SD - Plugin - Game or Card mechanic?

[3XXXDDD]

So for my System Down game I have this idea of "Plugin" and I'm not sure if they should be a specific card mechanic or a game mechanic.

Plugin's are cards that have their own Balance Value and are placed under specific Virus or Anti-Virus types (e.g Robotic Arm under a Cyborg).

As a Game Mechanic they would simply be Plugin and be placed under a card that shares their type.

As a Card Mechanic only certain cards would be able to use Plugins (e.g Cyborgs) and they would have slots as to how many Plugin's they can use.

The Plugin also goes where the card goes unless otherwise specificed, if the card is destroyed both go to the discard, if the card goes to hand so does the plugin.

[yudencow]

I like the card more. Plus it give you strategies and decks relying on plugins.

[Kevashim]

I would probably go with game mechanic.

You could extend it further in that any creature with a plugin attached then becomes a cyborg type. So a Human type could get a Robotic Arm plugin attached and would then become a Human Cyborg type. Allows you to get creative with cyborg decks and pro/anti-cyborg type cards.   

[3XXXDDD]

That sounds cool, I'm just worried the card might end up being your generic equipment such as in MTG or YGO.

[Kevashim]

True. A distinction could be made by limiting the number of plugins. For example "each character can only have a number of plugin less or equal to it's base health", so tougher creatures can withstand having more modification to their bodies. Heck, you can even add a character trait allowing some characters to have additional plugins beyond that limit.

Further, there could be differing types of plugins. Mechanical, organic, psychic, etc. These could be restricted by allowing only 1 type per character, or you could allow them all and end up with Human Symbiote Psychic Cyborg characters

[3XXXDDD]

These could be restricted by allowing only 1 type per character

You mean like this?

Oh I forgot to mention, to add to this each card would have "Slot X" which is the number of stuff they can have at the time.

I don't like the idea of allowing tougher characters to get stronger while weaker characters can't.

[Dabem]

This is a cool idea. As it is it reads a little like 'generic equipment'. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Would all cards have slots or just specific types?

It would be much more tempting to play a cheap and weak 'browser' card, if it accepts more plugins than your typical card.

I think this would be stronger as a card mechanic than a game mechanic, since it would reward a certain strategy. If it becomes a game mechanic you have a wider base from which to reward strategies though. The difference is subtle, and my preference to it being a card mechanic is only barely ahead of it being a game mechanic. It ultimately depends on what you do with it.

A good friend of mine reminded me when working on another game to not get too caught up in all the 'awesome possibilities' while writing the base set. Although that is a really fun part of card design it can result in a hodgepodge of disconnected mechanics. What he suggested we should do instead is focus on the mechanics that we really wanted to form the base set, and a some great cards to highlight those. In the meantime you can still write down some of your cool ideas and reserve them for the next set of mechanics.

The reason I mentioned that is that prioritizing what mechanics and types of mechanics you want to highlight in the first set will help you figure out the role of plugins in your game.

[3XXXDDD]

Good point, I don't feel as it's the greatest thing include and I'm not super passionate about it.

I just have this nagging feeling that something, something very subtle is missing from the base game. I don't feel this is it.