Antithesis Game and Deck Editor

Antithesis is an ambitious hybrid strategy game that fuses the physicality of board and card gameplay with the convenience and innovation of digital design. This collaborative project involved creating a fully functional Deck Editor, card and play mat design, a WebGL interface, and robust AWS backend services to support playtesting and deployment in the popular platform, Table Top Simulator.

Tools Used:

Unity, C#, AWS S3, Gitlab, Affinity Designer, InDesign, Figma, Excel

Website: https://antithesisgame.com/

Try out the editor: https://antithesisgame.com/deck-editor/

Deck Editor Features:

• Interactive Card Selection: Players can click, drag, and drop cards into their deck, mimicking the hands-on experience of physical deck building.

• Real-Time Card Filtering: A robust filtering mechanic allows players to sift through cards based on various parameters like type, faction, cost, and abilities, streamlining the search for the perfect card.

• Champion Alignment Rule System : Mechanics to enforce rules for deck building, removing illegal card combinations allowing the user to focus on cards that adhere to the selected champion alignments.

• User-Friendly Interface: A clear and intuitive interface presents all options and information in a clean layout, making deck construction straightforward and enjoyable.

• Gallery View Mode: A visual representation of cards available for deck construction, allowing players to browse through cards as if laid out on a table.

• Deck and Card Analytics: Features that provide insights into the deck's composition and statistics, helping players understand the strengths and weaknesses of their decks.

• Automated Deck Validation: The editor automatically checks for deck legality, ensuring that all decks adhere to the game's rules for the number of cards, duplicates, and other restrictions.

  
  

• AWS Cloud Integration: The Deck Editor is integrated with cloud services to store and retrieve card data, ensuring all players have access to the latest cards and updates.

• Custom JSON Structures: The editor uses JSON structures to communicate with Tabletop Simulator, and to build the card database in the deck editor allowing for easy deck importation into the virtual environment.

• Deck Import System: Players can import decks using a unique file, which the Deck Editor uses to reconstruct a previously built deck for editing or review.

• Deck Export System: Zip file system setup for downloading complete deck files including Table Top Simulator JSON, image assets, and printable deck lists. Players can export their decks to various formats for sharing, printing, or online play.

  
  

• Responsive Design: The Deck Editor is designed to function across different devices and screen sizes, ensuring that players have a consistent experience regardless of how they access the tool.

• Load Balancer: Implementation of a Load Balancer to manage S3 bucket access and ensure the stability of web request flow.

Gameplay Experience: The heart of Antithesis lies in its strategic gameplay, inviting players into a realm where intellect and strategy reign supreme. The Deck Editor is just the beginning – the game unfolds on a battlefield rich with possibilities:

• Strategic Card Types & Factions: Developed a variety of card types (Champions, Objectives, Directives, etc.) and factions, each with unique abilities and playstyles to encourage diverse strategy formulation.

• Complex Tactical Playmat: Created a playmat design that serves as the strategic battleground, where placement and movement of tokens play a pivotal role in the conquest for victory.

• Token System: Introduced a token system that represents characters and champion cards, bringing an added dimension to the gameplay and the tactical depth.

Technical and Design Complexity: The complexity of Antithesis is not just in the gameplay but also in its technical underpinnings and design choices:

• Comprehensive Code Architecture: Crafted a clean and modular code structure, allowing for the extensible development of gameplay features and the integration of new elements with minimal friction.

• Streamlined Content Creation: Utilized InDesign and Font Lab 8 to create a streamlined pipeline for card design and content updates, reducing the time from concept to playtest dramatically.

• Continuous Improvement: Employed a robust CI/CD pipeline with GitLab for regular updates and deployments, demonstrating a commitment to continuous enhancement and player satisfaction.

Educational Journey and Collaboration:

• The project's aim was to design a game that not only provided enjoyment to players but also served as a learning platform for game development.

• The collaborative nature of the project allowed for skill-sharing, with a focus on teaching game development principles and honing deck editor construction techniques.

  
  
  
  

Gameplay Materials and Database:

• Devised the visual layout for the cards, incorporating a hybrid between AI and original artwork to add a premium aesthetic quality.

• Utilized Adobe InDesign, enhanced with data merge and GREP scripting, for rapid card updates and exports.

• Orchestrated a seamless pipeline involving Google Drive, FTP, and AWS S3 for efficient card-to-playtest workflow, reducing turnaround time to approximately 15 minutes.

Rules and Visuals:

• Development of comprehensive game rules and the enhancement of their presentation to professional standards.

• Copywriting, editing, and proofreading to ensure clarity and engagement.