Ever since we launched the game in Early Access, we wanted to share with you the process of how we create new cards in the game. But at first, we simply were too busy working on the minimum set of features that would allow us to launch; then we were busy fixing all the bugs that we found, and adding all the great suggestions that the community came forward with. But finally, we've caught our collective breath and sat down with the person behind almost all the cards in Gremlins, Inc. (2 or 3 are not really his – can you guess, which?) to talk about how he works –
WHO'S THE ARTIST?
Please meet Yaroslav Pavlyshynets, a concept artist responsible for the style of the game:
- he's trained as a professional artist;
- he's based in Kyiv, Ukraine;
- he's very much into historical re-enactment;
- he's very much into playing board games;
- he worked on a number of games, including Cossacks;
- we all think that he's brilliant!
LET'S FOLLOW THE PROCESS: SKETCH 01
The process of creating a new card starts with Adrageron, our game designer, coming up with a rough idea of where the card is played, whether or not it's criminal or secret, and what is the general theme of the card, as well as the exact mechanics. Can you guess what is the idea of the new card, based on the early sketch above? If not, let's take one step forward:
THE MAIN ACTORS: SKETCH 02
In this case, we're talking about a card that is played in the Court, and a card whose title is based on the concept of jury. Or jurors, to be exact. You can probably already flesh out at least one of them, on the left side...
THE MAIN ACTORS, CONTINUED: SKETCH 03
Since the card deals with jurors, there's got to be more than one, and here you can see the whole three of them (hint: there will be more). Even at this early stage, you can probably place them in a steampunk universe, thanks to how they dress and what sort of emotions they project. So what are they up to?
THE THEME: SKETCH 04
Whatever they're up to, it seems like it's not anything good. As more details emerge, take stock of the symbol on the hat of the central character: it's the familiar icon of the Court. And what's this thing in front of them, only vague at this time, but perhaps already discernible, if you're familiar with the world of Gremlins, Inc.?
THE THEME, CONTINUED: SKETCH 05
Well-well, it is nothing but a stack of money!! And there's two more gremlins joining the party. A party that is dressed to impress, despite the greed that shows through their grimaces. From a distance, they look so respectable... like some of the ultra-rich people in our world, too. It's time to dash the last dose of details, including a fake eyepiece of the gentleman on the left.
DETAILS: SKETCH 06
What a great company do we have here, at this table! Respectable, well-dressed gentlemen of good standing. We bet that some of you can already feel like you're in the same room with these people. Let's give some shine to those coins, shall we? As well as a bit of volume to a few other pieces.
DETAILS, CONTINUED: SKETCH 07
Hello there, friends! It's us, the jurors. The full title of this card is:
«JURORS FOR HIRE»
- this card is played in the Court
- this card is secret
- this card offers 2 move points
- this card costs :votes:4 to play
- this card grants $300
- it will arrive in one of 2017's update (most likely, with the Spring Season)
COLOR: SKETCH 08
And now it's time for the first colors to appear on the card. It's pretty obvious that these corrupt jurors won't have much light in whatever room they choose in order to receive, and count, their bribe. The whole focus is on the money. Ah, money, the engine that moves the gremlin world! (as well as some of the leading countries in the real world today...).
COLOR, CONTINUED: SKETCH 09
With this step, Yaroslav brings into focus the two leaders of the jury – probably it's their connections at the Court, that enabled the whole deal to come through. The other three hang back in the shadows (by the way, did you know that a jury that cannot come to a decision, is called a "hung jury"?
THE FINAL TOUCH
Here we are: the card is complete now. A few days of work, and Adrageron's idea came to life! Personally, it never stops to impress me how Yaroslav never does any alternative sketching in the process: there's never a plan B, or an option C, he's just fleshing out the scene based on how he sees it, and in 95% cases this is the vision that the game designer had all along.
Did you enjoy seeing this process step by step? You may then consider taking a look at the 120-page Digital Artbook, where we recount the story of how Gremlins, Inc. was created. Another channel where we post work-in-progress is our Instagram channel: http://Instagram.com/CharlieOscarBiz/.
We wish you a very happy holiday period, and hope to see you in the game during the upcoming official tournament that starts on December 29 and will become our biggest event yet, with dozens of prizes and seven days of ranked duel sessions across both server zones!
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http://Reddit.com/r/GremlinsInc/
http://facebook.com/GremlinsGame/
:cursecard: Studio news:
http://Twitter.com/CharlieOscarBiz
http://Facebook.com/CharlieOscarBiz/
http://YouTube.com/CharlieOscarBiz
:score: Behind the scenes at Charlie Oscar:
http://Instagram.com/CharlieOscarBiz/