Introducing CRPGs: Collectible Role Playing Games
A Collectible Roleplaying Game (CRPG) is a new type of game that merges the core mechanics of collectible card games (CCG) and roleplaying games (RPG). (To learn more about CCGs, read our Brief History of Collectible Card Games.) In a CRPG, the player takes on the role of a hero, who can be equipped with various items that serve as the collectible elements of the game. These items can be found, won, purchased, or traded with other players, and can range from weapons and armor to spells and abilities.
The goals of a CRPG are to have fun dueling other players, exploring a world, fighting monsters, and more, all while building a powerful hero and equipping them with the best items possible. This set of equipped items and skills is called the hero’s loadout. Players must make strategic decisions on which to keep or collect and which to trade, as well as how to build their hero’s loadout to best suit their play style. The hero is also able to level up and increase their stats, allowing them to take on tougher challenges and battles.
In a CRPG, players can engage in battles against other players or computer-controlled enemies. Battles are typically turn-based and are won by reducing the opponent’s health points to zero. Players must use their hero’s abilities and items effectively to outmaneuver their opponent and emerge victorious.
The collectible aspect of the game adds a social and economic dimension, as players can trade items with each other to obtain powerful combinations of abilities and gear. This drives a thriving market for rare and powerful items, and fosters a community of players who are constantly seeking to improve their heroes and build the ultimate loadout. This aspect of the game also creates a sense of competition and encourages players to engage in battles with each other in order to prove their strength and earn better items.
CRPGs are unique games that offer the excitement of collectible card games with the depth and customization of roleplaying games. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or a newcomer to the genre, a CRPG is a great way to experience the thrill of adventure and the satisfaction of building a powerful hero.
TRADING IN CCGs aka TCGs or TRADING CARD GAMES
Collectible Card Games (CCGs) are also referred to as Trading Card Games (TCGs) because trading cards is as important as collecting them. Trading the cards is sometimes a critical element of the game and for some players, it is the most important part of them game — in fact some people only trade. So understanding why cards have value and hold value is critically important to the construction of a CCG.
Cards can be valuable (from a trading, which can take the form of selling) for many reasons including art, power, mechanics, and rarity. Art is easy to understand — the card art looks amazing and people just want it because of that factor. Power and mechanics are highly related, reflecting how useful the card is in actual game play. Cards that make it much easier to win or dominate are often more valuable. This may change as new cards are introduced, creating new combinations or other changes in gameplay that make older cards suddenly worth more, or less. Finally, there is rariy which is determined by both a designation, it labelled with a certain rarity tier, and how many copies of the card exist.
RARITY IN CCGs
In a Collectible Card Game (CCG), rarity tiers refer to the different levels of scarcity and rarity assigned to cards. The total number of cards printed in a set is divided up by rarity. The individual number of each of the different cards to be printed is determined by the percentage of cards assigned to each degree of rarity. That is how rarity level determines how often a particular card appears in booster packs or starter decks and also affects its value and collectibility. A total number of cards printed is determined and locked for the set which results in a finite and countable number of each specific card will be printed in a set.
Typically, CCGs have several rarity tiers (these vary by game):
- Common: These cards are the most abundant and can be found in most booster packs. They are typically less valuable and are used to build the core of a player’s deck.
- Uncommon: These cards are less common than commons but more abundant than rares. They are typically more valuable than commons and are used to add variety and depth to a player’s deck.
- Rare: These cards are the most valuable and sought after in a CCG. They are the most difficult to obtain, appearing in only a small percentage of booster packs. Rares often include powerful cards or unique abilities, and are highly sought after by players.
- Mythic Rare / Ultra Rare / Super Rare: This tier is a more recent addition to CCGs, and it is even more rare than rare cards. Mythic rares often feature the most powerful and iconic cards in a game, and are highly sought after by players.
- Foils: While not exactly a rarity tier, foils are special versions of cards that have a reflective or holographic finish that are extremely limited variations of other cards in print runs. They are considered more valuable than their non-foil counterparts and are highly sought after by collectors.
These rarity tiers help to create a sense of scarcity and value for specific cards in a CCG, which drives demand and collectibility. Players are often motivated to collect as many different cards as possible and to build the most powerful deck possible, which requires rare and powerful cards to supplement the common and uncommon cards. The rarity system in a CCG also helps to ensure that the game remains balanced and that powerful cards are not too easily accessible, which helps to keep the game interesting and challenging for players.
TRANSLATING CCG CONCEPTS TO CRPGs
The rarity system in traditional CCGs like Magic: the Gathering and Pokemon typically uses a set of predefined rarity levels (common, uncommon, rare, mythic, etc.) to determine the frequency at which cards with certain art and abilities are printed and distributed in a set — meaning there is a fixed number of cards of each type and each rarity. This creates scarcity and value for the rarer cards, making them more desirable and sought after by collectors and players.
In a similar way, a CRPG uses an database or blockchain to maintain ownership. NFTs are one possible (and working) way to deliver this type of functionality. Using NFTs can be used to deliver a flexible and transparent rarity system. With NFTs, each item can be quantified and generated with its own rarity level and in a transparent quantity. For example, a weapon with unique abilities and stats may be quite rare, while a very basic weapon with no special attributes would have a lower rarity level.
These items (and skills) can be used with the CRPG hero to build a custom loadout for battle, making both the appearance and the attributes and abilities of the hero unique.
ABOUT
Play Pixel War, a Collectible Roleplaying Game, on Discord, Twitter, or the Web.
This article was written by Pixel Warden, an experienced game creator (design, development, and production) of games with millions of players. He is the founder of Pixel War, an example of a CRPG.
Special thanks to Scotty Mitchell, the founder of Brawler Bearz which is also a great reference CRPG, for his contributions to this article and discussions.
EXAMPLES from Pixel War.
NEXT: CRPGs via NFTs
