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Notthevictim

My take on forum "controversies" and BETA STARTS TODAY

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Hello fellow Shadow Era fans, I would love to give my take on some of the "controversial" cards being discussed in the forums. Mostly the Bloodlust card and the Bad Wolf card. If you are keeping up with the forums, you would have noticed they were hot topics! Discussions abound, and differentiating opinions are thrown around (but all in good nature of course , cause we're all just here to have fun)

Let me start with Bloodlust, I don't have too much to say about this card. If you've seen it, which I've bet you have, you would have noticed that it is a bit... suggestive. Of course this isn't the only card like this in Shadow Era, in fact, most that I have seen are... suggestive. It's giving me the impression that this type of art is being relied upon a little too heavily. It's not that I object to it, but I'd hate to see sex as the selling point. As I said in my post, I would recommend that this card remained more "under-wraps". If I see a free game, I normally look at screenshots right away! I think that if this card, or cards like this, are heavily-marketed they would give people the wrong idea about the game. There is so much talent that goes into this game and I would love it if everyone could appreciate this game for it's art and gameplay rather than how risque it can be! But don't take this as a slam to the artist, because I really love the artwork! It's very well done, and I'm extremely impressed!



Now onto a different issue. Now most of you have probably got your say in the forums about the Bad Wolf card. Looking at it the first time, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong. But many questions have arisen about the text on the card.
Originally, the text said "Bad Wolf heals 1 damage each turn". This has been confusing for some, while not for others. After complaints, the text has changed to "At the start of your turn, Bad Wolf heals 1 damage from himself". There were many different opinions about this text, so here's mine:

I actually was a bit confused by the original text. When I hear that someone (or something) heals 1 damage, I automatically assume that he is healing something else. The revised edition clears up a bit, but also seems poorly worded. I now know that it occurs at the beginning of my turn, rather than every turn, which is really nice to know! But my only complaint is that now it seems a little more complicated. When I here "from", I usually assume it is taking something away, but that isn't what the card is doing at all. Like someone else mentioned, "regenerate" would be a good way to replace "heals" and "from himself".
"At the beginning of your turn, Bad Wolf regenerates 1 health"!

Also, I'm a fan of consistency. I believe it can confuse when text isn't consistent. In the Bad Wolf card, you say "each turn" (originally), in the Engulfing Flames card, you say "per turn". This may seem more like nitpicking, but it is possible that things like this could lead to confusion. I think it would help a lot if terms were consistent, so anyone reading can compare and contrast multiple cards, to know exactly what each card does without having to try them out first!



Oh look at me, I must come across as very pessimistic! I'm really not, I'm just trying to make the best out of this game, and I wanted to give my 2-cents on the "issues"!

One last thing! I'm guessing we all are extremely excited for the beta today!!! I for one can't wait! It looks like it's shaping up to be a great game, and I really love being apart of it. I hope everyone has fun in the beta! I guess I will meet you all on the battlefield

-Notthevictim

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  1. Paradox's Avatar
    I hope you know I was always sympathetic to you in this situation. I took Kirkwb to task, but when you said you found the text confusing I never questioned, doubted, or made fun of it. You were the reason that I conceded that Kyle was right, and we should leave no doubt.

    The revised edition clears up a bit, but also seems poorly worded. I now know that it occurs at the beginning of my turn, rather than every turn, which is really nice to know! But my only complaint is that now it seems a little more complicated. When I here "from", I usually assume it is taking something away, but that isn't what the card is doing at all.
    I only wished you would have spoken up. If not a long post, then just something like "I think the original card was confusing, but that doesn't sound right either." I felt like I had to fight that battle all by myself, and towards the end I was thinking I was both crazy and a jerk.

    *********************

    You've convinced me that Bloodlust might be a bit much. As I've written in the main forum thread, I wouldn't want the art to go any further than that, because it does send the wrong message. Here's one of my concerns though. All of the art is a little sexy. It just is. From the female Dark Elf, Jasmine Rosecult, the Human Priestess..

    I regret if people feel offended. However I like the art and that's one aspect of what makes me like the game.

    What worries me is if the Developers are pressed to yank a card every time there is a complaint, there will be no end of the complaints. To borrow some words from Kaboom, if you show the art to a 1000 people, I guarantee you that someone will find "something" to be offended about. Where do we draw the line, other than to just purge all the art and make it a true family friendly game?

    I don't want to enable anybody from thinking they can bully the developers because the character on the card has some cleavage. We cheerfully let our teens go to the movies and see Saw I-VI (with body parts off hacked off with wild abandon), but we faint at the sight of a boob. And I'm not directing this at you personally, I'm speaking in general.

    That being said, Bloodlust is.. probably as far as this game would want to go. I'd even go so far as to say it should be adjusted a little. I'm just afraid of the precedent that creates.

    Just my .02 cents.
  2. kirkwb's Avatar
    "At the start of turn, Bad Wolf heals 1 damage from himself," is a correct sentence, but there's no need to pummel deceased horses on that point.

    "At the start of turn, Bad Wolf regenerates 1 health," is perfectly fine as well but has the added distinction of fitting the theme much better and therefor is a better wording.

    As for consistancy in wording, I agree that is something that that clearly needs to be looked at. After trying to breakdown how other cards work, I've found that many thing are ambiguously worded. Common game terms need to be defined and used universally for powers to be quickly read and understood.
  3. Notthevictim's Avatar
    I had a busy day yesterday so I didn't have any time on the forums, that's why I just summarized all my feelings in a blog post! After reading Kyle's last post, I was debating whether to bring this issue up again or not. But I did so I can give my 2 cents. But I think now we can finally drop the issue now.

    Also, I am an avid gamer, so even though I haven't played TCGs in the past, I'm not new to strategy games and the like! I've played games like Pokemon and Starcraft, so I have an understanding about this type of game. I'm not a complete newbie!!!