Programming Cards using Plaintext

If you read my previous post I asked the question, “How do you condense a Magic card into reusable parts that can be written as text?” There are many answers to this question but I will show you how I plan to do it for MTG Forge version 2. I plan to encode cards using only text.

Assassinate
2 B
Sorcery

Spell
Text: Destroy target tapped creature.
Target: creature
Resolve: destroy target creature

Royal Assassin
1 B B
Creature Human Assassin
1/1

Activated Ability
Text: tap: Destroy target tapped creature.
Cost: tap
Target: tapped creature
Resolve: destroy target creature

This is how cards will be encoded in version 2. Gone are the days of having to know Java. There is a lot of similarity between these two cards. Assassinate and Royal Assassin’s ability both have the same targets and resolve. My goal is to reuse the same Java code for both of these cards. My current way of cutting-and-pasting code is hacky to say the least.

The format above is similar to the current format in cards.txt. I love plaintext because it is so easy to read and understand. I am thrilled with the possibility of being able to encode spells like Assassinate using only plaintext. I realize that the format above won’t work for all cards, like Fire//Ice, but it will work for 90% of them.

This plaintext encoding is also very easy to parse. (Parsing is when the program interprets the plaintext and actually constructs the code for the card.) My goal is to reduce a card into a set of reusable parts. I want multiple cards to use the same targeting and resolve code.

Personally I am very excited about this “discovery.” The plaintext is very readable by both humans and machines. Practically I could add this to MTG Forge version 1 but I’m going to put it into version 2, because version 1 has many bugs.

I already have the experience of programming many Magic cards and I know what needs to be improved. Multiple cards need to use the same code. All cards that say “gain life” should use the exact same code and in version 2 they will.

Like I’ve said before, there are many ways to encode cards as text. My way may not be the best way for someone else, but it is the best way for me. I understand these plaintext cards and I “see” the code in my head. The targeting and resolve code can be separated and I also understand how to connect the targeting code to the resolve code.

p.s.
It seems like I could remove the “text:” line but it greatly simplifies everything by keeping it. My goal is to make parsing as easy as possible and hopefully idiot proof, lol. (Parsing tends to be very complicated and hard to test. And yes regular expressions make parsing easier, but I want it to be very easy. And like all things in MTG Forge, it can be changed later. For all your programmers out there, I call that “very late binding” LOL.)

This plaintext encoding can also work for triggered and static abilities.

Venerable Monk
2 W
Creature Monk
2/2

Triggered Ability
Text: When Venerable Monk comes into play, you gain 2 life.
Trigger: comes into play
Resolve: gains X life – controller, 2

Glorious Anthem
1 W W
Enchantment

Static Ability
Text: Creatures you control get +1/+1.
Effect: creatures you control get X/X, 1, 1

Shock
R
Instant

Spell
Text: Shock deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Target: creature or player
Resolve: damage target creature or player, 2

Ballista Squad
3 W
Creature Human Rebel
2/2

Activated Ability
Text: XW, tap: Ballista Squad deals X damage to target attacking or blocking creature.
Cost: X W
Cost: tap
Target: attacking or blocking creature
Resolve: damage target creature – X paid

Mobilization
2 W
Enchantment

Static Ability
Effect: your creatures (subtype X) have keyword X, soldier, vigilance

Activated Ability
Cost: 2 W
Resolve: create token, 1, 1, soldier, W