New Game Idea - hero vs. hero battle

[Typherion]

Hi all,

So recently I had an idea for a new CCG that I think is really interesting. The style I'm going for is player vs player fighting games kind of like DoTA, or computer RPG combat. Haven't thought of a name yet.

Basically, it's a fantasy battle game where you control a hero of your choosing, and all the cards in your deck represent the skills of your hero. There are no permanents. Each player uses their hero to defeat the opposing hero. When your hero dies you lose the game.

Now, there are a number of ways this could be done, but some things are fundamental:

• There should be different card types to determine when/how different kinds of skills can be used.

      - eg attack and defense, or actions and reactions, etc.

• The card types should be further divided into usefeul categories based on attributes of heroes. These categories could be absolute or flexible.

      - eg the hero is a Warrior and only uses Warrior cards, or the hero has high Agility and so better uses Agility cards, etc.

• There should be some resource system to balance more powerful cards against less powerful cards, or else the cards themselves must be balanced extremely well.

      - eg your hero has 7 Strength, so this turn he can use a Level 5 Strength action, but then could only use another Level 2 Strength action before being unable to use any more (actually I really like this idea!).


I'm hoping to do some more research into similar games. I know the WoW TCG is slightly similar in that you control a hero and they can use class based skills. Does anyone know any other similar games?

Any other comments are also welcome.

[Gordon228]

i know of no other card games and your idea is good.

[Cyrus]

DBZ CCG, WWE or WWF or some sort of wrestling card game. Lots of other anime card games that I'm blanking on the names of. It's a pretty popular ccg type, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep designing!

[innuendo]

fight klub is probably the closest I can think of by decipher

[Typherion]

Thanks for the comments!
Well, I've just finished doing some research on games that use similar mechanics.

Fight Klub
I liked how this game divides resources into 3 types of energy: yellow, green, and blue.
It's pretty cool how characters use all 3 types of energy, but it is interpreted differently by each character. So Hannibal Lector's attributes are Surgical Precision, Culinary Skill, and Charm. John Rambo instead has Guerilla Tactics, Loyalty, and Fearlessness.
I didn't like how combat is fairly abstract and boils down to just comparing numbers on generic cards.

Lunch Money
This game represents combat almost exactly how I want for my own game. Players use cards to punch, kick, stomp, block, dodge and grab each other.
But the game doesn't really have any resource management and the game only represents one kind of combat - dirty streetfighting.

New Ideas
I think I will go ahead with a design inspired by DotA where each Hero will have a score for Strength, Agility, and Intellect.

However, I think it might be important for Heroes to also have Attack and Defense scores so they can make basic attacks. I suppose Heroes could just use their unmodified Strength, Agility or Intellect for basic attacks and the defending Hero would defend with the same attribute.

I'll try to make some mockup cards based on the DotA heroes and their skills.

**Edited for minor updates**

I've been having trouble working with the three attributes above and I just worked out why. No matter which stat was your heroes main stat, it would need to allow them to attack/defend. But then having 3 different attributes is irrelevant if they all function the same way.

All of the games I have seen with a similar combat system (card = character's attack/defense skill) only attempt to represent one style of combat. For Lunchmoney this is streetfighting and for WWE it's wrestling.

I am trying to represent many different combat styles at the same time, which is much more challenging. Now that I think about it, I'm really trying to make an RPG card battle system.

I know what I want the game to look like:
Playing a unique fantasy hero with specific strengths and weaknesses (warrior, rogue, mage, etc)
Each card in the deck represents a single skill your hero can use

But I just don't know how to get there right now

I guess it would be a lot easier if I just limited all skills by class...kind of like the WoW tcg stripped down to a hero vs hero duel...but this still doesn't really allow for heroes with individual stats that matter...

[DavidChaos]

What if you used the stats themselves as a resource?

Per "round of combat", your hero can use cards with those stats, up to what your hero has.  For instance, a hero with 7 Strength would be able to use a powerful 5 Strength attack, leaving his 2 Strength defense available when the opponent comes after him.

[Typherion]

I don't think using multiple stats as resources is viable because each stat would be doing the exact same thing - fuelling attacks and defenses.

I think it might work better if only one stat were used as a resource, so that each stat encourages different gameplay. Right now I'm thinking about these stats:

Attack: Increases the damage of your attacks.
Defense: Reduces the damage you take from attacks.
Speed: Increases how many actions you can perform each turn?
Health: Increases your HP

Instead of defining cards by common attributes I might take a simpler approach of limiting which cards players can use by class. So instead of using a Strength 5 attack, your warrior hero might use Whirlwind Attack at a cost of 3 Speed, which would have its damage boosted by your Attack.

I'm starting to visualise this as fantasy streetfighter in ccg form, with your cards taking the place of your list of moves    

Also have a working name: CHOSEN

[DavidChaos]

You could also have cards that are able to be used by any style, or mutliple styles.  That's always a thought.

[INWO911]

This sounds really interesting!
I have a couple questions and ideas.
The heroes you play as, are they characters from pre-existing stories, or are you looking at using generic "heroes"?

I like the idea of using one stat (endurance?) as the resource limiting stat, and modifying your attacks with your other stats.

As an alternative, have you considered doubling or tripling your three base stats (keeping a good ratio based on the kind of fighter your hero is) and then not restoring them to full at the start of every turn? This would force players to consider resource spending over the course of the game instead of a turn by turn basis. Play styles could develop into power hitters (few offensive cards that cost a lot of resources) vs bob and weavers (more defensive cards and offensive cards that cost fewer resources). This would simulate an actual fight pretty well, as the both fighters need to be able to effectively allocate their strength and endurance to win (as opposed to those that just throw hay makers and tire themselves out).
Maybe the heroes could be designed after historical fighters; high health could be like Mohammed Ali, maybe a high strength could be like Chuck Lidell, etc.
I know my examples have revolved around a street fight style system, but  i think it could easily be adapted to any kind of fight you are looking for.
Enjoy! ^_^

[Monox D. I-Fly]

ederon is probably the closest I can think of in online game, have you played it?