Why it took me 10 YEARS to design this card game
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2024
- Heads up! The name of this game has changed to Sovereign: Fall of Wormwood due to trademark issues! But we use the name Wormwood throughout the video.
We are currently LIVE on Kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
What does it take for a single person to design a game with over 300 unique cards, a complex and developed world, and 10 perfectly balanced factions? This video will give you an idea!
Hi! Cassandra, the project manager of Sovereign: Fall of Wormwood here! Damon loves talking about game design, and I thought his approach and his philosophy would be of interest to the people who already love Sovereign, as well as to anyone excited about game design in general. So, I asked him to talk about his process on video, entirely unplanned. If you have questions please put them in the comments!
Not familiar with Sovereign: Fall of Wormwood? You can find all the info as well as a free Tabletop Simulator mod and Print and Play here!
www.fallofwormwood.com
Editor:
Cassandra Chowdhury
Art Credits:
Leon Tukker
Benedick Bana
Joel Amat Guell
Tansie Stephens
Emrys Ryan
Sergey Kolesov
Joseph Diaz
Maggie Kras
Klaus Wittman
Manthos Lappas
Travis Wright
Adrian Leon
JS Wilson
Mert Genccinar
Dofresh
Joakim Eriksson
Graphic Design:
Stephen Gibson
Music Credits:
A lookout by Assaf Ayalon
Between Light and Shadow by Fabien Fustinoni
Turning Around the Enemy by MaxH
Be Still by Doug Kaufman
Approach by Jameson Nathan Jones
Arcade by Generations Lost
0:00-2:45: How it Started
2:45- 6:25: How Cards are Designed
6:25- 13:42: How Factions are Designed
13:42-17:35: The Player Experience - เกม
The explanation of why it’s not a CCG is exactly why I want it to succeed. People excited about card games that require hundreds of dollars just to get started baffle me.
Thank you! Variety is exciting. Power creep and 'investors' are not.
This is why I wonder if a model where sets could be purchased outright in their entirety, plus the ability to buy singles directly from the producer of the TCG would work. I suspect a lot of folks would be disinterested because they partially see their TCGs as investments. But even Wizards says their biggest money maker is their casual player who buys a few packs a month or year, the people who don't care to speculate on their cards like assets. I would guess those people would appreciate getting their hands on exactly what they want for a cheap price, rather than betting on packs or buying secondhand? Just random thoughts and there's probably some glaring issue with this that I'm not seeing lol I just know I would appreciate there being very low friction in getting the cards I want without breaking my wallet.
@@goosewithagibus Definitely. We were encouraged by several people to make this a TCG, because they are having a moment and making a ton of money. I can't do it, though. That's not the culture I want build around the game.
I backed this game on Kickstarter, it sounds and looks so awesome. Congrats!!
Great work! I've been following this game for a couple of months now and it is really impressive what you have been able to accomplish! Can't wait to play the final game
Thank you so much!
It’s so nice to the know the design and thought process of games are developed. Looking forward to the kickstarter!
Thanks so much!
I’ve been designing my own card game and have went down a rabbit hole of helpful TH-cam videos loaded with advice from people who have tread this road before me, and that led me to this video. Loved it! Will definitely be checking this game out and trying to convince my friends to try it with me
Thanks so much, and good luck on your own journey!
Very excited for this
Wormwood may have the best art I’ve seen in any board game.
Thank you! It has been a long journey, and we have been lucky to license from truly spectacular artists
Just came across this game today and watched the gameplay video and this video. I must say, your approach to the design of this game is incredibly refreshing. You are not just trying to make a light, simple card game but something deep and rewarding. More importantly, you are trying to deeply embed the story and world into your game, something I find often missing from modern card games. Wormwood reminds me of FFG's LCGs, all games with the theme heavily tied in to deep mechanics.
Thanks so much! I hope you can give it a try
I am quite fascinated with your game after trying it once on TTS. I am a Netrunner veteran and I can see how you took inspiration from it and how you manipulated the system to make a more streamline and less wild of a game. I was hoping Netrunner could come back with pre-constructed deck because I am not interested in LCG or CCG anymore. Very interested what you have done with this system and what you plan on doing. I respect how much effort you put in the lore of your game but to me it is gameplay first. Good job so far!
Thanks so much!
Sir, it's great listening to you and the process you've been going through. I will next make sure to read the accompanying lore book, which seems great to immerse players even more :)
Thank you!
And this is why it took 10 years to get a single sale on Amazon
Exciting stuff
The Netrunner connection got my attention, but this video just 100% sold me on the game.
Thank you!
This was just what I needed to hear from someone who had the exact same experience with TCG's as I did growing up.
There's a lot of us!
This game sounds super interesting, hopefully I can give it a try sometime soon and if I enjoy it then I'll likely back it!
One thing that really struck me about what you were saying was 'finding the hope' in every faction - I love that philosophy. And when you were describing the religious faction, it warmed my heart that you didn't just paint them all as bloodthirsty zealots out for a witchhunt. I'm a lifelong Catholic and its an all too common depiction of religious institutions as all evil (trust me, I know there can be evil done by them) so I'm very much looking forward to a depiction of what good they can bring as well, even if its just in a 'silly' little game (though like my fantasy and sci-fi books, I can't really call any games silly unless they want to be).
Thank you! One of the most interesting playtests we ever had was with someone who we found out was a pastor after playing. Religion is one of the most universal and human experiences, and because this is a game about people it's a big part of the world of Wormwood.
consider a serif font.
sans serif was designed for old monitors, you have no need for that with printed cards.
I was thinking of backing Wormwood, this video will make it an instant back for me. Hopefully you have a way to get Wormwood to Europe without all those expensive taxes, shipping and customs 🤞🏻
Thank you! We will certainly do our best, I know there are many interested people on your side of the pond. We even have an unofficial German, French, and Spanish translation in the works.
Try the Print and Play.
drive.google.com/file/d/1APUKZ1RI8gHx_pgM9pN9ZKPyC8fPeWiV/view
Maybe you can contact nullsignal games, the people who keep netrunner alive. When they make a new expansion, I order and pay it on their website and they print it in Europe and it is send directly from the factory to my home. No VAT, no customs.
Yesterday I heard about the game in an Italian podcast about board games and I devoured the few videos I found. I can't wait for the kickstarter campaign to start and I hope the Italian version will also be introduced
Best game. Period.
Wow, thank you!
I just want to play something like android netrunner without having to get used to a bunch of dumb naming conventions. Was this game an inspiration?
The artwork for this is also amazing.
Weirdly, I played Netrunner AFTER starting the design of Wormwood. But once I discovered Netrunner it certainly helped me smooth out some rough edges. Definitely the jargon in Netrunner increased the barrier to entry, and I've found that it's a lot easier for players unfamiliar with card gaming to get into Wormwood.
I am in my 5th iteration of my card game atm. The first version took me 1 year to make and it was so bad that me and my testers laught in pain.
the 2nd version was better, but still not good and so on.
Even the 4th version - while working well - was just not much fun to play.
Sometimes card games just don't work out as intended. There is just way to much stuff that has to work in harmony.
It's a complex art form! Keep at it, you'll get there
Will there be a solo mode?!
This is much requested, but it isn't something we have cracked yet. I won't put out a subpar solo mode just to have it, so for now there are no plans to release one. It's still something I have on my mind. At the very least we hope to create an app in the future and that will allow for solo campaigns!
Yes! Spore weavil fans rise up!
I would not be averse to them becoming the game mascot
The sibilance the video audio just doesn’t seem great. I would check your microphone settings.
Thanks, I recently bought a new recorder which plays much nicer with my mic. The next one will be better
talents and drones? reminds me of alpha centauri!
Alpha Centauri was a huge inspiration, for sure!
Hey, this looks incredible. However, one quick question: Is any of the art here AI generated or AI assisted? How much of this is unique and made by an artists vs AI?
Hi there! We have worked with 32 artists so far, (including amazing artists like Benedick Bana, Leon Tukker, and Dofresh) and we are still licensing and commissioning work. Much of the art we licensed we found long before AI art was even a thing, but some of the art was preconceived using AI and then painted over. It's been an amazing brainstorming tool for us and allowed us to give artists specific direction without micromanaging their work. If you want to know more about how it was used and how we have worked with artists I would encourage you to join our Discord, where we have discussed this issue before! (link on our website, check in the video details)