With trading card games making a triumphant comeback, it’s no surprise that indie developer, David Reeckmann, is taking the mobile market by storm with Major League Wizardy.
Boasting over 5,000 downloads on the Android market, and an iPhone version in the works, it’s well on its way to creating its mobile footprint.
I had the pleasure of picking the brain of David Reeckmann, developer of the rising application, who goes on to explain how he got started, what aspects he enjoys most, and what makes Major League Wizardry unique:
How long have you been creating games? How long have you spent working on Major League Wizardry?
I have been creating games since I was a little kid – mostly doing board games heavily inspired by games such as Warhammer and Blood Bowl (which is also a little evident in MLW). I’ve always been interested in the mechanics behind the games I’ve played and what makes a game fun and not fun.
I’ve been a huge Magic: the Gathering fan and also played a lot of Pokemon cards, but I always wanted to create a simple card game inspired by Magic, with enough depth to keep the hard-core fans going… for people who didn’t have enough time to sit down and play longer games.
Me and a friend started doing the outlines for the concept around MLW in late 2012 and worked on it a couple of nights a week… The alpha was released in summer 2013 and the closed beta was released in late 2013.
Author’s note: this response has been shortened.
So, does your gaming past have any influence on Major League Wizardry? Were you a big fan of Trading Card Games?
I guess I already answered that in the previous question, but yes! I really enjoy the TCG model and I am a collector when it comes to games (in real life I like to own as little as possible and keep everything very minimalistic)! And I think that the TCG model is very good for that. What I wanted, though, was to create a more casual and simple approach to a very nerdy genre. And I think that MLW has accomplished that!
What part of Major League Wizardry are you most proud of?
The simple gameplay – and the universe. We’ve actually written quite the amount of lore to the game, but haven’t figured out how to show it in the game just yet.
What do you think separates MLW from other Trading Card Games?
The simple gameplay – and the universe! 🙂 – joke aside, I actually think that our simple approach and use of humor is what sets us aside. Hopefully it shines through that we don’t take ourselves that seriously. On a more technical aspect, we also have a few core game mechanics that creates totally different dynamics in the game. For example that you can drain monsters and that you get up to five new cards each turn. This makes the strategies very different compared to other games. We also make use of traps.
So far you have 5000+ downloads on the Android market alone; what do you think attributes most to your success?
I honestly don’t know – we haven’t made much of a fuzz yet and are planning to make some more noise once we get out of beta. But I guess that card games a big right now, especially driven by Hearthstone, which we of course get some attention from as well.
I noticed Game Made Studios replies to almost every rating on the Android market–how important to you is communication with your fans?
Very important! Especially here in the beginning. We also reply to every post on the forum. We want to hear what people have to say and want to let people know that we care. Replying to almost all comments on Android is something I think people appreciate. I do it myself, because I want people to know that we actually read and care what people have to say.
I know that not a lot of developers do this – but I hope that by doing this we show the players that there are real people on the other end working really hard to create the best playing experience ever.
What plans do you have for the game after release?
Tons and tons of plans and ideas – the hard thing is to cut down and focus. We’ve talked a lot about making cards level up; we also have a combo system in the works, and some other features – but mainly we want to add more cards and possibly another school of magic as well. The most requested thing right now is new cards. I think we will add a few cards a month and then add a bigger expansion with cards later on.
What was your inspiration to create MLW? Were there any outside influences?
Well, mainly that I wanted to create something myself – and be in charge of the development and decide what should be in there and what shouldn’t. I also knew that if I wanted to do this it should be now. I am still young and don’t have that many ties to a lot of thing, and thus can do it now.
What was the influence to make the title and logo of your game a spin-off of Major League Gaming?
It was actually more a spin-off of Major League Baseball. We wanted to create this whole “arena/sport/league” scenario where wizards was fighting each other more as part of a sport than because they were enemies. We created the universe very much inspired by the Blood Bowl universe, which is why we went with that spin-off.
Are there any tips you’d like to give to the players of your game who’d like to improve?
Haha, I love that question – but yes, focus more on draining and realize how powerful it is, and don’t be tempted to play a card just because you have mana for it. Save it for later!
As a recently discovered fan of trading card games, I can say that Major League Wizardry is absolutely up to par with other big names in the category, and it’s still in beta.
I don’t stand alone when I claim that Major League Wizardry is going to create quite an impact upon its release, and trading card game fans everywhere will adore a mobile outlet to hone his/her skills.
You can go here to learn more about the game or download it for yourself.
Published: Apr 15, 2014 01:16 pm