Card game possibilities

I've been thinking about how to create a card game that's basically about creating. I would like to see a game in which each of two (or more?) players has a hidden hand in which they are creating something. To clarify, cards would represent components of something --clothing, physical attributes, etc.-- and players would collect in their hand the components necessary to build a successful character. The method of collection would involve swapping and drawing from a deck, with the most basic version being that of Go Fish. Players would know little or nothing about what the other character is making, though they might be able to guess from the components they appear to be seeking.

This could include several variations, such as building robots, villains, superheroes, dolls, etc. I would probably consider sticking to creatures in a class system like that brought into the game world by Dungeons & Dragons. Though those particular archetypes are not the only way, that type of classification system might prove useful.

I have become sort of enamored with the artistic possibilities here for the card designs, but as far as gameplay goes I wonder what would make it competitive. For some types of people --the Spore types-- the creativity would be its own reward. Maybe, though, components would carry values that would result in one final character being better than another. Unfortunately, this would add the problem that if the game were designed too simply, players would be aspiring to only one type of character and this would defeat the purpose of the creative element.

Maybe I can work on some sketches, at least.

©The ideas and objects presented in this blog are copyright Marcela Poffald 2008.