A new trading card game (TCG) is available now! “Watchers” is a brand-new sci-fi TCG featuring epic battles across the universe. Players will explore different planets, use magic, fly spaceships to far-off worlds, and more. At WonderCon, Temple of Geek sat down with the creators, Justin Waldner and Alexander Gray, and discussed the world of “Watchers.”
Inspiration and Lore that Started it All
“Watchers” originally began as an unpublished novel over twenty years ago. For Justin Waldner, creating this card game has been a passion for a long time. Waldner, like a lot of kids who grew up in the nineties, collected Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering trading cards. This is where his love for TCGs began. Then, he says, “I ended up getting hurt one day on my nine-to-five and ended up not being able to work…I jumped into following my passion and created the card game.”
Alexander Gray is typically a producer for documentary films for DC Entertainment. In terms of this game, Gray was brought on to help co-create and take it further. Gray says:
He [Waldner] actually introduced the game to me at one point and said, ‘Hey, would you like to help co-create and develop this even further?’ And, in particular, in regard to the animated universe as well…we would love to be able to see this ultimately become a movie, become a comic book.
The analog gaming universe is back. Waldner and Gray found that “Watchers” TCG would be the perfect way for people to explore the world. Gray explains:
Being able to trade and play that game again with people has been very inspiring. So, that’s a lot of the inspiration side. As for the lore itself, coming from that particular book, it’s extremely layered. It’s nuanced. There’s a lot of material we have…about 600 or so pages to be able to wade through, to be able to create future content that not only will appear on the gaming side, but also on the animation side [and] comic book side.
The Creation and Storytelling of “Watchers” TCG
The creative process of the world of analog gaming is extensive. Justin Waldner explains that they did, in fact, play the game as they went along.
As far as mechanics goes, everybody has an image, or we had an idea of how it was supposed to work, and then how it didn’t work, and then how we had to make it really work…Just trying to encompass everything and, yeah, trying to figure it out was a lot harder and more in-depth than I ever thought.
Alexander Gray adds:
These guys were actually drawing on playing cards, just like a deck of common playing cards…and saying this is what this card represents, and that card represents. So, what was cool was they were using screenwriting techniques…and they’re applying it towards the gaming side. That enticed me!
The team attached concept drawings of different types of cards to playing cards in order to test the mechanics of “Watchers.” Commissioning art is expensive. This is a clever way to ensure the game works before finalizing the cards themselves. Waldner says, “Every time we had revisions, you had to rip them off. Print new ones. Retype the instructions on the card. You know, and then tape them back on. It was such a process”
Where to Find “Watchers”
Fans of trading card games can buy “Watchers” directly on their official website. The card art is stunning, and the storytelling concept is different from other TCGs. Waldner says, “It’s cheap to get into, it’s easy to learn, and also, it’s just so different! The mechanics, the way it plays, is just so different than everything else.”
Get your deck, grab a friend, and enjoy the exciting world of “Watchers” now!
