Originally posted by
wrainedaxx
While I'm unpublished, I also have a passion for game design as well, and so from the perspective of a designer and player, the idea of cards from a game that are all but impossible to parse feels really bad to me.
I feel like TCGs should have a chance at getting an ultra rare art-only card with no game assets on it. That way, you have an ultra collectible piece made for collecting (or reselling for people that only really care about playing the game rather than the collecting/trading aspect) that doesn't detract from the game at all.
I recognize it's a strong opinion and that there are plenty of games with what I would consider terrible layout design that are performing incredibly well!
I agree with readability being key for default cards, but cards used like a commander don’t need to be repeatedly referenced. You quickly learn what they do by art and then only read them if you need to check details on some specific timing or nuance. A lot like a tooltip for an ability in league. It does increase the effort of each read, but the sheer visual impact is worth it if the art is great. Pokémon’s special illustration rates from 151 are enchanting.
The default Bandai Namco card tempting of games like DBZ is the worst of every world. It’s hard to read and looks a mess.
I think something similar to your approach would work great for lower rarity cards, but the equivalent of “champion” cards in LoR would benefit from a full art treatment. You could potentially have a default version that’s not full art as well as a very rare full with different art, like Pokemon does, but that limits their supply to an expensive collector’s item.
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