Mage Tower Mechanics Deep Dive FAQ
Hey all!
Brett Brimmer here, programmer and lead designer of Mage Tower: Call of Zadeus! This post is for those who've read the Steam page but want a deeper dive into Mage Tower. The first part talks about the current build and upcoming closed beta, the second talks about the gameplay systems.
THIS IS A LOT OF TEXT. I will post videos explaining many of these things over the coming months, but if you like to read and are curious about the game then go for it!
How playable is the current build?
Right now you can finish a full run of the game, but some features are only partially implemented, or don't have visuals implemented. I prioritized perfecting the core gameplay loop over everything else. I can say the core gameplay loop is IMO AWESOME. Some features need time and work put in though, like how there are only 10 overworld events right now, or how there are no UI graphics for card durability or boss wizard power.
When will the closed beta be launched?
I'm shooting for December 6th. You can sign up by subscribing to our newsletter at supermegagames.net (scroll to bottom of the page.) Over the next three months I will be ironing out features and visuals to prepare for that.
How does the overworld map work?
You click around to travel in any direction. You'll mostly want to visit towns where you can buy cards, change your deck, accept quests, and buy overworld powerups. There are also enemies that will spawn on the map and CHASE YOU. You can also find dungeons and boons/overworld events, but we'll talk about those later.
How do idols and enemy encounters work?
When you run into an enemy, you go to the prebattle screen. Here, there are 6 "Idols" that can be activated. Each Idol makes the battle more challenging (such as by making you start with less life), but gives special rewards. Think about it as making a "bet" saying "I think my deck is so good against this enemy that I can win even if I start with 4 less life."
This makes every duel exciting, in fact some of my most fun battles have been going really deep against an innocuous enemy and activating a ridiculous number of idols. Honestly the feeling it gives me is when players "flex" in a speedrun by doing crazy extra moves... the Idol system lets you take risks and flex your skills! One of my favorite battles of all time was when I activated the most dangerous idol against a Tier 3 enemy because I just KNEW I had the right deck to counter them. Once you activate the idols, you click the "Battle" button to start the card battle.
What is the card battle system like?
The card battle system is adapted from our 2013 physical card game "Mage Tower, A Tower Defense Card Game". Keep in mind this isn't a clone of anything out there, this system came out long before most modern deckbuilders. You and the enemy AI each have your own deck, and take turns. On a player's turn, monsters come out of your Monster Deck to attack you! If you don't kill the monsters by the end of your turn, they become angry. If you don't kill them by the end of your next turn (while they're angry), they attack you. So both players are trying to defend against the monsters (like in a tower defense game), but there are also many spells to attack each other (like summoning monsters to the other player's monster board.) There are also lots of cool card combos to be had!
How do dungeons work?
When you locate a dungeon on the overworld map, you go in and find yourself in an isometric dungeon map. There is a fog of war here (not shown in trailer, but it is in the current build.) So you'll have to walk around to figure out where everything is. Each dungeon has three treasures, which are special things like BANNED CARDS or TRINKETS or ETHEREAL CARDS. The really interesting thing about dungeons, though, is that you have one life pool to last you through. So you don't start each battle fresh like on the overworld, you'll have to manage your life total and try to find the treasures while not dying.
What happens when you lose a battle?
The run is over. I mean... it is a roguelike, after all! Fortunately you start with two potions which give you a second wind in battle. The catch? They will be the only two potions you get for the ENTIRE run, so treat them like your two "extra lives." (They're more like Death Defiance in Hades than potions in other deckbuilders.)
Castles?
Castles are sort of like dungeons, but they have no treasure. HOWEVER. Somewhere hidden inside is one of the three BOSS WIZARDS. You must find that boss wizard and destroy them, and once you destroy all three you win the game! The second and third castle you enter will have buffs that make all the enemies more powerful.
How does the enemy/biome system work?
At the start of a run, your world is generated from three random biomes (Volcanic, Forest, Cragglands, or Snow.) Each biome has 3 basic enemy types (though these aren't all the enemy types), each with their own deck. Over time you'll learn these enemies' decks like the back of your hand. The fact that enemies have their own decks and take turns makes them much more interesting than enemies in other deckbuilders that just go through a repetitive damage/debuff cycle. Learning the enemies' decks (and their weaknesses and counters) will let you use Idols to make huge "bets" against them, and flex your skills!
What about hybrid enemies?
How did you know about those? It's almost like I'm the one writing these questions...
In dungeons and certain special battles, you'll encounter hybrid enemies. These take two basic enemy types from different biomes and COMBINE THEIR DECKS. Each hybrid enemy also has a special "Signature Card" that is unique to them. This makes hybrid enemies familiar enough that you can strategize against them effectively, but unique enough that each one feels completely different. This was a great way to have 40+ enemy types each run without overwhelming the player with 40 completely different decks. It works!
How does the card durability system work?
In Mage Tower, your cards lose durability after battle, and can even break if they run out. This has several effects.
This adds a true cost to battle. You'll want avoid some battles so you don't waste your deck's durability on a sub-optimal fight. Having true costs in an open-world game was important to me to prevent "over-world slog". That's when it feels like there are no consequences for anything so the endless battles become droll and repetitive.
The durability system also creates a backwards drafting system, because after battle you can fortify and repair cards you like, while letting other cards lose durability. This means over the course of a run your deck will change over time, but the core cards of your strategy will be protected. By the end of the run, just about your whole deck should be protected from durability loss.
The durability system also creates some funny scenarios early on when your good cards' durability is low, and you have to temporarily use sub-optimal cards. This is reminiscent of the Ratchet & Clank series. In Ratchet & Clank sometimes all your good weapons run out of ammo, so you have to use your terrible weapons (which you don't even know how to use), which is fun and hilarious FOR A SHORT TIME! (I know this durability stuff sounds punishing but trust me it's really fun and strategic!!)
How do character classes work?
I'm a big fan of David Sirlin, and love how his games let you pick from so many characters and play styles. I've been trying to add character classes to Mage Tower FOR YEARS. I've tried so many variations which I won't go into here, but I finally settled on a great one.
Before each run you get one rare card which is your "class card". Your class card never loses durability or breaks, so it's your most reliable card. You'll want to build your deck around it, and have the most synergies possible with it. In a backwards way this feels a bit like the "Commander" format in Magic: The Gathering. In MTG Commander, your commander is your most reliable card that you can always count on casting. In Mage Tower: Call of Zadeus, your "class card" is your most reliable card, but for different reasons. You get that feeling of "This is an X class card deck. I'm looking for cards that do Y because they're really good with X class card" - the same sort of feeling you get when building an MTG Commander deck.
What are boons/overworld events?
Boons will randomly appear on the map and give you cool stuff! Maybe it'll let you upgrade a common card, or repair 1 card durability, or just give you some gold. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a really rare boon that will give you an ethereal card.
What are Gate Battles?
Dungeons also have something called Gates, a non-enemy obstacle. When you walk into a Gate, you are shown two very simple decks (only 3 different cards, with duplicates.) You look over them, then vote on which deck will beat the other. After that, you watch the AI players duke it out. If your guy wins, you pass the Gate unharmed. If your guy loses, you have to battle a random enemy. I have found this feature to be WAY TOO MUCH FUN, I almost want to turn it into its own game or something lol. Also the Gate Battles can be sped up or slowed down if you don't want to watch the battle (I like to watch them, this is my new spectator's sport IMO.)
Is the real game in the heart of the cards??
Yes, yes it is. With all these crazy overworld mechanics let's not forget that Mage Tower has over 350 cards (and most are upgradable!) There are a ton of cool interactions and mechanics, and the cards are designed around emergent interactions rather than parasitic keywords. This means unlike other games you don't just "hope to draft every poison card and win" 100 runs in a row, you actually get to be creative! Almost every run I figure out some weird and powerful new combo or interaction I'd never thought of. But yeah, in closing, remember that all these awesome overworld mechanics are simply a candy shell for Mage Tower's sweet chocolate card game center! Whooooo!
Wow, if you read through ALL THAT you're probably actually a web crawler bot and not a real human. Thanks for reading, internet robots!
-Brett Brimmer, Super Mega Games
Post cover art: Basilisk illus. by Storn Cook, Background by Annette Coleman.
Brett Brimmer here, programmer and lead designer of Mage Tower: Call of Zadeus! This post is for those who've read the Steam page but want a deeper dive into Mage Tower. The first part talks about the current build and upcoming closed beta, the second talks about the gameplay systems.
THIS IS A LOT OF TEXT. I will post videos explaining many of these things over the coming months, but if you like to read and are curious about the game then go for it!
CURRENT BUILD AND CLOSED BETA
How playable is the current build?
Right now you can finish a full run of the game, but some features are only partially implemented, or don't have visuals implemented. I prioritized perfecting the core gameplay loop over everything else. I can say the core gameplay loop is IMO AWESOME. Some features need time and work put in though, like how there are only 10 overworld events right now, or how there are no UI graphics for card durability or boss wizard power.
When will the closed beta be launched?
I'm shooting for December 6th. You can sign up by subscribing to our newsletter at supermegagames.net (scroll to bottom of the page.) Over the next three months I will be ironing out features and visuals to prepare for that.
GAMEPLAY FAQ
How does the overworld map work?
You click around to travel in any direction. You'll mostly want to visit towns where you can buy cards, change your deck, accept quests, and buy overworld powerups. There are also enemies that will spawn on the map and CHASE YOU. You can also find dungeons and boons/overworld events, but we'll talk about those later.
How do idols and enemy encounters work?
When you run into an enemy, you go to the prebattle screen. Here, there are 6 "Idols" that can be activated. Each Idol makes the battle more challenging (such as by making you start with less life), but gives special rewards. Think about it as making a "bet" saying "I think my deck is so good against this enemy that I can win even if I start with 4 less life."
This makes every duel exciting, in fact some of my most fun battles have been going really deep against an innocuous enemy and activating a ridiculous number of idols. Honestly the feeling it gives me is when players "flex" in a speedrun by doing crazy extra moves... the Idol system lets you take risks and flex your skills! One of my favorite battles of all time was when I activated the most dangerous idol against a Tier 3 enemy because I just KNEW I had the right deck to counter them. Once you activate the idols, you click the "Battle" button to start the card battle.
What is the card battle system like?
The card battle system is adapted from our 2013 physical card game "Mage Tower, A Tower Defense Card Game". Keep in mind this isn't a clone of anything out there, this system came out long before most modern deckbuilders. You and the enemy AI each have your own deck, and take turns. On a player's turn, monsters come out of your Monster Deck to attack you! If you don't kill the monsters by the end of your turn, they become angry. If you don't kill them by the end of your next turn (while they're angry), they attack you. So both players are trying to defend against the monsters (like in a tower defense game), but there are also many spells to attack each other (like summoning monsters to the other player's monster board.) There are also lots of cool card combos to be had!
How do dungeons work?
When you locate a dungeon on the overworld map, you go in and find yourself in an isometric dungeon map. There is a fog of war here (not shown in trailer, but it is in the current build.) So you'll have to walk around to figure out where everything is. Each dungeon has three treasures, which are special things like BANNED CARDS or TRINKETS or ETHEREAL CARDS. The really interesting thing about dungeons, though, is that you have one life pool to last you through. So you don't start each battle fresh like on the overworld, you'll have to manage your life total and try to find the treasures while not dying.
What happens when you lose a battle?
The run is over. I mean... it is a roguelike, after all! Fortunately you start with two potions which give you a second wind in battle. The catch? They will be the only two potions you get for the ENTIRE run, so treat them like your two "extra lives." (They're more like Death Defiance in Hades than potions in other deckbuilders.)
Castles?
Castles are sort of like dungeons, but they have no treasure. HOWEVER. Somewhere hidden inside is one of the three BOSS WIZARDS. You must find that boss wizard and destroy them, and once you destroy all three you win the game! The second and third castle you enter will have buffs that make all the enemies more powerful.
How does the enemy/biome system work?
At the start of a run, your world is generated from three random biomes (Volcanic, Forest, Cragglands, or Snow.) Each biome has 3 basic enemy types (though these aren't all the enemy types), each with their own deck. Over time you'll learn these enemies' decks like the back of your hand. The fact that enemies have their own decks and take turns makes them much more interesting than enemies in other deckbuilders that just go through a repetitive damage/debuff cycle. Learning the enemies' decks (and their weaknesses and counters) will let you use Idols to make huge "bets" against them, and flex your skills!
What about hybrid enemies?
How did you know about those? It's almost like I'm the one writing these questions...
In dungeons and certain special battles, you'll encounter hybrid enemies. These take two basic enemy types from different biomes and COMBINE THEIR DECKS. Each hybrid enemy also has a special "Signature Card" that is unique to them. This makes hybrid enemies familiar enough that you can strategize against them effectively, but unique enough that each one feels completely different. This was a great way to have 40+ enemy types each run without overwhelming the player with 40 completely different decks. It works!
How does the card durability system work?
In Mage Tower, your cards lose durability after battle, and can even break if they run out. This has several effects.
This adds a true cost to battle. You'll want avoid some battles so you don't waste your deck's durability on a sub-optimal fight. Having true costs in an open-world game was important to me to prevent "over-world slog". That's when it feels like there are no consequences for anything so the endless battles become droll and repetitive.
The durability system also creates a backwards drafting system, because after battle you can fortify and repair cards you like, while letting other cards lose durability. This means over the course of a run your deck will change over time, but the core cards of your strategy will be protected. By the end of the run, just about your whole deck should be protected from durability loss.
The durability system also creates some funny scenarios early on when your good cards' durability is low, and you have to temporarily use sub-optimal cards. This is reminiscent of the Ratchet & Clank series. In Ratchet & Clank sometimes all your good weapons run out of ammo, so you have to use your terrible weapons (which you don't even know how to use), which is fun and hilarious FOR A SHORT TIME! (I know this durability stuff sounds punishing but trust me it's really fun and strategic!!)
How do character classes work?
I'm a big fan of David Sirlin, and love how his games let you pick from so many characters and play styles. I've been trying to add character classes to Mage Tower FOR YEARS. I've tried so many variations which I won't go into here, but I finally settled on a great one.
Before each run you get one rare card which is your "class card". Your class card never loses durability or breaks, so it's your most reliable card. You'll want to build your deck around it, and have the most synergies possible with it. In a backwards way this feels a bit like the "Commander" format in Magic: The Gathering. In MTG Commander, your commander is your most reliable card that you can always count on casting. In Mage Tower: Call of Zadeus, your "class card" is your most reliable card, but for different reasons. You get that feeling of "This is an X class card deck. I'm looking for cards that do Y because they're really good with X class card" - the same sort of feeling you get when building an MTG Commander deck.
What are boons/overworld events?
Boons will randomly appear on the map and give you cool stuff! Maybe it'll let you upgrade a common card, or repair 1 card durability, or just give you some gold. Maybe you'll get lucky and find a really rare boon that will give you an ethereal card.
What are Gate Battles?
Dungeons also have something called Gates, a non-enemy obstacle. When you walk into a Gate, you are shown two very simple decks (only 3 different cards, with duplicates.) You look over them, then vote on which deck will beat the other. After that, you watch the AI players duke it out. If your guy wins, you pass the Gate unharmed. If your guy loses, you have to battle a random enemy. I have found this feature to be WAY TOO MUCH FUN, I almost want to turn it into its own game or something lol. Also the Gate Battles can be sped up or slowed down if you don't want to watch the battle (I like to watch them, this is my new spectator's sport IMO.)
Is the real game in the heart of the cards??
Yes, yes it is. With all these crazy overworld mechanics let's not forget that Mage Tower has over 350 cards (and most are upgradable!) There are a ton of cool interactions and mechanics, and the cards are designed around emergent interactions rather than parasitic keywords. This means unlike other games you don't just "hope to draft every poison card and win" 100 runs in a row, you actually get to be creative! Almost every run I figure out some weird and powerful new combo or interaction I'd never thought of. But yeah, in closing, remember that all these awesome overworld mechanics are simply a candy shell for Mage Tower's sweet chocolate card game center! Whooooo!
Wow, if you read through ALL THAT you're probably actually a web crawler bot and not a real human. Thanks for reading, internet robots!
-Brett Brimmer, Super Mega Games
Post cover art: Basilisk illus. by Storn Cook, Background by Annette Coleman.