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FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:26 am
by factionsgames
I've been working on a custom playing card deck with a friend for about two years. Everything is pretty much done and I'm looking to launch a Kickstarter on January 10, 2017. That said, please take a look below... I would appreciate any feedback you might have!

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FACTIONS is a beautifully illustrated and designed deck of 56 playing cards, featuring iconic images of characters and suits themed to a world of fantasy. While FACTIONS contains all the cards in a traditional playing card deck, we’ve also included two additional Jokers so that each suit in FACTIONS has a unique take on this castaway card--an elite warrior from each Faction riding into battle on its mount.

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Each card has been carefully colored in a worn watercolor style. This coupled with the varied background texture ensures that each card is a unique piece of art. Finally, the hand drawn and inked face cards (and jokers) complete the deck’s authentic old world feel.

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Visit http://www.factionsgames.com for a closer look at all of the face cards.

Delving further into the FACTIONS world, each card suit has been modified to correspond with each Faction.

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Click here to download a handy translation card to have on the gaming table!
(this is what will be linked:)
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All 56 playing cards are enclosed in a beautifully designed deck box that present each card as a page from an ancient tome.

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(An excerpt of the letter written by Dortuk, Caretaker Primus to Chief Recorder Valdek.)

FACTIONS is more than just another custom playing card deck. It embodies what Valdek, Chief Recorder of the Caretakers has seen on his journey. Each face card has a backstory of what he encountered. With every card, the story unfolds...

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The artwork and lore for each card are featured in the art book.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 6:21 pm
by Stepchild
These look great!!

I would be wary, though, of unique elements on the card faces that run all the way to the card edge -- these have a tendency to be visible in the side of the deck, effectively "marking the cards." Some of the faces seem to have unique background elements that might cause this problem.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 10:02 am
by MagikFingerz
One thing that stands out for me is the back design, it just doesn't feel very coherent.

I would want it to have the colors as in the faction translation card, and replace the globe with a smaller center piece that doesn't stand out as much. And lose the black rectangle, fill it with the continuation of the "map".

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 3:19 pm
by factionsgames
Stepchild wrote:These look great!!

I would be wary, though, of unique elements on the card faces that run all the way to the card edge -- these have a tendency to be visible in the side of the deck, effectively "marking the cards." Some of the faces seem to have unique background elements that might cause this problem.
Thanks for the advise. I plan on doing a check on all the cards and plan on lightening up or removing any dark areas on the edges.

MagikFingerz wrote:One thing that stands out for me is the back design, it just doesn't feel very coherent.

I would want it to have the colors as in the faction translation card, and replace the globe with a smaller center piece that doesn't stand out as much. And lose the black rectangle, fill it with the continuation of the "map".
Thanks for the feedback. I don't know that I've been 100% sold on the back design. I like what I did but am exploring how to make it better. The initial change is below. I plan on filling the "dead space" above/below the compass with more map things.

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Also, I've received a bit of feedback from others that are cautioning me on the use of custom pips. What do you all think of these options?

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Option 1 (Human Ace): standard suit in upper left / lower right, custom suit in upper right / lower left
Option 2 (Orc Two): custom suit in upper left / lower right, standard suit in upper right / lower left

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:18 pm
by MagikFingerz
factionsgames wrote:Thanks for the feedback. I don't know that I've been 100% sold on the back design. I like what I did but am exploring how to make it better. The initial change is below. I plan on filling the "dead space" above/below the compass with more map things.
That looks like a step in the right direction :) The new center element is much more suitable for the theme IMO, although you might have trouble deciding whether the map should show through the "spokes" or not. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

Have to say, I really like the colors on that map. Muted but still highlighting the details.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:45 pm
by Stepchild
I like your custom pips -- one of the main things is that they be sufficiently distinct from one another and I think you've got that covered pretty well. I think if you are going to go with them, you should have the confidence to put them in the usual index location -- the standards, if they are required as a backup, should be on the opposite corner from the index (AKA, I support option 2, but only if the backups are really required, and I don't think they are...)

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 3:12 pm
by Levent Suberk
Very good design. I like option 1, it is easy to understand.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 8:35 pm
by factionsgames
First, thanks to everyone for your feedback. While I set out to do something a little different with this deck (custom suits) I think it probably is a good idea to include standard suits on the cards. I posted a couple options as possibilities to include a standard suit on the cards... and have come up with a 3rd option that I'm actually pretty happy with. Allows the card deck to be more functional for card players and still works fine when cards are held/fanned.

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Let me know what you think!

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 9:20 pm
by shermjack
I still like the first choice and think that would be the only playable deck...sorry, but I don't like option 3 at all :cry:

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 7:55 am
by MagikFingerz
I don't care for option 3 either. If you're going to include the standard pip, I would prefer option 2 or not at all. Just my opinion though.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 12:24 pm
by Stepchild
Another vote against 3 here.

In agreement with Tom -- I think -- I prefer no standard pip, or option 2 if you must.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 11:38 am
by factionsgames
Probably true about putting the standard pips on the cards... probably not going to please any "card collectors" since I've already deviated with the custom suits.

How about a look at the updated card back?? :)

Let me know what you all think!

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Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 12:05 pm
by Levent Suberk
Card back design is very good. I prefer option 1 card face.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 6:42 pm
by shermjack
Definitely like the new back better! Noticed that the compass had 8 points (facing inwards) in the center and was wondering how it would look if the tips were changed into pips?

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 12:57 pm
by RichK
shermjack wrote:Definitely like the new back better! Noticed that the compass had 8 points (facing inwards) in the center and was wondering how it would look if the tips were changed into pips?
Agree with shermjack. Can you try your pips and standard ones?

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 1:02 pm
by factionsgames
I thought about putting the pips within the compass but the icons are so different from each other (compared to standard pips) that I don't think it looks very good.

I'm thinking this will be the final card back. Added some direction lines to fill some of the negative space in the compass that was unattractive.

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Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:32 pm
by RichK
The extra lines on compass do help it blend into the map more, less popping out like earlier one, in my opinion.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:39 am
by MagikFingerz
Really nice work on the back. I think I slightly prefer the previous color scheme to the new one, but they´re both good.

Re: FACTIONS - Fantasy Themed Playing Card Deck

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 2:45 pm
by factionsgames
Thank for your feedback about the FACTIONS playing cards. Everyone’s comments forced me to examine many things and I am happy where things sit. The Kickstarter is now LIVE!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/11 ... -card-deck" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At the very least, I hope you get a laugh from the video :)

Even if you are not going to back it, please share it with others!

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FactionsGame" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Facebook:
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