The Future of Design

by Ross Fertel, Designed To Be

24th May 2021

From time to time, the 2E staff likes to whet the community's appetite by putting out information detailing the projects that are currently under development. For instance, the announcement of the (then inaccurately named) Interaction Trilogy set out the goals of three of the previous expansions you have seen and one you haven't. So, let's go through some of the upcoming projects in the pipeline. (Warning: these are all projects that are in the process of being designed, tested, or developed by several staff departments. Some details are subject to change.)

2021

Project Diana is currently in testing as the final expansion in the aforementioned series of based around the theme of interaction. Sourced from Star Trek: Voyager and featuring the affiliations and sub-affiliations that have not been covered so far in All Our Yesterdays, Apocalypse Rising, and Heroes and Demons: Voyager, Borg, and Maquis, with some love spread around to Holograms and dilemma strategies like The Clown and Species 8472.

Next up, Project Community currently features thirty-six (36) cards based on community member submissions and developed by Second Edition designers. Expect Androids, Cardassian Dissidents, a new feature for the Bajorans, and a new mechanic for the Borg.

At the end of the year, a special holiday boutique, Project Civilian, focuses on those who are not aligned with a government or military: traders, artists, and the rest.

2022

The first set of the new year rescues ideas from the cut file, known as Project Justice. Likely a boutique set as well, our hope is that a set like this could lead to a truncated testing schedule, as cards involved were either developed and cut for space or just needed a little more work to be ready and were cut for time. Material exists to occupy a full-sized expansion, so that's also a possibility.

One of the more interesting projects includes another boutique Project Shackleton, the contents of which we'll keep mysterious, save for the tidbit that it includes at least nine missions.

We'll follow that up with Project Community II. While the first Project Community wrangled with the grand designs of major deck-building suggestions, this will examine cards that are more individual in nature; filling in gaps, as it were.

Earlier this year, we took the Earth icon off James T. Kirk, Original Thinker. The opinion persists amongst the Design Team that movie-era personnel with the Erath icon dilute the gameplay of both Original Series and TNG and DS9-Earth decks. Design opportunities for stronger and culturally-enforced gameplay for movie-era stories can be explored without the worry of bleed into other designs. In consideration of the expectation that Earth icons might continue to be removed, Project Hamlet allows the designers to plan for that eventuality and short circuit some of the collateral damage.

BEYOND

Saving the best for last, the Design Team began the monumental task of doing something that hasn't happened to Second Edition since the Decipher days: creating new affiliations. We take this very seriously and pitching, outlining, and designing not one, not two, but three new affiliations continues in the background. Obviously, we can't give any major details, but the affiliations being proposed include the Vidiians, Xindi, and Hirogen, and will appear in approximately that order, probably over the next few years.

Game design and curation doesn't always include looking forward. It would be a mistake to shrug at the mistakes of the past and continue as if the problems they present are insurmountable. Several conversations are ongoing to discuss other issues (or perceived or possible issues), including a look at Maquis and the KCA.

That concludes a very broad outline of what you can expect for the foreseeable future. What do you think? Which is your favorite? Let us know in the forum thread below.

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