THE MODEM-CONCEPT EXPLAINED…
Salutations Reader, The ‘Origin’ of this object is that it was created as a low cost Reward _in comparison to the Game Boards_ for Patrons that support the game. Alongside the desire to have a clean and organized table top when playing! Little did I know that the Modem Concept would turn into a Game Expansion; With its own set of rules. At first, the Modems were intended as an expansion to The Card Game, but soon after; They Scored Very Good In The Arena Games.
Below you can see the latest and best prototype we have to offer. Due to the angle of the pictures taken, you cannot catch the top view very well. The Left Wheel has the numbers: 1 through 6, that become visible when you turn the dial. Keeping track of your: ‘LIVES!’ The Right Wheel has the numbers: 0 through 5 embossed, and keep track of your ‘WINS!’
The First To Reach 6 Game Wins, Gets To Chant; Whois the #GunShin? #軍神?
And may lay claim to being the ‘God’ or ‘Hero’ of played game! 🙂
The Story Behind The Modem.
The images below are reused from an earlier article: Where To Start Game? But since they tell the story so well, they now serve as visual aid to the Core of the Modem Concept!
What the Concept Sketches are telling us: There is an ‘Invisible Connection’ between an Operator and the Battle Unit, when you send your Clone onto any of the available Game Grids or Maps! It is this ‘life line’ that connects and sends your Game Clone the needed attributes in Battle, from your Home Base into the Cyber World where your game play takes place.
This story element is further emphasized in the notebook pages that follow. But also come with a reason why the Modems, slightly alter game play! And why these game expansions need to have their own ‘specific rules’ to bring into play. Because it changes _by way of enhancing_ the function of the: Active Hero Card!
In the Base Rules of The Card Game, it states that your *Active Hero Card* must be placed ‘OPEN’ or face up, flat on the table in front of you. This entails that your opponents can easily pick the weakest target, when browsing the table top, before deciding who to attack.
When you play with a Modem it is placed on the Hero Card spot, but renamed; Home Base! The reason why Hero-Cards are placed ‘open’ on the table top is: So that all players can clearly identify what HW-Card is Active!
When you play with a Modem; “It is that Card sticking out Vertically Upright and there is no way you can confuse it as Active or Not, with other cards laying about!” And therefore is played: Closed, with the ‘BLIND’ side facing the other players!
so; what is so different between TCG + Modem or without?
The real change in game-play with a Modem stems from the use of ‘LIVES’ and ‘WINS’ counters. The Base Game is Cards Only and focuses on Deleting an Enemies: Data Base! It is suggested in the rules; That you play for stakes, to make things interesting.
When you play the TCG + Modem, you ‘must’ automatically upgrade to playing with Coins! The Coins become the aim of the game; A Game then has a Buy Inn (Insert-Coins To Play) and become Credits to buy Extra Lives to stay in the game, with the ultimate goal to: Take The Treasure And Win The Jack-Pot!!
Modems are also ‘the’ in between phase of playing Cards Only or Cards + Maps? Many of the added rules to the use of modems, prepare you for Arena Games on Maps or Game Boards! The natural progression or evolution of game play would be:
Start with Free-Cards, see if you like?
Upgrade to playing TCG + Modem, Mini & Coins.
Upgrade to Arena Games on Maps with TCG + Modem, Mini & Coins!!
closing words by the creator
This article was written to give you some insight to the idea behind the Modem Concept and where it fits in the general Story Design. The Modem Rules will be posted in a following article, to keep Idea & Form separated. If you like seeing unedited artwork; “I have over 10 years worth of notebooks, available for Patrons Only, over on the crowdfunding platform Patreon.com/StarArena“
The button will bring you directly to the page where you can order the most luxury deluxe Modem available! It is compatible with all StarArena_Game variants; All of these items are Pre-Production, Signed by the Artist and are for Patrons Only, until the Public Release of this Game & Toy System!
But their is still a long road to travel and many Comics & Cards to draw, before I can Publish the End Game I envision! Any and All Support is appreciated with Glory & Gratitude!
Or you can Opt to; Adopt an Original Artwork from the StarArena_Gallery/Shop.
All proceeds go to further Game Development.

Related Article: Holo Port = Home!