Excellent Podcast, definitely enjoyed every bit of it! As much as it went off-topic sometimes, it was always technically 'on-topic' and helped opened various good points for the HTCG community. This needs to keep going! Great going guys. Also so flattered, but thank you for the shoutouts haha!
You're totally correct, and the alternate art is a huge draw for a lot of people buying the cards. But they are also functional reprints of popular cards, so they have to be considered when looking at the third-party and singles marketplaces.
I'm listening to this podcast now and I definitely agree with what was said at about the 0:11:00 mark about not having to release a giant set every 3 months. I tried so hard to do this in my early stages and oh boy, it was so stressful. I kept setting imaginary deadlines and every time I hit them and got behind from my goals it would discourage me and even make me almost give up. I'm glad to hear that others think it's not needed to push for giant projects all the time, especially if it's an independent project with one person or a small group. That being said, I'm still listening as of making this comment, so I'll definitely add some more thoughts as they come up. Thanks for the awesome podcast!
I love the part near the 20 minute mark where you guys talked about different formats. I was planning on doing 2 formats for my game already, but no too long ago I decided to go into just one format for the time being. I thought it over, and I really didn't want to fracture my game like that. Eventually there will be a couple of formats in the future, but I'm planning on making one main format. Anything else won't necessarily be "formats", but more so fun little differences to playing the game that will probably only be played in special events for fun.
Great point in the 26 minute mark. If I construct a deck, especially one I put a lot of my own money into, I REALLY don't want to have to sell my cards to get the next deck just because it's "Good". I personally want people playing my own future games to pick up any deck they want and be able to play it basically forever. Then, if new good cards can come out they can swap them with some of their cards if they want to, but they don't have to. And that's the point. I want people to pick up something they like and love playing and keep playing it.
00:36:00 My thoughts on this: Maybe sell print on demand cards that showcase alternate artwork? Sometimes games have alternate art for cards that most players want to get more than cards having the original artwork. However, if these cards are found in only something like a Booster Box or specific set that you can sell through a game store it'll probably be better. Mainly because you're getting people who really want to buy that box because of the alternate art, then values come into play and prices for individual cards can change depending on a market price that people create.
