For this update we're going to touch on small adjustments as they relate to the Opponents deck, but more than anything this is a way of sharing more about visual presentation and design. Many of the previous changes we've seen in this area have been revealed in the recent updates to the Adventure and Dungeon card decks, where (for example) serif fonts have been replaced by styled handwriting fonts, with far greater emphasis on the narrative presentation that has become the central basis for characters and player storytelling.
As we sat down to consider these changes the Opponents deck presented a good opportunity as a point of reference, with the idea that each deck will [continue to] have its own visual style, but also where changes might be influenced by the shift in focus of recent years. Those of you already involved or experienced with layout and design know there are many factors that inform the choices and combinations that go into something like a font palette, which can be a lengthy process with respect to crafting the appropriate look and feel. But with an iterative development process, as we have done with Heroes of Feonora, this has allowed each element to evolve in its own way, resulting in things that quite possibly might not have occurred otherwise.
Of course, we know from the player perspective (and our own prototyping efforts) how challenging it is to keep everything up-to-date. And so we do want to take a moment to acknowledge that and to suggest that for something like this updating can at times be optional. For example, in earlier updates one or two characters may have changed, or a stat will have been adjusted slightly. In these instances sometimes it might suffice to mark the change on a card or try to print only the newer characters rather than the entire deck ~ even if the backing doesn't match up exactly. We have come to suppose that most of our players, those who've chosen to dive into this thing with us, have accepted by varying degrees that this isn't a game that will always be completely perfect or "finished" at any given moment, but that is embraced as acceptable so long as it remains fun and playable. Perhaps others have realized too that even a fully "boxed" version of a game is bound to have small imperfections and ultimately be representative of more a snapshot in time than anything... but that's a larger topic best tackled in the tavern.
Coming back around to this most recent update to the Opponents deck consider that none of the characters (or their fighting abilities) have been changed, which means that if you have the previous version it is still mechanically a fully up-to-date deck. This might be the first time an update has been purely aesthetic. Although that said, we did capitalize on opportunities for additional wordsmithing, so if the way the characters read is important that is another consideration.
As we sat down to consider these changes the Opponents deck presented a good opportunity as a point of reference, with the idea that each deck will [continue to] have its own visual style, but also where changes might be influenced by the shift in focus of recent years. Those of you already involved or experienced with layout and design know there are many factors that inform the choices and combinations that go into something like a font palette, which can be a lengthy process with respect to crafting the appropriate look and feel. But with an iterative development process, as we have done with Heroes of Feonora, this has allowed each element to evolve in its own way, resulting in things that quite possibly might not have occurred otherwise.
Of course, we know from the player perspective (and our own prototyping efforts) how challenging it is to keep everything up-to-date. And so we do want to take a moment to acknowledge that and to suggest that for something like this updating can at times be optional. For example, in earlier updates one or two characters may have changed, or a stat will have been adjusted slightly. In these instances sometimes it might suffice to mark the change on a card or try to print only the newer characters rather than the entire deck ~ even if the backing doesn't match up exactly. We have come to suppose that most of our players, those who've chosen to dive into this thing with us, have accepted by varying degrees that this isn't a game that will always be completely perfect or "finished" at any given moment, but that is embraced as acceptable so long as it remains fun and playable. Perhaps others have realized too that even a fully "boxed" version of a game is bound to have small imperfections and ultimately be representative of more a snapshot in time than anything... but that's a larger topic best tackled in the tavern.
Coming back around to this most recent update to the Opponents deck consider that none of the characters (or their fighting abilities) have been changed, which means that if you have the previous version it is still mechanically a fully up-to-date deck. This might be the first time an update has been purely aesthetic. Although that said, we did capitalize on opportunities for additional wordsmithing, so if the way the characters read is important that is another consideration.
Well by now you must be wondering what the new design looks like and so...
Download the latest Opponents Deck
The other thing we've been wanting to do for some time is revisit the color for the Opponents backing. No major change but we did increase the saturation just slightly. In fact, for most printers it will hardly be noticeable, but whatever the case you should be getting something like a Grayish purple or a Light plum.
Download Opponents Backing with adjusted color
There are of course more changes in the works, although possibly not quite what you will think... at least, not for the next update. As always, we want to thank all of the families, individuals and groups of players out there for giving this game a chance. It's no small thing to go through the effort of putting something like this together let alone keeping it up-to-date, when there are so many other games out there available in a nicely decorated box on a store shelf.
...maybe someday.
RSS Feed