Post by shiftyhomunculus on Aug 11, 2019 20:53:42 GMT
Join and Overcome
Design: shiftyhomunculus
Set Code: VC!
Cards: 210 (80 common, 70 uncommon, 60 rare)
A Good Feline
"I don't like it."
Rosatta frowned. "What's wrong with it?"
"It's too..." Andreov paused, and she could tell it was for effect rather than thought. "Much."
"Too much?" Rosatta squinted at the poster. A cheerful blue-grey cat grinned back at her, standing on its hind legs, thumb up. JOIN AND OVERCOME, yelled the slogan above his head. "I mean, it's a bold message, but it's not like we gave him a bomb or covered him in blood..."
Andreov shook his head and flipped the poster over, pushing it towards Rosatta. "Draw him. From memory. See how much you can get."
"Andreov, our artists are among the best on Cotanora. Have you seen Petro's landscapes? Pretty sure he can paint a cat."
The old man rolled his eyes. "Sure, he can. What about you? What about me? What about Jimena, or Caspo next door, or the drunks at the Dead Whale?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not sure I understand," she said.
"Look," said Andreov, "people quote my shows for months after the run ends. Years, even. But they don't quote the soliloquies or... You've read my notebooks. The Honest Creditor. Best character I ever wrote. I look back at his courtroom dialogues and wonder how the hell I came up with half of them."
"I get the point."
"But do you, though? Because people like those dialogues, but only diehard fans can quote them word for word. But you know what everyone remembers?"
"What?" sighed Rosatta.
Andreov cleared his throat and adopted the flat, nasal whine of the Honest Creditor. "By Karlov's blessed arsehole!" Back to his normal voice. "They remember that. They repeat it. I've heard people say it sincerely."
"Yes, aren't you clever for coining such a masterpiece of language," said Rosatta. "What does this have to do with our mascot?"
"That's it, though," said Andreov. "It's no masterpiece. I think I came up with it on the toilet. But it's four words and they stick. Scenes upon scenes of wit and wordplay? Nothing. By Karlov's blessed arsehole? Instant magic. You don't need setup, you don't need context, you don't even need more than three seconds. You say the words, bang. Comedy." He smiled. "So people started using it themselves."
Rosatta tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm still not seeing the connection."
"Give me some paper."
"What?"
"Give me some paper." Andreov rubbed his fingertips together until she passed him a sheet. He loaded his quill and drew a big, wobbly circle, filling most of the page. Two little triangles at the edges. Two pointed lozenges near the top. And, towards the bottom, a half-circle with three straight lines cutting through it.
Rosatta eyed the collection of shapes warily. "Is this a spell?"
"No," said Andreov, "it's a cat."
She turned the paper around. It was, sort of.
"And I bet you any money you like that this cat's going to be all over Cotanora within a few weeks." He grabbed the paper back, scrawled the JOIN AND OVERCOME slogan above the cat, and held it up against the wall.
There was a long silence.
"You know," said Rosatta at last, "I don't think it's distinct enough. Anyone could've drawn that."
"Exactly," said Andreov. "And anyone can."
Rosatta frowned. "What's wrong with it?"
"It's too..." Andreov paused, and she could tell it was for effect rather than thought. "Much."
"Too much?" Rosatta squinted at the poster. A cheerful blue-grey cat grinned back at her, standing on its hind legs, thumb up. JOIN AND OVERCOME, yelled the slogan above his head. "I mean, it's a bold message, but it's not like we gave him a bomb or covered him in blood..."
Andreov shook his head and flipped the poster over, pushing it towards Rosatta. "Draw him. From memory. See how much you can get."
"Andreov, our artists are among the best on Cotanora. Have you seen Petro's landscapes? Pretty sure he can paint a cat."
The old man rolled his eyes. "Sure, he can. What about you? What about me? What about Jimena, or Caspo next door, or the drunks at the Dead Whale?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not sure I understand," she said.
"Look," said Andreov, "people quote my shows for months after the run ends. Years, even. But they don't quote the soliloquies or... You've read my notebooks. The Honest Creditor. Best character I ever wrote. I look back at his courtroom dialogues and wonder how the hell I came up with half of them."
"I get the point."
"But do you, though? Because people like those dialogues, but only diehard fans can quote them word for word. But you know what everyone remembers?"
"What?" sighed Rosatta.
Andreov cleared his throat and adopted the flat, nasal whine of the Honest Creditor. "By Karlov's blessed arsehole!" Back to his normal voice. "They remember that. They repeat it. I've heard people say it sincerely."
"Yes, aren't you clever for coining such a masterpiece of language," said Rosatta. "What does this have to do with our mascot?"
"That's it, though," said Andreov. "It's no masterpiece. I think I came up with it on the toilet. But it's four words and they stick. Scenes upon scenes of wit and wordplay? Nothing. By Karlov's blessed arsehole? Instant magic. You don't need setup, you don't need context, you don't even need more than three seconds. You say the words, bang. Comedy." He smiled. "So people started using it themselves."
Rosatta tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm still not seeing the connection."
"Give me some paper."
"What?"
"Give me some paper." Andreov rubbed his fingertips together until she passed him a sheet. He loaded his quill and drew a big, wobbly circle, filling most of the page. Two little triangles at the edges. Two pointed lozenges near the top. And, towards the bottom, a half-circle with three straight lines cutting through it.
Rosatta eyed the collection of shapes warily. "Is this a spell?"
"No," said Andreov, "it's a cat."
She turned the paper around. It was, sort of.
"And I bet you any money you like that this cat's going to be all over Cotanora within a few weeks." He grabbed the paper back, scrawled the JOIN AND OVERCOME slogan above the cat, and held it up against the wall.
There was a long silence.
"You know," said Rosatta at last, "I don't think it's distinct enough. Anyone could've drawn that."
"Exactly," said Andreov. "And anyone can."
What's All This, Then?
A couple of weeks ago, I made the inadvisable decision to book a day's leave from work and take a long weekend to focus exclusively on one set. This set had been "in the pipe" and "on the backburner" and in various states of limbo for well over a year, between finishing uni, starting work, moving house, and other such frivolous distractions. But I've always worked better in focused, uninterrupted bursts, and I wondered whether applying this to card design might bear some fruit.
This is the result. I gave myself 72 hours to design 210 cards, starting with nothing more than a skeleton and a list of mechanics, and finished in just over 68. The file has almost no art yet - I thought that was overambitious - and some cards still need flavoring, and I suspect that a lot of playtesting and rebalancing will be needed yet, but I think this draft is complete enough to show you all for feedback.
Get the set file here. You'll need Cajun's M15 Mainframe and Mainframe Planeswalkers frames.
Do enjoy. Join and overcome. Viva Cotanora!