The Crusaders© Card Game

Crusaders has existed in several forms over the years, even crude 3D animation featuring different characters and scenarios. This is the story’s final battle between Arn and Drakkus.

https://youtu.be/rTAYcyt7WJM

This is an image from “episode 0” of Crusaders. It features a Ro’Arn and his close friend Cutter surrounded by Crystal Warriors in the last major battle of the Drakkus War. This was created in Abode Flash but has not yet been completed.

In the past, a cartoon pilot for Crusaders was being developed. Time and circumstance made completing it impossible in the past but soon, out of sheer necessity, it will be finished for the promotional package for the crowd funding of the game.

Here is a photo of the proposed DVD menu from that project

In recent play testing, we have found that experienced players can easily find virtual stalemates in battles with many cards in play. In an effort to keep these stagnated battles from occuring often, new limits on how many Skills can be played and how many can be in play. Reports on these changes will follow!

Inspiration comes from many places. Recently, in crafting the story of Crusaders, I stumbled upon music that may become the base of the series theme music.

Skills in the world of Crusaders are powerful. Most of them can change the flow of battle on the turn of a single card. But to all battles there must exist a check, a limit to such power to avoid stagnation. Cards such as Goblin Gas Bomb have been made to slow the combo action of powerful Skill cards. With this effect, one may cripple an opponent temporarily, leaving them unable to recover.

The development process has highs and lows. Some days the launch day seems close, other times it’s like trying to climb a ladder to the moon. It’s somewhere in between with Crusaders. The cards are nearly completed for set 1 and don’t appear to need much refining as development continues. The character overhaul is going to be another matter. With many characters and choices and tests to go, the process seems long but there has been a recent observation in testing. The characters were made some years ago and show they were intended for the way game played in the past. They now lack the punch to end games in a reasonable amount of time. This is good news as it grants us some insight into how to balance the play time of games compared to the aggression and damage output potentials of characters going forward.

After much play testing and pondering balancing the game, it may be necessary to reevaluate the current number of cards in set one. The intention is to give players as many play options as possible without delving into niches of play styles meant for later sets. By the time all necessary cards are play tested and balance is achieved, Crusaders set one will be somewhere between 150 and 200 cards.

This particular card is used to slow an opponent’s strategy by limiting card draw. Since cards are very powerful in Crusaders, losing out on a draw may mean creating an opening to land crucial damage on an opponent.

A major hurdle in the process of refining the Crusaders card game has been accomplished. All of the existing cards for the first set have been overhauled to become more effective and clearer for players. The focus now shifts to creating the cards to reach the 150 mark to complete set one.