Avatar: The Final Airbender – Aang’s Future, the newest title from The Op Video games, isn’t only a collaborative deck-building recreation. The way in which designer Pat Marino tells it, it’s a concerted effort to adapt Aang’s full adventures, from iceberg to Fireplace Lord, for the desk.
Two to 4 gamers will “tackle the heroic position of Aang and his allies and play cooperatively,” says The Op Video games’ official description, “to defeat adversaries, full goals, and make their manner via the 4 Nations to revive stability to the world and fulfill Aang’s future because the Avatar.”
Polygon obtained an early take a look at a number of playing cards from the sport, that includes new customized artwork within the Avatar fashion, and obtained to pepper Marino with questions on what gamers can count on from Aang’s Future, whether or not they’re new to deck-building board video games or not.
As in most video games within the style, Aang’s Future gamers will every start with a small deck of playing cards and restricted talents however, over the course of play, will get numerous probabilities so as to add new playing cards to these decks, widening and customizing their choices for every flip and guaranteeing that every recreation session performs out barely in a different way.
![Card art of Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender — Aang’s Destiny](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dZd-KvIibYdvqLwWk4bIcc7a2uM=/0x0:1200x900/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1200x900):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25369926/Marketing_ATLA_B1_Cards___Hero___Aang.png)
Picture: The Op Video games
![Card art for Commander Zhao from Avatar: The Last Airbender — Aang’s Destiny](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZoHbB35GzXMOX9J1dTCUAwI21ng=/0x0:1050x750/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1050x750):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25369925/Marketing_ATLA_B1_Cards___Adversary___ZHAO.png)
Picture: The Op Video games
“What units this recreation aside from different deck constructing video games,” says Marino, “is that it has seven packing containers of unlockable content material. The primary field begins the story and introduces gamers to the core mechanisms of the sport. Every time the gamers win the sport they’ll unlock the subsequent field, including new guidelines, in addition to extra content material. This permits the story to unfold whereas additionally steadily leveling gamers up from a introductory deck constructing recreation to a reasonably advanced technique recreation by the point they attain field seven.”
As a cooperative deck builder, Aang’s Future has gamers work collectively towards a single objective — that of the heroes of Avatar: The Final Airbender. And in accordance with Marino, determining the right way to bake the acquainted evolution of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the remaining right into a progressive deck-building recreation was excessive on his checklist of design priorities.
“I don’t need to spoil an excessive amount of, however I imagine followers will recognize the best way allies and heroes change all through the packing containers.”
![Art from the Visit the Southern Air Temple card from Avatar: The Last Airbender — Aang’s Destiny](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/scIgIbwQpxWwfnuxSpsDeUwZiOM=/0x0:1050x750/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1050x750):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25369928/Marketing_ATLA_B1_Cards___Objective___Visit_Southern_Air_Temple.png)
Picture: The Op Video games
The artwork in these packing containers is designed by The Op Video games’ Patrick Spaziante, whom Marino calls “a grasp of the Avatar: The Final Airbender fashion. […] For [all the bending ability cards in the game] we drew inspiration from the Water Bending Scroll that Katara steals from the Pirates in season 1. We labored carefully with the Avatar staff to adapt this scroll fashion to create bending kind illustrations for all the distinctive strikes within the recreation.”
Aang’s Future isn’t the primary time Marino has labored on an Avatar recreation — in 2022, The Op Video games printed Avatar: The Final Airbender – Fireplace Nation Rising, a cube and card technique recreation about placing collectively teams of heroes to defeat the Fireplace Nation throughout the Day of Black Solar, one of many main turning factors of Avatar: The Final Airbender’s closing season. And he says his staff is doing their greatest to take all the things they discovered from fan reactions to Fireplace Nation Rising and pour it into Aang’s Future.
![Card art of the item Blubbered Seal Jerky from Avatar: The Last Airbender — Aang’s Destiny](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ji8rb90pNnzJRjZ-QCmh-kBLDCw=/0x0:750x1050/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:750x1050):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25369927/Marketing_ATLA_B1_Cards___Item___Seal_Jerky.png)
Picture: The Op Video games
“Aang’s Future is a bigger and extra narrative expertise [than Fire Nation Rising] that follows the complete story arc of the collection so it allowed us to get a bit deeper into the characters and setting and to position an elevated emphasis on bending.”
As a fan of the present himself, Marino says that one of many joys of placing Aang’s Future collectively was revisiting the collection again and again.
“The sport consists of tons of of playing cards, most of that are distinctive, so there was a number of alternative to incorporate fan favourite moments and characters. Whether or not you benefit from the large battles, tipping Cabbage carts or exploring the Secret Tunnel with Chong and his fellow Minstrels,” Marino stated, “there’s something for each fan within the field.”
Avatar: The Final Airbender – Aang’s Future is about to be launched in fall of this yr, and you’ll take a look at the hanging field artwork under:
![Aang’s determined face, and the symbols of the four nations of Avatar: The Last Airbender feature in black, white, and blue on the box art for Avatar: The Last Airbender — Aang’s Destiny.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q-e-AcvhVlvmdJEDp2pQSihaYeA=/0x0:3601x2701/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3601x2701):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25369825/DB_AvatatTLAB_BT_Temp.jpg)
Picture: The Op Video games