Viva Verdi: A Historical Digital Card Game
Viva Verdi is a turn-based collectible card game that turns the struggle for Italian unification into deck building, tactical battles and story-led play. NipsApp Game Studios built a cohesive game experience across the opening tutorial, Adventure, Solo matches, collection, progression and multiplayer flows.
- Category: Strategy / digital collectible card game
- Subgenres: Historical TCG / turn-based card battler
- Engine: Unity
- Platform shown: Windows PC tester build
Project overview
What is Viva Verdi?
Viva Verdi is a historical trading card game set around Italy's Risorgimento. Players collect illustrated cards, build 20-card decks, spend Influence to play cards and try to reduce the opposing leader's health to zero. The game pairs accessible turn-based rules with named factions, an Adventure map and several ways to play.
The project goal
Create a card game that feels like a distinctive world, rather than a generic deck template. The history needed to come through in its factions, cards, maps, menus and match presentation while keeping decisions easy to read during play.
The design answer
Use painterly Italian scenes, character art, deep burgundy panels, antique gold details and clear Oswald typography. Give new players a guided first battle, then let them move into story matches, deck building and competitive modes.
Core game loop
How players move from their first match to a stronger deck
Learn
A first-play tutorial introduces placing characters, attacking, reading cards and ending turns.
Battle
Players spend Influence on cards, choose targets and balance attacks against defense in turn-based matches.
Collect
Cards, packs and collection tools support deck changes and experimentation between matches.
Progress
Adventure levels, quests, ranks, Arena draft and pass rewards give players longer-term goals.
Game functionality
The systems built for Viva Verdi
Story and Adventure
A map of Italy leads through five named Adventure battles, from The People in Revolt to The Siege of Gaeta. The first level teaches the rules; later battles introduce stronger opponents. Short challenge puzzles add focused tactical problems.
Solo and practice
Players select a deck and face computer-controlled opponents. Difficulty choices and practice content give them space to test cards before entering other match types.
Multiplayer and private rooms
The menu includes multiplayer matchmaking and a Play with Code path for private rooms. These online flows depend on the connected match service in the deployment environment.
Deck building and collection
The collection screen supports card browsing, filters, card details and deck editing. Standard decks use 20 cards; players can compare their options and save builds for later matches.
Cards, packs and shop
The game has illustrated royal-theme cards, card-pool packs, a Court Shop and card purchase or sale controls. The interface carries the same visual language across popups, dropdowns and card details.
Ongoing progression
Daily Orders, claimable rewards, seasonal ranks, a Season Pass and Arena draft give returning players different goals from a standard match. A leaderboard view, last-battle replay and keyword glossary help players track and understand their progress.
Player identity
Players can edit their display name and choose from portrait options. Profile, deck and cardback screens give the player a consistent identity across the menu and matches.
Match presentation
The match HUD brings health, Influence, hand cards, targets and turn controls into one readable layout. Animated panels, subtle ambient effects and a themed result screen add feedback without hiding the rules.
Screens from the project
Five landscape screenshots of the game
These are project captures, not concept mockups. They show the main menu, story map, battle scene and two progression screens.
Design and development approach
Making the historical theme work as a playable interface
The main production challenge was consistency. A card game has many repeated screens—menus, popups, dropdowns, tutorial prompts, collection views and match controls. Each one needs to look connected to the same world while keeping card text and actions readable.
One art direction across the game
The interface uses burgundy, antique gold, cream text and ornamental frames inspired by a candlelit court. Cards and characters carry the historical identity; calmer panel surfaces keep controls legible.
Information before decoration
Card costs, attack, health, deck choices and turn actions stay in defined positions. The team adjusted panel sizing and text fit so long labels remain inside their frames and buttons.
Guidance at the point of action
The opening tutorial and contextual prompts explain what to tap or drag while a player is learning the match. The Adventure path then gives each new lesson a reason to play.
Motion with purpose
Menu ambience, restrained hover feedback and popup motion add life to the interface. Effects stay secondary to card readability and turn decisions.
What was delivered
A connected game experience, from splash screen to match result
Viva Verdi has a branded startup flow, profile setup, a mode-selecting main menu, the playable card system, Adventure and Solo content, collection and deck tools, multiplayer entry points and themed progression screens. The Windows build shown here is a tester build. This case study describes implemented project functionality; it does not claim public release numbers or commercial results.
Scope checked against the Unity project and its mode audit. Online services must be configured for live multiplayer use.
Quick answers
Viva Verdi questions and answers
What genre is Viva Verdi?
Viva Verdi is a turn-based digital collectible card game, or TCG, with historical strategy and deck-building elements. For website categorization, it fits under PC Games and Strategy Games, with Digital Card Games as the specific subcategory.
What is the game about?
The game uses the Italian Risorgimento as its setting. Players lead illustrated faction decks, battle through story levels and build new decks from their card collection.
Can Viva Verdi be played alone?
Yes. Adventure teaches and extends the story, while Solo mode lets players challenge a computer-controlled opponent with a chosen deck.
Does Viva Verdi have multiplayer?
The project includes multiplayer matchmaking and private-room code entry. A connected match service is required for those online features to operate in a deployment.
What did NipsApp Game Studios build?
The work covers game presentation and connected player flows: themed interface design, startup and profile screens, tutorial guidance, battle UI, Adventure and Solo paths, deck and collection screens, card economy and progression views.
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