To successfully launch a trading card game featuring millions of cards and three levels of rarity, a harmonious combination of automation and creativity is paramount.
General presentation
Équinox (part of the Asmodee-Embracer group) was founded in 2020 by Régis Bonnessée, creator of the Libellud studio ( creator of best-selling board games such as Dixit, Mysterium, Diceforge, and Seasons). The company publishes an innovative set of trading cards known as Altered . Indeed, the playing card publishing market has been similar for the past thirty years. And yet, this is a growth sector worth millions of dollars in Europe and the USA.
Their shared vision: “to have a positive impact on the world by creating an incredibly modern and innovative trading card game.” Like the Pokémon cards we’ve heard so much about, Équinox publishes a card game with a unique universe. “We’ve created a story (colorful, positive, inclusive) that targets an adult audience with a less masculine background. Inspired by Miyazaki (“Chihiro’s Journey”, “My Neighbor Totoro”), the universe of the card game is intended to be non-violent, not confrontational, but rather more “Olympic Games” oriented. How do you beat your opponent? The aim is not to decrease your life points or destroy your cards,” explains Philippe, Technical Director. The features of this card game are:
- The cards are unique.
- And to transmit a digital property of the card, unlike other games, which tend to transmit a physical property.
Special features of Altered: Each card has a unique QR code.
By scanning the QR code, the card collector can add the new card to their collection. After scanning the card, the player has access to a range of services:
- Resale of the card through a dedicated marketplace. The seller does not sell the physical card, but its digital property. After the exchange, the seller can request an identical reprint. “The reprint request is handled directly by our factories,” says Phillippe. Then, the card is reprinted on demand for less than a euro and in the seller’s language.
- By scanning the QR code on the card, the player can access the world and history of the card and its character. These features allow card collectors to access more information than a classic card, which doesn’t have enough space. Altered sets itself apart from other collectible card games by offering unique cards. “Common” cards are split into two rare cards, each featuring a different illustration. Then, there’s a 3rd level of rarity: the “famous unique card.” These cards are created by Machine Intelligence, which is different from Artificial Intelligence in that it cannot learn, but can only manage the input data. The combined information is programmed to produce various cards. The mix of statistics and the character’s powers allows the creation of unique cards with unlimited variety. The card illustrations remain the same, while their characteristics remain rare.
Why J2S?
Équinox prototyped files on InDesign by developing generation scripts based on data fusion. For the creation of a hundred cards by hand, it worked. The limit was reached when the number of cards had to be increased. The goal is to create millions of different cards. The challenge was also to be able to make changes (sometimes minimal ones) without necessarily having to redo everything, so the generation had to become automatic. Équinox sought out a partner with expertise in InDesign document generation. Simple Workspace industrializes the process in a variety of formats. The software can generate the cards and export them: In the various formats supported by InDesign :
- PDF format for the printer.
- Image format (JPG, PNG) for the website. Translations are available: English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German. In a limited time: less than 3 seconds per generation. Equinox plans to launch a new pool of cards every 4 months, reinforcing the usefulness of Simple Workspace. It guarantees a smoothly running, functional automation process.
A word from Équinox
“The Simple Workspace solution developed by J2S has enabled us to move from an artisanal creation process (creation of a few hundred cards) to an industrialized creation process (possibility of generating millions of different cards).
Indeed, Altered is an innovative game. The game’s cards include up to three levels of rarity depending on their type, with each rarity having its exclusive illustrations and unique rarity building unique cards. Thanks to J2S and the flexibility of our collaboration in project mode, we could achieve the objective of producing all the cards in just a few days.”
Phillippe Autier, Technical Director
A flexible collaboration in project mode
Stage-by-stage, focused teamwork! Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Équinox and J2S teams, the project was a resounding success!
The game was released on schedule, and the template constraints requiring a precise layout were respected.
Several exchanges took place between teams from the two companies:
Definition of InDesign style sheets.
Using the InDesign document supplied by the customer, J2S created a template with rules compatible with automation.
Field mapping.
From the database (Concorde database), the teams jointly prepare precise field names to match our Simple Workspace solution.
Block placement and print tests. Altered cards feature a background image with the main illustration:
Then, the frame image is laid on top. This required precise placement of the blocks. The background image elements must not be hidden, regardless of the illustration used on the card.
Using HTML encoding to create style sheets.
Designing the Layout: This includes exchanging ideas on illustration images and frames, which are illustrated frames holding descriptive text and the card name.
Optimizing the generation process: The goal was to ensure fast execution for rapid card generation to launch the game on time. Result: Each card can be generated in less than a second. It took 11 days to produce all the cards for the initial launch.
J2S can meet these expectations and objectives!
Guarantee compliance with the graphic guidelines and accurate positioning of card components. Industrialize and secure the card production process. This enables Équinox to remain in control of all cards delivered to the market, while J2S remains in full control of the software’s evolution. Have you got an automation project of your own? Contact us : We would be delighted to hear from you.
G. Deruelle
Sales & Marketing