Why do MTGO magic cards look like someone who was drunk designed them?
Online Magic forum
Posted on May 15, 2015, 2:46 a.m. by JRaynor
Magic has one of the most enduring and beautiful aesthetic practice and attention to detail, that I have seen in a card game. It is one of the big reasons I started playing some time ago. Why then, when it comes to the online cards... dose it feel like someone who was drunk and had never been to art school came up with these card designs?
I mean anybody could tell you it was aesthetically unpleasing! You don't have to be an art snob to tell the difference in appeal between the printed variety and the blocky awfulness of the virtual variety.
What's the deal?
Can you explain what you mean? The cards are the same online as they are in paper. I don't see how the designs are different.
May 15, 2015 9 a.m.
What JWiley129 said. I'd agree 100% with the OP if he was talking about the layout/interface of MTGO, but the cards? They're just pictures of the real thing!
May 15, 2015 11:44 a.m.
There are MTGO only cards. Their set is the MTGO symbol. It's these cards I'm talking about. The layout is uncentered and random. The text font is unappealing and blocky.
The layout/interface is also majorly unappealing Mr. square711. I 100% agree with you there. I've been playing online for almost two weeks now, and it's all functional but neither aesthetically pleasing nor ergonomically user-friendly.
In other words, it's a mess. I feel like I'm playing the beta of the game but it's been out for like a decade.
May 15, 2015 6:54 p.m.
Well... I know about MTGO-only promos, but to me they always seemed exactly the same as the regular ones, only with different art (sometimes). In fact, I just went to Cardhoarder and checked the first two promo cards that came to my mind, Brain Maggot and Stoke the Flames... and the only difference I see is they have a slightly worse font for the rules text.
Then again, I'll admit I'm not too nitpicky with these things. Maybe the font IS that bad, what do I know? It takes Yu-Gi-Oh!-level ugliness for me to complain about the layout of a card. (The old multicolored cards being a great example of "Yu-Gi-Oh!-level ugliness" in MtG. God, that gold background makes me want to punch someone in the face)
May 15, 2015 7:54 p.m.
nobu_the_bard says... #8
At least some of the MTGO cards weren't designed originally by the design staff, they were designed by the MTGO team. I don't know of any that were released publicly though.
They use a "high readability" sort of font on MTGO presumably because people are terrible at reading things on a computer though? I agree it's a bit ugly, and I wish the glossary words weren't so obnoxiously highlighted either.
The number of times I've had to help clients configure their screen so they could actually read it though, because they couldn't be bothered to wear glasses or admit their have non-perfect eyesight, is astronomical.
May 22, 2015 4:35 p.m.
Ohhh fascinating. Thanks for the insight nobu_the_bard
And yeah I think one of the numerous grating facets to the MTGO cards is the highlighting that is done on the key words.
I'm getting used to it, but it's been bloody difficult because one of the things that drew me to the game was the art and the aesthetics. I'm sticking around for the game. But I hate loosing the Aesthetic quality I've come to expect by transferring to mostly online play.
May 22, 2015 10:28 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #10
Yeah the UI is just terrible. sad that they don't care about it that much. A company not caring about one of their products makes me not want to care about it either. I just signed up for an account and I'm really not impressed so far. It might be cheaper to buy some cards in MTGO but what's the point when you gotta fork out several tickets/booster packs to even enter a tournament?
June 21, 2015 6:01 p.m.
I've come around to it. Despite the awful UI, I do get to play a ton more magic online than I ever did in person. Hopefully one day they'll realize that the internet isn't going anywhere....
June 24, 2015 7:33 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #12
Yeah this internet thing is never gonna go anywhere.
GoofyFoot says... #2
1: wizards doesn't give a shit about MTGO. sure, it makes them money, but they actually believe that hearthstone and other online card games aren't actually competition to it. they hire cheap programmers (not necessarily bad ones, but more ones that are willing to get payed A LOT less than their job is worth), and charge almost the same price if not more for online cards than they do paper. it's really a shame they don't have more interest in their internet model, because that's where the future money is. but what do I know? they are the all powerful owners of the company, and they must know whats best.
2: it's probably easier to format cards via coding that way (see what I said about cheap programmers).
May 15, 2015 6:25 a.m.