CORAL COVE: RESEARCH + DESIGN A CARD TO SUBMIT TO HEARTHSTONE FOR REVIEW

As I get older, I start to slow down and appreciate the simple harmonies in nature. Take, for example, the circle.

It is the symbol of energy conserved. A skewed circle shows how far the Earth can get away from the sun. Seasons come as a result of this earth race and depending on where you are in the earth you can ignore or be molded by the aftermath.

For an artist, inspiration is the beginning of everything. Sometimes you intentionally plan inspiration by searching for a youtube video of a song you heard at a pharmacy. Sometimes it is unexpected like a bike ride on the Acadia carriage ways revealing you have been biking next to a perfect mountain and lake vista.

This part of my Coral Cove series is where I try to come up with a cool card that will give back to the game that has inspired me, Hearthstone. This would complete the circle. Even sharing the image here and being rejected (or finding out I can't submit art if I don't work at Blizzard) is still completing the circle. At the end of the day, the value isn't in Blizzard, but it is with us creating and sharing over and over again.

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• Research Inspiration / Intro to Hearthstone
• Analyzing the Hearthstone Card Frame + Recreating Hearthstone-esque art
• Research successful Hearthstone fan submissions + Design a card to be submitted to Hearthstone (this post)
• Use the lessons learned, to finish Coral Cove.
• Try out Coral Cove in a post

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Hearthstone Card Art Submission

Is it even possible for a regular user to submit art to be considered for Hearthstone?

Will it take so long that I have to update you in the comments when the edits for this post closes?

My initial searches don't show an official form available from their website. I figured I would send them a tweet to see what happens.

@PlayHearthstone Hey! Do you have to be a Blizzard employee to suggest card art or have it reviewed? Or can a Hearthstone player submit?

— Ruben Alexander (@rub3al3xand3r) August 5, 2017

While I wait, I want to describe the art, set a goal, and talk about the name and potential moves the card will have.

Card Name / Description

The card is called Prince of Pitts (no not those pits... silly) and it will have 8 health and 8 attack and model the concept of delegation for specific circumstances. If the card takes damage, the attack value is transfered to the players main hero who can attack for the prince card.

When the turn is over, the attack value is transferred back to the prince card and stays with the card as long as it isn't attacked.

The fact that a player can immediately get a double benefit from that 8 attack means that this card should be a high mana card in the 8 to 10 mana range.

I can walk through some gameplay scenarios.

• Card is drawn into the hand.
• Card is placed on the board and some audio plays, "I delegate my power to you" in a pious voice.
• When the card has a turn to attack it acts like a normal Hearthstone card.
• When the card takes damage that is less than the life value of the card, the attack value transfers to the hero who can use it once before it is sent back to the prince.

Asset Research

I am imagining a pitbull with a ruffly white collar and rings on it's raised paw. These rings would be a great place to sneak a Steemit logo!

I conduct the following google searches to get started.

I really like this image.

I would flip it vertically and just need to add a robe, ruffly neck thing, and some velvet curtains in the background.

I guess it is called a ruffle collar.

The red curtain search will provide the last bit I need to get cracking.

Asset Creation

I tried making vectors of the curtains and the ruffle collar, but I couldn't hack it. My brain was thinking of quick ways to get the job done in GIMP, so I deferred the work. Here is what I was able to do for the first draft.

Potential Voice and Statement

The Hearthstone team always puts thought into every detail including the audio. Each of their assets has multiple sound effects you'll hear based on triggering events that occur throughout gameplay. There are statements made when the card is placed on the board, a dying cry/statement, and a statement made when a minion attacks.

I wanted to take a stab at making an opening statement that reflects the abilities I'd like the card to have.

In this video I say, "I delegate my power to you" ten times. Each time - not including number 6 which is my son's favorite - I try to put a spin on a hoity toity voice I made up in my head (probably from listening to Alfred speak on the animated Batman series.)

Let me know in the comments which voice you like the most. Make sure to turn on closed captions to see the labels for each voice.

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source: http://www.hearthcards.net/