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Just created: So You Want To... Make A Collectible Card Game!

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slvstrChung Since: Jan, 2001
#1: Jun 11th 2012 at 8:06:45 PM

...Help me improve it. My experience is limited mostly to M:tG; I have not so much as even touched a Yu Gi Oh card.

Make a Collectible Card Game

Talden Since: May, 2009
#2: Jun 12th 2012 at 6:25:59 AM

Interesting. I should add something from my own.

For the two years it was out in France, I played Wakfu CCG extensively, going as far as playing competitively. It was a pretty nice game, very reminiscent of Magic The Gathering for a good chunk of its aspects, but mixed with some Duel Masters for the mana curve, and using the extensive universe around the series (which encompasses two video games, books, etc) to create something unique. Despite his vocal fanbase (rule of thumb: French audience will be vocal about every single thing ever), and some trouble at launch, the game had a lot of potential. In my eyes, it was slightly superior to Magic, but of course, I'm not exactly objective here.

Unfortunately, the game stopped after two years, due to bad sales. After seven extensions and almost 2000 cards, the game just didn't sold enough in France to be worth the investment. There's a lot going on behind the scenes, and some Executive Meddling that lead to bad decisions (delayed editions, high prices at the start, shifting focus during organized play). But if it comes to the game design itself, despite being pretty solid, it had one cardinal sin: Creep.

Wakfu fell because of a combination of Power Creep and Complexity Creep.

When it started, the game was pretty straightforward: cards were simple, could be comprehended easily, and in fact there wasn't exactly any Game-Breaker. But with each extension, cards became more complex, more weird, and more powerful. It is to be expected, of course, you can't stay with basic cards all the time. But most cards from the original set were outgunned pretty quickly, to the point only a handful were used anymore. It came to a conclusion when the second big block came out, with starter decks more complex and powerful than the original ones in every aspect.

But that complexity was not a good thing either. The marketing and target audience were kids from 10 to 16-years old at the beginning, thanks to the universe that already existed. As time passed, cards became more and more tournament oriented, since the competitive players tend to buy more cards. It resulted in a textbook CCG Importance Dissonance: cards that were supposed to be powerful and important (like the Dofuses) were nearly unplayable, while cards that everyone would have dissed for their weird mechanics became staples of the tournament play. After a while, it was very hard to come with good decks if you weren't a hardened tournament player.

That's what drove off most new gamers. I've personally did a few "introduction days" for kids that were probably around twelve. I have seen some of them during tournament, but most quickly dropped off, because the game wasn't cheap (like any CCG) and hard to learn when met for the first time. This dissonance between the target audience and the actual (intellectual) level of the game meant less and less players as time went by (despite games that are much less elegant in design, like Yu Gi Oh, keeping their audience hooked). Less players meant less sell, some big tournament players dropped the game altogether, and finally, everything went down the toilet...

... Right before the newest extension would have been released, with new mechanics that were supposed to be easier, and much closer to the original animated series. It would probably have drove lots of new players with it. I still weep a little when I think about it.

The lesson you need to get from that? Never alienate part of your gamer base. If the game is too complex, you will not have a lot of new players, and the ear-to-mouth effect will diminish. Magic release a new basic edition every year who goes back to basics and introduce new concepts to player that are unfamiliar with the game. That is a good thing, and they do it for a reason. Try not to make cards obsolete by releasing strictly better cards shortly after, or you will discourage your players from invest in the game at all. Every time you make a decision, ask yourself "Am I making this to enhance the experience and attract new players, or am I just pleasing the current fanbase?". Try to look at your new game as would a newcomer, even though it's hard to forget every habit you caught designing the game.

My two cents. I hope it will help.

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