I'm proud to finally welcome you all to the brand new website for Gemstone Games! We've spent quite a long time working on what turned out to be a much larger project than we initially anticipated. Our main goals for this project were to make the website more visually appealing while also making it easier for visitors to navigate and find the relevant information they're looking for. And as of now, we're very happy with the results. I'm not saying that the new layout is perfect, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a major improvement over the previous version. So, let's dive into some features you can find on our new website!
A Proper Game Page
We now have a game page for Warlord Protocol that will serve as the landing page for all things related to our up-and-coming deck-building game. This is where you can go to find info on how to play the game, where to play the game, and read up on the lore of the world (if you care about that kind of stuff). You can also check out the faction pages to learn more about their playstyles, characters, and history.
How-to-Play Guide
We've written up a detailed how-to-play guide for Warlord Protocol, which can be accessed via the game's main page. This guide is very straightforward and gives you a general overview of the gameplay and primary mechanics. If you're looking for a more detailed version of the rules, a digital copy of the rule book is conveniently located on the same page! We also plan on making a series of how-to-play videos and we'll be updating the page to include those in the future.
Prototypes
You can find a complete list of available prototypes for Warlord Protocol as well as a downloadable copy of the game's rule book on our new prototypes page. We currently have three main ways to demo the game. First up, we have a mod on Tabletop Simulator that features scripted tools to smooth out the digital gameplay experience. If you own a copy of Tabletop Simulator and want to try the game out for free, we highly suggest playing this mod as it will give you the best overall digital experience. We also plan on updating it with more scripted features as time goes on.
If you don't own a copy of Tabletop Simulator, then you can also try out the game completely for free on Tabletopia! It doesn't have all the same bells and whistles, but its a great option nonetheless. If you prefer to play a physical version of the demo, we also offer a "Print & Play" PDF that you can download for free. Just note that this PDF only features half of the factions available in the full game. Which is still enough to run you through at least one faction combination.
Card Gallery
One of the most important features on the new site for players is our brand new card gallery! You can now browse through every card in Warlord Protocol or use the instant filtration system to locate cards with specific traits (i.e. faction, card type, recruitment cost, illustrator, etc.). And clicking on a card's image will now bring you to a page detailing all of the information relevant to that card. Additionally, since Warlord Protocol is a game with fairly complex card interactions, these details will include official rulings explaining how the card works in different situations. And of course, we'll be updating these rulings as more complex interactions make themselves known. And if you can't find the answer you're looking for in the card gallery, shoot us a message and we can look into adding it to the list of official rulings.
What's Next for the Gemstone Games Website?
The website is mostly complete, but there are a few details that we want to flesh out. We want to add in a video section featuring highlights from our YouTube channel, but we obviously need to make those videos first. You may also notice that a large chunk of Warlord Protocol's lore is missing. We plan on releasing new lore content as time goes on and you can find more details on our plans for the game's story here.
We're also eventually going to have a regular schedule for posting new articles on various topics relating to Gemstone Games and Warlord Protocol; all of which will be found here on our blog page. Let us know down in the comments if there are any topics in particular that you might be interested in us writing about!
We'll be sure to let you all know when we release a new update for the website. In the meantime, you can follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter if you want to stay in the know. We promise to not spam your inbox with pointless information :)
All the best, - CDour