Post by Volrath, the Fallen on Oct 25, 2004 16:28:23 GMT -6
Found this on the Wizards site.
General Design
1) Are you happy with current Magic design?
2) Is the quality of Magic design improving, staying the same, or declining?
3) Is current Magic design better, the same or worse than Magic designs of the past?
4) What kinds of cards don't we design enough of?
5) What kinds of cards do we design too much of?
6) How do you feel about the current size of expansions? (remember Mirrodin block has decreased to 288 cards for a large expansion and increased to 165 cards for a small expansion)?
7) Is there too little, enough, or too much synergy in Magic design (synergy defined as interconnectivity between elements of the set)? Does current Magic design require too much thinking, just enough thinking, or not enough thinking?
8) Is current Magic design too predictable, just right or not predictable enough?
9) Is current Magic design too aggressive, just right or not aggressive enough in breaking new boundaries?
10) How well does current Magic design play with the cards of the past?
11) In what percentages do you believe the top cards should be divided among rarity (meaning what percentage should be common, how many uncommon and how many rare)?
12) Do you believe R&D designs too little, just enough or too many narrow cards (that is cards that are powerful in a very narrow function)?
13) If bad cards have to exist (and trust me they do), at what rarity do you believe the majority should go?
14) How do you feel about cards that are slightly awkward mechanically but drip with flavor?
15) In real Magic, should we design more, the same amount, or less cards that feel like they could possibly go in an Unglued-like set.
Repeats
16) Do we currently do too little, just enough, or too many repeats?
17) Should we repeat cards in expansions that appear in the current base set?
18) Do you prefer a simple repeat or a tweak?
19) How quickly is it okay to repeat a card?
20) How quickly is it okay to repeat a keyword mechanic?
21) When we bring back a keyword mechanic must we find a new tweak for it?
22) Do you like R&D reprinting old powerful cards with adjusted mana costs (such as Time Warp)?
Color Pie
23) How important is the color pie to you?
24) Does R&D put too much, just enough, or not enough emphasis on the color pie?
25) Should the color pie continually shift over time?
26) How often should we bleed an ability?
27) Should R&D do a better job of explaining our current color wheel philosophies?
28) What color is currently getting shafted?
29) What color has too much and needs to be knocked down?
30) What ability is currently in a color it shouldn't be?
31) What ability needs to be in an additional color?
Mechanics
32) How many keyword mechanics should be in a large set and how many in each small set?
33) Do you like R&D's recent strategy of being more liberal with using keywords?
34) Do you believe the level of keywords in the game right now is too high, just right, or too low?
35) What abilities that currently do not have keywords should have them?
36) Do you consider an ability a mechanic if it doesn't have a keyword?
37) Is it okay to carry over mechanics between blocks?
38) Is it okay to have mechanics that cannot be explained on the card and require additional rulebook support?
39) Do you enjoy when mechanics are teased (that is ,one that shows up in the expansion directly before it – a la Tempest's Spike Drone)?
40) How small a segment of the audience can care about a mechanic in order for it to still be okay to make it?
41) Do you like cycles?
42) Do we do too many, just enough or not enough cycles?
43) How do you feel about cycles that run across multiple expansions?
Block Design
44) Do you enjoy the current block structure?
45) Do you enjoy the strong themes of the blocks of the last few years (such as the Odyssey's graveyard theme or Onslaught's tribal theme)?
46) Would you like to see a block with a theme other than a mechanic-based theme?
47) Are the blocks interconnected mechanically too much, just right or not enough?
48) Should a keyword mechanic that appears in the large expansion appear in both small expansions in that block?
49) Should mechanics in a block evolve as the block evolves or is it okay for them to stay the same?
Art
50) How important is the art to Magic?
51) Is the quality of the current Magic art better than the past, equal to the past or worse than the past?
52) Is it good to have artists that polarize the players (some hate it, some love it)?
53) Is it better to have the same consistent pool of artists or a constant churn of new artists?
54) Is there too little, just enough, or not enough non-representational art (defined as art that doesn't simply show a straight-forward scene)?
55) Is the current variety of Magic artists too small, just right or too great?
56) Does similarity of art ever cause you confusion in game play?
57) Should there be more variety in how each color is represented in the art?
58) Should magic of a certain color be of that color's palette when represented in the art (i.e. should red magic actually have to appear as some shade of red)?
59) Which artists do you love?
60) Which artists do you hate?
61) Do you like ”Easter eggs” (visual references to older Magic cards) in art?
Card Concepts
62) How do you feel about the Mirrodin creative environment?
63) Is the current world development (meaning the look and feel of the world) better, the same or worse than previous world development?
64) What qualities do you look for in Magic world environments?
65) Are you happier visiting different planes every year or would you rather stay on the same plane for multiple years in a row?
66) Should planes be revisited, and if so, how often?
67) How much of a fantasy look should Magic have?
68) Should Magic ever visit real world inspired settings (a la Arabian Nights)?
69) Do you prefer having the same creature types every year or do you prefer having them ebb and flow (meaning each type sits certain blocks out)?
70) Is there a creature type that shouldn't exist?
71) Is there a creature type we've stopped using or simply don't use enough that should get more use?
72) Which is more important, having the art match the mechanic or having the art unto itself be as cool as possible?
73) Is any element currently being overdone in the current Magic card concepts?
Names
74) How important are the names to Magic?
75) How is the current quality of Magic names?
76) Is the current quality of names better, the same, or worse than previous Magic names?
77) How do you feel about modern sounding words in Magic names?
78) How do you feel about real world slang in Magic names?
79) Should we be more experimental in our names?
80) How similar can two different names be?
81) Should we ever consider re-using good names from bad (and forgotten) cards printed years ago?
82) How important is it that the name matches the mechanic
83) Which is more important, that the name match the mechanic of the card or the name unto itself be as cool as possible?
84) Which do you like better, cards that describe what they are (a la Goblin Soldier) or cards that are more evocative but less explanatory (a la Keeper of the Nine Gales)?
85) How do you feel about big words (words most players do not know the meaning of) used in names?
86) Do we have too much, just enough, or not enough made-up names?
87) How is the quality of our made-up names?
88) How important is it that names be easily pronounceable?
89) Do you like very long names (four plus words)?
Flavor Text
90) How important do you feel flavor text is to Magic?
91) How is the current quality of Magic flavor text?
92) Is the current quality of names better, the same, or worse than previous Magic flavor text?
93) Which do you prefer, real world quotations or fictional flavor text?
94) Would you like to see real world flavor text in expansions?
95) What percentage of cards with flavor text should be humorous?
96) What percentage of cards with flavor text should be poetic?
97) What percentage of cards with flavor text should be about the environment/cosmology of the plane?
98) Do we do too many, just enough, or not enough puns?
99) Are puns important to flavor text?
100) What card has your favorite flavor text?
General Design
1) Are you happy with current Magic design?
2) Is the quality of Magic design improving, staying the same, or declining?
3) Is current Magic design better, the same or worse than Magic designs of the past?
4) What kinds of cards don't we design enough of?
5) What kinds of cards do we design too much of?
6) How do you feel about the current size of expansions? (remember Mirrodin block has decreased to 288 cards for a large expansion and increased to 165 cards for a small expansion)?
7) Is there too little, enough, or too much synergy in Magic design (synergy defined as interconnectivity between elements of the set)? Does current Magic design require too much thinking, just enough thinking, or not enough thinking?
8) Is current Magic design too predictable, just right or not predictable enough?
9) Is current Magic design too aggressive, just right or not aggressive enough in breaking new boundaries?
10) How well does current Magic design play with the cards of the past?
11) In what percentages do you believe the top cards should be divided among rarity (meaning what percentage should be common, how many uncommon and how many rare)?
12) Do you believe R&D designs too little, just enough or too many narrow cards (that is cards that are powerful in a very narrow function)?
13) If bad cards have to exist (and trust me they do), at what rarity do you believe the majority should go?
14) How do you feel about cards that are slightly awkward mechanically but drip with flavor?
15) In real Magic, should we design more, the same amount, or less cards that feel like they could possibly go in an Unglued-like set.
Repeats
16) Do we currently do too little, just enough, or too many repeats?
17) Should we repeat cards in expansions that appear in the current base set?
18) Do you prefer a simple repeat or a tweak?
19) How quickly is it okay to repeat a card?
20) How quickly is it okay to repeat a keyword mechanic?
21) When we bring back a keyword mechanic must we find a new tweak for it?
22) Do you like R&D reprinting old powerful cards with adjusted mana costs (such as Time Warp)?
Color Pie
23) How important is the color pie to you?
24) Does R&D put too much, just enough, or not enough emphasis on the color pie?
25) Should the color pie continually shift over time?
26) How often should we bleed an ability?
27) Should R&D do a better job of explaining our current color wheel philosophies?
28) What color is currently getting shafted?
29) What color has too much and needs to be knocked down?
30) What ability is currently in a color it shouldn't be?
31) What ability needs to be in an additional color?
Mechanics
32) How many keyword mechanics should be in a large set and how many in each small set?
33) Do you like R&D's recent strategy of being more liberal with using keywords?
34) Do you believe the level of keywords in the game right now is too high, just right, or too low?
35) What abilities that currently do not have keywords should have them?
36) Do you consider an ability a mechanic if it doesn't have a keyword?
37) Is it okay to carry over mechanics between blocks?
38) Is it okay to have mechanics that cannot be explained on the card and require additional rulebook support?
39) Do you enjoy when mechanics are teased (that is ,one that shows up in the expansion directly before it – a la Tempest's Spike Drone)?
40) How small a segment of the audience can care about a mechanic in order for it to still be okay to make it?
41) Do you like cycles?
42) Do we do too many, just enough or not enough cycles?
43) How do you feel about cycles that run across multiple expansions?
Block Design
44) Do you enjoy the current block structure?
45) Do you enjoy the strong themes of the blocks of the last few years (such as the Odyssey's graveyard theme or Onslaught's tribal theme)?
46) Would you like to see a block with a theme other than a mechanic-based theme?
47) Are the blocks interconnected mechanically too much, just right or not enough?
48) Should a keyword mechanic that appears in the large expansion appear in both small expansions in that block?
49) Should mechanics in a block evolve as the block evolves or is it okay for them to stay the same?
Art
50) How important is the art to Magic?
51) Is the quality of the current Magic art better than the past, equal to the past or worse than the past?
52) Is it good to have artists that polarize the players (some hate it, some love it)?
53) Is it better to have the same consistent pool of artists or a constant churn of new artists?
54) Is there too little, just enough, or not enough non-representational art (defined as art that doesn't simply show a straight-forward scene)?
55) Is the current variety of Magic artists too small, just right or too great?
56) Does similarity of art ever cause you confusion in game play?
57) Should there be more variety in how each color is represented in the art?
58) Should magic of a certain color be of that color's palette when represented in the art (i.e. should red magic actually have to appear as some shade of red)?
59) Which artists do you love?
60) Which artists do you hate?
61) Do you like ”Easter eggs” (visual references to older Magic cards) in art?
Card Concepts
62) How do you feel about the Mirrodin creative environment?
63) Is the current world development (meaning the look and feel of the world) better, the same or worse than previous world development?
64) What qualities do you look for in Magic world environments?
65) Are you happier visiting different planes every year or would you rather stay on the same plane for multiple years in a row?
66) Should planes be revisited, and if so, how often?
67) How much of a fantasy look should Magic have?
68) Should Magic ever visit real world inspired settings (a la Arabian Nights)?
69) Do you prefer having the same creature types every year or do you prefer having them ebb and flow (meaning each type sits certain blocks out)?
70) Is there a creature type that shouldn't exist?
71) Is there a creature type we've stopped using or simply don't use enough that should get more use?
72) Which is more important, having the art match the mechanic or having the art unto itself be as cool as possible?
73) Is any element currently being overdone in the current Magic card concepts?
Names
74) How important are the names to Magic?
75) How is the current quality of Magic names?
76) Is the current quality of names better, the same, or worse than previous Magic names?
77) How do you feel about modern sounding words in Magic names?
78) How do you feel about real world slang in Magic names?
79) Should we be more experimental in our names?
80) How similar can two different names be?
81) Should we ever consider re-using good names from bad (and forgotten) cards printed years ago?
82) How important is it that the name matches the mechanic
83) Which is more important, that the name match the mechanic of the card or the name unto itself be as cool as possible?
84) Which do you like better, cards that describe what they are (a la Goblin Soldier) or cards that are more evocative but less explanatory (a la Keeper of the Nine Gales)?
85) How do you feel about big words (words most players do not know the meaning of) used in names?
86) Do we have too much, just enough, or not enough made-up names?
87) How is the quality of our made-up names?
88) How important is it that names be easily pronounceable?
89) Do you like very long names (four plus words)?
Flavor Text
90) How important do you feel flavor text is to Magic?
91) How is the current quality of Magic flavor text?
92) Is the current quality of names better, the same, or worse than previous Magic flavor text?
93) Which do you prefer, real world quotations or fictional flavor text?
94) Would you like to see real world flavor text in expansions?
95) What percentage of cards with flavor text should be humorous?
96) What percentage of cards with flavor text should be poetic?
97) What percentage of cards with flavor text should be about the environment/cosmology of the plane?
98) Do we do too many, just enough, or not enough puns?
99) Are puns important to flavor text?
100) What card has your favorite flavor text?
