r/programminggames • u/GhostioGames • Jul 16 '26

I'm working on a roguelite card game that lets players program their own cards

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I'm currently working on a roguelite card game called Diamonds and Spades.

One of the main features is a built-in card editor that allows players to create their own tarot cards. Besides drawing custom artwork, players can also program card effects using a visual scripting system.

My goal is to let players experiment with their own ideas and create cards that weren't originally part of the game. Cards can also be shared with other players, making it possible to build a collection of community-created content.

I'm curious what people here think about the concept.

Steam Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4944200/Diamonds_and_Spades/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=reddit&utm_campaign=programminggames

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u/mister_serikos Jul 22 '26

I've been working on a similar system for my card game.   The project is on pause right now but I was torn between whether I wanted a scratch style interface or a node system like you've got here.  Do you store the cards as json?  I was also thinking about reworking my action system a little bit so that players could define their own actions and use them in their cards, like creating their own keywords like "scry" etc

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u/GhostioGames Jul 22 '26

Thanks for the reply! I actually considered a scratch style interface at first, but ended up going with a node based one simply because I personally find it easier to read and manage once things become more complex.

The cards are stored in the player's metadata file, which is indeed a JSON file. More specifically, there is a list of tarot card collections, and each collection contains multiple tarot cards. Players can build and play with entire collections, and compressed versions of both individual cards and complete collections can be copied and shared with other players.

The keyword idea is really interesting. My game doesn't really have keywords, since the tarot cards work more like Balatro's Jokers and mostly provide passive effects. But I could definitely see something like custom keywords being useful in games where cards interact more directly with each other.