[FUR Friday] Integration Stage, Pt I: Feedback

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     Welcome back to TwistedSpoon Studio! This week in our series on Festival of Urbestia, the custom Magic set about a world of beast folk, it's finally time to start the Integration Stage of design.


What is Integration?

    The Integration Stage is where we take the vision that we spent the last four months creating, and we figure out how to actually make it happen. That means playtesting, playtesting, and playtesting some more. We're going to stress test the set, find the gaps in our mechanics, and iron out the wrinkles.

    We're also going to integrate the story elements more heavily. This means creating cards to represent story moments, adding flavor text to existing designs, and reflavoring cards to fit better with the beats we want to hit. We're also going to craft the uncommons and rares during this stage, so those designs will have the story built-in from the start.


About the Story...

    Before we do that, I want to address feedback to the set. Last week, I addressed other directions that the set could have gone and which way you wanted to see it go: continue the colorful, lighthearted path that it's own, or veer towards a more traditional fantasy setting with factions at war. The results?


    The final results were close. While the traditional fantasy version won, it's clear that both sides have their supporters. What does that mean for the set?

    I think we play into the disparity. Much like Kamigawa, we'll take the two directions and pit them against each other. We ruled out Predator vs Prey and Human vs Beast Folk as conflict engines for the set, but there's a theme that would work perfectly here: Civilization vs Nature. On one side we have the Festival and the beast folk who want to live in harmony; on the other, the wilds and the beast folk who live in tune with their instincts.

    This doesn't disrupt our worldbuilding too badly, but it is going to shake up the set structure. That's not uncommon for the Integration Stage; I'm just glad we're knocking it out early.


A New(ish) World

    In my mind, the conflict spectrum lines up perfectly with the color pie:

Civilization <-- W -- U -- B -- R -- G--> Nature

    In other words, we have WU on one side representing the city of Accorda, and RG on the other representing the wilds. The Festival, while no longer the background for the entire set, will remain the theme for GW, representing harmoney between the two conflicting forces. Black is the other meeting point, taking advantage of both sides. I imagine something like the black market from Beastars, where the "civilized" beasts of the city trade in flesh.


Integration Timeline

    The Integration Stage, like the others, lasts for four months. To keep us on track, here's a summary of what we'll be doing with that time:

  • March: 
    • New mechanics and archetypes
    • Adding uncommons
  • April: 
    • Updating and integrating Story
    • Adding rares
  • May: 
    • Open playtesting
    • Adding mythics
  • June: 
    • Open Playtesting
    • Finetuning
    To kick things off, next week's FUR Friday will be debuting two mechanics that are new to Urbestia, one new to Magic and one returning. What do you think of the new direction? Where do you want to see it go, and how much of the old do you want to keep?

    That's all for this week. If you missed last week's article and don't know why things are changing, check it out here. If you're interested in more custom Magic, check out the last Workshop Wednesday that was considered for FUR, in a sci-fi setting instead! Last but never least, comment below or on the Subreddit to let us know what you want to see next.

See you soon!




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