"Since you dare to say that, you must have some ideas in mind about what kind of card game to make, right?" Yae Miko looked at Youying and asked with a hint of curiosity.
After all, Youying was a person from outside this world, and when it came to coming up with fresh things and new gimmicks, Yae Miko had to admit that Youying had never disappointed her in that regard.
"Naturally." When proposing this suggestion to Yae Miko, Youying already had a solid plan in mind. "The specific card designs still need some careful thought and planning, but I've already figured out the general direction."
"The little guy looks quite confident." Yae Miko looked curiously at Youying, who now wore an expression of absolute certainty—a rare sight indeed since Youying's arrival.
"Of course! One day, I'm going to make this game a massive critical success across the entire Teyvat, booming and thriving!"
Youying was growing somewhat impassioned at this point.
"In a splendid Inazuma, how could we ever let clowns like Genius Invokation TCG run rampant?"
"By then, you can just wait at the Grand Narukami Shrine and count your money. Who knows, maybe one day you'll even be able to buy out Ningguang's Jade Chamber and open a Grand Narukami Shrine branch right up in the sky!"
Even knowing it was a joke, these remarks still brought a smile to Yae Miko's face. "Ningguang? That woman stepped into a leadership position in Liyue years ago. Even though she's still young, some of her methods command my admiration. To actually set your sights on her Jade Chamber, which is practically as dear to her as her own life?"
"Just joking, just joking."
"Alright, let's talk business. First, give me a brief introduction to the card game you're planning to make." Yae Miko rolled her eyes at Youying and then put on a serious expression.
"Alright," Youying nodded as well, gathering his thoughts before speaking:
"The core of a card game, in my opinion, should be the strategic interplay between people."
"The reason Genius Invokation TCG was able to take off is precisely because it intensifies the strategy and fun during that interplay."
"Skills, luck, strategy... the integration and blending of all these factors are arguably one of the fundamental reasons why Genius Invokation TCG became so popular."
"However, the biggest limitation of Genius Invokation TCG is that no matter how brilliantly you play, it's still just a contest between two sides, or rather, two people."
"So, if you want to create a card game that can surpass Genius Invokation TCG, the simplest breakthrough is player count."
"I want to create a game that combines tactical depth and fun, while not being limited to just two players. Instead, it will be a contest among three, four... or even more people."
"That sounds rather interesting." Yae Miko nodded with genuine interest. "Go on."
"According to my vision, the maximum number of players for a single round of this game will be eight (actually, I recall the limit might be twelve, but to keep things simple, let's set the maximum at eight-player military mode). In my vision, this mode will also be one of the most popular game modes."
"Now, if eight people were each fighting for themselves, it would undoubtedly turn the whole board into utter chaos. Therefore, I will divide them into several factions and assign them so-called 'identities'. At the start of the game, players will each draw an identity card to determine their role in the current match. Players must complete the corresponding objectives based on their identity to help their faction win."
"As for identities, I divide them into four types: Archon, Retainer, Abyss, and Sustainer."
"Among them, the Archon and Retainer belong to one faction, the Abyss forms a faction, and the Sustainer is their own faction."
"I suspect you're implying something, but I'll keep my mouth shut." Yae Miko raised an eyebrow.
"In a single game, only the Archon's identity is revealed at the start, while everyone else's identity remains hidden, only to be exposed upon their death or at the end of the game."
"There is generally only one Archon in a game, and their objective is to eliminate all members of the Abyss and the Sustainer."
"There are usually two Retainers in an eight-player game. Their objective is the same as the Archon's, but they must ensure the Archon survives until the end of the game."
"There are usually four members of the Abyss in an eight-player game, and their objective is to eliminate the Archon at all costs."
"As for the Sustainer, this identity is rather special. There is generally only one in a game, though the number can be adjusted to two if needed. Their objective is to eliminate everyone except themselves, including other Sustainers—though the Archon must be the absolute last person to be killed."
"That pretty much covers the identities. Of course, there are also some tie-ins between the identity mechanics and other elements; for example, anyone who kills an Abyss member gets to draw three cards from the hand-pile, whereas if the Archon kills a Retainer, all their cards except those in the judgment zone are discarded."
"Hmm~ It sounds like playing the Sustainer is quite a challenge, and the Archon has to be a wise ruler who can tell right from wrong. It sounds quite interesting." Yae Miko nodded in evaluation.
"Now let's talk about the gameplay itself," Youying continued. "As for the operations within the game, it starts with the Archon, and turns proceed in a counter-clockwise order until the game ends with one faction winning."
"The cards in the game can be roughly divided into two types: Character cards and Game cards. Character cards, as the name suggests, represent the characters we use in this match. Generally, after determining their identities, each player draws several character cards and selects only one to use. Each character has certain skills that can be used in the game, which further enriches the tactical depth and fun. Of course, there are also auxiliary health cards and some tokens that skills might require. Health cards are used to represent your maximum health limit and your real-time health value. When your health drops to zero or below, you immediately enter a dying state, and each surviving player is asked in turn whether they want to use a card to save you. If no one saves you or you cannot be saved, you are eliminated."
"Game cards are the cards we use or play during the game. In a match, the composition of game cards is fixed, placed nearby as the draw pile, and all players share this same set of cards. Drawing cards in the game generally starts from the top of this draw pile."
"To put it simply, the game flow for each player starts with everyone drawing four cards, and then on each of their turns, they generally draw two cards before playing cards. After finishing playing cards, you typically must ensure that the cards in your hand—referred to as hand cards—do not exceed your current health value. Any excess cards must be selectively discarded, and then the turn passes to the next person in a repeating cycle."
"The specific names of some game cards still need some designing on my part, but the general types fall into three categories: Basic cards, Scroll cards, and Equipment cards."
"Basic cards represent the player's basic actions, including 【Slash】, 【Dodge】, 【Peach】, and 【Alcohol】. Simply put, Slash is used against a target, and if the target cannot Dodge, they lose 1 health point; Peach restores 1 health point, or helps yourself or someone else recover 1 health point when they are dying; Alcohol can be used during your own turn to increase the damage of your next Slash by one point, or help yourself recover 1 health point when dying."
"Scroll cards are cards with special effects that can achieve unique outcomes. They can roughly be categorized into making yourself draw cards, making others lose cards, or directly dealing damage. Since each person can only play one Slash per turn, and Alcohol can only be consumed once per turn for damage boosting, the various Scroll cards greatly enrich the game content."
"Equipment cards, as the name implies, are used on yourself to enhance your offensive or defensive capabilities (though they might also increase the damage you take, right?). Equipped cards go into an area called the equipment zone and do not count as hand cards."
"Well, hearing you put it that way, it does sound rather interesting." Yae Miko nodded after listening to the general introduction, her interest piqued by the game Youying had conjured up. "How do you plan to schedule the timeline and plan for the future?"
"Give me two days to finish designing the game cards, and we can produce and sell the character cards in batches," Youying said. "We'll design a batch of characters along with other necessary game cards, identity cards, and health cards to be sold as a bundle. Subsequent characters can be added to these cards later and sold as new packages, which also gives us a justification to raise prices later on. As for some of the rarer characters, we can adopt a separate gacha-style card-pack opening method to acquire them."
"For someone so young, you sure have the makings of a crafty merchant." Yae Miko raised an eyebrow upon hearing Youying already conceptualizing the initial marketing model. "Then do as you see fit. By the way, have you thought of a name for this game?"
"Seven Nations Kill!" Youying answered immediately without missing a beat.
"A war set against the backdrop of the seven nations... it certainly has a certain imposing ring to it." Yae Miko nodded thoughtfully.