by Joshua Bycer
In Game Design Deep Dive: Trading and Collectible Card Games, game design analyst Joshua Bycer is back to discuss the deck-building genre, from the original success of Magic: The Gathering to today’s market with online card games like Hearthstone and Gwent. The design and philosophy of deck builders and tabletop games can be and have been applied to many genres.
Looks at the history of popular tabletop card games and collectible card games
Discusses how to design and balance your game with low numbers
Examines the application of card-based design in other genres
Perfect for students and designers to learn about designing deck builders and card-based games.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgments
Social Media: Social Media Contacts
Additional Books
1 What Is the Goal of Game Design Deep Dive: Trading and Collectible Card Games?
1.1 Introduction
1.2 What Is This Book About?
2 The Major Names of TCGs
2.1 Magic: The Gathering
2.2 Pokémon the Trading Card Game
2.3 Yu-Gi-Oh!
2.4 Where Are TCGs Today?
Notes
3 What Is TCG Design?
3.1 The General Structure
3.2 Low-Number-Design Philosophy
3.3 Creating Card Dynamics
3.4 The Popularity of Deck Builders
3.5 The Mind Games of Cards
3.6 How to Start Building a TCG/CCG
4 The Arrival of CCGs
4.1 CCG vs. TCG
4.2 Hearthstone
4.3 Shadowverse
4.4 Gwent
4.5 A Brief History of CCGs
5 How Monetization Works
5.1 Micro- (and Multiple) Transactions
5.2 Boosters and Expansions
5.3 The Secondhand Market
5.4 The Logistics of TCGs
6 Designing Cards
6.1 The Basic Template
6.2 Creating Keywords
6.3 The Different Kinds of Cards
6.4 The Impact of Rarity
6.5 Creating Expansion Sets
6.6 Be Creative
7 How TCGs/CCGs Influenced Game Design
7.1 Deck Builders and Roguelikes
7.2 Customization and Perks
7.3 The Limitations of Card-Based Design
8 Balancing the Present and Future of Your Game
8.1 Designing Decks
8.2 Resource Systems
8.3 Designing Exclusive Powers
8.4 The Balancing Act of Card Design
8.5 The Deck Builder Design Differences
8.6 Long-Term Support
8.7 Banning Cards
9 The Work Outside the Game
9.1 A Development Checklist
9.2 What Are Formats?
9.3 Battling the Meta
9.4 Quality-of-Life Updates
10 The TCG/CCG Market
10.1 The Pros and Cons of Making a TCG/CCG
10.2 The Impact of the Digital Market
11 Conclusion
Glossary
Index
