A few years ago I started designing a 1v1 deckbuilder card battler (originally a board game). I've turned it into an online video game (but it also comes with a bot for offline play). I am trying to get more people to try it out, I think they'd enjoy it (everyone that I know who's tried it liked it). Any ideas how to get people to try it out or what is most important to be improved to attract people?I've spent a most of my time on the game design and balancing (also coding the actual game), so I think it is fairly well done at the moment. I am not an artist and can't draw, so the graphic design/UI is fairly simple, but at least clean and workable, I think?By the way this is a link to the game's page: https://indjev99.itch.io/elementalAnd this to a youtube video showcasing it (a slightly older version, but yeah): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_DEWFbtfqY
>>96315518Can you play it in-browser? I dont usually do card games but ill have a look
>>96316137No, it is a downloadable game (like heartstone for example).
>>96316394Cool, but i hate hearthstone
>>96316689The game itself is not much like heartstone. I just meant it is also an executable, not a web game.
>>96315518I’ll take a look. What advice do you have for creating games like this?
>>96315518Very cool op, I am myself working on a deckbuilder but with more of a focus on multiplayer formats. In my head it plays like a combination between magic, netrunner and arkham horror lcg
>>96320790Just make a game you like playing and designing. Unless you are actually doing it for money or something. For me it's a hobby and the world is very unforgiving, so you have to enjoy it. I've always loved game design, so that helps.>>96320906Nice! Do you have a link or discord, we can exchange feedback, etc. My discord is indjev99
Thoughs on the WIP new visual update?
>>96324777>trips of hobby passionBased. What did you use to make this, in terms of coding language and/or any engines?
>>96326226>>trips of hobby passionkek, hadn't noticed>Based. What did you use to make this, in terms of coding language and/or any engines?I wrote it in C++ and have used GLFW+ImGUI+STB for the graphics and image stuff. OpenSSL+Asio for the networking and cryptography (for passwords and stuff especially).
Visual update done!
>>96328225Nice!
>>96328225What precisely did you change?
>>96315518Just downloaded this, wish me luck!
>>96315518I have to ask, why did you choose the elements that you did for the game? And what advice do you have for incorporating the elements into projects, like this or otherwise?
>>96340009I’d also like to know please.
Bump
>>96315518As a bgg fag I'll throw my hat into the ring and say the rng is probably way too high for most people's tasteHaving the dice balance the cards is a neat concept, but if you're going to be making it digital then a simple pip up/down would be impactful enough. Yes higher risk/reward with the full reroll but swinglines is the quickest way to make people assume your game has no depthAnd as a personal gripe, your action and card economy comes off a bit too safe. I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to say one element dictates your income, but if you go the 'save mana for bigger cards' you go the route of non-turns which is never fun, and if you go the Dominion route of action manipulation it just becomes tedium. I always thought leveraging the fact you're dumping your hand means you should be able to play the whole thing (or the inverse as in Mage Knight) Fwiw D. Clair just made a Mistborn game, could take some ideas from there, thematic at the very least and make it better while you're at it
>>96315518Oh hey are you the guy who was asking whether AI art is appropriate for a playtest? Cool to see you actually made something.
>>96325121Haha fucking kek
>>96340009>>96341940To be quite honest, my main creative interests are not with the "theme" but the gameplay itself. I also believe a lot in creativity inspired by limitation. So when I originally started designing the board game, I happened to have 7 colored dice on hand and their colors nicely fit into semi traditional fantasy elements. I realized quickly I want some healing, some heavier econ and more damage than these, so this led to fire, earth, nature and gold. Water is a mix of econ and damage, too (people have asked me why the water is the AoE one that also targets you, as opposed to fire -- I guess water always seemed like the more uncontrollable/less localized thing + by now I've grown into it). The purple die (magic) originally had multiplicative scaling with others, but gameplay and balancing wise that wasn't quite working so its role shifted to just being common on the endgame/expensvie cards. The orange one originally was something else (that basically affected utility cards), but that mechanic really wasn't working. After some thought (whether to remove it/repurpose it), I spotted the opportunity to have an RNG die as a balancing thing to heavy dice control (so there is some counter play) and it's been quite successful and some people really like that playstyle.So yeah basically a mix of originally being inspired by what I happened to have on hand and then slowly reworking things not working and trying to improve the gameplay.>>96349590The game is still fairly skill expressive -- like a good player can beat a mediocre player at least 9/10 times. Even looking at just the bot, the new WIP version of it (not yet released) beats the old one 85+% of the time. Plus you can essentially choose not to interact with RNG mechanics in your deck (that would of coruse not be optimal most of the time), so it usually shouldn't feel forced on you.
>>96349590In terms of action and card economy, it is a bit closer to Dominion, but I think in most mid-late games you can end up scaling quite a lot. I recently had a game where we're both playing an average of like 5 cards a turn and getting 100hp swings (since I was healing and opponent was damaging me). Most games don't get to quite this spot (if both of us just damage it is a bit more of a race), but for me the variety in game flows from game to game is good trait of the game.>I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to say one element dictates your incomeCould maybe only be the case for a small amount of early game time, but most games you'd naturally have diversity since it is hard to force only one element. Maybe an exception is if you commit to a max hp win, in which case you really care about nature.>>96337006Did you try it? What did you think?>>96349646Yeah, that's me. Thanks! I was actually already working on the game (board game version) for a while, but yeah that was the point when I got a bit more serious (some time early-mid last year I think?)
>>96315518Bump for interest.
>>96353951Second bump for interest.
>>96353951>>96357869if you're interested, actually fucking talk to the creator you cunts (>>96351943, >>96351953)
>>96315518I downloaded it and tried it. I have no idea what was going on, but you made a game anon and I am proud of you for that. I hope it does well and you continue to refine it until it is perfect in your eyes and then you start working on expansions or other projects.
New update, improved the bot AI, so it is stronger, but also configurable with difficulty modes: https://indjev99.itch.io/elemental/devlog/1013540/version-050-alpha>>96359680I'd recommend watching the video playthrough/tutorial. Planning to make an in game tutorial but haven't yet.
>>96362283Thanks for letting us know about the update.
>>96362283I fully support a tutorial. Keep up the great work!
>>96359680Not OP, but what was your issue understanding the game?
>>96316689>but i hate hearthstoneNot OP, but why?
>>96328225Nice! You do good work anon!
>>96315518>ai slopi'd rather you just use bad doodles
>>96378926Well, maybe they'll replace the art with better stuff later and that's just placeholder images.
>>96378926>>96381743Yeah, I mean, I'd love to have real art but it just doesn't make sense right now. I'm still adding cards, changing things, etc. And maybe some minority of online people really hate AI, but actually irl I've never seen anyone care and most people aren't even noticing it immediately.
>>96382768I personally think the hate is overdone myself. You do you OP.
>>96315518What are you planning to do in the next update OP?
>>96315518>Any ideas how to get people to try it out or what is most important to be improved to attract people?Maybe a fake playmat background that fits the theme of the game would make it look nicer. Also some small letters on the zones on the right just saying what they are would make it more readable. I actually think this is a pretty cool game idea. I would say write the rules down in the most easily learnable way and re-shoot that video. For example it takes 6 minutes before you introduce the element mechanic of the game, which is interesting and a selling point. Some rules questions I had while watching that were not obvious:- Do you get your new hand at the end of your turn or at the start of your opponent's turn before or after they get their mana?- What does discarding a card do?- Is your deck shuffled after putting your hand in the deck (does it go at the bottom or shuffled in?)- Does the cost to refresh the shop increase each time? Does that have a limit? I think you should aim to make this a physical game because I could really see people playing and buying something like this at a board game shop. If you do, something to consider is the amount of handling of the deck. As it stands a lot of turns are: Draw cards, play a basic income or two, put cards back (and possibly shuffle? not sure from video)Consider having the cards, particularly basic income, be more interesting and have more variety so that the early turns are: Draw, consider options for 30 seconds or so, play cards, then put hand back, you want more gameplay than deck handling. For example you could have basic income variants or a card that gains you no gold but Opts (mtg) your deck then facedowns the next card.Overall looks cool OP I might try the demo
>>96390107Probably an interactive tutorial.>>96390742Thanks for the feedback. I am planning to make a better video, especially since I've improved the visuals a bit.>Do you get your new hand at the end of your turn or at the start of your opponent's turn before or after they get their mana?You draw at the end of your turn, then the opponent starts and gets their mana.>What does discarding a card do?It just goes to the discard pile. You only discard at the end of your turn or because of some card effect.>Is your deck shuffled after putting your hand in the deck (does it go at the bottom or shuffled in?)You discard at the end of your turn. Then you draw. If the draw pile runs out (i.e. you're about to draw from an empty draw pile), then the discard pile is shuffled and put in the draw pile.>Does the cost to refresh the shop increase each time? Does that have a limit?Yes, increases by 1 each refresh during the same turn. No limit.>I think you should aim to make this a physical game.This was my original plan actually. I do have prototype physical copies (out of date by now). But this seemed easier to iterate on and playtest with people (once I put in the work of making it online).
>>96391009>Probably an interactive tutorial.I fully support this.
Interested bump
>>96393362Seconding, it’s the next logical step. Keep up the amazing job OP!
>>96324777Based.
>>96406477Indeed it is. Indeed it is.
Bump of interest
You still here OP? How's it going?
>>96414537I don't always have time for development, since I also have a full time job and do some volunteer work. Usually I find a week or so a month.
>>96315518Extremely jelly, I wish I had the time to work on my stuff
>>96421791Same here. Work just seems to completely wipe my mental and physical energy.
Big new balancing update dropped, lots of semi dead cards brought up. Dice control has been buffed across the board, so games should see more of it too.
>>96429416Nice! Thanks for letting us know!
>>96429416Alright, thanks. What's next on the agenda?
Intrigued bump
>>96440290Same here. Can't wait to see what's next.
Happy Labor Day! I wish you luck with the next update!
>>96427061I know exactly what you mean, it can be exhausting sometimes.
You still here OP? How’s it going?
Well, it looks like OP has left the building. Let's give it one final bump and if they want to post more they can make a new thread.
