To compete in the GDS2, I will need to design an interesting world that leads to fun mechanics and gameplay. I'm not going to commit myself to anything this early, but I wanted to share my thought process for a first attempt at a concept.
Step 1: What do I Like?
My favorite conceptual aspect of Magic is the color wheel. I love the philosophical and idealogical aspects of each color, and how that translates into mechanics.
My favorite set theme was Shards of Alara. It explored the color pie in a way that had never been done before, giving us five worlds that embodied different aspects (and absences) of each color. I like the way it gave each segment a distinct mechanical identity.
My favorite unexplored space in Magic is the color wheel aspects outside of their stereotypes. People forget that red is the color of passion and love, and black is the color of open-mindedness and dealmaking.
Step 2: World Concept
Imagine, if you will, a world where each color has found peace and lives in harmony with its ideals. Red is the color of artists and lovers. Blue is the color of teachers and philosophers. Black is the color of idealized Randian capitalists, living in a mutually-beneficial society of enlightened self-interest. Magic is powerful and widespread, but not used for violence.
Now, this world comes under attack by some horrible outside force, shattering the peace and prosperity. Utopia is under attack by violent forces they do not understand. Finally, here is the lynchpin of the theme: They fight back.
Step 3: Thematic Concept
In two words, "Weaponized Paradise."
What does it look like when red mages kill you with love and creativity rather than rage? How does blue act when it outthinks you with benevolent wisdom instead of callous arrogance? How do I get around the fact that black has been stereotyped as a bad guy for 17 years?
Each color has aspects rarely seen in Magic because they don't make much sense in a game that is fundamentally about conflict and combat. I want to take these aspects, and force them to fit. Let's make art and creativity and wisdom badass.
Step 4: Mechanics
"The colors like you've never seen them before."
I want to explore the boundaries of the color pie as thoroughly as possible without breaking them. I want the colors to explore new space in a way that fits with their ideas. All sounds good and shiny, but what the hell does that mean in terms of the actual game?
I want to take a page out of the Shards playbook and give each color a recognizable keyword or mechanic that really summarizes what I'm trying to show with the color.
Enemy color hybrid seems like it might be a good to show off some of their non-stereotypical interpretations. Improvisation and creativity represented by blue/red spells that draw cards with an emphasis on randomness, or black/white spells about power and authority.
Step 5: Skepticism
I'm not sure I'll stick with this idea. I'm in love with it right now, but I recognize that ideas have a honeymoon period before you start recognizing their flaws. Feedback is encouraged.
Well, I like the basic idea of digging deeper into color pie philosophy and challenging the traditional stereotypes associated with the colors. I'm not sure if having them unify against a common threat is the best way for them to react to a sudden change in the status quo. It's one possible way...but would they harness the new power? Would they become corrupted by it? Would they battle it on separate fronts, without teaming up (similar to Kamigawa)? Would a planeswalker protagonist have to go on a journey to unite the bickering factions? There's different stories to explore.
ReplyDeleteThe model of Alara block seems like a solid one (i.e. three sets, before/during/after). I think I approve of the concept.
First blush: I love this idea. The benevolent side of each color isn't something you normally see, especially in red and black. I like the question of what "Kill them with kindness" might mean in Magic.
ReplyDeleteIssues: Obviously this is a very vague and initial look at the high concept. I worry that finding appropriate mechanics for every color will be difficult, if not impossible. I'd like to see a couple of example mechanics, because at the moment I'm not sure I understand completely what you have in mind.
Side note: Enemy hybrid sounds out of place here. Not immediately clear to me what the connection is or why it needs to be part of the block.
@Troacctid:
ReplyDeleteI considered both the "outside invaders" and "discover eachother" approaches, and decided that the latter was a bit too similar to Alara. However, the idea isn't a simple two-sided conflict. We'd have all the previously-peaceful nations militarizing suddenly and simultaneously, which is bound to lead to conflict even with a common enemy.
@Jake Kessler:
I agree that the concept will be very difficult to execute. I brainstormed this idea at around 2:00 last night, and I'll let it develop for a few days and see how hard it is to come up with actual cards and mechanics. It may, as you fear, be too ambitious an undertaking.
Found this through your twitter comment.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of seeing how to weaponize nice things. As for what Troacctid said about The Alara block model (three sets, before/during/after), the first set would then probably have an issue with not having a real conflict and as such making it hard to do useful cards for, you know, dealing damage... When the "violent forces" show up feels like the real start of the story to me, but of course some cards in the first set can show the prelude with aspects of the idyllic world.