

Speed Reading and Photographic Memory - better than a filing system
Somebody having really, really minor powers and having delusions of grandeur and dreaming of parading round in spandex would fit, obviously depending on what those powers were. So being a human lie detector is great for working in claims fraud but not much use again 300 warships that have parked in Earth orbit. Or being able to control water in the air so such a huge level that they can lick stamps without touching them and maybe water the occasional plant.

To make life a little easier (for me at anyway) I'm thinking of setting the game in some version of DC universe, just because I'm more familiar with characters but it's not that important because the major characters aren't that important and as there isn't a strict cannon to adhere to the big names can be changed to fit the story.

One big problem I can see is the need for a host of random semi-disposable NPC's, so is someone is playing an Alien Immigration worker then someone else needs to ready to jump in and write the Parademon who got left behind in the invasion and is now trying to settle down in Ohio, knowing that the Parademon might only be needed for a couple of posts never to be seen again.
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Captain Whitebread

I can give you a stack of NPCs from a a sci-fi game I was running, that failed after 20 or so posts.  There are something like 100 of them, mostly just names.  There is also a roster of NPC students and staff from a Superhero Highschool that is currently ongoing.  They come with names, codenames and powers....

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mia h

I'm going to put this idea on hold until after Xmas.
Because nothing takes the steam out of a game like the holidays. No point in getting everything up and running only for it to die under a mountain of turkey and eggnog.
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Pondering this.  Maybe an alien with very minor stuff like not needing to sleep but who doesn't really understand human culture yet.
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