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It’s unlikely that you’ve ever stopped yourself dead in the street with the question of what it would be like to be an 18th century, French, society-climbing card cheat, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. June 2 sees the release of Card Shark, an artistically breath-taking narrative journey that combines WarioWare-like card cheating mechanics with the pomp, splendor and seedy underbelly of pre-revolutionary France. With the hype-wave gathering momentum behind this genuinely unique piece of video game entertainment, Intel Gaming Access pulled a chair up to the card table opposite the person behind the game’s card-cheating concepts, illustrator, filmmaker, and amateur magician Nicolai Troshinsky. 
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Card Shark is a game in which you never really know what card game you’re actually playing. You only learn how to cheat. A young, mute nobody, you are swept into the wake of established swindler the Comte of Saint-Germain, a fake aristocrat whose credentials are as flimsy as his claims to an honest win. The Comte takes you under his slightly soiled wing, and teaches you how to cheat to gain wealth, status, and climb the slippery pole to the heights of French society.
“It’s a game for people who like good stories about criminals, conspiracies, betrayals and greed,” said Nicolai. “It’s also a game for enthusiasts of card manipulation and card magic, and anybody with a fascination for gamblers, imposters and con artists.” Last but not least, it’s a game for anyone who appreciates original and unusual game design, and unique challenges. Nothing looks or plays quite like it.
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Love Cheating
“Our main goal when designing the game was to make the player experience the thrill, excitement and mischief of cheating your opponents right to their faces and getting away with it, with all the nervous tension and fear of getting caught in the process,” explained Nicolai. “There’s also the satisfaction and sense of justice from stealing from the rich and powerful, or perhaps even the doubts and regrets of having taken advantage of the weak and the poor.”
The hope is that players will be seduced by the numerous different methods of cheating they’ll discover in the game, and the characters who share them. “They might be charmed by the many con artists, swindlers, fraudsters and criminals from all ranks of society that they will have the pleasure of meeting at the card table,” added Nicolai. Whether that seduction will lead to a new wave of aspiring card cheats in real life remains to be seen, but it’s an interesting prospect.
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The story of Card Shark is by Fancois Alliot, creator of hit Tinder-inspired medieval card journey Reigns, and Daisy Fernandez, who previously worked on Microsoft-published As Dusk Falls. They have journeyed through the seedier corners and characters of 18th century French history to craft a story arc that takes players on a remarkable journey. “Players will experience the twists and turns of a conspiracy that will unfold as they travel all around France and parts of Europe,” said Nicolai. “Almost every character in the game is a real historical figure, though not all of them belong to the 18th century, because we even like to cheat at history.”
Kubrick at the Card Table
“The game is the result of two main inspirations: the 1975 Stanley Kubrick movie ‘Barry Lyndon’ and my personal interest in card magic and cheating mechanics that started about 6 years ago,” said Nicolai. “When I was practicing tricks, I suddenly remembered the iconic card cheating scene from the movie. That scene made so much sense with my recently acquired knowledge, and I could see the potential for a videogame focused on the essence of this single scene.” 
The iconic movie’s time period also connected with Nicolai—card games were one of the main forms of entertainment for both the lower classes and the nobility in 18th century France. It’s an era that also provides no shortage of rich settings in terms of atmosphere and aesthetics.
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To modern-day magicians and cardsharps, the techniques taught in Card Shark may seem old-school, but that’s because they, too, have their roots in history. “All the cheating interactions and concepts in the game are based on real techniques detailed in books such as ‘The Expert at the Card Table’, which was first published in 1902 and was one of my main sources,” said Nicolai. “We tried to stay as true as possible to the methods and strategies real card cheats have used in the past.”
Cheating Isn’t Easy
Rising to the top of the pile of opportunistic pre-revolutionary card cheats is no easy ride for the player. There’s a lot to take in. “The biggest challenge was managing the amount of interconnected information that the player needs to learn to play the game,” said Nicolai. “On one hand you have to understand the card logic, like which cards you need and where they have to end up to win.” Players also need to understand all the different things that can go wrong, such as how a card can get lost or end up in the wrong place, completely trashing your best-laid plans in the process. 
And while you never have to learn the rules of any specific card games in Card Shark, you do need to learn the gameplay interactions, and which button or stick movement does what in each situation. “We did a lot of iteration and testing, and we were very careful in how we structured information to not dump too much on the player at once,” explained Nicolai. “We added humor and story details to the explanations; reminders, resets, and hints for when players forget or get confused; and UI feedback to help the player keep track. It was worth it, as once people understand it they really enjoy it.” 
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Performance and Post-Cheating
With its 2D hand-painted environments and animations, Card Shark is not a particularly GPU-hungry game. An Intel Core i3-530, Intel HD Graphics, and even as little as 2GB of RAM is enough to have a great time roaming the French countryside, although more grunt will help the frame rate. The game’s accessibility to the widest possible range of PC players is something production manager Arnaud de Bock hopes will increase its appeal, but he has more advice for would-be cheats: “The best way to play Card Shark is in a cozy and relaxed atmosphere with a glass of Bordeaux next to you—or water if you want to stay hydrated,” he said. 
Meanwhile, once Card Shark is out the door, Nicolai is planning to take a break from cheating at cards, at least for a while. “I’m looking forward to getting back to making animated short films,” he said. “It's been a while and I miss it. Also, I'm currently learning how to do live visuals for concerts which is very fun and exciting.” For the rest of us, all the fun and excitement is around the card table for now. If you can keep your nerve, that is.
<a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1371720/Card_Shark/">Wishlist Card Shark on Steam</a>

Preview: Become an 18th-century Card Cheat in Card Shark

Become an 18th Century Card Cheat in Card Shark