In the old Champions 4th Edition, Aaron Allston included a campaign planning sheet for use in his version of a Session Zero. It outlined how to construct a campaign from scratch by ticking boxes, since Champions was fully a construction kit that required the GM to make a custom setting every time. These could be used as building blocks to emulate any subgenre of fiction.Yes, I hear you - which is why I'm suggested that they should (and hopefully will) keep the core game still "traditional D&D," which is part of what made 5E so successful. They shouldn't forget that.
Rated 1-5 they were:
Morality (1 = black and white... to 5 = morality is always in shades of grey)
Realism (1 = Very Romantic... to 5 = Extremely Realistic)
Outlook (1 = Very Optimistic, almost everything works out... to 5 = Very Pessimistic, almost nothing works out)
Seriousness/Tone (1 = Very Lighthearted - almost everything played for laughs... to 5 = Almost entirely serious)
Continuity (1 = Entirely Episodic...to 5 = Entirely Serial, everything must fit the story line)
A traditional four color comic campaign was modeled top to bottom: M2, R2, O2, S3, C4
A gritty street-level superhero campaign was: M4, R4, O4, S4, C5
It occurs to me that WOTC is favoring a play style of M1-2, R1-2, O1-2, S1-2, C variable, but mostly 1-2. So, clear cut morality, focus away from realism/simulation, optimistic worldview, friendly/lighthearted/safe seriousness, & short term episodic play.
While there's nothing wrong with this, I wish they'd support different approaches to play. As we've mentioned earlier, people's tastes change, as do demographics. By supporting different ways to play, they could more easily adapt to changes in player preference in the market place, and capture all of the players, instead of just some of the players.