Mage Warfare

Chris Barrett owns his own game company at the age of 19. He and his game, Mage Warfare, appeared at last weekend’s Econocon in the HUB. Currently a part-time animation and graphic design student at NH Technical Institute, Chris began to develop Mage Warfare when he was a freshman in high school. Now, the collectible card game – in some elements similar, but more complex than, Magic: The Gathering – features its first printing of 100 cards. 280 total are planned for the first set, and 530 have already been designed. Barrett describes the game as a “complex Rock, Paper, Scissors.” He and his family have invested at least $10,000 into producing the game already. It is entirely self-produced. They design the cards, print them, and hand package them. Gogra Games, the name of Barrett’s company, currently has no investors, but hopes to find some soon. Barrett is an experienced gamer. He plays games such as Halo 2, and World of Warcraft, and brings elements of these experiences into his own plans. Someday, he said, he would like Mage Warfare to become a real-time strategy game, similar to Warcraft III, or Age of Empires. Someday, he wants to create a multiplayer online game similar to World of Warcraft. Mage Warfare has only been out since October, and because of the expanding nature of the game, artists are given special opportunities. “We look for artists online, in places like Deviant Art,” said Barrett. “It helps them build their portfolio, and they get a portion of the revenue.” Barrett explained that as he developed new “realities” – sets of theme-specific cards like samurai, vampires, and mechanical clowns – he wished to keep artists limited to one “reality.” There is one artist for samurai, one for vampires, and so on. Barrett was on hand during Econocon to give demos of the game and host a tournament. Interested players stopped by to learn the rules and play. He showed no mercy as he faced new opponents. He also showed off his website, MageWarfare.com. The site features a Flash deck builder where one can design and test out new strategies. One can also view unreleased cards, order products, or participate in a Mage Warfare internet forum. Mage Warfare starter kits can be purchased for $30, and booster and reality packs cost $4 and $9 respectively. They come in hard plastic cases that help prevent damage from being dropped or bounced around inside a bag. Mage Warfare is currently being sold in five locations throughout NH. The list of locations can be viewed on their website.