TCG Design Log 3 - Life: The Little, Subtle Mistake 

"The more I worked on it, the more it felt like an imitation of another game" I am glad I'm not alone in my frustrations

A lot of cool insight here! I would love an in-depth video on your play testing process - stuff like identifying problems, how you know if something is wrong with the individual cards vs. the system itself, what things you take note of during playtest games, etc.

Not only was this video informational and very well made as usual, but there was even a kamen rider ryuki reference? That msde ny day lol

I was a little iffy on the mechanics and ideas, but god damn, after this revamp it looks sooo much fun to play!!! Keep up the good work!

If your eldritch lord being defeated is What loses you the game, and it’s you playing the seals that unveils it and makes it fightable, what’s to stop/disincentive you from just refusing to unveil it?

I already adore these videos and your overall process, but that Kamen Rider Ryuki reference definitely made this even cooler for me, if I’m being honest.

these videos are awsome, i love all the content ive seen so far, and ive blasted through like 25 vids or something, the last two day Not only are these videos fascinating, in and of themselves. These videos are also just a great shortcut, I really like when you go through different systems and talk about pros and cons of mama systems, health systems etc. These vids are so good that i wanna download all of them so that i can be sure that i can always acess them forever, even if you where to delete your channel or something

all this is good content!, I made a hibrid between wargame and TCG and a lot of points you've discussed in this series of videos were brought up at the table (even before I was aware these concepts were a thing).

Love these. Really making me want to pick up one of my old ideas and work on them after I'm don't this season of Ceremonies.

Awesome to see the game still evolving. Some of these changes are pretty exciting!

Your life system is pretty genius. I might take some inspiration from it.

But If the Eldritch lord revels wore the win condition It self, and you figth to disrupt the oponent ritual

The power of boss is degreading in every video without noticing..

questions after a quick first view: 1- are you working alone on the game? focusing on the mechanics of the game and on the feel of it at the same time can be hard. like with text and illustrations it can be a good idea to focus on one at a time or search help. 2- the look of the game sure looks familiar. Having new ideas is very hard. 3- so what were your inspirations for this game? anime? 4- the game needs variety. what typesof tdecks are there? what type of e.lords? as a concept have you considered that not all e. lords will be subtle? 5- in your opinion what would this game/ this ideas offer to players that they cannot find somewhere else on the market?

How about do what I'm doing, include it ALL! like what idea you are going for will be the main game while the other ideas if you still like them be a little format spin-off, like how I made a boss rush like format into mine, I could create another game just for that, but I didn't like that and want to include my game in just about everything I create, so I created a format to suit it. I basically have 24 formats, 12 players are familiar with, like: Draft Casual (a watered down game, some stuff are taken out so it won't complicate the game nor will have huge meta competition like YuGiOh, its basically anime Yugioh if you know what I mean) Noob (placeholder name for a format for new players, just the bare tactical strategy and when the get the drift move up to casual which will include more stuff) Tournament (basic tourney rules and the main one) Melded World (another placeholder, basically every card is legal, let the chaos commence). Multi-player. And 12 others that I happen to be fond of because they are different from others, like Bounty (you get a bounty, defeat that opponent to win the game before the others get theirs), Boss Rush (you choose your units from your deck, I believe I put down 24, and utility cards, you loose if those cards are defeated, still figuring it out but each time your opponent attacks a card is revealed and either immediately puts on the field or activated), etc. I'm trying to make sure that I make them so they can be universal with one deck. If you find yourself going to make a huge decision, maybe you can split the game in half, one side has it while the other does not, choose one to be the main game and the other a spin off format, that way players can choose which one they would like to play instead of being forced down a one way path that probably gets a bit boring, it's like playing the same Yugioh over and over again, but there's only that meta tourney format which the game is broken, if there was multiple you can focus on fixing that format while others aren't leaving the game and instead playing a different one for not. Remember, not all need to be split, sometimes it might not be great as a different format. For my Tourney it includes every ounce of my game but it has a ban list (for those that I make that are too OP by itself). And a Restraining Order list, which think of it like this: Think of Yugioh for example, if 1 card combined with another is VERY OP, instead of banning one or all, tell them that that those cards cannot be in the same deck. That way when powercreep acres it's ugly head, it will be forced in a box which I have control over unlike the other card games struggling, I found a way to quarantine the virus so it won't hurt the rest of the game especially when I delete the problem, I made it so the rules can be versatile, and if a card has a key word that makes it OP I can Errata text it easily by including the Overwrite mechanic which I simply Overwrite it's keyword ability so things don't get stale and the card does not run away with an OP ability, like if the card does not say Once Per Turn and is spamming and is ruining the game, I can Overwrite an OPT into it, the old cards will be playable but every judge should have a list of Overwritten cards so the old cards should be playable but players should also receive a heads up when a card is about to and is Overwritten. That way you can keep those outdated cards but you must also know the Overwritten ability too, a quick search shall do, and I'll allow people to Overwrite the card themselves with White Out (if possible, or a better one, write it on a piece of paper and slide it into the card sleeve so the card isn't ruined but you'll know what it now says) and write what has been Overwritten, if they dare write what is not written, their deck will be Immediately Disqualified. I can quickly change the game rules depending on what's OP, what kind of card I'm creating, and what is needed, I prefer to have a game complete with ways to avoid powercreep the best of my ability, and if you are board with my game, there are 24 exact formats to mess around with, and one of them will be called House Rules, to further add variety, it has its own taste to appeal to a certain group but all in all its flexible enough to pull in alot of people, I hope, because one of the new features I created is tactical depth, one card type is like a Pokemon card with multiple attack/defending types, they can use it to attack or block, and it's most likely people will go for them unless I make the others niche as well, but the problem lies is the attack types, 4 of them: Melee: Basic, nothing special. Range: Does not take damage when it's blocked but can also attack certain others individualy like Flyers and only take damage by certain others like Range etc. Spiritual: a attack that is out of your control, you can say luck based but only a few cards will have that. Here's what you do: Roll 1 Flip a coin, heads is a ➕ tails is a ➖ (don't have a coin just Roll the die, 1-3 = ➖ 4-6 =➕.) Roll 2 Example: Roll 1 is 3, Coin is Heads, Roll 2 is 4, the sum is 7, and if you're attacking a unit it gets a +00 at the end, if opponent well just use the sum as it is. Environmental: whatever attack your opponent picks your unit will gain that attack and it's ability, basically a Yugioh Copy Cat card, using the opponents weapon against them. Like Pokemon some attacks have abilities like a fire sword will evoke an ability that resembles getting burned. To me I call it depth for I can create just about anything, but what do you think? *Sorry That You Had To Jump Over The Great Wall Of China Text.*

From my perspective the flavor of avatar-style card games is really different from ones that don't have avatar cards, just as a rule, and that might be why the game had a big feel of being more like Vanguard or Wixoss, because if the concept of the decks that the game is centered on is building towards summoning an avatar card then it is one of those games. With the explanation of the reworked seal system my immediate thought is that it would be the sort of level of impact as one of Yugioh's older alt win cons like Destiny Board, Final Countdown or Exodia, both of which are extremely impactful and get the intended feel across because they are alt win conditions. Well, Exodia has kinda been diluted into solitaire but back in the day when the only way to build Exodia was to make a stally deck it really does sort of have the feel of an eldritch monster slowly approaching when you like destroyed a Sangan and see them add an Exodia piece. The entire game would become a race to beat your opponent before they draw into all 5 pieces, or if you're lucky you might even be able to snipe one. With how famous and popular Exodia is, I don't think it would be a BAD idea to take him as an inspiration for how the mechanics of a game centered around summoning unstoppable sealed gods could work. It just seems kinda weird for a game with the core concepts Mirror World has to not be able to work an Exodia equivalent using its core rules. I also recall playing a little bit of OverDress Vanguard via the video game and the ridiculousness of some of the decks like the meteor one that does almost nothing for the first few turns but when it hits Grade 3 starts having access to being able to wipe your entire board for free and having the Vanguard swing for like Critical +4. The only practical way to beat the deck seemed to be to just go full defense and let it deck itself out because all the searching and Soul Charging it does makes it chew through its deck at a ridiculous speed. While the aforementioned, "This feels less impactful because it happens every game" is in play, making the alt win con of deckout being transferred to the primary win con probably did get a similar feel across that Mirror World is aiming for. I think that the core of what I'm just sorta thinking out loud here is that the primary issue with the rules up to this point IMO is just the lack of different victory conditions. For the feel of the game, being able to win prior to the Lord even appearing, or the game being designed such that winning without directly beating the Lord via something like deck are practical strategies are probably how the game could have its intended feel.

just wanted to share my experience using similar mechanic as "field gradually increasing from 1 to 5", as I used literally that, problem I encountered was it was miserable for player going second as they will always behind in field size. It's far worse in my game because the resource is tied to your unit on field lol. fortunately found some way around it

I am glad I found this video because I am also having the same troubles with my TCG. I thought about using a level-up mechanic for "Heroic" characters, but I felt like I was ripping off Vanguard / Grand Archive / WiXoss and somewhat ripping off BSS and Duel Masters.

nice gameplay but why increments of 1000?

Let me know when your ready to work on another game.

Well, I can say that my card game concept kind of had the opposite problem that yours did during the first play test. My play test participant told me that he understood the gameplay and was having a blast playing my game, but even after what must have been dozens of turns neither of us could make any headway towards actually winning. The victory condition was too difficult to reach as the opponent had too much time to counter any offensive, and vice versa.

I watched Log 2 before this and notice you mentioned exploring consumable & renewable resources systems in both. Have you considered a renewable system that does not automatically reset each turn, but is instead tied to some other action or exchange? For example, one may need to discard in order to untap.

I watched your vid twice i the last few days, and i tried to look a possible fixes for ur game and this is the idea that i come up with, have u consider the early game of ur game to unleash ur lord and making teh win con sealing ur opponents lord ? ill try to explain it the best i can. u start with your lord hidden"like u wanted", the first 2 or 3 turns u work to unleash it full power and unkillable. make this phase 100% of the time for both players with diferent dynamics and playstyles some boosting "seals mechanics", "resources or card draw" or even raw creature power to contest the field or even spells tto avoid the field entierly. during ur mid game u work towards weakening ur opponents lord with "Seals" meaning the game resolves around trying to seal ur opponents lord while not letting him seal urs. Late game kill ur opponent lord as win con, by making killing ur lord as a win con and requiering ur lord to "DO IT" it creates a unique dynamic around the field, making in a sort of a race that can go back and foward.

I'm really curious how you make your test play cards. Do you already have a video about it by chance? If not would you consider making one?

Quick question, what did u use to make the design of the cards?

So is there a DragReder in this game? 😂

These "Lesson N" segments are becoming kinda... obvious? Dont get me wrong, I like the format and respect the work, so what I want to convey is supposed to be constructive in nature. I think that the moral here should be more something like: "L5: in rules concepting, make sure to consider how each pillar-mechanics affects the flow of gameplay." As this part is very much about how the game flows from begenning to end. One could also add: "Pay additional attention to what happens in the last couple of turns of the game, as you can easily forget that, as most work will be done with the early game."

How about do what I'm doing, include it ALL! like what idea you are going for will be the main game while the other ideas if you still like them be a little format spin-off, like how I made a boss rush like format into mine, I could create another game just for that, but I didn't like that and want to include my game in just about everything I create, so I created a format to suit it. I basically have 24 formats, 12 players are familiar with, like: Draft Casual (a watered down game, some stuff are taken out so it won't complicate the game nor will have huge meta competition like YuGiOh, its basically anime Yugioh if you know what I mean) Noob (placeholder name for a format for new players, just the bare tactical strategy and when the get the drift move up to casual which will include more stuff) Tournament (basic tourney rules and the main one) Melded World (another placeholder, basically every card is legal, let the chaos commence). Multi-player. And 12 others that I happen to be fond of because they are different from others, like Bounty (you get a bounty, defeat that opponent to win the game before the others get theirs), Boss Rush (you choose your units from your deck, I believe I put down 24, and utility cards, you loose if those cards are defeated, still figuring it out but each time your opponent attacks a card is revealed and either immediately puts on the field or activated), etc. I'm trying to make sure that I make them so they can be universal with one deck. If you find yourself going to make a huge decision, maybe you can split the game in half, one side has it while the other does not, choose one to be the main game and the other a spin off format, that way players can choose which one they would like to play instead of being forced down a one way path that probably gets a bit boring, it's like playing the same Yugioh over and over again, but there's only that meta tourney format which the game is broken, if there was multiple you can focus on fixing that format while others aren't leaving the game and instead playing a different one for not. Remember, not all need to be split, sometimes it might not be great as a different format. For my Tourney it includes every ounce of my game but it has a ban list (for those that I make that are too OP by itself). And a Restraining Order list, which think of it like this: Think of Yugioh for example, if 1 card combined with another is VERY OP, instead of banning one or all, tell them that that those cards cannot be in the same deck. That way when powercreep acres it's ugly head, it will be forced in a box which I have control over unlike the other card games struggling, I found a way to quarantine the virus so it won't hurt the rest of the game especially when I delete the problem, I made it so the rules can be versatile, and if a card has a key word that makes it OP I can Errata text it easily by including the Overwrite mechanic which I simply Overwrite it's keyword ability so things don't get stale and the card does not run away with an OP ability, like if the card does not say Once Per Turn and is spamming and is ruining the game, I can Overwrite an OPT into it, the old cards will be playable but every judge should have a list of Overwritten cards so the old cards should be playable but players should also receive a heads up when a card is about to and is Overwritten. That way you can keep those outdated cards but you must also know the Overwritten ability too, a quick search shall do, and I'll allow people to Overwrite the card themselves with White Out (if possible, or a better one, write it on a piece of paper and slide it into the card sleeve so the card isn't ruined but you'll know what it now says) and write what has been Overwritten, if they dare write what is not written, their deck will be Immediately Disqualified. I can quickly change the game rules depending on what's OP, what kind of card I'm creating, and what is needed, I prefer to have a game complete with ways to avoid powercreep the best of my ability, and if you are board with my game, there are 24 exact formats to mess around with, and one of them will be called House Rules, to further add variety, it has its own taste to appeal to a certain group but all in all its flexible enough to pull in alot of people, I hope, because one of the new features I created is tactical depth, one card type is like a Pokemon card with multiple attack/defending types, they can use it to attack or block, and it's most likely people will go for them unless I make the others niche as well, but the problem lies is the attack types, 4 of them: Melee: Basic, nothing special. Range: Does not take damage when it's blocked but can also attack certain others individualy like Flyers and only take damage by certain others like Range etc. Spiritual: a attack that is out of your control, you can say luck based but only a few cards will have that. Here's what you do: Roll 1 Flip a coin, heads is a ➕ tails is a ➖ (don't have a coin just Roll the die, 1-3 = ➖ 4-6 =➕.) Roll 2 Example: Roll 1 is 3, Coin is Heads, Roll 2 is 4, the sum is 7, and if you're attacking a unit it gets a +00 at the end, if opponent well just use the sum as it is. Environmental: whatever attack your opponent picks your unit will gain that attack and it's ability, basically a Yugioh Copy Cat card, using the opponents weapon against them. Like Pokemon some attacks have abilities like a fire sword will evoke an ability that resembles getting burned. To me I call it depth for I can create just about anything, but what do you think?