Post by herziquerzi on Oct 24, 2018 19:19:18 GMT
You want your set to stand out. You want to make your mark, and push the boundaries of what MtG is capable of. You sit down, and start brainstorming, trying to figure out something new to do. Something that hasn't been seen before.
And in doing so, you've already made your set worse.
Most of you have probably heard that you shouldn't do something new for the sake of doing something new. That prioritizing innovation over good design and game play is a reversal of what your primary goals should be, and leads to a tendency for "clever" but ultimately unwieldy designs. I agree with this, but also think it should be taken further.
Innovation isn't just a secondary or tertiary goal. Innovation is actively a drawback. A hot take, I know. Whenever you do something new, you are creating a hurdle for the players. Figuring out how it works. How it interacts with the cards they already know and love. Evaluating its power, and how best to make use of it. It asks questions, but doesn't provide guidance for how to answer them. The more work a player has to put into understanding the very basis of a set, the harder it is for them to connect with that set.
The familiar is friendly. It provides a framework, and an easy point of reference for players. "It's {blank} but {this}" is a more evocative reaction than "it's... {something}?". When you take something players already know and tweak it, they have a starting point, and can enjoy moments of discovery as they clue in to the implications of the tweak.
Now, I'm not saying anything that innovates is bad. There can be good designs and mechanics that innovate. But the larger the innovation, the larger the drawback. You just need to make sure the positives of that innovation outweigh that drawback. And, again, for emphasis: doing something new is not a positive. Innovation should be used to solve problems that you're facing when designing your set, and definitely not used as a starting point for your set to build off work. Use innovation as a tool to work around things, don't work around your innovation.
"But Herzi, you made Archives-" I did it for the meme and earnestly believe that Carpe Arcanum and Memorium Arcanum were actively made worse by them ok bye thanks for reading.
And in doing so, you've already made your set worse.
Most of you have probably heard that you shouldn't do something new for the sake of doing something new. That prioritizing innovation over good design and game play is a reversal of what your primary goals should be, and leads to a tendency for "clever" but ultimately unwieldy designs. I agree with this, but also think it should be taken further.
Innovation isn't just a secondary or tertiary goal. Innovation is actively a drawback. A hot take, I know. Whenever you do something new, you are creating a hurdle for the players. Figuring out how it works. How it interacts with the cards they already know and love. Evaluating its power, and how best to make use of it. It asks questions, but doesn't provide guidance for how to answer them. The more work a player has to put into understanding the very basis of a set, the harder it is for them to connect with that set.
The familiar is friendly. It provides a framework, and an easy point of reference for players. "It's {blank} but {this}" is a more evocative reaction than "it's... {something}?". When you take something players already know and tweak it, they have a starting point, and can enjoy moments of discovery as they clue in to the implications of the tweak.
Now, I'm not saying anything that innovates is bad. There can be good designs and mechanics that innovate. But the larger the innovation, the larger the drawback. You just need to make sure the positives of that innovation outweigh that drawback. And, again, for emphasis: doing something new is not a positive. Innovation should be used to solve problems that you're facing when designing your set, and definitely not used as a starting point for your set to build off work. Use innovation as a tool to work around things, don't work around your innovation.
"But Herzi, you made Archives-" I did it for the meme and earnestly believe that Carpe Arcanum and Memorium Arcanum were actively made worse by them ok bye thanks for reading.
