Superhero City was launched in June 2009 as a role-playing game on Facebook that allowed users to take on superhero identities. Within a month it gained thousands of dedicated fans. Over the following years it grew significantly, adding new features, locations, events and tournaments. It engaged users through collaborative role-playing and competitive gameplay between leagues. The document provides a retrospective on the game's development history and milestones from 2009 to 2010.

1. Superhero City: A Retrospective

2. "For many, Superhero City is more than just a game -- it's an extension of the real world, an alternate reality. A home away from home, if you will." Mark Otero Mayor, Superhero City

3. In the beginning... A scrappy team of creative dreamers and hobbyists (ie. nerdy gamers) came together with a vision: to build a role-playing game that would take KlickNation leaps & bounds beyond their daily gifting apps such as Daily Babes , Daily Hunks & Happy Pills . Circa March 2009: Planning on a game called Hero's Life was well underway. Its aim: to build "the most emotionally fulfilling game... on Facebook".

4. Indeed, the developers had very high expectations, as Mark put it: "All of our hopes, dreams, and aspirations were built into the game in one storyline or another." Circa May 2009: While programmers worked on the game's battle engine, names were still being debated. Amongst shortlisted names were: Superhero Academy Clash of Heroes Hero's Life (or Hero's Life 2D) Clash of the Champions War of Champions

7. Another design iteration prior to name change to  Superhero City . Recognize anything?

8. Finally, on June 16th 2009, Superhero City was launched! Finally, on June 16th 2009, Superhero City was launched! It is the first role playing game - within a social network - to feature an animated battle system with an arena that supports hundreds of unique animations (with sound effects) and uses an odometer to display dynamically generated attack and defense values.

9. Within a month of launching, Superhero City garnered thousands of dedicated fans. This unofficial video promo was created by a fan in July 14th, 2009:

10. July 23th, 2009: Superhero City made a splash when it was featured in Sacramento's CBS13.

11. July 31st 2009: First Alien Transmission received "Heroes of Superhero City , we have an urgent message. While our developers were working on improving your experience, they intercepted a mysterious broadcast addressing you, the heroes. We are working frantically to decode the broadcast and once we have, we will reveal it. We don't know where the broadcast came from, nor do we know who sent it, but what we do know is the sender isn't friendly. Stay vigilant, heroes!" Mark Otero Mayor, Superhero City

12. August 1st 2009: Alien Transmission Decoded. It is Quasar from Zigon proclaiming an invasion on Earth!

13. Challenged heroes' immediate response to Quasar:

14. Contrary popular perception, The Alliance *didn't* start as a league; they were merely targets singled out by Quasar who banded together to stop this invasion.

15. August 6th to 17th 2009: Zigonian Saga: Parts 1 to 4

16. September 2009: Sound, Leagues & Animated Backgrounds Another eventful month for Superhero City , September saw the addition of sound effects, background music, new animated backgrounds, new content, revision of Manhattan and other cities, and last but not least, LEAGUES!

17. October 2009: Midgard, Halloween & SHC's Facelift

18. Here is a design iteration (circa October 2009) that didn't make production (awesome though it is...)

19. November 2009: New Leaderboards, League Wars, Atlantis, Thanksgiving and... J-String Man accidentally battled ThinkingStiff, managing to take 2 life points! Also, Nine Planets Crusade launched their "Origins" , taking role-playing to new heights. It was a very exciting time in SHC's history as leagues fought each other, role-playing dominated forum walls, and then the unthinkable happened...

20. Disaster struck... Chaos reigned amongst leagues as several top-ranking players stepped down, The Alliance disbanded, and ThinkingStiff left. Amindst this, SHC's Mayor made his historic clarion call for all citizens to stand up and be true heroes: "Now is the time to stand up, step forward, and be a true hero. Turn the pressure into an opportunity to unite some of the strongest heroes under your leadership and vision. The old and new heroes will come together again. Superhero City will be stronger than ever. Are you ready to fight alongside some of the most powerful heroes and stand for justice? Do you have what it takes? Can you lead your army to greatness and attract other great heroes?"

21. December 2009: Ability Mastery, Nexus, Winterfest & Christmas Missions ...and a Level 7 player, Wolfman, won 20,000 Merit Points in the Sweepstakes!

22. January 2010: New Year, New Avatar Creator, New Layout, New Bug Fixes! On a more somber note: The Haitian Tragedy struck a chord among SHC's heroes, uniting them in their effort to help the disaster-stricken nation.

23. February 2010: Vegas, SHC Competitions and the start of something BIG... A date in a strip club; epic battles competition; Super Bowl abilities; VD abilities; and preparation for SHC's First League Wars Tournament!

24. March 2010: Elite Bosses, March Madness and League Wars Tournament! SHC's First League Wars Tournament took off with a bang! Intense participation and role-playing carried the attention of players right into April.

25. April 2010: League Wars Tournament Finals, <7> Seven Sins, Earth Day Mission, A Hero Passes Away RIP: Richard Navarrete aka Dick Maximus aka {F~O~J} Tranny Manny. You're dearly missed.

26. May 2010: Toronto, An Odd Request, New Items, Blue Scream of Death Toronto, the highest level city, was released, followed by the first cross-city mission arc, &quot;An Odd Request&quot;. Mascots were released, plus many new features. The controversial attack animation, &quot;Blue Scream of Death&quot; continued to perplex players.

27. June 2010 - Present: Second League Wars Tournament, SHC's First Anniversary! More content is released: &quot;Find the Bombay Sapphire&quot;. The controversial Epic Attack Orb is retired. Preparations for SHC's Second League Wars Tournament is well underway.

28. A very big &quot;THANK YOU&quot; to all players, moderators, volunteers, fans and supporters of SHC... We would not have come this far without you! Our journey as heroes has but just begun. There is still so much MORE to look forward to in the years to come!