Important! My Hero Automata Poll!
- Option 1 - Join the Guild System 56
- Option 2 - Become Pro Heroes: 5
- Option 3 - Engineering a Better Future 96
Alright, folks! I mentioned in the most recent release of My Hero Automata, that I would be putting up a poll that would majorly affect the direction My Hero Automata goes in. Essentially, the purpose of this poll is to determine the general focus of the story going forward. We have, for all intents and purposes, hit the end point of my original planning. I had everything up to the Invasion at least outlined when I first put fingers to keyboard for the story. What to do once the initial invasion was under control was honestly always more of a series of question marks with only vague plans. I have, since then, refined those plans a little, but there are three possible major themes that the story could focus on going forward. Let's look at the options!
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Option 1 - Join the Guild System: Izumi/Momo/Jirou join the forming Guild System. In this option the development of the first Guild becomes the focus point of the story. They are forced to navigate how to make the new system work, including facing pitfalls where the Hero Industry failed a bit, such as when the Japanese Hero System leaned too heavily into Idol Culture and ended up with a lot of heroes that were really more showy celebrities than Heroes.
This path also focuses on the Big Bad, in a way. Lots of fighting within the Rift Bubbles and taking on bosses that require 10-20 man combat teams. Generals of the Empire might become major powers to overcome, right alongside administrative and logistics issues. Expect more Epic Level Fights. The sorts of battles that Super Man, the X-men, or even X-Com might get involved with.
Option 2 - Become Pro Heroes: Izumi/Momo/Jirou don't join the Guild System. The Guild System will still come into existence, but the trio decides that they wish to continue on their path towards being traditional Heroes. They stay in the new, revised Hero course and we start seeing them engage with the more sneaky threats that the Empire has to offer. They hunt down monsters that possess politicians and deal with cultists that get it into their fool heads to align with the invaders in exchange for power and influence.
Combat and missions in this path are more closely aligned with what individuals like Batman, John Constantine, Daredevil or even the X-files and Warehouse 13 crew focus on. Investigations, mysteries, and foiled plots, instead of Epic Battlefields.
Option 3 - Engineering a Better Future: Izumi and Momo focus on neither the Guild or Heroics. Jirou may join one or the other, but Izumi and Momo (along with 2B of course) choose to shift their focus away from direct action. While they may occasionally be called to fight, for the most part they focus on putting their brains to work and develop new options for all sides/factions (Human factions) of the fight.
If that means they build Big Stompy Robots al la BattleTech for the JSDF to fight with, they do that. If it means solving logistics issues by building an orbital infrastructure for asteroid harvesting and zero-g manufacturing? They do that too. All while continuing to develop the systems needed for the Guilds and Heroes to do their jobs. Need a changeling detector? They can do that. Need a mobile base that can house a Guild? They do that too. In this path they become the guiding hand of the tech and industrial might that can help eventually overcome the enemy.
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All three of these will have some level of crossover. Even if they join the Guild path, they might end up being called on to invent an important thing. If they become a Hero, they might find themselves falling into a trap that sucks several city blocks into a Rift Bubble and they had to save everyone in an Epic Battle. Etc. Etc. There is a degree of crossover between the paths, so what you're voting on here is the PRIMARY focus. What sort of content do you want to see the most of, going forward? They've been doing most of these things to some level all along. What part of the story do you most want to see more of?
Get your votes in! The poll is open to all Patrons, but it will only run for one week! So don't dally! Feel free to ask questions in the comments!