I spoke with the creator of Mere Mortals- here are his answers to my questions:
Q: Please describe your trading card game!
A: The Mere Mortals Trading Card Game (MMTCG) is a beatdown, deck-building game based on the characters and mythology of the Mere Mortals Saga, a dark-fantasy series of novels written by myself, the game’s creator, John Andrew Myers. If you like brutal cardboard combat, with a multitude of fighting styles to build your strategy around to decimate your foe, as well as an ever changing meta landscape, you might like our game. A sort of fucked up sense of humor wouldn’t hurt, either.
Q: What inspired you to create a TCG?
2. I’ve always been fascinated and enthralled by TCGs. In high school I was obsessed with playing the Dragonball Z CCG (the one from the early aughts, not the Super game that’s out now) with my friends. Every time we saw each other, we knew what we would be doing, and it never got old. When I began writing the Mere Mortals series, I knew I wanted to expand into games in the future, if at all possible. The first book was released in December, 2019, meaning four months later everything was shut down, leaving me ample time to not only write the second book, but catch up on my gaming. On a whim I tried my girlfriend’s Pokemon game, Sword and Shield. It was my first Pokemon game, and it was a blast! I poured hundreds of hours into that thing. I even got into 2 on 2 online competitive, finding I loved the combat mechanics. Then one day I realized how closely the typing in Pokemon was to an element in the Mere Mortals story, something called an “Eve Shade”. It just sort of clicked. I bought scissors, card stock, and colored markers the next day.
Q: What TCGs did you grow up playing as a kid?
3. Even though I had many early Magic packs and way too many Pokemon cards before high school, I never really had anyone to play those games with, so I mostly just collected those. It wasn’t until I played the Dragonball Z CCG my freshman year in 2001 that I found a game I not only loved and wanted to get better at, but also had friends who wanted to do the same. We played it until the game basically suffocated itself while trying to transition over to Dragonball GT a few years later. But it was fun while it lasted.
Q: What sets Mere Mortals apart from other TCGs?
A: Myself and the game’s co-creator, c.b. Strul, worked hard to make sure our game plays smoothly and has a strong core on which to build upon, ensuring it can last well into the future, and will only get better with age. We also made sure to eliminate the “mana problem” from our game entirely. YOU DO NOT PAY COSTS TO PLAY CARDS IN THE MMTCG. I think this helps set our combat system apart. As far as theming and design, the world of Mere Mortals is a dark and brutal one, and the game reflects that. Our card illustrations will feature more violence and gore than most people are probably used to (gasp!) as well as occasional nudity and a sizable amount of generally smart-assed debauchery.
Q: How long have you been working on the game?
5. I began designing it in early April 2020. Shortly thereafter, I pitched it to c.b.. Thankfully, he liked the idea enough to come on board. It’s been a fun and challenging two and a half years.
Q: How did you come up with the name Mere Mortals?
A: Just going off the books.
Q: What is the illustration/design process like?
A: C.b. and I design each card off of a moment or element from the Mere Mortals story. Once we have the idea of the card power and what the image should be, I will go try my best at the initial rough sketch. Luckily, my amazing girlfriend lent me a digital drawing pad, and I got the hang of it pretty quick, so the process was able to move a lot faster than if I had used traditional media. My stuff is fine, but I’m not a formally trained artist, and we can’t wait to pay “real” artists for gnarly card illustrations in the future. For now, however, while we’re in development, all of our set 1 cards (other than a few promo cards) feature rough art by myself. Many images even have my artist notes scribbled all over them. Hopefully people will find this more charming and less tacky while we find our footing.
Q: When will the game be officially released?
A: We are hoping to develop series 1, called “Beginnings”, and attain funding in 2023, whether via crowdfunding or, if necessary, armed assault of the U.S. mint, where we’ll regrettably learn that they do not make the bills there, only coins, and bags of those are hard to run away speedily with. Book 2 of the Mere Mortals Saga is set to be released in early 2024, and c.b. and I would love it if the game could be officially released around the same time.
Q: What are your future plans for Mere Mortals?
A: The plan is to keep the books as ahead of the card game as possible, so people can familiarize themselves with the lore and get excited for how the new elements will be featured. That was always my favorite part of playing the DBZ CCG: the anticipation of the new sets, which we knew would include our favorite characters and moments from the show. The world of Mere Mortals is large, and most of it is not revealed in the first book, which leaves lots of room for the game to grow. For example, in series 1, we have five “Shades” for players to choose from, or five fighting styles. In the books, however, there are more than five Shades, and the others will be released in the game down the road via expansions. It would be as if Magic added new colors to their roster.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own TCG?
A: Nothing that I’m sure they haven’t read before. It really is about play testing the heck out of it, and then play testing some more. If I could add anything, I guess I would say to first focus on concept. If you don’t have a strong foundation, like a new-but-beautifully-simple gameplay mechanic, or a unique and eye-grabbing design element, then getting started may be difficult, which often leads to the abandonment of projects. The beginning is the hardest part, so save the time and money and gray hairs and wait until you’ve had a decent “Aha!” moment (or two) before diving into something. Once you’ve got your heading, just keep going.
For more, follow @meremortalstcg on Instagram and check out https://www.meremortalssaga.com
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