You Make The Card - Part 4
by Brian Weeks

We received a very surprising result on the You Make The Card this past week. Not surprising was that Boba Fett's Armor was in the lead for the first few days. But with several other good choices to vote on, most of the votes got spread out between the different equipment. Though the Rebelbaser poll shows that Boba Fett's Armor won, two of those votes were made after the voting deadline. So, with a very unpredictable win, Thermal Detonator will be the card you develop for the next IDC Expansion, Scum and Villainy.

For those who are curious, here's the "official" results from Step Three.

Now comes what we feel is one of the most challenging, yet most rewarding steps in designing cards - the card text (aka: Mechanics or Abilities).

In a trading card game, the card text is where you define and redefine the rules of the game. It is where a card finds it's unique individuality and special purpose.

With this step comes not only reward, but responsibility as well. When you create text for a single card, you have to take into account every other card that has been created so that the greater balance of the game stays in check. While there are checks and balances using cost and such to make sure cards aren't too powerful, it's still important to keep in mind how the card will change the feel of the game.

We hope you will take your time to really think out your ideas and submit what you feel is appropriate and exciting! Now, on to the rules!

Submission Rules
If you are interested in submitting a card mechanic, here's the rules you need to follow:
1. Each person may submit up to three card mechanic ideas. After three ideas are submitted, we will not look at any more. So please think about what you wish to submit before blindly sending in an idea.
2. Do not send anything but the rules text for your card. The rules text is what is written in the text box of the card. We do not need (nor want at this point) the card's subtype, speed, flavor text, quotes, power/hitpoints or cost. I will state this last part once again since I don't want any confusion. DO NOT list the cost (what used to be called cost) of the card. We will be deciding this later.
3. Do not include the cost to Equip the card. Equipment must have a cost to Equip the card. It can either cost Build, Force or both. But, Card Development, along with Playtesting, will determine the "value" of the Equipment's abilities.
4. Use the letter "F" for specific costs for activations. To separate the mechanic's ability from its power level, we are asking for costs to not be specified. For example, if you wanted a card that tapped, spent some Force and prevent all unit attack damage for the turn, you would write "F, Tap: Units do not deal combat damage this turn." We will understand that the "F" stands for a cost. Other costs, such as sacrificing the card, should be listed.
4. Keep it simple. The number one mistake beginners make when designing a card is to make the rules text too long. A good guideline is about 140 characters -- any more than that and there will be no room for quotes (and how fun would that be?) If your mechanic goes much more that 140 characters, it's probably too long. Keep in mind that proper templating might lengthen the text.

We know that the mechanic is not just the heart of the design but also the most fun part. Please enjoy the experience. We're looking forward to see what your collective creativity can generate.

Submissions for Step Four ends 12:00pm CST, Wednesday, August 9th, 2006. The next part of the vote will happen as soon as Card Development is able to make their way through all your submissions. Once they've received all the ideas, they'll have to mull them over and decide which ones you will eventually vote on. We will post the submissions approved for you to vote on by Friday, August 11th along with Step Five.
So when you are ready to begin...
SUBMIT YOUR IDEAS HERE!

So join us each week as You Make The Card!

Thoughts or comments? Visit the message board thread for this article here.

About the Author
Brian Weeks (aka Skywlkr) has been playing the Star Wars TCG since its introduction at Celebration 2 in 2002. After playing the demo game and introducing it to RedneckJedi and Darthwalls, Team 'Dude Where's My Card' was created. He competed in three qualifiers, yet the closest he ever ranked was eighth. As a member on Rebelbasers, SWDuelist and a writer for the now defunct Diehard Online, he has tried to promote the game through information and interaction.

He is married, has a three year old son, is an architect, has been the Treasurer and Newsletter Editor for five years for JediOKC (an Oklahoma City based Star Wars Fan Club), was the IDC Card Development Chairperson for Fall of the Republic and is now the IDC Public Affairs Chairperson. Despite all that, he still has time to introduce the game to new players…KEEP THE GAME ALIVE.