The Pokemon Trading Card Game stays some of the standard collectible card games on the earth and is a serious motive for the Pokemon franchise’s success. The buying and selling card game is impressed by the Pokemon video games, however innovates in totally alternative ways by shifting in new playing cards and new mechanics on a periodic foundation. The Pokemon Trading Card Game is headed up by Creatures, a Japanese firm that co-owns the Pokemon Company together with Nintendo and GAME FREAK.
While GAME FREAK and Nintendo are each identified commodities to Pokemon followers, Creatures not often steps into the highlight. So, when ComicBook.com had the chance to interview Atsushi Nagashima, Game Director of the Pokemon Trading Card Game at Creatures, we leapt on the likelihood. Nagashima has been concerned within the improvement of the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2003 and has performed an vital position within the gameplay design for the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2006. As the Game Director, he helps develop the Pokemon Trading Card Game taking part in setting by game system and gameplay mechanics improvement and planning.
ComicBook.com: Besides being the lead developer of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, what different work does Creatures do on the Pokemon franchise?
Atsushi Nagashima, Game Director, Pokémon Trading Card Game at Creatures: Creatures is concerned in lots of main strains of enterprise exterior of the event of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. These embrace digital game improvement and CG modeling. In games, this contains the event of the Detective Pikachu video game. As for CG modeling, we additionally work with GAME FREAK to create fashions and motions for many Pokemon.
Every 12 months, the Pokémon TCG cycles in a brand new “mechanic” comparable to Pokémon VMAX or this 12 months’s Amazing Rare playing cards. What goes into balancing these playing cards with previous units and the way do you retain discovering new mechanics to introduce?
At Creatures, we have now a workforce of play testers who play the Pokemon Trading Card Game all through the day to assemble as a lot knowledge as they will on how a card performs. Their position is to verify the playability of the brand new playing cards and game mechanics, whereas ensuring that the game stays balanced after releasing a brand new enlargement. The play testers must anticipate the methods that aggressive Pokemon Trading Card Game gamers will select as soon as the brand new playing cards are launched to the general public, in addition to how these playing cards will work together with those from earlier units. Some modifications that is perhaps requested based mostly on testing embrace decreasing or rising HP and injury. The artistic workforce works in shut communication with testers, utilizing their suggestions to assist obtain the type of game we hope to create.
We begin by taking a look at how the world is depicted within the Pokemon video games. Our inspiration for brand spanking new parts within the Pokemon Trading Card Gamecomes from the video games, which we use to construct the underlying framework of a product or collection. We start by deciding on 4 or 5 major Pokemon, retaining in thoughts issues like Pokemon varieties within the current game setting. Based on this choice, we start exploring the broader world view of the collection. At this level, we begin imaging easy illustrations. Next, we create our mixture of Pokemon, taking a look at components comparable to sort stability, evolution stability, character reputation, and play mechanics, and from there work on knowledge and illustrations for every particular person card.
When the Pokemon Trading Card Game was first created, there have been seven “types” of playing cards. Why did you determine to condense a number of varieties—Psychic-type and Poison-type, as an illustration—right into a single sort?
Creatures opted to condense the categories in order that the game may very well be easy whereas additionally providing depth. In Pokemon video games, you’ll be able to have 17 several types of Pokemon and the game engine will deal with it, however with a tabletop game it is laborious to recollect compatibility between all these distinction varieties. Fewer varieties stop the game from turning into too tough. Traditionally, the kind benefit facet of the Pokemon Trading Card Game has been characterised by its rock-paper-scissors nature. However, that meant the metagame would shift quickly. As a end result, we determined to create the Sword & Shield Series with 5 varieties on the middle of the kind match-up: Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, and Fighting.
For instance, the Psychic-type playing cards was weak to different Psychic-type playing cards, which was considerably advanced and unintuitive to gamers. We had been capable of simplify issues a bit by unifying the weak spot of Pokemon which are Psychic-type and Ghost-type within the video games to Dark-type Pokemon within the Pokemon Trading Card Game. In addition, Pokemon which are Fairy-type within the video game now have weak spot to Metal-type Pokemon within the Pokemon Trading Card Game.
Lastly, the Dark-type was strengthened by splitting its weak spot between Grass-types and Fighting-types, successfully decentralizing the categories in opposition to which it’s weak. By connecting the Dark-type to 2 of the 5 varieties, we elevated the vary of methods accessible to gamers.
Even now we proceed to tweak quite a lot of parts, making certain that the game stays accessible to new gamers whereas additionally increasing strategic choices for current gamers in a manner that does not shift the metagame too quickly.
Are there any Pokémon TCG mechanics that you just had been afraid would not resonate with followers?
Thanks to the laborious work of everybody concerned, we have created a game logic and setting of which we could be proud, although naturally there are at all times worries when creating new core rules and collection.
How do you determine which Pokémon get which strikes and talents within the Pokémon TCG, and the way do you stability ensuring that the identical Pokémon, like Mewtwo or Charizard, do not get the most effective skills again and again in several units?
There are many various methods through which we method the creation of a card. For occasion, we would method one card from the attitude of how you can carry that Pokemon’s distinctive options into the Pokemon Trading Card Game system in a manner that’s most interesting. As an instance, Heatran, a Fire-type Pokemon, makes use of the warmth and flames of its personal physique to scald opponents, whereas Ariados makes use of its webs to seize and drag opponents. When folks play with Pokemon Trading Card Game playing cards, we would like it to really feel as if that Pokemon has come to life and is admittedly doing battle.
We additionally method playing cards from the attitude of deck creation. When trying to create robust decks by combining Pokemon, we determine the methods and options these Pokemon can have by contemplating how they might work collectively to create fascinating combos. We later determine approach injury based mostly on how highly effective we would like that combo to be when it’s achieved.
Regardless of what method we use in creation, we nonetheless play check every card earlier than deciding on the ultimate energy stage. The card knowledge that comes from playtesting is then used to tweak and develop every card to make sure it stays on the appropriate power-level and is balanced for the play setting. The stability of Pokemon with a number of playing cards, comparable to Charizard and Mewtwo, can be because of tweaks from play testers.
Will we ever see the return of Pokémon playing cards that belong to Gym Leaders or the “Dark” Pokémon playing cards seen within the Team Rocket expansions?
We’re at all times in search of modern methods to maintain the Pokemon Trading Card Game strategic, thrilling, and enjoyable, whether or not that be by the introduction of recent mechanics, fan-favorite Pokemon, or lovely card designs. However, I don’t have something to share past that.
