Superlite Heroes! Version 2

It's not comics-related, but it's the sort of upbeat I need. And it's so so good.

Sorry for pushing this off a day, but it actually let me do another visual pass on the document and I think it's better for it!

Latest Version (v2) Download:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE GAME

So first: it's been like a year, and I never even really showed off the completed v1 document when I made it. Superlite Heroes! was a game I made in a weekend last September, mostly at a rather slow Gamerati Game Day and driven by thoughts about Aaron Eckhart's "Die a hero or become a villain" quote from The Dark Knight. I was inspired by a copy of Lasers & Feeling in my folder as well - not mechanically but format-wise. I wanted to make a very simple game on a single page.

The original version was indeed on a single page, but took the front and back. It wasn't quite the pure thing I wanted. Plus it didn't look very pretty - I made the pdf in like two hours.

I decided to share the game on Story Games just to put it out there. After all, for a weekend's worth of work it felt pretty good! And the feedback was generally positive, that there was a seed of something in there. Some suggestions were given, but I was never sure if I was going to come back to Superlite Heroes!.

There are a couple reasons I decided to return to the game.

1) I had sufficient ideas about how to re-write the game.

2) I felt better-equipped for the rather intimidating task of writing the game on the front of a single page.

3) I knew that, at the very least, I could make it a little prettier and more stylish looking than the old version. That wasn't a hard task by any means.

4) I'm a game designer with no 'completed' titles under my belt yet. I have The Doppleganger, which I am proud of, but while I continue to refine Avatar World and The Shining Void I had this kernel of a game that just needed some fixing up to present as a full thing I'd completed.

What's changed mechanically? The biggest change is the simultaneous simplification and diversification of life/health. You now have three healths: moral health, social health, and physical health. However, they all operate on a system that is more unified to the action mechanic. "Death" has been greatly simplified - perhaps at cost to the metaphor of going out in comics, but still accommodates my quote inspiration.

Another change is a slight simplification to gaining drawbacks (you get it in your highest or lowest stat, your choice). The actual strengths/drawbacks are the main targets for further refinement, as some provide (small) mechanical effects while others do not. Ultimately they're all meant to be more like fictional cues (and even the impressive Unkillable Strength isn't as good as it sounds).

The thid significant change is the expansion of the GM section, now comprising nearly a third of the sheet. It includes a villain/plot generator (also a refinement target), a set of principles, and some pacing trick suggestions.

The document itself is in color, but even when printed in black and white it reads well.

I would not be surprised if I generate a version 3 for the game, but at the same time this is a completed game. I have not, however, ever playtested either version 1 or 2, so please let me know if you do because I could use a little feedback!

End Recording,

Ego.