Impact Inspiration
Principal Founder & Head of Design @ChicagoDesign grew up in a culture of philanthropy and participated in community and fundraising events to support families impacted by blindness and mental disabilities. He also lost a close friend to the war in Iraq, and has a profound respect for those in the military.
Being surrounded by others who dedicated, and in some cases, gave their lives to make a difference in this world inspired our founder to lead through their example and bring something to the world that would unite people, create a sense of community, create opportunities for artists, and even be able to support mental health causes.
Realizing the enormous challenge ahead to unlock each of these aspirational goals and create a company that will stand the test of time, our founder realized that it could only be achieved through truly exceptional gameplay and a strong community.
Research-based Approach
In order to create truly exceptional gameplay, Elder Mage harnessed over 20 years of experience in research and design, and over 30 years of history as a TCG player to research the space and create a vision for the product.
Through both qualitative and quantitative methods, interviews with pro players and other game founders, and more, Elder Mage was able to use empirical data to highlight what people love, discard what people don’t, and combine that information to create something truly exceptional.
Artist Platform
As a fellow artist, Elder Mage understood how difficult it can be for artists to carve out an identity, network, build a follower base, and generate a list of supporting patrons. Beyond that, many artists equally struggle with merchandising and marketing their skills in different creative marketplaces. With MageTCG, in addition to a digital variant of the game, our vision is to create a platform where artists can thrive!
While currently MageTCG is in a “proof of concept” stage, our goal is to evolve beyond that and commission artists for alternate art variants and limited promotional releases of our core set and future set releases, and much more, which is a big part of our focus on economics (Rarity and collectability).
Rarity & Collectibility
In order to make our product affordable to everyone and put the emphasis on skill over budget, but still create a product that is desirable to collectors, each card in our core set will be printed at common rarity with each pack or deck containing algorithmically-randomized limited prints, holograms, serialized, and alt art cards. This way, no player will be disadvantaged based on the amount of money they spend, and upgrading cards with holograms and alternate arts is entirely optional.
Another benefit of this printing model is the fact that we can generously donate the base-quality product without creating inflation for the more premium collector product and impacting collector value.
Aesthetic & Gameplay Inspiration
Drawing inspiration from the aesthetic and gameplay of Trading Card Games back in the mid 90’s, “taboo” games like Tarot and Ouija, and even modern video games like Dark Souls, Witcher, and Skyrim, Elder Mage’s art direction establishes a more realistic, immersive, grittier, and in some cases, darker aesthetic and gameplay compared to other more commercialized TCG’s in the market. We believe the results speak for themselves, and we’re excited to go on this journey together with you!
Read the full story of MageTCG’s inspiration and creation here.