Forbidden Kingdoms deck [KS]

[Don Boyer]

USPC-made, 2,500-deck print run.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1451394012/forbidden-kingdoms

What do you think?  Art looks handmade, but the back looks computer-generated.  And the back is one way with the rune-like markings on the ring around the city.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Its a pretty neat design. Black Boarders? or is that grey?
i like the court cards but Im not too fond of the pips on the faces.

[MrMollusk]

GACK
The face cards look SO off, like they were drawn without any refinement or reference to human anatomy. There's odd mixes of polygons and rounded edges in the courts, and same with the pips. They simply look... undone. I actually like the general look of the deck, and I think the back looks awesome. Unfortunately, I think the pips and courts will drive me away from backing it.

[alvinhy]

Im not really fond of the transition with the grey - black, the index is very hard to read in my opinion

[Don Boyer]

The art needs polish, but it does remind me of the more rustic and primitive art from the Middle Ages.  And yes, the back is much more ready for prime time than the faces are.

[Curt]

I am pretty much in consensus with the posts above, it would be nice to see what the deck looks like if the faces had more time spent on them to get to more of a completed state. The queen of hearts reminds me of the disney character, Ariel, kind of random.

Overall, I am not a fan of this deck and won't be backing it.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

The queen of hearts reminds me of the disney character, Ariel, kind of random.

Actually That queen looks like Jessica Rabbit.

[Curt]

Good call Lara, I still see a bit of Ariel in the art but Jessica Rabbit is definitely closer with the facial features.

[Kong]

Hello...
In fact, im one of the desinger of this deck...The reason im here is because, well I care...and i visite this website once a while since I myself r a poker person. well never post anything tho...
anyway thank you for your advice, the reason that the queen of hearts looks like cartoon character is because the shadow apply is not strong enought, and the cross-color of the hair. It has been fixed by now.
We purposly draw the charactor with a primitive method so they will look like an old painting, but we both know they r not.
The back of the deck, yes, it is designed by a computer, but its not generate by a computer. It has a very deep meaning within.


The sun is located in the middle and it is surrounded by the world, the building. Outside of the circle there are the moons, different shapes of moons represent the time circle. Then theres the stars and the web, the mysterious forces that holds the univers together. A computer might help me with the design, but a computer will never generat the meaning itself.

The reason i believe that this deck might has collecting value because of the follow reason.
You will never see anything like this again. I am a game designer and my friends are a graphic designer. We comes up this idea during out poker night. In this point we are not only making a poker deck. This is not just a deck you can show it to people with its cool looking, this is a deck you can talk about it, there is a story within the deck. Every character has his/her own story. and they all looks dramatically different. It took us more than 5 month to finish everything. My friend might possiblely keep doing more playing cards poject but im going to sit out. You never saw any deck with this kind of struchter, and you will never see it again.....

[Don Boyer]

Welcome, Kong.

I get what you're talking about with the "primitive look".  The courts look vaguely like medieval portraits.  But only vaguely, unfortunately.  You'd need to go one of two possible ways with this deck - either go more like authentic medieval art (meaning studying such art before lifting the pen or the brush) or clean up the art to give it the polish of the art on the deck back.  Trying to blend "computer-designed" art with folk art makes the mental gears grind a bit, like trying to change gears on a manual transmission car without stepping on the clutch.  I'd suggest picking one direction or the other, with the general consensus here being that you go to the more modern style - it just plain looks better.

We're probably cruel-sounding to a new deck designer, but it's only out of love for the art and design of playing cards.  There's no personal animosity towards you - we're more interested in making a deck better than watching it fail.

[Kong]

Thank you for your advice Don~ With your help we fixed some of the minor design issuse and now the front and the back look more cohesive. We just upload our UCPC box design , plz give us some more advice, we need helpsfrom an expert of playing card collecting.

[Kong]

My friend and I designed this playing cards deck. We just want to show you our unique concept and idea. Taking a leap of faith and hope for your support, we want to create something that is truly unique to your collections.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1451394012/forbidden-kingdoms

[Don Boyer]

My friend and I designed this playing cards deck. We just want to show you our unique concept and idea. Taking a leap of faith and hope for your support, we want to create something that is truly unique to your collections.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1451394012/forbidden-kingdoms

I respect that you wish to promote your deck, but you're doing so in the wrong board and your deck already has a topic.  I'm appending this to that topic.  The Design/Dev board is more for decks still on the drawing board or in the prototype stage, not after they've become a Kickstarter project or have gone on sale.

Thank you for your advice Don~ With your help we fixed some of the minor design issuse and now the front and the back look more cohesive. We just upload our UCPC box design , plz give us some more advice, we need helpsfrom an expert of playing card collecting.

OK - I don't recommend using white for your red-pip cards.  Most dark/black decks use white for the black suits and it could be confusing.  I'd recommend using the same design format you're using for the black suits - a white "halo" around the value and suit to make them stand out more.

The box art needs polish.  The most polished part of your project is the card back - get it in line with that.  Hire another artist if you have to.

Consider putting a thin white border around the card's edges on the front and back, with a fade-from-black-to-white appearance as you look from the center to the edge.  While black decks are attractive and some people swear by them, it doesn't take a lot of shuffling before the edges of the cards start to chip and show the white paper underneath.

The strongest recommendation I can give is to have someone proofread and edit your ad copy on the Kickstarter pages.  It gives the project the impression that it's not terribly professional.

[alvinhy]

What I would do is cancel your kickstarter project and considering making a thread in the design development forum. Seek for advice from magicians to poker players on how to make a nice deck. Don't get me wrong, your concept is nice, just the finishing product needs polishing.

If you do that and take time with the design THEN launch the project, it will me much more successful.

[Don Boyer]

What I would do is cancel your kickstarter project and considering making a thread in the design development forum. Seek for advice from magicians to poker players on how to make a nice deck. Don't get me wrong, your concept is nice, just the finishing product needs polishing.

If you do that and take time with the design THEN launch the project, it will me much more successful.

It's not a bad idea, but seeing as how he's got pledges coming in, I doubt he'll do so.

[alvinhy]

What I would do is cancel your kickstarter project and considering making a thread in the design development forum. Seek for advice from magicians to poker players on how to make a nice deck. Don't get me wrong, your concept is nice, just the finishing product needs polishing.

If you do that and take time with the design THEN launch the project, it will me much more successful.

It's not a bad idea, but seeing as how he's got pledges coming in, I doubt he'll do so.

That is what I would do considering my own experiences. Remember when I first talked to you I was already on the verge of launching the project? My pips and indexes were wrong, the back was wrong. Thinking back, I am really glad.

But since he got 1/3 of is goal, I think for a kickstarter project you need at least 300% of your goal to make profit =S.


PS. SiShou - Four Beast design is close to finish!

[Don Boyer]

That is what I would do considering my own experiences. Remember when I first talked to you I was already on the verge of launching the project? My pips and indexes were wrong, the back was wrong. Thinking back, I am really glad.

But since he got 1/3 of is goal, I think for a kickstarter project you need at least 300% of your goal to make profit =S.


PS. SiShou - Four Beast design is close to finish!

I'm glad you appreciated the input - now where do I send the bill? 

A properly planned KS project does NOT need to make 300% to turn a profit - I think you have it confused with major studio motion pictures.  Calculate your costs accurately and you should be profiting from 100% going forward.

BTW: looking forward to seeing your design!

[alvinhy]

There are a lot of projects that meet their goal but since USPCC have minimum order of 2,500 decks, those who just meet their goal by 100-150% will have a lot of decks to spare.

[Don Boyer]

There are a lot of projects that meet their goal but since USPCC have minimum order of 2,500 decks, those who just meet their goal by 100-150% will have a lot of decks to spare.

There's nothing unprofitable about that, really.  Resellers love to carry limited edition decks all the time.  Plus you can use them for your own blowout of a poker night! 

[alvinhy]

But for designers like me which dont play poker have no where to blow out extra decks