EPTIn the beginning of design, we started by using a slightly modified set of rules with existing Dominion cards. We experimented with a variety of different rules and variations before we even looked into making our own cards. Due to the approach we took, everything that didn't need to be changed from Dominion remained the same. A few weeks into design, one of our playtesters made mention of the fact that our economy was a straight copy from Dominion which presented two main problems. The first being that we were literally stealing a whole money system from another game... it'd be like if Company Of Heroes had exactly the same mineral/gas distribution and harvesting rate as Starcraft. The second issue was that the money system used in Dominion is not particularly interesting. That economy is effective and simple, but it’s already existed for a long time. There are 3 types of money in Dominion. Copper costs 0 and gives 1, and you start with only copper. Silver costs 3 and gives 2 and gold costs 6 and gives 3. This system works. It's simple, easy to understand and explain as well as unobtrusive, which is why we stuck with it for so long.
Due to my friend's observation, we began a 3 week quest to find a new money system that would fit our game, be interesting and unique as well as simple and effective. The problem we found is that Dominion's money system is so perfect that it was hard to make something that was different in meaningful ways from that system while still being simple enough to explain and use in the game.
The craziest idea we tried was having money be islands that were played in front of you. Each island passively generated one income per turn and could be attacked. The island system failed magnificently. It created a huge snowball effect because persistent income was far stronger than what was used before and also because it no longer felt like a deck builder. Losing just 1 persistent income over your opponent was enough to end the game. This system was so different that it would be like introducing turn based mechanics to Starcraft. The very fabric of the game was torn apart by this mechanic. From there, we investigated a number of different styles, most of which dealt with money that interacted with money.
The latest economy to be abandoned had 4 resources total. Copper, diamond, spice, and pearls. Copper just gave you 1 money. You could upgrade copper to diamond at a 1 to 1 ratio, but only 1 per turn. Diamond still only gave 1 money, but had meaningful interactions with the other 2 resources. Spice was worth 2 on its own, but if you could play any other money besides copper with it, it was worth 3. Pearl gave you 1, counting itself, for each non-copper money card you played on a given turn. Basically the system incentivized you to turn all your copper into diamond as soon as possible and then invest in spices/pearls to maximize your overall effectiveness. This idea succeeded in creating meaningful decisions. This idea succeeded at allowing the player different ways to invest in economy. This idea also succeeded in creating an economy that scaled correctly as the game went on. This idea failed because we could not find a way to simplify it enough to justify it being in the game. We've always strived to get to the core of a mechanic and implement exactly that. The conversion system was too much of a burden to explain and also tended to confuse newer players while detracting from the rest of the game. Once players understood the system, it worked great, but I wasn't willing to sacrifice playability and accessibility for a potentially more interesting economy. In the end, due to the deadline for a printable version, we simply didn't have time to continue testing and tweaking the above system to find the right balance of simplicity and complexity.
Somewhere along the way, we found a money system that worked well, was relatively simple, but didn’t excite me as much as I hoped. I wanted people to look at every part of the game and remark on its brilliance. I always sought mechanics that were interesting, had profound implications but also were simple and easy to understand. This money system, now known as Ruby-Sapphire, passed all the above tests except that it didn’t stand out to me in any particular way. I didn’t feel an exceptional pride in it or that it exuded any sort of brilliance, but it worked well and was easy to understand. For almost 2 weeks after finalizing that system, we continued investigating other ideas. The final economy we decided on contains exactly 3 resources. Amethyst, Ruby, and Sapphire. Amethyst costs 0 and gains you 1. Ruby costs 3. The first Ruby you play on a turn is worth 2. Every subsequent Ruby is worth 3. Sapphire costs 4. The first Sapphire you play on a turn is worth 3. Every subsequent Sapphire is worth 2.
Last week, I decided to cease all playtesting with the aforementioned too complicated system in favor of the Ruby-Sapphire one. While I had hoped for a different result, we just did not have time to continue testing different economies if we wanted to push something out in the next few days. The whole process of coming up with a money system has also shifted my perspective on what an economy is actually supposed to do in games. In some ways it reminds me of a behind-the-scenes job like a janitor. When the job is done well, no one notices it at all, but when the job is done poorly, it creates a huge obstacle to other things getting done.
This Thursday marks our first online release where the cards will be available for download. Initially, everything will only be available by request, but we're hoping for a more public release by the end of next week. Players will be able to download the cards, rules, and additional helper files and after printing all the necessary cards, will be able to play the full version of Discord. There is no digital implementation of Discord at this time, so to play, you’ll have to print the cards or use proxies.
