It's Here!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Sep 07, 2022 at 11:42:04 PM

Hello everyone! 

I have a couple other things to cover today, but this is the most exciting and I can wait: The game is finished!

I have all of the download keys going out via itch.io, so you should be seeing those in your inbox anytime now! If you don't have an itch account you can create one for free and your purchase will be linked to your account. Or, if you prefer not to do that, you should be able to download it without an account (the account just makes it easier for you access it later or receive any future updates). If you don't see those come through in the next couple days, check your spam folder and then message me here and I'll get you sorted out. 

For those of you who purchased multiple digital copies (thank you!) I will reach out individually over the next couple of days to get you your additional download keys. 

What's Next?

Well, the next thing is the print copies. The printer has the files and I've already reviewed them to make sure things look good. Thanks to your enthusiasm and support I am ordering enough copies that it makes sense to do offset printing, which I am very excited about! But that does mean that the printer wants to do an extra set of checks to make sure there won't be any problems. As soon as they give the thumbs up the order will be underway and I'll have the copies a couple weeks later. So they're coming soon!

As many of you have seen, I've already locked orders and charged cards over on BackerKit. You will still have a little longer to update your address if you need to. 

There were a handful of cards that didn't charge properly. If you get a notification from BackerKit be sure to go in and correct it to make sure there aren't any delays in your order!

And for those who haven't filled out their surveys, I will be reaching out to you individually to get your orders squared away.

I just want to thank you all again for all of your support! This has really been an incredible experience and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to bring this game to you. Please, as you read through it and play it, let me know about your experiences with it! I want to hear about your games and about the absurd things you all get up to! And if you enjoy it, please rate it on itch (it is a wonderful platform in many regards, but not the most intuitive for finding new games, so those ratings make a huge difference in making the game more visible).

I'll be in touch over the next couple weeks, but until then, I hope you have a magical time!

Preparing for Delivery!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Aug 30, 2022 at 05:55:34 PM

Hello everyone! 

Short, but important update today!

I am giving everything a finishing pass on the digital version of the zine to send out to you all and to the printers. I am extremely excited for this and am both proud of this silly little game and extraordinarily thankful to you all for your faith and support through this process! 

Because I am preparing for fulfillment, I am closing BackerKit and charging cards this Tuesday, August 30! There are still a handful of folks who haven't completed their survey. If you backed to receive one or more print copies, please confirm that you have filled out your shipping information! If you don't there will be delays with your order. 

Thank you so much, everyone! Looking forward to having this game to you very soon!

August Update
over 3 years ago – Sat, Aug 06, 2022 at 04:42:54 PM

Hey everyone! Hard to believe it's August already, but here we are! And as such, I wanted to give you all an update on where things stand with the game. 

First, the playtests have gone well. They've raised a number of questions that I have worked to answer and offered advice that I definitely think has made the game better. But they've also raised some questions that are taking more work to address, particularly when it comes to making the game easy to run for people with little to no experience running RPGs. I think I have a lot of those issues sorted out, but it's hard to be sure without seeing it in action. 

As a result, I've decided the best course of action is to schedule a couple more rounds of playtests (which I already have lined up). This does impact my timeline a little bit (more on that in a minute), but I would ultimately rather get out the best possible version of the game, even if that means some slight delays. 

So what does that mean for timeline? Well, my original plan was to have the game finished and send it to the printers right around now. That would've put the print copies in my hands in about two weeks, then shipments out to you all the second half of August. Allowing for these extra playtests pushes things back about two weeks. So I'll have the game finalized the second half of August, send it to the printers, then get it back and ship everything out the first half of September. So not a huge delay, but it is something I'd wanted to avoid doing. 

But, that means that the game itself will still be finalized in August as promised, so I am going to release the final PDF this month. So anyone who was looking to run it won't have to wait until September. I was originally going to wait to release the digital version at the same time as the print, but I want to get you all the actual game as soon as possible and this way allows me to have it to you when I promised, even if those nifty paper copies are slightly delayed. 

And to make up for it, I wanted to share what is probably my favorite piece of art from the game:

I just can't get over how much I love this! Even now I keep noticing little details that Johanna added and it never fails to make me smile. 

Let me know if you have any questions! I'm leaving the BackerKit open for now, so if you haven't confirmed your order there, please do so!

Thanks so much!

July Update
over 3 years ago – Tue, Jul 12, 2022 at 10:14:48 PM

Hello everyone! The past month has been busy! I took a little bit of time off of work and went out of town for a couple days to just unplug from normal life and have a chunk of time that was focused on just writing. That proved to be super helpful and got me to the place where I was ready for playtesters. 

Speaking of which, I am now in the process of playtesting the game and, as I had expected/hoped, it has been a super helpful for seeing what works and what doesn't. I know this isn't universal to the writing experience, but I've always loved the editing stage. There's something satisfying to me about taking a pen and tearing up my own work so that I can put it back together. And the feedback from playtesters is an absolutely essential part of that process!

I am reaching the end of all of the playtesting that I'm going to run myself and am in the process of sending the game out to new groups to see how the game stands on its own. While I have groups lined up, I would love to get one or two more groups who are will to run the game and provide feedback on what works and what doesn't. If you have a group that would be willing, please shoot me a message and we can coordinate something. 

While the hands-off stage of playtesting gets underway I'm turning my full attention to the actual layout and design of the zine itself. My hope is to get that finalized while the playtests finish up, then I can make the necessary edits/cuts/additions once I have everything. And after that, off to the printers! 

So that's where things are at with the game! Looking forward to getting the final product out to you all! And in the meantime, let me know if you have any questions or if you're interested in running a playtest!

June Update
almost 4 years ago – Thu, Jun 02, 2022 at 04:57:22 PM

Hello and Happy June, everyone! Sorry, I had hoped to get this out a few days ago, but life got away from me. Still, I wanted to update you all on the progress being made.

The game writing is coming along and I'm really happy with how all of the pieces are coming together! That said, the month was a little slower than I had hoped. Early in the month my wife and I both caught COVID. Thankfully, we're both doing okay, but I was still dealing with complications from when I had it two years ago, so recovery this time has been slow and I've had to be forgiving with myself as there are days when I can't push myself as much as I'd like. And because that wasn't enough, car trouble has left us without a car for the past three weeks. So the month of May has been a lot. 

But everyone's on the mend I've been enjoying the work I've been able to do! And I built in enough of a buffer in my timeline that these things shouldn't delay the release of the game.

Pledge Manager

By now everyone should have received a link for the pledge manager (BackerKit). Most of you have filled it out, but if you haven't please do so! You will be able to change things until I lock the orders, which I won't do until we go to print (and I'll be sure to give you a warning). If you can't find your BackerKit link message me and I'll help you out. 

More Art Revealed!

Last time I shared a couple of the playbook character pieces, so this time I thought I'd share the rest! Here's the full line-up:

I love them all! Let me know which one's your favorite!

Thank you all for your support! Please let me know if you have any questions! Otherwise, I'm going to get back to work!