Choosing the Genre — Why Card Battle RPG

The Original Plan

I wanted to make a turn-based tactical RPG — something in the spirit of Farland Tactics 1 and 2. Grid-based battles, party management, that kind of thing. The design was clear in my head.

Then reality set in.

The Graphics Problem

Tactical RPGs live and die by their sprites. Characters, animations, terrain tiles — the visual workload is enormous. Doing that solo, even with AI assistance, would mean spending more time on art production than on actual game development. The math didn't work.

Why Card Battle RPG

Cards changed the equation entirely.

A card-based game uses single illustrations instead of animated sprites. Each card needs one strong image — no walk cycles, no attack frames, no directional variants. With AI image generation, I can produce consistent, high-quality card art at a pace that would be impossible with traditional sprites.

The result: faster development, lower production cost, and a visual style that actually suits the cyberpunk-fantasy aesthetic I'm going for.

The RPG Feel is Still There

Switching to cards doesn't mean losing depth. Deck building, party composition, synergy between cards — there's plenty of strategic richness to work with. The RPG soul stays intact.

Sometimes constraints lead you somewhere better than the original plan.