The cards themselves aren't related to the storyline and simply act as an abstraction of the act of photography. But the reason why you are photographing all these superheroes in skimpy clothing will become quite clear already in the first version of the full game.
- Nov 14, 2017
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- Aug 28, 2018
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It is kinda weird for someone doing a thing in the superhero genre to not know who Jimmy Olsen is. Superman is the original, archetypal superhero; the oldest and most well-known [oldest costumed superhero in the Western comicbook medium, for the pedantic]. Jimmy Olsen is one of his most prominent supporting characters, so it kinda makes it seem like someone isn't very familiar with the most popular superhero of all time (and perhaps by extension, the superhero genre in general) when they don't know who Jimmy Olsen is.
But, I'll give Belle the benefit of the doubt that they were thrown off by the "jenny/jimmy" part, because I'm choosing to stay positive about this game.
But, I'll give Belle the benefit of the doubt that they were thrown off by the "jenny/jimmy" part, because I'm choosing to stay positive about this game.
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I'm aware of Jimmy Olsen but have never really given him much thought since Superman is to me, as a non-American, as uninteresting as comics can get. Honestly, I'm not a superhero comic fan and have never been. I like to read graphic novels that handle the topic with some gravitas, but they too often get bogged down in silly nonsense in my opinion. For example, I greatly enjoy stuff like Batman Year One, The Killing Joke, Watchmen, Sandman, The Mask, and Hellboy. I did not enjoy stuff like Batman by Grant Morrison, the Superman Omnibus, and most random superhero comic books (not graphic novels) I've picked up over the years.
My problems with typical comic book stories are many, but the biggest one is that I find it impossible to get invested in a medium where nothing ever matters because another author will step in and retcon it tomorrow, so why should I care when a so-called "major event" happens in the story? There's also a lot of focus on the absolutely worst aspects of science fiction written by people who understand fiction (barely) but haven't got even the most rudimentary grasp on science. Villains rarely have more complicated goals than "POWER!" or "I want to rule everything!", though I greatly appreciate it in those rare cases where they are written with human (or human-like) motivations or, the very least, as interesting characters (hello Joker!).
Supermodel: Defenders of Desire is not a celebration of superhero comic books and never has been. This is a story more in the vein of something like Watchmen: a more down-to-earth deconstruction of comic books and a grounded (yet fantastical) take on something that is both supernatural and superhuman. Supermodel doesn't follow conventional comic logic. If it does, it's because I want to make a statement. This is a story that is written more in line with a novel than a comic book, focused on grander topics than showdowns between superheroes and villains (though that does happen already in the first version) and more interested in making observations about human nature and the meaning of our existence.
Don't go into Supermodel and expect a reverent worship of comic books. It is absolutely not that. Expect to see something that takes itself and its subject material a little more seriously. I want you to finish Supermodel and think: "damn, that was a great story" rather than "oh boy, I want more adventures of Anna Morgenstern and Michael Sharpe!".
If I don't recognize Jimmy Olsen at first glance, it's because he is primarily featured in a medium that has little interest to me. Heck, I've read comics where he features as a central character and yet have almost completely filtered him out because of how little they resonated with me.
I hope that clears things up. If you read superhero comic books and love them, then more power to you and I'm happy that you enjoy them when I can't. They're just not for me. To be clear, I do enjoy the concept of superheroes outside the comic medium. Movie adaptions of this subject appeal to me, for example, even if they still fall into some of the same pitfalls (but avoid the most important one: they rarely retcon anything).
And honestly, anyone who has played Long Live the Princess should know by now that I'm not one to dive into genre tropes without good reason.
My problems with typical comic book stories are many, but the biggest one is that I find it impossible to get invested in a medium where nothing ever matters because another author will step in and retcon it tomorrow, so why should I care when a so-called "major event" happens in the story? There's also a lot of focus on the absolutely worst aspects of science fiction written by people who understand fiction (barely) but haven't got even the most rudimentary grasp on science. Villains rarely have more complicated goals than "POWER!" or "I want to rule everything!", though I greatly appreciate it in those rare cases where they are written with human (or human-like) motivations or, the very least, as interesting characters (hello Joker!).
Supermodel: Defenders of Desire is not a celebration of superhero comic books and never has been. This is a story more in the vein of something like Watchmen: a more down-to-earth deconstruction of comic books and a grounded (yet fantastical) take on something that is both supernatural and superhuman. Supermodel doesn't follow conventional comic logic. If it does, it's because I want to make a statement. This is a story that is written more in line with a novel than a comic book, focused on grander topics than showdowns between superheroes and villains (though that does happen already in the first version) and more interested in making observations about human nature and the meaning of our existence.
Don't go into Supermodel and expect a reverent worship of comic books. It is absolutely not that. Expect to see something that takes itself and its subject material a little more seriously. I want you to finish Supermodel and think: "damn, that was a great story" rather than "oh boy, I want more adventures of Anna Morgenstern and Michael Sharpe!".
If I don't recognize Jimmy Olsen at first glance, it's because he is primarily featured in a medium that has little interest to me. Heck, I've read comics where he features as a central character and yet have almost completely filtered him out because of how little they resonated with me.
I hope that clears things up. If you read superhero comic books and love them, then more power to you and I'm happy that you enjoy them when I can't. They're just not for me. To be clear, I do enjoy the concept of superheroes outside the comic medium. Movie adaptions of this subject appeal to me, for example, even if they still fall into some of the same pitfalls (but avoid the most important one: they rarely retcon anything).
And honestly, anyone who has played Long Live the Princess should know by now that I'm not one to dive into genre tropes without good reason.
- Nov 14, 2017
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While this is going a bit outside the scope of this thread and could easily spiral out of control, I'll say that my approach to superheroes does absolutely go beyond the scopes of the "traditional" comic book superheroes mentioned above and borrows from concepts much broader in scope.
Which superhero is the oldest/most powerful/strongest/whatever isn't really relevant here.
Which superhero is the oldest/most powerful/strongest/whatever isn't really relevant here.
- May 7, 2019
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I do think that the worst use of a superhero like Superman is "can the guy with infinite strength out-punch this weeks antagonist? Watch as he has come back home from a fight with Mega God, and now struggles to wrestle a Gorilla!"
...Superman is not very good as an action hero. That's missing the point.
The story to approach with Superman is, how does someone with infinite raw power delicately handle a world, which he could accidentally shatter, as ethically as he can?
How does he hold hands that are that vulnerable?
If he has even the most minor absent-minded distraction, the catastrophe that could play out is unthinkable.
A lot of people are pretty divided on the "Injustice" timeline where Superman just throws all his ethics to the wind and... somehow all his adversaries don't instantly die?
It's a concept that would last all of a few seconds and be a parable of what he could always have been; the ultimate unbeatable tyrant that he always feared becoming.
He was always capable of just Forcing people to do what he wanted, that's kinda the larger picture, he Doesn't, he believes in Free Will. Good because of duress is weak and pathetic, and will never have value. It must come from hope. It must come from a Want for it.
I do like more grounded storytelling in these scenarios, where the focus isn't just asking if the Speedster is able to Run Fast *ugh*
The interesting part of these stories is, even with the magnitude of power that comes with their abilities... What complications arise from that power? How many doorknobs crushed in their hand? Was it because something startled them? Were they angry? Were they daydreaming?
...and, really, I'd imagine that the amount of people becoming villains that "Want to rule the world" would be sparse compared to the 'villains' just being kinda douchey.
...Superman is not very good as an action hero. That's missing the point.
The story to approach with Superman is, how does someone with infinite raw power delicately handle a world, which he could accidentally shatter, as ethically as he can?
How does he hold hands that are that vulnerable?
If he has even the most minor absent-minded distraction, the catastrophe that could play out is unthinkable.
A lot of people are pretty divided on the "Injustice" timeline where Superman just throws all his ethics to the wind and... somehow all his adversaries don't instantly die?
It's a concept that would last all of a few seconds and be a parable of what he could always have been; the ultimate unbeatable tyrant that he always feared becoming.
He was always capable of just Forcing people to do what he wanted, that's kinda the larger picture, he Doesn't, he believes in Free Will. Good because of duress is weak and pathetic, and will never have value. It must come from hope. It must come from a Want for it.
I do like more grounded storytelling in these scenarios, where the focus isn't just asking if the Speedster is able to Run Fast *ugh*
The interesting part of these stories is, even with the magnitude of power that comes with their abilities... What complications arise from that power? How many doorknobs crushed in their hand? Was it because something startled them? Were they angry? Were they daydreaming?
...and, really, I'd imagine that the amount of people becoming villains that "Want to rule the world" would be sparse compared to the 'villains' just being kinda douchey.
Might I recommend Squadron Supreme (or even the "reboot" Supreme Power by J. Michael Strazynski) from Marvel. It is considered the best JLA story ever written and is basically the first that really grounded superhero's as ordinary people. Unfortunately, Marvel never really did anything with it so it's obviously not as well known as Watchmen (which came out a year later). In both the original and the reboot, the question is basically how far Hyperion will go to keep people safe (even if it means giving up free will).
But to be fair to Superman, his original powerset was high endurance and superstrength. He wasn't even able to fly (just jump really high). It wasn't until much later he gained McGuffin powers to solve the issue of the week.
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hasn't been that since mid 80s. also comics don't tell time between battles usually for a reason.
Guess you missed the Trash Age in the nineties when the market was flooded with filler comics. Also, one of the best storylines of Spider-Man was the descent into insanity of Harry Osborn in The Spectacular Spider-Man. All the interesting bits from that story line were told in the time between battles.
And come to think of it, there were only two major battles in the first run of the Ultimates (halfway through against the Hulk and in the finale against the Skrull) and that series was critically aclaimed.
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not missed. 90s saw more comics (each with their plots) for each hero and heroes and it has continued to this day.
It's getting very close. This is from the latest public progress report, which I update weekly:
Yes.That's awesome. So the first release is expected to be in 2024?
Updated progress:
And the full written progress report on Patreon/SubscribeStar. I publish these weekly:
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The polish and the professionalism in this game is out of this world. I'm constantly amazed by the production values and attention to detail. Just wow.
That being said, are you intentionally making the female models visually, well, "muted"? Because even with the intense and dark backdrop, they seem fairly plain.
That being said, are you intentionally making the female models visually, well, "muted"? Because even with the intense and dark backdrop, they seem fairly plain.