The Hearthstone Digital Card Deck

We took a quick look at the Digital deck by looking at some hearthstone decks opening, now its time to delve in a little closer and try to understand what makes hearthstones digital deck so awesome.

the digital deck was controversial since there are so many possible exploits and hacks with digital goods, but the business model for hearthstone made it viable. Currently standing as the most popular TCG in the world, There are many lessons we can learn from the hearthstone digital deck.

one of the most important things about the hearthstone deck in my opinion is the somewhat pointless experience of opening a pack, they've filled it with so much effects that its just a joy to open a pack.

check out maxmoefoegames on youtube open 100 packs

Why Would Anyone Buy A Digital Pack?

"Its not uncommon to hear the words, why would you spend so much money on a set of cards?" though I have even had some old card traders ask me, "why would you buy a digital deck, its not even real?"

though it may seem like a gimmick its hard to argue the value of cards to someone who doesnt play the game, just like any playing card is only a piece of cardboard or plastic but if its the right print at the right time it would be considered pretty bloody valuable(i.e the last card for a royal flush in a big hand of poker; its still just a card). that being said, each card similarly has its own value and some cards are so rare or powerful they can be worth hundreds alone.

the digital asset also allows its owner to participate in a game played internationally from their own device, though its not a requirement that they purchase anything, you are welcome to play with free cards given as a basic deck

this is even more interesting now that we use crypto's since thats a little similar, but thats for another day 😁

Lets Break Down The Design!

no doubt, hearthstone has an amazing deck opening what makes it so enjoyable to open and collect?

The World

before we talk about the deck, one of the main reasons we value the hearthstone cards so much is the narrative and theme of the hearthstone world. Designed based on the Blizzard games series Warcraft Franchises and cleverly themed at an Inn inside the world of warcraft. The game is lighthearted and whimsical, though the strategies are infinite.

The Artwork

the artwork is a made up of awesome 3d models with some really refined texture details, giving the deck a very designed and manufactured look. the colors are contrasting and there are alot of bumpy surfaces allowing the light the bounce off and cast shadows giving it an even more refined look

The Rarities

the levels of rareness make you anticipate getting cards of higher value, sometimes cards you would not even care about due to not being part of your base pack etc will become valuable just for being the right color

The Animation

the animation of the movement of the deck, the highlight of the deck, the slight tilts and rotations of the deck, then the strap unlocking and the cards flying out. these all act to strengthen the immersien of the player into the world. its not just a number or a tickbox in a server somewhere, its a card you can touch, move around, rotate, it feels real and tangible when you are staring at your screen

The Auras

the rarity is one thing, but the preview of the rareness to build anticipation does alot to create emotional context in the mind of the player so as to boost the excitement and counter an anti-climax from not noticing the cards. the Color and lighting effect of the aura play an important part in creating positive associations for the players and engaging them for the long term.

The Sounds

Hearthstone added a dimension that did not exist except for in the hearts and minds of those with great imagination, the voices and audial context for cards and characters. During the opening of a deck, there is a sharp almost stinger sound to your attention drawn to the screen, there is a voice that gets excited when you open a pack or receive a rare item, aswell as the voices and soundeffects of the card itself ingame

Take-aways

there are quite a few components that make up the experience of purchasing and opening a deck to add cards to your collection in hearthstone, they all act to create an enjoyable and memorable experience. Hearthstone did alot of things correctly, addressing many concerns about card games on a digital medium, though their monetization strategy also exposed many possible issues that come alone with wanting to own and collect digital assets.

next time we go into some cool block-chain solutions and trading card games

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