About this project
Zems Online Card Game is designed by CCG lovers for CCG lovers: We believe the current direction of the genre is getting stale, and we are seeking your help to deliver a unique new experience.
Zems combines the collectible elements of card games with the mechanics of tactics games.
- Platform: Windows, with Mac and Linux support on the horizon.
- Business Model: Free to play with purchasable card packs, deck slots, and heroes. While we would love for this game to be “buy once,” the model just isn’t sustainable for an online CCG with recurring server costs.
- Tactical Gameplay: The emphasis is on unit positioning and strategically maneuvering (or manipulating!) a dynamic battlefield.
- Online Multiplayer: Find equally matched players to play against in both Ranked and Unranked game modes. Draft mode coming soon.
Primary Objective
Each player starts the game with a hero unit in play. Players spawn units adjacent to their hero unit (with some exceptions). To win the game, you must destroy your opponent's hero.
Weather & Environment Effects
We're making the weather and environment important for the first time in an online card game. In Zems, you will do more than just play cards to the field; you'll need to maneuver units into attacking positions and navigate around or deal with hazardous terrain.
At the beginning of a game, the battle grid will be empty and the weather will be Clear. The weather will NOT change randomly. Many cards in Zems have the ability to change the weather, and many environment-changing combos are possible.
Zems takes place in the world of Delnoa, home to numerous fantasy creatures and races. Factions coexist here in an uneasy peace that often erupts into short conflicts. These conflicts center around the control of zems, orbs of energy used for fueling magic.
Among the most powerful factions in Delnoa is the Irulian Empire, a human nation inspired by Ancient Rome. It fields an incredibly disciplined and well-trained military known as the Irulian Legion.
Some races, like our dragonlike Phegans, are so individually powerful that they can each exist on their own without need for organization into factions.
Other races are isolated from the conflicts of land by living in the sea. Some legends speak of sirens that have both lured men to their deaths and saved them from the perils of the sea.
Our alpha has four playable heroes, with more to be released in the future as we move into beta and full release.
GARRETT VANCE
Commander of the Irulian Legion and one of the most brilliant human generals, Garrett Vance secured the future of the Irulian people by displacing the phegans that nested in the mountains near his country. His campaigns led to the rise of Albion the Hunter, a vengeful phegan forced out of its mountain home that is now one of the greatest terrors in the skies of Delnoa.
In-game, Garrett Vance wields the power to send back one of his Irulian soldiers and grab another one. This allows him to utilize the entire Irulian Legion in battle.
ALBION THE HUNTER
A phegan whose once peaceful life was disrupted by thousands of Irulian troops invading its home, Albion is now a migrant hunter who has made his mark in every corner of the land. He is a veteran of countless battles against every race and faction - including other phegans - and plots to one day destroy the Irulians who stole his mountain aerie.
In-game, Albion has the ability to destroy any non-hero enemy next to him.
ALVYNA CERISE
An orphan girl raised by a thieves guild and trained in the arts of stealth, self defense, and basic spellcraft, Alvyna is one of the world’s most wanted criminals. She has stolen from nearly every highly guarded ruin and treasury in the land and is on a personal mission to acquire Delnoa’s most powerful relics. What she plans to do with them is unknown.
In-game, Alvyna has the ability to copy two cards from her opponent’s deck and put them into her hand.
MELFINA, OCEANS DECEIVER
A siren skilled in deception magic, Melfina has terrorized ships on the Delnoan seas for a decade alongside her fellow sisters. Now no longer content with simply drowning prey, Melfina aims to expand her influence across the land through dark dealings and ransom.
In-game, Melfina has the ability to take control of any non-hero next to her.
We've prepared a number of rewards to thank you for supporting us.
Where Will My Money Go?
Our Kickstarter goal covers what we need to finish the assets for the game such as art, music, and sound effects. We’re covering everything else - such as development, licenses, marketing, and attorney fees - out of our own pockets. We need your help to polish Zems!
Zems is built by a team of hard-working individuals from a variety of backgrounds.
Our campaign on Kickstarter is a big step for us, since it is the first time we have asked for financial support from our community. Please help us in raising the funds needed to make Zems a reality.
Risks and challenges
We're already funding the game ourselves and are coming to Kickstarter to acquire the funds necessary to complete the game. We are also seeking to add new features based on community input. The biggest risks are that we'll be late (a real possibility), or that certain features that we are planning on now might be changed (or even cut) as we move ahead with development.
If that happens, it will be because we hit a real roadblock or because some other feature ended up taking significantly more time and resources than expected. These kinds of things happen, but they shouldn't affect our ability to finish and release an innovative game that will be a whole world of fun.
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Funding period
- (39 days)