It’s time to talk about collectible card games or CCG. Since Wizards of the Coast unveiled Magic the Gathering in the early 90s, the genre has taken off with numerous games on the market. I’ve tried a few times to get in on the CCG craze early on, but not living near any comic shops or active hang outs , got rid of the G for me in CCG. There are some elements in CCG games that I think are perfect fits for video games and I believe that we are already seeing the influence.
Now lets talk about CCGs, while explaining the difference between Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic the Gathering is abit extreme, the popular elements that exist in each CCG isn’t. First is the collectible aspect, cards come in all forms of rarity from the common Celtic Guardian all the way to Relinquish ( I apologize if I’m bringing back any painful memories of Yu-Gi-Oh, but thanks to the TV show and online game it’s the only CCG game that I followed for some time.) One facet of these games is not even playing them, but collecting the cards, besides I think a blue eyes white dragon is cooler then a baseball card any day. There are people out there who basically buy and sell cards for profit and thanks to the next point there is a pretty big market for them.
Multiplayer, every CCG game is basically an open invitation for matches. To pit your “ultimate deck” against another player is a popular pastime. And then we have tournaments, where now those cards can equal big money for both sellers and buyers. A very rare card can tip the balance for any player and being one of the lucky ones to get it in their $3 booster set can mean a big pay out. I’ll be talking about the delicate process that is balance in these games in alittle bit, but it’s safe to say that the best way to beat someone’s rare card is with one of your own.
Now before I discuss the elements that best fit with video games, lets talk about the dark side of CCGS. While I love the CCG genre there are a few problems with it that are the nature of the beast.
Cost of entry, there is a huge difference with CCG games between playing them for fun, and playing for real. The basic starter deck of CCG games gives you the bare mininium to get a deck going, but there is no way that this deck will stand up against someone who has been collecting cards from the past few years. So your forced to buy booster paks, and if your like me you’ll get duplicates of the same crappy cards in your pak. Which leads to constant spending to get the cards you want, and of course with expansion paks means you’ll have to buy more. Let’s face it, the CCG genre is not for someone on a budget, and good luck if a card you want is rare or no longer in circulatation. And to really add insult to injury, CCGs sometimes require you to buy your way into tournements, as spending several hundred dollars on cards wasn’t enough.
The cost of entry issue leads us to my next slam against it, time and money are > skill playing. Balance in CCG games means that some cards will never beat others, and having a deck that
is made up of the most expensive cards will easily trump someone with skill. During my time with Yu-Gi-Oh online there was this popular card that not only weakens any cards that attack it, but gain a power bonus if you summon it face down. You either had to be real lucky with getting cards after the match, or have enough money to buy copies of the card. After facing someone who had 6 copies of this card in their deck, I swore off the game. Now there are some ways to circumvent this problem which is coming up in this entry. This forces players to basically commit their money in the pursuit of better cards and can downplay strategy .
With the good and the bad said, now I’ll turn my attention to what elements CCGs have that can work really well with video games.Customization is the big one for me, being able to create your own strategies and develop your deck based on your personality and such. Whether your building a deck of heavy hitters, or powerful defense cards it’s really up to each player how they want their deck to be. What I like is that there are no wrong answers per say, yes weaker cards will lose to stronger cards, but there is no instant win strategy or list of the perfect deck to use. During my time with Yu-Gi-Oh I focus on a deck that destroys my opponents deck, using various cards that have that affect and when it worked it worked very well.
Next is replayability , one thing about CCG games is that while there are still cards being made, there are new strategies and decks to build. From personal experience it is satisfying to build decks just how you want them and just getting one new card can make a huge difference . When playing against other players, you always in for a surprise as everyone has the same idea of creating their own deck which keeps things from getting stale.
Balance is a huge deal for CCGs, I would love to be a fly on the wall when the designers are putting together a new card. Unfortunately I don’t have any experience here so this section will be brief. CCGs are based on extremes for the most part, either my card is going to beat your card or it’s going to die. Balancing out cards usually requires tweaking the cost of using the card in play, that uber beast with 3000 attack points is going to require some resources to bring onto the table. Yet one of the things I like about CCGS is how there are many cards that can break all those little balancing rules. Suddenly that weaker card now has a chance of stopping that stronger card with a power boost card, or even wiping it out without going into combat. One card in Yu-Gi-Oh allows you to summon any high level card without needing sacrifices, a great way to end things early. Even while being able to break the rules with cards, the rules themselves are fully explained and leaves little room for doubt when playing. This adds another layer of complexity and strategy to CCGs.
Finally comes multiplayer, which shouldn’t be a surprise at this point . Any game that has customization and replayability begs to be played with friends. To see other decks, and most importantly see if your deck is up to code. Tournaments where rare cards are prizes will draw a huge number of fans and players and is yet another social aspect of CCGs.
There have been some games that have attempted to mix these elements in, and for the most part succeeded. God Hand for the ps2 allows players to choose all attacks and their order for combos. Age of Empires 3 takes things a step further allowing you to create a deck of upgrades that can be sent to you during gameplay. From more resources , to unique researches that can enhance your style of play. Personality this is the direction I want turn based and real time strategies to go, allow me to create my own take of the various sides that suits my needs and play style.
A few years ago a Xbox game called Phantom Clash introduced CCG aspects into a third person shooter. All your attacks and defenses are based on psychic powers that you mix and match before combat. Once again allowing you to develop your own personal style. I just picked up the game The World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS which follows this idea as well. You can pick and choose what attacks you want to use for combat and change them anytime.
Another game would be Star Chamber , which came out awhile ago. This game combines a Turn Based Strategy title with CCGs. You have access to units and such without needing cards, but the cards themselves make up all research, special abilities, hero units, and stronger units. You can also buy into tournament plays and subscribe for booster paks. My problem with the game was that I was looking for more elements of CCGs and less Turn Based Strategy.
I saved the best for last, the game that really combines these elements and is one of the better turn based strategy titles I’ve seen in awhile is Armageddon Empires. ( http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/AE/armageddon_empires.html )This game combines board games, war games, and CCGs into one amazing blend of gameplay. The only thing holding me back is the interface (of course for the people who read this blog you probably know that by now 🙂 ) . You build your army from one of 4 sides, each one features their own unique units, and buildings from which you build your deck from. At this point I could probably dedicate a whole entry to this game, but I suggest if you haven’t to check this game out.
Being able to customize your play style is an excellent leap forward in game design and even games like Call of Duty 4 and the recent BattleField game emulate this to some effect. The important detail is to give the player all available options , no booster paks and let them create from there. I don’t know if CCGs have really influence the games I mentioned here (with obvious exception to Armageddon empires) but the idea of customizing your play style was first made popular thanks to the CCG genre. By giving the player access to all available options at the start also stops players from just buying all the best options. Stronger options can be placed higher up, allowing you to keep newcomers away from expert games. Yet in First Person Shooters, a lower level player should have a chance at taking out higher levels.
For all I talk about loving the elements of this genre, I’ve only thought up one game idea that fully uses these elements. It’s a RTS game where you army is made up of toys, and you basically create your side by choosing what ever toys and buildings ( for research) that you want. In essence you create a “Toy Box” in which to fight other players, hence the name Toy Box. I really want the strategy genre to take a cue from CCGs, as using these elements in design should lead to more engaging gameplay.
Josh
