I spoke with the creator of Super Illoginauts, here are his answers to my questions:
Q: Please describe your trading card game!
A: Super Illoginauts is a cartoony, creature based card game that has equal parts strategy and luck. It includes a variety of mechanics, including dice rolling, resources, timed effects, and more!
Q: What inspired you to create your own TCG?
A: I have always been a huge fan of creating games ever since I was a kid. Super Illoginauts started out as a hand-drawn game on blank cards from Amazon. I stumbled upon the homemade TCG community and found that Super Illoginauts could be so much more. Learning about all the HMTCGs that are out there inspired me to take a stab at my own creation.
Q: What TCGs did you grow up playing as a kid?
A: The big one was Pokemon! I am still a HUGE fan of everything Pokemon, and it has influenced Super Illoginiauts quite a bit. I also played a good amount of Yu-Gi-Oh, but fell off that boat as it got more and more complicated. I am a fan of "easy to learn, hard to master" type games, so simple mechanics with a wide variety of play styles is my go to!
Q: What sets Super Illoginauts apart from other TCGs?
A: I think what separates Super Illoginauts from other TCGs is because it changes up conventional TCG mechanics in small, but interesting ways. For example, we all know the idea of mana, energy, and other types of resources in games. Well, in Super Illoginauts, the Illoginuats themselves are the resources for each other. A lot of the time in the game when you go to attack, you have a choice - use a simple attack that does decent damage, or you can take a chance and roll a die to maybe double the attack. But it can also make the attack waaayyyy worse. It is a constant decision of how much you want to risk it. When creating the game, I try to make things as light-hearted as possible, and I don't take things too seriously. I just made a card with an attack called Grotesquely Gelatinous Jinx, so I try to make things pretty absurd!
Q: How did you come up with the name Super Illoginauts?
A: Super Illoginauts features creatures that are powered by pure emotions. Illog- comes from the beginning of "illogical", which is something you can be called when acting on emotion and not logic. The ending -nauts is a suffix meaning "voyager" or "traveler". Super Illoginauts is set in a world with a ton of different planets, realms, and dimensions, and all the creatures travel across time and space to battle!
Q: How long have you been working on the game?
A: So this is a complicated question! Super Illoginauts has evolved since its inception in 2014 - but it didn't start as the game we know now. It was originally a parody of Pokemon called "Ballmon". Like I said previously, they were hand drawn on blank cards and played jokingly amongst friends. It was more similar to a party game than to a TCG. It was when I found the homemade TCG community that I began to shape Super Illoginauts into its own game, taking it more seriously and distancing myself from the Pokemon parody roots. That happened around 2017, and that game has been evolving ever since!
Q: What is the illustration/design process like?
A: I have a strong background in Photoshop, so the card templates were relatively easy to execute on. From a design standpoint, I looked to established TCGs and borrowed design language that I thought would benefit the game. From an illustration standpoint, his too has evolved over the years. Some of the older cards were hand drawn and scanned into the computer, while the new cards are exclusively created digitally in Procreate. More often than not, I try to create different styles and I see what sticks. Some cards have a lot of detail, while some are simple. I love the idea of having completely different art styles in my game, and I have even had a few friends lend their art in the game!
Q: What are your future plans for Super Illoginauts?
A: I plan to create more videos about Super Illoginauts on YouTube - anything from card spotlights to deck profiles. I have a channel now with only a few videos, so I want to tap into that aspect of the community.
Q: Will you be at any upcoming conventions?
A: Unfortunately I will not, but it is something I would love to do one day!
Q: Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own TCG?
A: My advice is to learn as much as you can from people in the community. Be sure to seek out feedback and don't take constructive criticism too harshly. More often than not, I find people genuinely want to help. Don't be afraid of not knowing where to start. You're not going to have everything ironed out the first time and it will evolve as you play test. Test, test, and test again. You will find those cracks in the rules and playing with others and getting that outside perspective is vital. And for the love of god, please back up all your art. Take it from me - I had to completely re-do the first set (103 cards) from the ground up after my harddrive failed!
For more, follow @superilloginautstcg on Instagram and https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/super-illoginauts-tcg-base-set-booster-pack
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