The Shape of a Game

A Lifted: Indomitable SITREP

Good morning, and welcome to the weekend!!

Kickstarter Backers got this update this morning, and I'm reposting it here mostly so you can see how I make the donuts, the inside baseball --the Mojo. I leaned hard into not having access to branded characters, no Capt. America, Magento, Supes, JLA. The good guys aren't that organized. That's up to the players, you. Second. Antagonists. I'm gonna be antagonist-focused in this book.

When I launched this project nearly two years ago, I thought I had plenty of time. My plan was straightforward: take the Lifted setting, which I had already framed out in Lifted: Vault 01, integrate it with the Cortex system using elements from Marvel Heroic RPG, and we’d be good to go! PROFIT!!

Then, something happened. As I started running the game, I already knew I needed rules for character generation and advancement. While I was at it, I figured I could tighten up the Plot Point economy. During this process, it hit me—you already have Marvel Heroic RPG Primed by Cortex. Always have. This realization gave me the freedom to explore the shape of Lifted into its own unique supers game while still leveraging the robust Cortex toolbox.

In my software-slinging circles, we talk about the shape of design/solutions —this becomes the shape of a game in video game design. The idea is that you take your initial thinking and play with it, test it, prod it, and explore and iterate in that discovery space. Your game, your design will be better for the time spent.

Here's what's new in Lifted: Indomitable