Guided by this information, the Goblin Artisans authors have made a decision on which set we'll lead as a design project. And that set is...
Ekkremes!
We are extremely excited about the "mecha" idea: combining artifacts to form giant robots. It's the kind of big idea like Infect or Werewolves that has enough spice to be a flagship mechanic for a large set. We're also interested in the theme of Magic vs. Technology as a central conflict in a world.
Ekkremes has undergone massive changes since its original pitch by Circeus, but those were only the beginning. Now that we're starting the actual design process, both flavor and mechanics will be continually reshaped and reimagined until we've crafted something that feels perfect.
This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, because both Ankh-Theb and Frontier also have tons of potential. The bad news is, we simply don't have the time and energy to continue designing three sets as once! But the good news is, Goblin Artisans will not run out of raw material for the next few years.
Thank you, readers, for your enthusiasm, creativity, and patience during the set selection process. We've all learned a lot through these discussions. But now, it's time to get designing!
This was a dilemma for me. I was confident that Frontier could have an amazing drafting environment as well as produce epic games. But the individual mechanics don't necessarily look that splashy, unlike Rise of Eldrazi's Level Up or Annihilator mechanic, which not only create good game play but also look splashy and make you want to try it out even in a vacuum. I also had a very specific view of how it should be done, and the mechanics I was suggesting had to go together as a gestalt or they didn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteThe Mech mechanic we playtested is almost like Level Up, Dual Faced Cards, or Infect. It is awesome. But that is just one compartment of the set, unlike something like Morph or Suspend that sets the direction for the whole set. We have to redesign almost everything else about the set from scratch, including the central theme as well as the antagonists to the Mechs. Also, while the mechanic is fun to play in Intro deck vs Intro deck format, it has the danger of creating a very stressful draft environment like Scars of Mirrodin's Metalcraft.
Overall, I think it's good we chose the Mechs, but it's going to take a lot of work.
This "Mech" ability very similar I had to an idea for my Steampunk set.
ReplyDeleteIt's been attempted by a lot. Steamflogger boss has a lot to answer for.
DeleteI want to thank everyone who contributed designs, ideas and criticisms along the way, and request that you continue to help shape Ekkremes into something we can all be excited for.
ReplyDeleteFor those who were rooting for something else, remember that professional designers are regularly assigned projects they wouldn't pick for themselves. It is a challenge to design for something that doesn't appeal to you, but it is a required skill for full-time designers. Part of the solution, I expect, is finding the parts that do appeal to you and polishing them so everyone can appreciate them.
For those who were most interested in Ekkremes, congratulations, but don't grow complacent. While I still think we should test a lot of the payment-matters and other mechanics that were proposed along the way, their inclusion is far from ensured. In fact, it's actively questioned. The only thing I understand Ari to be truly committed to is the Mecha. With that as the backbone of our set, I expect designs that support Mecha or the environment they require will to thrive.
All this theorycrafting has been a lot of fun, but I'm glad that we've settled on a path and am really excited to help and see it take shape.
Indeed, it would be impossible to use every single mechanic that has been proposed for Ekkremes. I think we should start with the very best one (mecha) and work outwards from there. More posts on this coming soon, of course.
DeleteEven after Jay's article proposing the layout, I still don't understand how it works. What did the front side's do?
ReplyDeletehttp://goblinartisans.blogspot.com/2013/03/ccdd-032713mecha_27.html
And I also don't understand how the art on the back is supposed to be split up so the mixing and matching works. Trying to implement this concept with physical cards will be very challenging.
I'm suprised to see a selection made at this point, especially after Chah's two-part exploration of Gold was just published. but I'm happy to start playtesting mechanics and sharing feedback.
We didn't try the implementation described there. Our mecha thus far are "normal" DFC artifact creatures that flip into two halves of a big artifact creature. I'll have a post up soon explaining how they work.
DeleteGetting the art to work would absolutely be a huge challenge. If we were actually Design, we'd have to get Creative to sign off on this first. But since we aren't actually hiring a bunch of artists to illustrate this set, I think our imaginary team of artists are clever enough to make it work.
@Nich, I had a lot of ideas about Frontier and Ankh Theb, and having these ideas, I wanted to explain them. It didn't necessarily mean we were going to do Frontier, and I still intend to finish my 3-parter about Ankh Theb as well!
DeleteIt looks like we've accumulated something like an X-year plan like of sorts, with a backlog of ideas worth several years!
I can't help feeling amused by this, because I have come to realize I work somewhat better in flavor/worldbuilding than in design, at least as far as Ekkremes is concerned (I still haven't figured out how to properly turn my initial idea into something coherent). Not that I won't contribute as much as I can, though I have been distracted by working on my my afterlife/delve Ankh-theb concept.
ReplyDeleteI think I was pulling for AnkhTheb, but this was my second pick, and I'm pretty psyched about it.
ReplyDelete