Card Creatures v0.1.2

I've updated the download link with a new version of the game, this time with actual game rules for flipping cards! So far I've implemented the rules Open (the cards in both hands are face-up) and Basic (when you play a card, any adjacent enemy cards with lower facing numbers are flipped - like in Triple Triad). The AI still plays cards in random locations :D.

The system I made for applying the game rules is flexible enough that it should be easy for me to create new rules, and it should be easy to use whatever combination of rules we want in any particular match. So we can have the rules change as we progress through the single-player game, and we can have the players pick their own rules for the multiplayer game. Right now I just have the Open and Basic rules on every time. I'll continue to make more rules in the coming weeks, and I'll post 'em up here, probably along with some kind of testing interface so we can choose which rules we want to play with when we start the match.

One other addition to this version is a border on the cards. Right now there's a horrible-ugly temporary image that I made, but at least it helps us see the numbers when there's a dark background image! To change the card border image, just replace img/border.png with something of your own (and post it up here if you make something for it). Also, any card images you make with your creature designs should have some transparency, so that the blue/red background can show through and the player knows which cards have been flipped.

Card Creatures code base and creating card art

I'm posting the first stable version of our game! Only, it's not really a game yet, since there are no rules for capturing cards yet. But you can alternate turns with a super-dumb AI player, placing cards on the board. And more importantly, you can test new art for the cards in-game:

1. Download it here.
2. Double click on CardGame.swf or drag and drop it into your web-browser to play the game - you'll get an error message on screen about missing image files, just click on it to make it go away.
3. Add your own images for existing cards, or make new cards!
1. Double click on CardDef.ini - it should open in Notepad. This is where the available cards are specified. Any line starting with ; is a comment and is ignored by the program. Any line with [ ] around it is the name of a card. The next line is the four numbers on the card (we might go with more than four numbers later, but this is just a start). The next line (if there is one) is how much randomness there is for the four numbers. Add more card definitions like that to this list if you want.
2. Open the folder img/cards. This is where you should put the images for the cards. The images should be named the same thing as the card name from CardDef.ini. So, the first card in that list should have a file named level1.1.png. Please change the names in that file so that they match the actual picture though! Because "Bugbear" is a cooler name for a card than "level1.1". Card names can probably only be 1 word though.
3. Play the game to see your image on the card in action! Cards are picked randomly for the 2 hands right now.

PLEASE let me know if it doesn't work or if it's too confusing of a process. I really want feedback to improve how we work on the game. You don't have to do this right away of course, just try it out sometime when you're working on the creature designs.

Welcome to Card Creatures!

This is the development blog of our computer card game, working title: Card Creatures!

Current project members:
Martin - Programming & design
Stephanie - Concept art & design
Elaine - Concept art & design
TBD - Graphic design
TBD - Audio

These blog posts will probably be as close to a formal "design document" as we ever come (not very close). I hope the project members will post any ideas, works-in-progress, references, etc. Here's the short summary of the idea behind the game:
Card Creatures is strongly inspired by the games Triple Triad and Tetra Master, playable within Final Fantasies VIII and IX (and designed by Hiroyuki Ito). Of course we are not intending to infringe on SE's copyrights, and we plan to use these examples as a base to create our own spin on the game design, as well as providing all of our own creature design and art. The core of the game is a two-player competition to control the most cards placed on a grid board. Each player takes turns placing a card from their hand, which might capture adjacent cards on the board depending on the numbers on the edges of the cards. Beyond that the rules and AI are only early concepts, waiting to be expanded and implemented!

Later today I'm going to upload what I've made so far on the programming end, along with instructions for putting some art into the game.

Card Creatures is being created in Flash, and right now the plan is to make it freely playable on some website (and possibly somewhere like Facebook).