In collectible card games like Hearthstone, Legends of Runeterra, and Magic: The Gathering, the aesthetic of the cards is indubitably one of the greatest highlights for many, if not all players. Although the game loop is reliant on physically building and playing cards, there is an immense joy ingrained in simply observing the cards’ visual and audible flavor. This is because the flavor is more than just surface-level aesthetics. It’s a strategic and purposeful translation of mechanics and narrative.

在像《炉石传说》，《符文传说》和《魔法：聚会》等可收藏的纸牌游戏中，纸牌的美感无疑是许多人(即使不是所有玩家)最大的亮点之一。 尽管游戏循环依赖于实际构建和玩纸牌，但只要观察纸牌的视觉和听觉风格，就会产生巨大的快乐。 这是因为味道不仅限于表面层面的美观。 这是力学和叙事的战略性和有目的性的翻译。

First, we need to understand what exactly is card art, or more specifically, the card aesthetic. The primary part of the card aesthetic is the illustration, comprising 50 to 100% of the card’s structure. Like how splash pages in comic books capture the attention of its readers, the card’s illustration attracts the player’s eye. This illustration is usually supplemented by additional aesthetics, including interface design (e.g., card border, card shape), voice lines, sound effects, visual effects, and other small animations.

首先，我们需要了解什么是卡片艺术，或更具体地说，是卡片美学。 卡片美学的主要部分是插图，占卡片结构的50％至100％。 就像漫画书中的醒目页面如何吸引读者的注意力一样，卡片的插图吸引了玩家的眼球。 该插图通常以其他美学方式进行补充，包括界面设计(例如，卡边框，卡形状)，语音线，声音效果，视觉效果和其他小动画。

While this aesthetic sounds flawless, there are several things to consider. One element is limited space. In order to conserve space while enabling legibility, in-game card illustrations are always cropped, minimized versions of the original art. On the note of limited space, another potential issue is card art’s inability to push a “greater” aesthetic due to the traditional 2D nature of card games. Compared to other artistic assets in a game space (e.g., full-screen environments, 3D character turnarounds, original sized splash art, extended level soundtracks), the card aesthetic feels lacking, but this is not true whatsoever. In fact, it does the complete opposite, augmenting the player experience to new heights! The secret to its success lies within the cropped illustration itself.

尽管这种美感听起来是完美无缺的，但有几点要考虑。 一个因素是有限的空间。 为了节省空间并确保可读性，游戏中的纸牌插图总是经过裁剪，是原始艺术的最小版本。 在有限的空间上，另一个潜在的问题是纸牌艺术由于传统的2D纸牌游戏性质而无法推动“更大”的美学。 与游戏空间中的其他艺术资产(例如，全屏环境，3D角色周转，原始大小的启动画面，扩展级别的音轨)相比，卡的美感让人感觉缺乏，但事实并非如此。 实际上，它完全相反，将玩家体验提升到新的高度！ 成功的秘诀在于裁剪后的插图本身。

Before diving into the secret, let’s understand another important element to card art. While card art strives to attract, it also works to convey the card’s function and personality. In short, aesthetic is heavily associated with definition because it embodies definition. It’s easy to make this visual-definition connection in the real-world as we grew up surrounded by them. For example, a child may read about what a “dog” is and how it behaves in a book, and when they encounter a “dog” in reality they can easily identify it through textbook association. We learn by repeating this process over and over.

在深入探讨秘密之前，让我们了解卡片艺术的另一个重要元素。 卡片艺术在努力吸引人们的同时，也传达了卡片的功能和个性。 简而言之，美学与定义密切相关，因为它体现了定义。 当我们在周围环绕时，很容易在现实世界中建立这种视觉清晰度连接。 例如，孩子可能会读到“狗”是什么以及它在书中的行为，当他们在现实中遇到“狗”时，他们可以通过教科书关联轻松识别它。 我们通过一遍又一遍地重复此过程来学习。

Then how does this process fare in the game world in which all sorts of fantastical and sci-fi elements are being introduced to the player at once? To allow ourselves to play the game, we suspend our belief, but it’s fair to say that the visual-definition connection is a bit harder to make in the game space because it’s an uncommon and different world. Some elements are more common than others and hence, easier to visualize and define (e.g., a dragon vs a kobold), but when you play a card game that involves hundreds of brand new concepts of varying familiarity, how do you manage this visual-definition association? The secret is hidden in the card aesthetic. But how can a thumbnail of a painting create the same effect as the whole painting? More often than not, it wouldn’t be equal, but in the realm of a collectible card game, it is very possible. It all starts with the concept of the focal point, generously revealed to us through the crop.

那么，在将各种奇幻和科幻元素同时引入玩家的游戏世界中，这一过程又如何呢？ 为了让我们自己玩游戏，我们暂停了信念，但是可以公平地说，视觉清晰度连接在游戏空间中很难建立，因为这是一个不常见且不同的世界。 有些元素比其他元素更常见，因此更易于可视化和定义(例如，龙与狗头人)，但是当您玩涉及数百种不同熟悉程度的全新概念的纸牌游戏时，如何管理这种视觉效果，定义关联？ 秘诀隐藏在卡片美学中。 但是，绘画的缩略图如何产生与整个绘画相同的效果？ 通常不是相等的，但是在可收藏的纸牌游戏中，这是很有可能的。 一切始于焦点的概念，并通过庄稼向我们慷慨地揭示了焦点。

A focal point pivots on the center of interest or activity, and for limited space like cards this is an optimal move. By redirecting the energy of the flavor, the card art highlights the card’s definition, allowing the art to substitute for a written description. This translation becomes extremely useful in the long run as it saves the player time and energy when cycling through cards while showcasing personality and lore.

焦点以兴趣或活动中心为中心，对于卡片等有限的空间，这是最佳选择。 通过重新分配风味的能量，卡片艺术品可以突出卡片的定义，从而使艺术品可以代替书面说明。 从长远来看，这种翻译非常有用，因为它可以节省玩家的时间和精力，让他们在翻牌时展示个性和知识。

Let’s break down a case example starring Cithria of Cloudfield from Legends of Runeterra:

让我们来分解一个由Runeterra的传说中Cloudfield的Cithria主演的案例：

This is the in-game version of the card. Although it doesn’t show much, we can understand from first glance that the card embodies a lone girl wandering with an amazed and curious expression on her face. This hook reels in the player and follow-up questions arise: Who is she? Where is she? Why is she here? What is she mesmerized by? Now the player’s eyes start to roam, arriving at the next important element —the text. Cithria is a basic follower 2/2 unit with a mana cost of 1. This makes a lot of sense given the thumbnail illustration depicting her with “novice” clothes and a wooden sword. There is no keyword (AKA special effect) on Cithria’s card, indicating a straightforward personality and battle style. The card is labeled as an Elite, which is a unit type originating from the region of Demacia. This information helps tell us who and where Cithria is. The next selling point in the aesthetic-definition translation is the supporting element of audio. When you summon her, she exclaims with a wavering yet determined voice: “New recruit, reporting in!”, “I’m… actually here!”, “I’ll write my own story!” Other voice lines of similar personality shine when you position her for an attack or block, when special characters are present, and when she dies. Now the player is able to understand why she is at Demacia, in awe of what new adventures Demacia has to offer.

这是该卡的游戏内版本。 尽管显示的内容不多，但我们乍一看就可以理解，这张卡体现了一个孤独的女孩，她的脸上带着一种奇怪而又好奇的表情徘徊。 这勾住了玩家，随之而来的问题是：她是谁？ 她在哪？ 她怎么在这里 她对什么着迷？ 现在，玩家的眼睛开始漫游，到达下一个重要元素-文字。 塞斯里亚(Cithria)是2/2基本追随者，法力消耗为1。考虑到用“新手”衣服和一把木剑描绘她的缩略图，这很有意义。 西瑟里亚的牌上没有关键词(又名特殊效果)，表明一种直截了当的个性和战斗风格。 该卡被标记为Elite，这是一种来自Demacia地区的单位类型。 这些信息有助于告诉我们Cithria是谁，在哪里。 美学定义转换的下一个卖点是音频的支持元素。 当您召唤她时，她惊wave而坚定的声音惊呼：“新兵，报到！”，“我……实际上在这里！”，“我会写自己的故事！” 当您放置她进行攻击或阻挡，出现特殊字符以及她去世时，其他具有相似个性的语音线也会发光。 现在，玩家可以对Demacia所提供的新冒险感到敬畏，从而了解自己为什么要去Demacia。

For players who are curious to grasp the card in its true glory, they zoom out to see the original card art — Cithria walking among a busy crowd of citizens and soldiers in Demacia, mesmerized by its white, elegant architecture and a bustling street market. It feels rewarding taking the next step to visualize the entire card, and we must remember that all of this information and flavor was cleverly packaged and delivered first through the in-game card aesthetic, starting with a small thumbnail focusing on the lone Cithria.

对于好奇地希望掌握这张牌真实荣耀的玩家，他们可以缩小视野以查看原始的卡片艺术-Cithria漫步在Demacia繁忙的市民和士兵人群中，其白色典雅的建筑和熙熙street的街道市场着迷。 下一步可视化整个卡牌感觉很有意义，我们必须记住，所有这些信息和风味都是通过游戏内卡牌美学巧妙地包装和交付的，首先是侧重于孤单Cithria的小缩略图。

As players play the same cards over and over, this translation through card aesthetic becomes second nature. You know exactly what Cithria of Cloudstep is and what it does just by looking at the thumbnail or just by listening to a voice line. The power of the card aesthetic is so ingrained that it explains why it can be so off-putting when the package changes in some manner. For example, several cards in Hearthstone were edited in 2019 to dial back the sexual and graphic violence factor.

随着玩家一遍又一遍地玩同一张纸牌，这种通过纸牌美学的转换成为第二自然。 您只需查看缩略图或通过收听语音线路即可确切了解Cloudstep的Cithria是什么以及它的作用。 卡片美学的力量是如此根深蒂固，以至于它解释了为什么当包装以某种方式发生变化时，卡片如此令人反感。 例如，《 炉石传说》中的几张卡片在2019年进行了编辑，以回拨性暴力和图形暴力因素。

The greatest change was a complete 180 of the original art (i.e., Succubus is changed into a Felstalker, less revealing demonic beast). Intermediate changes involved a change in perspective (i.e., Deadly Shot now focuses on the arrow first being shot compared to the original art illustrating a creature struck in the chest by the arrow). Minor changes mostly kept the original art and removed small details (i.e., Eviscerate removes the blood splatter from the knife attack). For those who are accustomed to the original art may need more time than others to adjust to the new defining aesthetic, but no matter the degree of change, the aesthetic should continue to uphold the core mechanic and lore of the card to avoid becoming unrecognizable and disrupting the player’s flow state.

最大的变化是完成了原始艺术的整整180个(即，魅魔被变成了邪魔缠身者，鲜为人知的恶魔野兽)。 中间的变化涉及到视角的变化(即，与说明生物被箭头击中胸部的原始艺术相比，“致命射击”现在专注于首先被射击的箭头)。 较小的更改大部分保留了原始艺术品，并删除了一些小细节(即剔骨消除了刀击中的血迹)。 对于那些习惯于原始艺术的人来说，可能需要比其他人更多的时间来适应新的定义美感，但是无论变化程度如何，美感都应继续秉承卡片的核心机制和知识，以避免变得面目全非。破坏玩家的流动状态。

On the note of flow state, this “second nature” trait induced by the card aesthetic contributes to the important notion of familiarity and consistency in gameplay. A card game involves a multitude of characters and spells and all kinds of unique elements to keep track of, and in order to have enjoyable and confident games, the second nature must be capitalized. The more comfortable the player grows, the more fun the player will have, and the card aesthetic lives up to this expectation by endorsing a systematic pattern, effectively translating narrative and mechanics through art and streamlining the gameplay.

关于流动状态，由纸牌美学感生的“第二自然”特征有助于形成重要的游戏熟悉性和一致性概念。 纸牌游戏涉及许多角色和咒语以及各种独特的元素以进行跟踪，并且为了拥有令人愉悦和自信的游戏，必须将第二性质大写。 玩家变得越自在，就越会获得乐趣，并且通过认可系统的模式，通过艺术有效地将叙事和技巧转换并简化游戏玩法，卡片美学才能达到预期。

This leads to the big picture: while the card aesthetic may function well for the individual card, how does it streamline the gameplay for hundreds of cards? This is attributed to another advantage in card art, specifically through its numbers. Through the power of thematic categorization (“flavor filtering”) across a multiplicity of cards, the visual-definition association is applied at a macro level and a unique stylistic freedom is created through the card aesthetic.

这导致了一个大局面：虽然纸牌美学可能对单个纸牌有效，但如何简化数百张纸牌的游戏玩法？ 这归因于卡片技术的另一个优势，特别是通过其数量。 通过对多种卡片进行主题分类(“味道过滤”)的强大功能，可以在宏级别应用视觉定义关联，并通过卡片美学创造独特的风格自由。

One example is the regional organization in Legends of Runeterra. There are currently six regions, each with their own symbol, lore, and playstyle. In creating a deck of cards, the player is permitted up to two regions to draw cards from for synergy. This division of cards into regions allows for a smooth interpretation of cards aesthetically and mechanically. A player can easily distinguish Noxus cards from Demacia cards through various artistic elements (e.g., Noxus’s red and dark colors illustrating their ruthless conquest vs Demacia’s white, blue, silver, and gold colors illustrating their steadfast glory).

一个例子是《 Runeterra传说》中的区域组织。 当前有六个地区，每个地区都有自己的符号，知识和游戏风格。 在创建一副纸牌时，允许玩家最多两个区域从中抽出纸牌以产生协同作用。 卡的这种区域划分允许从美学和机械上平滑地解释卡。 玩家可以通过各种艺术元素轻松区分Noxus卡和Demacia卡(例如，Noxus的红色和深色说明了他们的残酷征服，而Demacia的白色，蓝色，银色和金色说明了他们的坚定荣耀)。

Another example on a smaller scale is the repetitive and sequential elements linked throughout various cards. Returning to Cithria in the Demacian region, players see her appearance in three different cards illustrating her rise in experience and ranks on the battlefield from the new recruit 2/2 Cithria of Cloudfield, to the 3/3 Vanguard Squire, and finally a full-fledged member of the Dauntless Vanguard 6/6 Cithria the Bold. Her text and battle style are steadily evolving along with her card art and voice lines as well.

另一个较小规模的示例是贯穿各个卡的重复和顺序元素。 返回Demacian地区的Cithria，玩家会在三张不同的卡片中看到她的出现，这说明了她的经验和在战场上的排名，从新招募的2/2 Cithria of Cloudfield到3/3 Vanguard Squire，最后是完整的勇敢的先锋队成员6/6大胆的西斯里亚。 她的文字和战斗风格以及卡片艺术和语音线也在稳步发展。

True beauty is beyond the surface and the card aesthetic of digital collectible card games lives up to this sentiment. By optimizing a limited amount of game space, utilizing supporting aesthetics, and taking advantage of its unique stylistic freedom across the board, the card aesthetic illustrates a thousand words with a single thumbnail.

真正的美丽已超越表面，数字可收藏纸牌游戏的纸牌美学符合这种情感。 通过优化有限的游戏空间，利用辅助美感，并充分利用其独特的整体风格自由度，纸牌美感可以通过一个缩略图显示上千个单词。