{"id":134423,"date":"2023-06-06T01:00:46","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T01:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/news\/?id=sosm2p7q"},"modified":"2023-06-06T01:00:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T01:00:46","slug":"behind-the-design-marvel-snap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2023\/06\/06\/behind-the-design-marvel-snap\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Design: MARVEL SNAP"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

MARVEL SNAP<\/em> reboots the entire collectible card game universe.<\/p>\n

The game is stacked with incredible visuals, a multiverse of gameplay variations, and a \u201csnap\u201d mechanic \u2014 a double-or-nothing bet \u2014 that\u2019s as simple as it is revolutionary. It\u2019s got an encyclopedic collection of iconic and deep-cut Marvel characters, but players don\u2019t need a background in comic-book lore or collectible card games in order to participate. And with brilliantly intuitive touch controls and speedy gameplay, it\u2019s perfect for mobile devices.<\/p>\n

\"*MARVEL<\/div>\n

MARVEL SNAP<\/em> is the brainchild of Ben Brode and Hamilton Chu, the masterminds behind Hearthstone<\/em>, which itself redefined the collectible card genre upon its 2014 release. In 2018, the duo launched their own studio, Second Dinner, with big aspirations and an even bigger problem: \u201cWe didn\u2019t have any ideas,\u201d laughs Brode, the studio\u2019s chief development officer. \u201cIt\u2019s a little terrifying to sit down at your new job and think, \u2018OK, we have to come up with a game, and we have nothing.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/div>\n

To break their creative block, Brode and Chu started playing every board game they could get their hands on. \u201cThat\u2019s the soup that SNAP<\/em> arose from,\u201d Brode explains. It also led them to the early breakthrough \u2014 what Brode calls Chu\u2019s genius idea \u2014 that would define the game. \u201cHe said, \u2018You know what would be really fun? Incorporating the doubling cube from backgammon,\u2019\u201d says Brode. “We tried it and immediately realized we were onto something.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, things moved fast. The pair had inked a deal with Marvel, so they sat down to think about what made Marvel special. \u201cIt\u2019s the conflict between heroes and villains, right?\u201d he continues. \u201cIt\u2019s not about mowing down enemies, it\u2019s about that heroic 1v1 standoff. So we said, \u2018That\u2019s it. Let\u2019s try a card game.\u2019\u201d The pair played the earliest rounds of SNAP<\/em> on the back of business cards and the game\u2019s foundations were established in all of two days.<\/p>\n

\"To<\/div>\n

While the core game was built fast, the iterations took much longer. Over the next four years, Second Dinner played, refined, and simplified \u2014 to a degree. \u201cIt was honestly less about making the game simple and more about maximizing the depth of the complexity we chose to add,\u201d Brode says. <\/p>\n

On one hand, SNAP<\/em> is an incredibly simple game with one card type, three locations, and six turns. Rules for those card types and locations are easy to follow. Battles last a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n

But those basic components combine for a game of near-infinite complexity \u2014 and perfectly calibrated balance. \u201cMost people misunderstand randomness by thinking of it as a scale,\u201d Brode says. \u201cThat absolutely is not how randomness works. While no two games of SNAP<\/em> are alike, in every game you have to think: \u2018How can I win this time?\u2019 It\u2019s about the intersection between randomness and skill. And if you lose, you always have an opportunity to reflect on how you could have done something differently.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n

While no two games of SNAP are alike, in every game you have to think: \u2018How can I win this time?\u2019 It\u2019s about the intersection between randomness and skill.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ben Brode, MARVEL SNAP<\/em> creator<\/p>\n

<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even the game\u2019s language keeps players engaged. For instance, retreating in SNAP<\/em> isn\u2019t necessarily an admission of defeat; it might be a considered decision to minimize loss. \u201cIf you decide to leave because it\u2019s strategically correct, that\u2019s not losing!\u201d says Brode. As such, players who retreat get a screen that says \u201cEscaped!\u201d \u2014 a much more palatable outcome than losing. \u201c\u2018Escaped\u2019 zeroes out the emotional negativity,\u201d Brode notes. <\/p>\n

As befitting its comic-book origins, SNAP<\/em> is a visual feast. Characters have their own unique animations, like Ghost Rider using his chain to yank a discarded card back into the match or Devil Dinosaur unleashing a board-rattling roar. Players can even enable a 60 fps setting to make a Hulk smash look truly incredible. Even \u201csnapping\u201d an opponent triggers a dramatic light show and haptic feedback.<\/p>\n

\"While<\/div>\n

While SNAP<\/em> certainly includes top-line Avengers, they\u2019re by no means the game\u2019s heaviest hitters. Big wins can come courtesy of characters like Blue Marvel, Mister Fantastic, Misty Knight, and Enchantress \u2014 names you\u2019ve maybe not heard in a while, if you\u2019ve heard them at all. Brode says showcasing lesser-known characters was part of the strategy to appeal to a wider audience, but also a nod to his own comic-book past. (Naturally, those who worked on the game also have their favorites \u2014 art director Jomaro Kindred is a big Black Panther fan, while producer Gareth Ackerman is really into Armor.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a comic-book game for non-comic-book people, a collectible card battler for those who\u2019ve never heard the phrase, and an incredible achievement that appeals to players of all ages. \u201cI got a suggestion this week from a 5-year-old in Wales who had an idea for a new location,\u201d says Brode. \u201cHis parents forwarded it to me with a note that said, \u2018We play this together as a family, and he\u2019s learning numbers and math through this game and these characters.\u2019 That\u2019s incredibly rewarding, and it feels awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about MARVEL SNAP<\/a><\/p>\n

Download MARVEL SNAP from the App Store<\/a><\/p>\n

Behind the Design is a series that explores design practices and philosophies from each of the winners of the Apple Design Awards. In each story, we go behind the screens with the developers and designers of these award-winning apps and games to discover how they brought their remarkable creations to life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Explore more of the 2023 Behind the Design series<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MARVEL SNAP reboots the entire collectible card game universe. The game is stacked with incredible visuals, a multiverse of gameplay variations, and a \u201csnap\u201d mechanic \u2014 a double-or-nothing bet \u2014 that\u2019s as simple as it is revolutionary. It\u2019s got an encyclopedic collection of iconic and deep-cut Marvel characters, but players don\u2019t need a background in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple-developer-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}