In a fit of procrastiworking–avoiding working a number of deadlines in July and August–I decided to work on my collaborative card game Archaea: Bane. While players control the cards they are dealt, the Black Deck runs semi-independently, semi-autopoetically. Archaea: Bane is set in the game world of my live-action role-playing game Archaea. (I have decided to shorthand the game as all-caps BANE.) The game features two decks: a Black Deck, which represents the Bane, a dark, mysterious entity residing in the underworld of the realm of Archaea who wants to cross into the world to corrupt and destroy, and a White Deck, which represent the player’s skills, abilities, attacks, perks, resources, and means to try to stop the Bane. It just occured to me that I hadn’t really worked on the game since probably 2017 or 2018 (even though I started the design in 2015). I put the game down because there were a few questions and problems that I did not have a good solution for (or so I thought). Plus life, work, the pandemic, and tenure got in the way.
Fast forward to last year, almost ten years later, I dragged the cards out a few times to play with friends, including one night at the Society for Science, Literature, and the Arts (SLSA) annual conference at Arizona State University in October 2023 (pictured below).
Playing Archaea: Bane at SLSA 2024! October 28, 2023.
Feedback for the game was positive and enthusiastic. In fact, my conference partner and co-organizer of the Game Studies Stream Dr. Ashlee Bird demanded that I finalize the game and publish it!
New card designs printed in color, glued to black and white card stock, pressed and allowed to dry overnight, and cut out by hand! July 20, 2024. (c) Edmond Y. Chang.
Fast forward again to this past July. I found a really good deal on a color laser printer for Amazon Prime Days and rationalized the purchase as necessary for my work, for my research, and for my game designs. A flurry of procrastiworking and obsessive fixation later, I redesigned all of the cards and made a new beta decks. BANE 3.0 became quick reality!
New BANE Black Deck! The game starts with an area of Black cards that represent a Manifestation of the Bane, an area of corruption, danger, and Bane growth that will continue to grow if left unchecked. At the start of each round, a card or more is drawn from the deck and determines what the Bane does or how the Bane behaves. July 25, 2024. (c) Edmond Y. Chang.
New BANE White Deck! Players are dealt hands of White Cards, which represent resources (Physical and Magical), actions, attacks, and effects. The players must work cooperatively, collaborative each round to try to destroy the manifestations of the Bane. July 25, 2024. (c) Edmond Y. Chang.
I even got a little case for the two main Decks, the player character cards, extra cards (to adjust the difficulty of the game), and a bag of different colored dice that are used for counters, resources, and targeting. July 25, 2024. (c) Edmond Y. Chang.
I have not played with the new deck yet. I kind of want to wait till I return to SLSA for the 2024 conference later this year in Dallas, TX. I will be exhibiting BANE as part of the SLSA Game Studies Stream for this year’s “SLSArcade,” a session where participants can show, demo, and share their designs. So, procrastiworking worth it? I mean I did have to get it done at some point. All joking aside, I am really looking forward to seeing how the new decks work out. We’ll see how long I can wait before I break down and play BANE!