The Champions – Big Update, Version 0.7.6

A lot has happened over the past few days, and it's time for a big update on where we are with Old Mana Game. Let's dive into the latest developments!

Founders Edition: Champions, Complete!

We've now finalized all Champions for the Founders Edition! Each class has exactly three specs, and those remain the same across all Champion cards. What differs between Champions is their rarity, artwork, and visual representation, while the core abilities of each spec stay consistent. This ensures that every Champion of the same spec functions identically but has a unique identity in terms of presentation.

The biggest change for Champions is the new artwork style. We’ve moved towards a more avatar-like design, featuring larger close-ups and headshots of the characters. This not only highlights more details but also makes it instantly recognizable which character you’re playing as.

Over the past 11 months, I’ve learned a lot—especially in refining and adapting the artwork to maintain a consistent look and feel. My techniques have improved significantly, allowing me to achieve a more polished, cohesive aesthetic. Playing and testing the game has also revealed what’s still missing, and I’m more than willing to create more cards than strictly necessary to ensure a complete and immersive experience. With AI-assisted tools helping streamline some of the creative process, I have the flexibility to expand the card pool thoughtfully, ensuring a richer and more refined game right from the start.

The playtesting phase is still in full swing, and we're continuously tweaking Champion Powers to ensure balanced and engaging gameplay. One of the most exciting new developments is the introduction of passive abilities. These abilities don’t require resource costs but instead come with alternative trade-offs, making them a strategic element to consider. Of course, all of this is subject to further testing and refinement.

With the latest updates, you can now view all Champions in the card database on our website! The total number of cards has now grown to 496, and we’re expecting to reach around 500–550 cards by the time the Founders Edition is complete. And that’s not even counting rarities, foils, full-art variants, or potential alternate arts. There’s still plenty of room for expansion, and we already have some exciting new card ideas in the works!

Expanding Our Vision & Embracing a Large Card Pool

From the start, I’ve been very conscious of the balance between quality and quantity in card creation. While AI-assisted tools play a role in refining and enhancing certain aspects, every card still requires a significant amount of manual workto ensure it meets the artistic and gameplay standards we’re striving for. Over the past months, I’ve refined my techniques and workflows, allowing me to create more polished and immersive designs.

Initially, I was hesitant about launching with such a large card pool, but as the game evolves, I’ve come to realize that a rich and diverse card set is crucial for creating meaningful deck-building strategies and replayability. The game already includes a varied selection of classes and specs, and while future expansions may introduce new mechanics, our current focus is on thoroughly testing and balancing what we have to ensure a strong foundation before adding anything new.

Strengthening Our Own Identity

One of the biggest topics on my mind in recent weeks has been the uniqueness of our IP. Our art style, characters, and world-building naturally draw inspiration from existing fantasy universes. However, as Old Mana Game has evolved, I’ve realized just how far we’ve come— and how important it is to carve out our own identity.

To ensure this, we’ll be making long-term adjustments to certain cards that currently have strong visual parallels to other established game universes. The core art style remains unchanged—I’m deeply passionate about the aesthetic we’ve developed and have put a tremendous amount of effort into refining it. However, some cards will receive visual updates before we move into the production and sales phase. Our goal is to fully establish Old Mana Game as a standalone, recognizable fantasy universe.

Production Research: Focusing on Europe

I've been actively gathering quotes and offers for production, and at the moment, I’m focusing primarily on European manufacturers rather than Asian markets. There are still pending responses, so I’m waiting for more details before making a final decision. But the priority is clear: high-quality production while keeping logistics and costs manageable.

New Instagram Content Strategy

A new content experiment has begun on Instagram! Inspired by Dark Fantasy Quest, a page I highly respect, we’re now incorporating a meme-style content approach featuring our cards. The goal is to create relatable, shareable content that resonates with our audience and encourages organic engagement. If this strategy proves effective, we’ll keep expanding on it, blending humor with the dark fantasy theme of the game.

What’s Next?

Cohesive Art Overhaul – We are revisiting all cards to ensure a consistent contrast and color balance, refining the first edition’s overall art direction for a unified look.
Continued balancing & testing of Champion Powers and passives.
Finalizing production plans with European manufacturers.
Growing our social presence with a focus on community building – encouraging more likes, shares, comments, and discussion. The more engagement we have, the more successful this project will be and the higher the chances that Old Mana Game makes it out into the world!
Ongoing website updates with new cards and features.

As always, I appreciate the support and feedback from the community! Let me know what you think about these updates—especially the new Champion system, passive abilities, and content approach.

More to come soon!