Game Development Giant

Retreat from the environment.

Jester's voice was resolute, but after speaking such an uncommon word, it left the card designers present even more confused.

Retreat from the environment? What does it mean to retreat from the environment?

This time, he did not wait for others to ask questions, but Jester said to himself: Actually, the game I designed is not perfect, because in my setting, there must be an impossible situation. A perfect and self-consistent infinite loop. It’s a very simple reason. The card game I designed is bound to develop in an increasingly complex direction. Because players have already figured out the simple principle and can even calculate it. At this time, there must be new ideas. Things appear, otherwise when most people have mastered the rules of this version, luck will prevail again. And the reason why we design the deck is to squeeze out the element of luck as much as possible, so we can only let the cards Card mechanics are getting more and more complex.”

Jester paused for a moment. After saying so much, he was also a little thirsty. He picked up the water glass in front of him and took a sip of water. Then he continued: In this way, just like what you were wondering before, there is a limit to complexity. No. It may become infinitely complicated. Otherwise, every time you make a settlement, you have to use a computer to assist, so the experience must be very poor. In this way, an infinite loop will come out - simple - complex - more complex - It's too complicated... What should I do? As I said just now, you can only withdraw from the environment. About withdrawing from the environment, the first concept you need to understand is the series. This is what I said before, our tg Cards are released in series. This series is called environment. The so-called environment withdrawal means that after a series of cards have been released for a period of time, the cards of this series are forced to exit the current main environment. Series cards are not allowed to appear or be used in official competitions.

Then, a smile appeared on Jester's face, You heard me right, what I just said is a formal competition.

This is actually an idea that Jester had very early on. It is inevitable for video games to become e-sports, but before RTS and fighting games become really popular, it is meaningless to engage in e-sports. However, Magic: The Gathering is indeed an exception. This is a card game that is very suitable for competitions. It is extremely confrontational and competitive.

It can be used as an outpost of future e-sports. In the future, Magic games can even be played through electronic devices, which will also be classified as e-sports. Hearing Jester ruthlessly explaining the meaning of the retreat environment, all the card designers present had an indescribable expression on their faces. It seems that in Jester's final statement, the cards they worked hard to design as perfect as possible are just things that will definitely be eliminated in the future. However, they couldn't refute it. If they really followed Jester's statement and continued to make new cards by completing the established rules of this kind of trading card game he called it, then the retreat that Jester said would Environment seems to be the only option.

At this moment, an assistant who came with Jester hurriedly walked over from outside, then leaned over and whispered a few words into Jester's ear. After Jester heard his assistant's words, There was a different look on his face. Then after just thinking for a few seconds, he whispered something to his assistant. The assistant nodded and left in a hurry.

Haha. I just received the news and it was a little unexpected, so I can only keep the story short. Jester smiled and continued, Actually, what is trading card and this kind of card game? I have already mentioned the rules. It is your business to design specific cards, and it is also your business to enrich and improve the various rules I just mentioned.

However, I still have to emphasize one point at the end. Although I want you to show that different cards have different strengths, this is definitely not a game where the winner can be determined by the strength of the cards. You must pay special attention to the role of bo. I will give you an example, and this is what you must do. A deck composed of cards that are not very strong individually. Through effective bo, it will be far more powerful than a single card. A deck that only relies on the strength of a single card to win is stronger. As for why? Because the core of Magic is Bo.

Jester waved his hand, signaling those who had questions not to speak, and asked him to finish what he wanted to say first before speaking: Next, let me tell you something that may be helpful to you when designing cards. The idea of, say, a cemetery...

In the next hour or so, Jester briefly talked about things like injecting graveyards, activated abilities, field elements, etc. based on his experience gained from various card games in the future. For a moment, it’s not that Jester doesn’t want to explain more, it’s that he himself doesn’t understand it very thoroughly. He expressed these ideas because he wanted the card designers of this era to improve them.

When Jester felt that what he had said was almost the same, and finally asked the designers present to ask a few more questions, he was about to leave to prepare for what his assistant had just told him in a hurry. The immature designer raised his hand to speak again, but his speech this time made Jester a little dissatisfied, because the question he asked was a setting that in Jester's eyes, he had made very clear before.

That is, let’s introduce in more detail what bo is. According to this young card designer, although Jester said bo means combination, he feels that bo is the core of this card game. Jester It would be better to go into more detail, because it is difficult for them to have a very accurate understanding of the concept of bo just based on Jester's simple introduction before.

After hearing this young card designer, Jester retracted his earlier dissatisfied look, and instead remained silent for a while. He himself was also recalling his understanding of Magic's BO based on his memory. After a minute or two, Jester spoke.

First of all, regarding Bo, you must be clear. When I talk about Magic: The Gathering, this is a construction card game. In other words, everyone's deck should be completely different in theory, and Bo is the source. How does bo work in different structures? Let me give you a very simple example, you can think of the engine.

Seeing everyone's confusion, Jester continued to explain: Yes, it is the engine. What is the engine? It is power, and in the deck built by the player himself, the engine is the one that completes the power required by his boss. Card, in this process, the principle of all engines must be like this - build and then detonate, and how will more complex rules be established? That is, the detonation of the previous engine completes the construction of the next engine, and the last The construction and detonation of the engine must be a vp engine, that is, the decisive engine. Designing such a bo card pool is a very complicated research process. I just expressed my ideas, and the detonation of the decisive engine is diverse - —Multi-component single detonation, multi-component cumulative detonation, single-component detonation, etc.”

I'm talking about the simplest engine card that you can use as an example. I mentioned before that there is a check card in the basic card. This is actually the simplest engine card, and the check card How does the constructed bo work? It's simple, pass the cards, find the card you need, and detonate.…

Jester stood up. He felt that he had said almost everything today. He just wanted to summarize what he was talking about about the TG trading card game.

Actually, I've said so much. It's Bo and the environment. It seems very troublesome. In fact, the whole game process is very simple. You only need to know the player's game process, then it will be easier. To design cards - in a deck built by a player, one or several key cards are needed, and what the player needs to do is to find a way to accomplish his purpose of getting the key cards through his own engine. , at the same time, while completing your own plan, you must also prevent your opponent's attempts. This is a battle of wits and courage. Although the future card rules and settlement rules will definitely be very complicated, the process of player confrontation It won’t change.”

Thank you all for listening to what I have to say today. I have simulated this card game in my mind countless times. I also designed many cards myself, but I didn't mention it here because I don't want to limit your thinking. , I just talked about some basic settings, and I hope you can complete these settings. For example, the abilities of the cards I mentioned, there are many types of abilities, and these abilities will give different cards different The effect, even for cards with the same cost, will have completely different effects and strengths. Well, that’s all I’m going to say. I hope you can give me a TG card game that satisfies me as soon as possible.”

After Jester finished speaking, he bowed slightly, and then Clement's designers in the audience also came back to their senses from Jester's description of the specific operation of bo, and Jester's The statement that the core of bo's construction is the engine also gave them some enlightenment.

So they all applauded in unison.