XB4406: MA Games Design: This Way Up! Digital Cards development Part 2+ Card Explanations

The next blog post for the development of This Way Up! is for the almost complete collection of art and statistics for each card in the game. Almost all of the cards are in alphabetical order, sans the cards shown in Part 1.

 

The Chainsaw Cannon is based on the idea of firing a severely more dangerous projectile from a classic-styled cannon.

The Ear Mouse card is based on the research based on Stem Calls to regrow human body parts, using the mouse as a surrogate for the part to grow on before extraction and surgery.

The Indescript Blob is a blunt reference to the trope of oozes in Science Fiction and Fantasy in amny types of media, usually appearing as amorphous monsters or gelatinous creatures.

The Malfunctioning Toy is a parody of the Furby toy brand, and how some players with Furby would complain that the Furby is broken or malfunctioning to a scary degree. In its design, i took it further to make it physically malfunctioning to lampoon the subject.

The Missing Brain card is self-explanatory, a missing vital organ for a Frankenstein's Monster-esque creation.

The Modified Yoghurt is a play on scientists modifying foods to enhance either their flavour or nutritional value, and in science fiction, thais could be played up to disasterous results.

The Multi Tool Knife is a simply just a Swiss Army Knife, however the design on the side has been edited to not infringe on a Copyright, as well as adding a spatula to its artillery for the same of humour.

The Ray-Gun is a simple science-Fiction Ray Gun weapon that you would see in many different pieces of media involving the genre.

The Spaghetti Monster is a play on the Flying Spaghetti Monster concept, which is a more playful religious concept meant to be taken in stride and as a fun joke. The appearance also resembles a science fiction monster in its own right.

The Vitamin Capsule is just simply as it is.

The Flaming Piano's idea cames from burning such an expensive instrument, however it's also based on a good song, or piece of music, being described as 'fire'.

The 1Mil Candle Power Candle is based on the concepts of highly powerful electric torches being advertised as a certain multiple in power above a wick and wax candle, however, I decided to lampoon this with a ludicrously powrrful normal candle.

The 3-D Glasses card is self-explanatory.

The Amber Fossil is a  concise reference to the Jurassic Park series, in which scientists revive dinosaurs using blood found in mosquitos fossilized in amber sap for millions of years, the danger of which coming from that the scientists didn't stop to think if they should have done this act, resulting in endangering many lives.

The Antimatter Cube is based on the concept of Antimatter, or Dark Matter, being the opposite of matter in the universe.

The Automatic Fork card is based on the device in real life that is used to assist in eating noodles and spaghetti, as the prongs of the fork rotate as you hold onto the handle.

The Barrel Monkey card ia based on the kids toy, aptly named 'Monkeys In A Barrel'.

The Bipedal Tank is a reference to the Metal Gear games series, with the Metal Gear 'Rex' being described as a bipedal tank capable of launching nuclear warheads. This concept is taken literally.

The Bottomless Kiddie Pool is an reference to the SCP Foundation's Teleporting Kiddie Pool, as well as other concepts involving kiddie pools being used as gateways to different places in media.

The Broken Syringe is simply what it is, indicating whatever was inside of it was of grave importance.

The Buggy Game Console is taken literally to be both glitchy, as well as being shaped like an insect.

The Building Bricks card are as they are, simply a parady of construction toys.

The Butter Side Up Toast card is in clear reference to the idea that 'toast will always land with the butter or jam facing upward.'

The Cape Of Visibility card is a lampoon on the idea of invisibility cloaks in various pieces of fiction.

The Cardboard Weapons are meant to represent the idea of children making weapons made out of cardboard and playing with them, as a normal child shouldn't have these kind of weapons in real life.

The Cat In A Box is in reference to the idea of Scrodinger's Cat.

The Clumped Spaghetti card is in reference to when spaghetti is boiled without the use of salt to help seperate each strand.

The Cookbook Of Doom's card's name is in reference to the contraversial book, The Anarchist's Cookbook, also seen in games like The Binding Of Isaac, however the title on the book's art is in reference to The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Men".

The Doomsday Cannon card is a reference to apocalyptic weapons seen in various pieces of media, much like The Death Star in Star Wars, or the Blast-O-Matic from Donkey Kong 64.

The Ectoplasm Vial cars is based on the idea of spirits and ghosts leaving behind residue called Ectoplasm.

The Ergonimic Keyboard Card is what it is, made to reduce wrist pain and Carpel Tunnel whilst typing.

The Extra Arm Card can imply that this new arm was brought on through radiation or grafting a new arm onto a test subject.

The Failed Project Card is meant to represent something that even Dr. Science was not proud of, deeming it a failure and not wanting it to be seen by the public at all costs.

The Fat Caterpillar card is in simple reference to caterpillars eating to have enough energy to pupate into butterflies or moths, this specific caterpillar being in the last stages of eating beforehand. The design of this is partially based on the Puss Moth Caterpillar, mainly in the tail and the colour scheme.

The Fume Cupboard Card is based on the use of a titular Fume Cupboard to protect someone working with chamicals that create vapours that would othereise be hazardous to one's health.

The Gas Mask card is simply based on a gas mask, used during the World Wars and current-era military operations.

The Genetically Mofified Snack Food is based on the idea of the snack food being modified to increase the potency of its nutrition or flavour, similar in structure to the Modified Yoghurt.

The Glow-In-The-Dark Stars card is simply based on the real-life concept of stars that illuminate themselves and store light.

The Green Screen Room Card is based on the filming technique of Green Screening, in which the background of a scene can be changed in post-production to whatever the scene needs.

The Hypnotic Creature Card is based on the science fiction trope of creatures from another world who control the masses through intergalactic power or mental suggestion. The design of which borrows colours from Starro of DC Comics.

The Illegal Documents Card is self-referential, as it is simply fraudulent documents that have negative connotations.

The Jam Side Down Toast Card is in reference to the Butter Side Up Card, however, the result of the topping's landing side is in stark contrast.

The Junk Parts are self-referencial, just being spare parts or junk that aren't needed for anything half the time.

The Laser Sword card is in clear Reference to Star Wars' lightsaber weapons, the name of which is to avoid any copyright.

The Matter Cube Card is in contrast to the Antimatter Cube, being made of normal matter.

The Mercury Flask Card is to reflect the dangers of Mercury to ones health and safety.

The Mini Planets Card is self-referencial, and could be in reference to how globes of other planets are commercially available.

The Miscellaneous Fly Card is in reference to The Fly, the horror movie in which a man obtains the head of a fly during a freak experiment.

The My Diploma Card is simply a Diploma that Dr. Science can gloat about, as well as his accomplishments.

The Old haggis Card is Self-referencial.

The Overclocked Treadmill Card is simply a treadmill that is on a ridiculously high speed.

The Periodic Table is self-referencial, listing Gold, Iron, Hydrogen and Mercury.

The Piranha Bowl Card is self-referencial as it is a bowl of deadly fish that have an aggressive temperment.

The Plasma Ball Card is based on the toy of the same name, a protective globe stops the user from being electrocuted, as waves of plasma bolt towards the edges of the globe.

The Plastic Baggie Card is self-referencial.

The Puzzle Cube Card is in clear reference to the Rubiks Cube, a puzzle toy with revolving pieces, with the intention that the user matches each side's colours together.

The Rubber Gloves Card is self-referencial to safe gear to use in a laboratory.

The Screwdriver Set Card is almost self-referencial, apart from the second screwdriver which is a clear reference to the Sonic Screwdriver from the science fiction series Doctor Who.

The Self-Driving Car Card is in reference to large companies trying to create and sell these as products for commercial use, though this has been lampooned in its visual design for the sake of this card game.

The Shark Tank Card is a play on how in spy movies, the hero is usually trapped above a tank of sharks as a death trap, and the villains usually have pet sharks in a tank in their evil lairs.

The Skull In A Jar Card is in reference to the preservation of body parts in jars.

The Super Absorbant Sponge Card is meant to simply be a powerful sponge to soak water up with. Videogames like Minecraft and Terraria use Sponges as items with larger-than-real-life potency.

The Super Octopus Card is meant to just be a powerful octopus, as regular animals given power and/or intelligence are often seen in science fiction movies.

The Teleporter Device Card is based on the idea of the science fiction tools of teleporters to be used as a weapon, rool or mass transit.

The Telescope Lens card is self-referencial.

The Tesla Coil Card is based on the real concept of tesla coils, and is uaually seen in fiction and reality as two points where a stream of lightning can travel between.

The Test Tube Multipack Card is self referencial.

The Creature Card is in clear reference to the works of Mary Shelly and its adaptations of Frankenstein, so I decided to draw my own basic interpretation of The Monster in a nice suit.

The Funky Chicken Card is based on the dance of the same name, which I have translated as this design with the chikcne holding a boombox and cool sunglesses and hat.

The Time Paradox Card is in reference to the idea of time travel, anomalies and paradoxes, that break the space-time continuum of a world/universe.

The Unanatomical Model Card is based on the idea of an anatomical model being lampooned as a model with various inconsistencies in its makeup.

The Vr Goggles Card is self-referencial and true to life.

The Wi-Fi Modem Card is self-referencial.

The Wind-Up Mouse card is based on the real uses of wind up mice and other small animals as kids and pet's toys.

The Wind-Up Teeth Card is anothet card meant to be a kids toy, or for use as a 'gag' item to some.

The X-Ray Glasses, while similar in shape to the 3-D glasses are a reference to the mail-ordered item sold in magazines to be used as a joke, and do not give the user any x-ray vision. in reality, it is a feather in each lens to alter ones vision to appear like you can see bones through your hands due to how your eyes see light.

The Zombified Cake Card is an original concept for a card, in which the card is a