Hello again dear reader, I welcome you back to a post-weekend update in which I spiel about what happened to me and others, along with updates regarding my game and what might have gone wrong with VS System.
CCG Update
In short, I have signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with a video game development company on Friday, and sent in my game proposal short after everything was officially signed. So on January 21st, 2008 I’m going to seriously be spilling my guts about what’s going on here. But until then, I guess its just relentless teasing, something I’m rather good at. And yes, I’m highly excited.
VS System Blunder
I gotta tell ya, this new idea is probably the worst thing that could happen to VS. System. Basically it introduces a “Hidden Area” in addition to the regular play area. For those of you familiar with Magic: The Gathering, you may remember Shadow, a mechanic from the set Tempest. What was Shadow? Well, shadow said “This creature may only be block or be blocked by creatures with Shadow.” This new mechanic, Concealment, tries to do the same thing, except it is now going to seriously hinder the game of VS. with the creation of a new player zone, making it even more complex than it already was. And I consider VS. to be pretty goddamn complex. Anytime you boast about 3 hour matches, that’s just too goddamn long to play a single game, capice?
What this does is create an entirely new play zone complete with its own front row/back row. Now one of the defining characteristics of VS., and another reason why its so damn hard to play well (that is, without a free headache) is to know when to put a character in the front or the back, and when to attack and how. There are plenty of variables and skill involved in this process, and I laud VS. for trying to put a new spin on the layer-based character combat (that is, the innovation of “Flight” and “Range” and how they affect which characters can attack whom, etc).
Now the problem is that they’ve just complicated their game to an insane degree. While I suspect there will be some grumbling during the Pre-Release Tournaments (the closest to me is Roanoke VA, some 3+ hours away, thanks Upper Deck!), the real insanity will begin once this set enters the mainstream.
The problem with this mechanic, and let’s hope not the entire set, is that it compounds the complexity, timing, and decision making for the player. While the previewed card cannot be attacked, Danny makes it perfectly clear that this rule will be broken, and how often is the question. Regardless, for a game that needs comprehensive floor rules (such as the basic Time Limit on games, which it embarrassingly omits and leads to exhausting sessions), this could spell doom and the creation of an entire new play zone for this one mechanic…it boggles the mind.
Since VS. has no way of phasing out older sets, at least they do not yet, this will become a problem and a design hindrance that will fester long after it is released. If the normal set cycle is 1–2 years, you can expect at least 24 months of pain and frustration particularly for the new player until this mess can be cleaned up.
I just can’t imagine the design meeting where they said “Hey, I know, let’s add in a whole new play zone!” Everyone grumbles and wonders what that guy is talking about. “No, no, this is cool,” he’ll retort. “We’ll give characters a cool black border and, and…wait for it…their own front and support rows too! It’s brilliant!” After which they quickly made rares which break this rule and commons that suck at it. Uncommons are either slightly over or under-powered, all of them adding into a concoction which will work in moderation but I’m sure the designers, drunk with congratulatory remarks, will fill many more characters than necessary with this useless mechanic.
Why is it useless? Well, in the flavor of the expansion it works. There-in lies the problem. Since VS. has no “base” card set setup (they pretty much value all sets on the same scale), this will haunt the playerbase and the players have no way of getting rid of this mechanic unless they purposefully tell a tourney organizer to put “NO Stupid Concealment Decks” on the flyer.
According to Upper Deck’s current plan, the expansions Justice League and Green Lantern will come out, perhaps showcasing this mechanic, but probably not. Depending on their design lead-up time, and in particular whose job it is to design these sets, we may never see Concealment again and my biggest gripe is that it is too game changing (new zone) but non-permanent (expansion-based).
I applaud them “thinking outside the box” I wish they had “seen what happened when this was called Shadow in Magic,” as it would’ve been far more enlightening and would save them what will probably end up as a blemish on the fine game of VS.
