This project suffers from something I commonly see among TTRPG players who want to run a game. They have everything they need for a short campaign or even a one shot but insist on going further trying to make up for the lack of planned content by making things up. This can work with TTRPG's but does not work with a video game. You need a clear plot that intrigues the player. In this case the game opens pretty interestingly when we learn that a boy wants to be a superhero but can't because he's too poor. He has to work his ass off to make it happen basically, but where are the rivals? The hooks? The sub plots? These are needed if you are not going to have an actual overarching plot, hell sometimes they can become the overarching plot.
- What started as a subplot of Derek sexually harassing girls could eventually turn into something so ugly it turns into him becoming a supervillain out of spite or jealousy. How do I get here? Because we see he's angry from his transfer and can't do what he likes anymore. Though this raises the question of how he was given an injection. Did his parents force him? This could seriously be a great origin story for a supervillain. Even if he only ends up a lackey to a bigger fish. It also could raise the question on how much freedoms are being ignored even prior to the injections and maybe he was forced.
- Tamara turns out to be less interesting than one might initially think but she could be a villain or a spy. Yes a spy. Maybe other governments want to see how authoritarian this one is before setting up their own superpower branches so they can compete and grab more aspiring heroes by being less authoritarian? She seems upset enough at the idea of being followed or watched so it makes sense she's doing something similar, especially since she can easily figure out you are following her.
- The Initiative appears to be the good guys but from the few scenes you get with some of the personnel it's anything but that. They are just government lackeys and in the worst way, they have lost any power to enact political change. So what happens when this government decides it's not okay to have personal gardens? This actually happened during COVID in several states that banned selling gardening supplies so don't say it can't happen here.
- This very same government fears the protagonist because he's capable of becoming like Superman, a living god. So much so that before he has even done anything outside of public service they are talking about reclamation. This only adds to my previous statement about the potential abuse of power. It also shows however that there are clearly drawn lines and possibly factions within these organizations. While many call for reclamation some use their influence to stop it. Why? They don't know Billy. Is it possible they are looking for a specific person who can become a messiah like figure among heroes All Might style? Again though, why? Could it be a religious thing or some prophecy someone who gained future sight had?
- What is reclamation? Why can't we research it? What all does it entail? This could have huge implications and impact on the MC and how he sees the government. It could also be a focal point for normal people to protest. Maybe they don't like the stipulations of becoming superpowered and maybe foreign powers being less tyrannical about it are pushing these protests? The ramifications of this action with how the nurse made it sound are infinite. This could be used as a backdrop for just about anything and everything that happens in the game.
This was all FANTASTIC to think about and it's how a person should react to story points and character actions but then it suddenly kind of vanishes. This is a shame because this game had me thinking hard. There is so much to work with to build a world and all of it is already in the game. I'd say the problem here is the idea that the dev needs to add more. I think refinement is in order. I mean give me a few days and I could whip up a whole quest line around just about any single character.
Example Quest/Character Refinement: Samantha
Samantha is a paranoid cheerleader who seems to be tied to biology. It would stand to reason that she's perhaps she is more paranoid than most because she is into biology and has a secret project. In fact if you ask her over she can't stay long and never even makes it to your room. Why is this? Why the interest in biology? If we take into account that Larson has plans to make her school an option outside The Initiative to train superheroes then this could mean a few things. Perhaps she can't stay out late because despite your control over her she has an all encompassing goal to be able to modify humans. So even when you make a booty call she's in a hurry. Biology certainly covers this concept and the majority of the research behind genetic modification. How do we know she isn't superpowered herself like Freddy? It's entirely possible that her curfew exists for that reason. Her parents know that criminals skulk in the dark and if something should happen their little secret would be out. Maybe her project has something to do with the limit of injections a person can receive or maybe she is simply a villain in the making, biding her time and using the cheer squad she's a part of as test subjects without anyone knowing. Waiting for her time to strike. Perhaps she is working with Larson behind the scenes to boost her schools prestige once again with a super discovery. There is any number of connections here and Samantha could be incredibly dangerous and hiding in plain sight or a brilliant independent scientist who simply doesn't want the government for aforementioned reasons to interfere with her work. This all based on three character traits. Biology, Cheerleader, Paranoid.
This game having multiple mods speaks leagues for it's potential but what speaks even more for it is the parts where the dev clearly was having fun designing the game. It doesn't take much to connect characters to each other or motives. This game doesn't just pull what every other superhero games does and go, "THOU ART SUPERHERO! HUZZAH!", and give you clearly evil enemies to smash. It asks you what kind of superhero you want to be and goes beyond that asking you how that will impact what kind of person you are. It gives you the agency to work around and within various organizations and people who may or may not agree with the established order but who all approach it in different ways. I am immeasurably sad to see this game get put on the back burner or even abandoned.