Consistency is very important in a physical card game. If a card doesn't do what it says, you can't play the game.
Digital card games are different in that the game itself can have special rules and it will take care of it for you. Ysera and Dream Cards is an example of this.
Therefore, knowing immediately from the card text how something works, although important in a digital game, is not critical. You don't want to see all cards blank with surprise effects though.
They wanted to keep cards in the classic set easy to parse, which has lead to inconsistencies with Choose One.
It and Ancient of War read the same way but one gets buffed whereas the other one transforms. Silence only works on the buffed one.
Makes players wonder how a new card works before we get to test it in-game, such as Anodized Robo Cub which was released during GvG. You can't tell right away if it transforms or buffs itself.
Druid of the Flame reads differently than Druid of the Claw, yet they work the exact same way. Ease of parsability of the card has been cited as one of the reasons Druid of the Claw is still the way it is today.
They may go back later on and change Druid of the Claw to read like Druid of the Flame for the sake of consistency, but it does sacrifice the parsability of the card.
They felt like choice cards should be between two comparable things to keep it easier to understand.
There was a card in early development which was "Choose One: Change a minion's attack to 0 for a turn, or deal 2 damage to a minion who attacked last turn".
Some inconsistencies with how a card works vs the text is actually just bugs which will be fixed in upcoming patches.
It's almost mind-boggling as to why they can't admit that over the course of several years they have made a few very small errors..... This should not be an issue. Why does a video of this magnitude and controversy even exist where instead this should have been a quick fix for the dev team. Not a single effect is being changed anywhere. This should be a quick edit with some text on a few cards and then everyone puts this whole debacle behind them and goes back to enjoying the game of Hearthstone.
Fact is that cards/text/behavior are either consistent or inconsistent.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if for once, a leader eats humble pie, admits an error, apologizes and takes immediate steps to remedy said error, rather than resist this whole process while trying to cover it up with excuses that no one really buys?
In this case, the errors are minor and easily correctable, to boot.
It's Blizzard's game not the community's - at least they got that part right.
I am all for card clarity and consistency. I agree that Blizzard should continue to err on the side of caution. Glad they are developing rules for the wording for newer cards. Change existing card text only when it is a regular source of confusion that frustrates players. Otherwise move along, nothing to see here.
I think that Druid of the Claw 's text is fine on its own. We all know that we can't silence him like we know that deathrattles triggers the same order the minions were played. It is some "Advanced" player tricks that has to learned by playing "on the edge"
they could just change the text from "Choose one:" to "Choose Transformation:" for DoC like minions and "Choose Enhancement:" for AoW like minions. That would make a clear distinction between the two and be able to provide future card consistency.
I believe ALL of the "Druid of the..." cards should obviously read the same way instead of all those inconsistent variantions: "Transform into a" or "Transform to" or "Transform this minion into a" or just "Choose One -". Why not use "Shift into a Beast. Choose one- ..." for all the "Druid of the ..."? A very specific word that fits the Druid fantasy, identity and lore. So next time you would see a Druid card with the word "Shift", you know it is actually a choice between two minions and not a choice between two silenceable buffs. That would be a great step for consistency AND parsibility.
Examples: Druid of the Fang the Battlecry would read: "if you have a Beast, Shift into a 7/7 Beast", Druid of the Claw would read: "Shift into a Beast. Choose One - Charge; or +2 Health and Taunt.", Druid of the Flame would read: "Shift into a Beast. Choose One - +3 Attack; or +3 Health." Druid of the Saber would read: "Shift into a Beast. Choose One - Charge; or +1/+1 and Stealth."
They would read all the same, using the Shift keyword and add a currently lacking (and much needed for new players) Beast tag. Also it makes them read different than Ancient of War and Anodized Robo Cub. This way just by reading the card, before even playing it or seeing it played by someone, you EASILY understand how one of those "Choose one" card works and how to differenciate them. Why? because consistency. Brode says: "Do you gain more for making the card easier to read (especially classic set because new players) OR do we gain more for being consistent across cards?". You gain gain more by doing BOTH at the same time! I mean are those two really necessarily opposites or mutually exclusive?
Let's take Druid of the Claw again since it's the one from classic set and the new players experience since it seems to be the main argument against a change. Do we really think adding "Shift into a Beast" before "Choose One - Charge; or +2 Health and Taunt." is harder to read/understand than the current text/parse? I mean, sure it adds 20 additional characters it's a fact, but again, think about the main argument here: the new players percpective here. The current version is actually deceptive as it doesn't even read that it's a Beast minion so how is it easier for new player to understand what's going on with this card compared to AoW (from classic set also) a card that reads the same, or even other cards that read different but works the exact same way? Even if the text would technically be longer, wouldn't the description gain precision and clarity (especially on edge cases)? I believe it's gaining without sacrificing anything, I mean it doesn't seem harder to grasp at first glance to me. Actually, I think it wouldn't sacrifice the parsibility and immidiate understanding/decision-making, au contraire; I think it would actually add to Both consistency AND parsibility. It's a win/win.
"knowing immediately from the card text how something works, although important in a digital game, is not critical." *Vomits* Seriously, could Brode get fired already? I get that a simplified text is easier to implement during games, but for the love of god could the full explanation be available for cards at least when you go through them in your collection?
Worrying too much whether new players will INSTANTLY understand everything before playing around with stuff is just a bad idea. Look at Diablo 3 vanilla; they worried far too much whether someones' grandma can play it.
Just change the text to match what it does. It's *okay* if the text is long.
Look at Diablo 3 vanilla; they worried far too much whether someones' grandma can play it.
What? For starters you could only really advance in Diablo 3 vanilla if you ground for hours at a very difficult level - or you had to go spend real money in the auction house. Neither feature seems particularly concerned about whether someone's grandma could play it...
I love hearthstone's mechanics and potential, but it's troubling that the guy in charge of the whole thing is making these sort of anti-intellectual arguments.
Consistency would be nice, there is so much more. Fore example why doesn't Darnassus Aspirant give you Excess Mana if you play it with 10 Mana, it has the same wording as Wild Growth
I think they said the reason for this was something along the lines that it would be way too good or take away a reason to play Wild Growth or something.
Ben Asks: Ease of parsability or consistency when it comes to Druid of the Claw? 
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Posted Feb 25, 2016 (Explorers)Keep up the good work, Hearthpwn!
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Posted Jan 18, 2016 (Explorers)It's almost mind-boggling as to why they can't admit that over the course of several years they have made a few very small errors..... This should not be an issue. Why does a video of this magnitude and controversy even exist where instead this should have been a quick fix for the dev team. Not a single effect is being changed anywhere. This should be a quick edit with some text on a few cards and then everyone puts this whole debacle behind them and goes back to enjoying the game of Hearthstone.
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Posted Jan 5, 2016 (Explorers)Change it please. Inconsistency is bad for any game.
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Posted Jan 1, 2016 (Explorers)Great.
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Posted Dec 30, 2015 (Explorers)An extended equivocation from Brode.
Fact is that cards/text/behavior are either consistent or inconsistent.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if for once, a leader eats humble pie, admits an error, apologizes and takes immediate steps to remedy said error, rather than resist this whole process while trying to cover it up with excuses that no one really buys?
In this case, the errors are minor and easily correctable, to boot.
It's Blizzard's game not the community's - at least they got that part right.
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Posted Dec 27, 2015 (Explorers)I am all for card clarity and consistency. I agree that Blizzard should continue to err on the side of caution. Glad they are developing rules for the wording for newer cards. Change existing card text only when it is a regular source of confusion that frustrates players. Otherwise move along, nothing to see here.
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Posted Dec 25, 2015 (Explorers)I really dont like that they aren't willing to fix the card text. Seems lazy to me
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Posted Dec 24, 2015 (Explorers)I think that Druid of the Claw 's text is fine on its own. We all know that we can't silence him like we know that deathrattles triggers the same order the minions were played. It is some "Advanced" player tricks that has to learned by playing "on the edge"
But with Druid of the Flame along, this get really frustrating for players, this might be enough for Druid of the Claw to change.
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Posted Dec 24, 2015 (Explorers)I like it the way it is, I don't think there's any need to change it.
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Posted Dec 24, 2015 (Explorers)they could just change the text from "Choose one:" to "Choose Transformation:" for DoC like minions and "Choose Enhancement:" for AoW like minions. That would make a clear distinction between the two and be able to provide future card consistency.
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Posted Dec 24, 2015 (Explorers)I like Ben Brode, he really is a cool guy, I always look forward to reading these. Besides, his laugh is awesome and legendary.
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Posted Dec 23, 2015 (Explorers)I believe ALL of the "Druid of the..." cards should obviously read the same way instead of all those inconsistent variantions: "Transform into a" or "Transform to" or "Transform this minion into a" or just "Choose One -". Why not use "Shift into a Beast. Choose one- ..." for all the "Druid of the ..."? A very specific word that fits the Druid fantasy, identity and lore. So next time you would see a Druid card with the word "Shift", you know it is actually a choice between two minions and not a choice between two silenceable buffs. That would be a great step for consistency AND parsibility.
Examples:
Druid of the Fang the Battlecry would read: "if you have a Beast, Shift into a 7/7 Beast",
Druid of the Claw would read: "Shift into a Beast. Choose One - Charge; or +2 Health and Taunt.",
Druid of the Flame would read: "Shift into a Beast. Choose One - +3 Attack; or +3 Health."
Druid of the Saber would read: "Shift into a Beast. Choose One - Charge; or +1/+1 and Stealth."
They would read all the same, using the Shift keyword and add a currently lacking (and much needed for new players) Beast tag. Also it makes them read different than Ancient of War and Anodized Robo Cub. This way just by reading the card, before even playing it or seeing it played by someone, you EASILY understand how one of those "Choose one" card works and how to differenciate them. Why? because consistency. Brode says: "Do you gain more for making the card easier to read (especially classic set because new players) OR do we gain more for being consistent across cards?". You gain gain more by doing BOTH at the same time! I mean are those two really necessarily opposites or mutually exclusive?
Let's take Druid of the Claw again since it's the one from classic set and the new players experience since it seems to be the main argument against a change. Do we really think adding "Shift into a Beast" before "Choose One - Charge; or +2 Health and Taunt." is harder to read/understand than the current text/parse? I mean, sure it adds 20 additional characters it's a fact, but again, think about the main argument here: the new players percpective here. The current version is actually deceptive as it doesn't even read that it's a Beast minion so how is it easier for new player to understand what's going on with this card compared to AoW (from classic set also) a card that reads the same, or even other cards that read different but works the exact same way? Even if the text would technically be longer, wouldn't the description gain precision and clarity (especially on edge cases)? I believe it's gaining without sacrificing anything, I mean it doesn't seem harder to grasp at first glance to me. Actually, I think it wouldn't sacrifice the parsibility and immidiate understanding/decision-making, au contraire; I think it would actually add to Both consistency AND parsibility. It's a win/win.
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Posted Dec 23, 2015 (Explorers)"knowing immediately from the card text how something works, although important in a digital game, is not critical." *Vomits* Seriously, could Brode get fired already? I get that a simplified text is easier to implement during games, but for the love of god could the full explanation be available for cards at least when you go through them in your collection?
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Posted Dec 23, 2015 (Explorers)Worrying too much whether new players will INSTANTLY understand everything before playing around with stuff is just a bad idea. Look at Diablo 3 vanilla; they worried far too much whether someones' grandma can play it.
Just change the text to match what it does. It's *okay* if the text is long.
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Posted Dec 24, 2015 (Explorers)-
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Posted Dec 23, 2015 (Explorers)I love hearthstone's mechanics and potential, but it's troubling that the guy in charge of the whole thing is making these sort of anti-intellectual arguments.
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Posted Dec 23, 2015 (Explorers)Consistency would be nice, there is so much more. Fore example why doesn't Darnassus Aspirant give you Excess Mana if you play it with 10 Mana, it has the same wording as Wild Growth
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Posted Dec 23, 2015 (Explorers)I think they said the reason for this was something along the lines that it would be way too good or take away a reason to play Wild Growth or something.
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Posted Dec 23, 2015 (Explorers)Just GTFO Ben. You lost the last piece of faith you had from the players. (not that you much to begin with)
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Posted Dec 24, 2015 (Explorers)Did the Patron Nerf cause your Jimmy's to be Rustled?