Proposal for a Successful Superman Game: Finale

Let's talk about the world Superman would interact with.

Building a World

Managing Locations

Superman's world needs to be massive in order to accommodate his maneuverability and speed. A Superman game can't be limited to a street or even an isolated city. A Superman game needs to be a global game.

This doesn't mean that we need to craft an entire world however. My recommendation is to craft large, but specific locations that Superman can travel within and then "jump" between.

A game designer can only build a finite world, but the player must have a sense of freedom while in that finite world. If, while in a city, the player decides to blast into orbit, they should be able to. However, there can only be a set number of locations to visit from there due to the limitations of hardware and data storage. Superman will not be flying along the interstate between Gotham City and Metropolis.

Imagine the player hovering from orbit and cycling through various cities and locations to explore; each location larger in size than the city in BAC. That's a massive undertaking.

There is also the issue of intergalactic and dimensional travel where necessary. Superman would utilize "Boom Tubes" in order to expedite travel from one planet to the next.

Load times would be utilized between city sections, entering buildings or tunnels, or moving between cities and planets.

Locations I propose would be:
1. Metropolis
a. Suicide Slums
b. Cadmus and STAR Labs
c. Daily Planet and downtown
d. Lexcorp
2. Smallville
3. Fortress of Solitude and the Arctic
4. Apokalypse
5. War World
6. The Phantom Zone
7. Kandor

Collateral Damage

Each map would be arranged with 3 levels: A sub-level, ground level, and sky. The ground level, particularly in cities, would be completely destructible. If Superman is hit hard enough, he can be blasted through the ground into the sewer system, leaving a gaping hole in the streets. Also, using X-Ray vision, he could identify which areas under the ground he could use to fly under an enemy on the ground level and attack from beneath.

These streets could be utilized as weapons to boot. Superman could lift a stretch of asphalt from under an enemy like snapping a rug from under someone.

Naturally, considerate guy that he is, Superman would want to avoid as much collateral damage as possible in cities. Collision detection would be very important and the destruction of the environment would depend on what hit it and how hard and fast. Superman should not stub his toe on a building and bring it crumbling down. While inside a building, Superman could blast through to the top by going through each floor for a quick exit.

Missions and Objectives

Missions would naturally occur as the game progressed with the various threats that come in the main campaign. Side missions can be picked up via investigating pleas for help, examining crime scenes, aiding fellow heroes, embarking on training missions, or following leads from the Daily Planet.
Missions can be tracked and managed via a simple interface in the pause menu.

A Worthy Challenge: Enemies

Superman needs enemies that can challenge him in mind, body and spirit. Some villains might present him with mysteries, investigations, or rescue missions. These can be side missions that must be discovered before beginning. Others would simply be combative challenges. Then some villains might do both.

For puzzles, mysteries, investigations, and hunting, I propose:
Lex Luthor
Mr. Mxyzptlk
Darkseid
Braniac
Cadmus

For physical challenges and combat, I propose:
Braniac and his armada
General Zod and the Phantom Zone criminals
Darkseid and Apokalypse
Doomsday
Cyborg Superman
Bizarro
Metallo
Magic users such as Silver Banshee
Mongol

Side Missions: Allies

Superman would pick up various missions to aid his fellow crime fighters within his direct mythos. Busting up gangs, gathering (or eliminating) research samples, detective work- you name it. Allies with quests (by location) could include:

Metropolis
Guardian
Gangbuster
Bibbo Bibbowski
Lois Lane
Dan Turpin
Captain Maggie Sawyer
Professor Emil Hamilton
Black Lightning

Fortress of Solitude
Power Girl
Steel
Eradicator

Apokalypse
Orion
Mr. Miracle
Big Barda

Smallville
Supergirl
Superboy
Lana Lang

Extras and Unlockables

Everyone loves unlockables. So here's a few I would want to see.

Costumes and skins:
Earth-2 Superman: Unlock by Leaping 1000 tall buildings in a single bound
Perk: Doubles attack power; Reduces health by 25%
Regeneration Suit: Unlock by completing all Fortress of Solitude side missions.
Perk: grants faster health regeneration; Reduces Strength by 25%
Emperor Joker costume: Unlock by completing Mr. Mxyzptlk's side quest
Kingdom Come: Unlock by completing Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel's training
Perk: Increases Health by 15%; Reduces Speed by 15%
Superman Beyond: Unlock by completing all side missions
Perk: Increases Speed by 10%; Lowers XP gained by 5%
Doomsday Armor: Unlock by defeating Doomsday
Perk: Increases Defense by 15%; lowers AP by 10%
Elseworlds Batman: Unlock by saving 100 citizens; cause over $20 million in damage to Metropolis
Superman Blue: Unlock by finishing Professor Emil Hamilton's missions
Perk: Increases AP by 25%, Increases Super Power strength by 15%; lowers Defense by 25%
Justice Lord costume: Unlock by finishing the game with the dark path
Blue Lantern Superman: Unlock by finishing the game with the light path



So that's my proposal. Is it ambitious and immense? Absolutely. But it's not impossible. Are you listening, Rocksteady?