Q: Please describe your trading card games!
A: Culinary Combat is a Trading card game that features anthropomorphic food characters battling each other for victory. The foods feature a variety of weapons, abilities, powers, strengths, armor, clothes, expressions, etc. The one thing they all have in common is that they are blood (or in this case, condiment) thirsty and ready for battle
Power Beasts TCG is about creatures created from the aftermath of the end of the universe. After the universe ended and a new one formed (I don’t know exactly how to explain how I new one formed yet), 6 meteors collided to create a planet. The power of each meteor created life, in the form of Power Beasts. They formed clans based on their abilities and which specific meteor each came from, but some will ally with each other too. Their goal is to have their tribes be victorious in combat
Q: What inspired you to create a TCG?
A: Various things, Pokemon, other HTCGs, Metal album covers, old toy lines. For Culinary Combat, there were many influences. Ever since I was little I’ve had this idea of making food themed characters after being on the internet (example: Food Fighters, an old toy line from the internet was a huge inspiration). There were other Food TCGs I’ve made before Culinary Combat, but they never came to fruition and I never publicized them, apart from my friends. It wasn’t until I saw a game that an artist known as LobsterSquirrel was working on, known as LunchBag Legends, and then going through Instagram, YouTube, etc and seeing all of these people making food themed trading cards, that I decided to rekindle those old games and make Food TCGs again. It took a few non publicized TCGs before I eventually got to Culinary Combat. I have had to have made like 4-5 TCGs that were never publicized before CCTCG
I have to thank all of those food themed TCGs I saw and those old toy lines that I discovered through the internet for the inspiration for CCTCG. For Power Beasts, it was basically me using ideas I had for a more Creature based game and wanting to have an alternative for people who didn’t really get or like the idea of Culinary Combat. And I had ideas for other characters and other Card games I made before CCTCG that were creature based, so I put all of my creature ideas into Power Beasts
Q: Which TCG did you create first? What made you decide to start a second one?
A: Culinary Combat. Power Beast I decided to make about a month or so after Culinary Combat was released. After me contemplating making a second TCG that focuses on Creatures
Q: What TCGs did you grow up playing as a kid?
A: I always loved playing board games and I still do. Funny thing is, I always collect TCGs, but never really played them. I made my TCGs just because I loved to draw and was inspired by Chaos Galaxy, the TCGs I collected, those other food themed TCGs I saw on the internet to make a TCG. Now that I make TCGs, I’ve started to appreciate the playing aspect of Card games more
Q: What sets Culinary Combat and Power Beasts apart from other TCGs?
A: Culinary Combat - Though food characters and food themed trading cards have been done a few times previously, I think the gameplay is pretty accessible and the artwork has this mix of cartoonish/funny and kickass/comic book-esk. It’s easy for casual TCG fans to enjoy, but it’s got enough substance for experienced players to keep coming back to
Power Beasts is a very simple to learn, hard to master strategy game that is a little more complex than CCTCG, but still doesn’t alienate the causal fan. The art style allows for both lots of detailed characters and lots of funny characters too. And since it’s creatures, there is a wide variety of character types too. Both games can be enjoyed by casuals and hardcore fans
Q: How long have you been working on both games?
A: CCTCG since August of 2020, right in the middle of the Pandemic. Power Beasts since March of 2021
Q: How did you come up with the names for the games?
A: It originated as me just drawing a picture of the Food Fighters toy line and writing Culinary Combat underneath the word “Food Fighters” (Culinary Combat didn’t originate from Food Fighters toys, it was something I thought of, kind of like a tag line thing I made I guess) something about that name clicked with me. It made me think that I can’t just use it for a piece of art based off of toys. It was 2 words that fit so well together and I think they sum up the game perfectly
Power Beasts I was thinking of ideas for the name of the game. It didn’t come naturally like CCTCG. I wanted a name that was simple, but drove the point across like Culinary Combat. I didn’t want to use the name of any of my old TCGs, So I came up with Power Beasts
Q: What is the illustration process for both games?
A: So it starts, for both games, with me drawing out the character on a piece of paper, usually in a sketch book. Than taking a picture of said drawing, putting it into Procreate, and drawing over said illustration.
For those who might be like “so you trace?” It’s not tracing because I drew the original drawing. Tracing is when you draw overtop something you didn’t previously draw XD
Q: What are your future plans for both games?
A: Culinary Combat and Power Beasts’ second sets are both in development as we speak. Both are about 1/2 - 3/4 of the way finished and will be released in 2023. Power Beast set 1 is going to have an expansion pack and 2 starter decks, plus a deck box featuring the design a card contest winners. Culinary Combat’s set 1 will be rereleased with the new card format and the current set 1 will be renamed “Culinary Combat TCG: Classic” or something along those lines once set 2 and revamped set 1 comes out. These 2 games are far from over. They’ve only just started
Q: Do you gave any advice for someone looking to make their own TCG?
A: Inspiration is everywhere, even an ant on your sidewalk or a pebble in your shoe can be an inspiration for a card. Don’t rip off anybody else, be inspired, don’t plagiarize. Originality comes from inspiration and influence, not from ripping off. Don’t be afraid to make a TCG because “I’m not that good at drawing” or “I’m not original” blah blah blah. I think there’s a HTCG in everybody that is waiting to get out, and it will eventually, you just have to give it time. Don’t be afraid of Trail and Error. I had to have made 4-6 TCGs before CCTCG and PBTCG, and it felt great to release both of those games and to see the reception from friends, family, and members of the HTCG community. Once an HTCG community member, always an HTCG community member :)
For more, follow @culinary_combat_tcg on Instagram and check out https://www.thegamecrafter.com/designers/futuresquash-tcg-s-s-games
Such a great read! Enjoyed this interview a lot
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