All posts by Ed Jowett

Development Blog – How do you know whether to make your game a reality?

Hi everyone!

So you have come up with a concept for a game. It might be a board game, card game or computer game – this article really applies to all of them! Do you spend the time and effort (which is extreme, believe me!) to develop this idea into a full-fledged game of the type that suits it?

 

Originality

The first thing that you wonder when you have a game idea should be “is this original?” What is it about your game that makes it different to the games that players will have seen before?

It could be something as simple as “He-man meets Cluedo with hilarious results!” (Actually, that is a brilliant idea, anyone who likes that idea and decides to make it, let me know!), or as complex as a brand new rules system no-one has ever thought of before.

Often, by focusing on one aspect of the game that you had in mind (“Easy to Learn”, for example), you can achieve enough originality to gain traction with players.

At the end of the day, though, if the game is just a copy of something that has already been done, people probably won’t be interested. And by “people”, I don’t just mean players…

 

Funding / Resourcing

Do you have the money or skills to make a prototype that will “wow” people? If not, you either need to obtain those skills (which will usually take years, I am sad to say) or find a business partner. Neither of these are easy options.

Particularly if it is a computer game you want to make, be aware of what it actually takes to make one – it is man-years of project time for the type of game you are probably thinking of. Realistically, you are not going to do that alone in your spare time.

You can get money through crowdfunding, yes, but I have written several blogs about this in the past – you need to have something to show backers that makes them excited about what you are trying to do… which means you need to have some kind of prototype. Also, crowdfunding is a lot harder than it looks, trust me. If you are going this route, find someone who knows about crowdfunding and get advice about it.

 

Playtesting

You think you have a good idea. You have or have found the necessary skills to create a playable prototype. It might not look 100% perfect but it is time to give the game a go with more than just immediate friends and family.

Lyres Sliders

 

This is best done under your control, so I would recommend a convention. Sit back and let them play the game, if possible without participating, just observing. Don’t interfere if they get a rule wrong or struggle with a puzzle; make a note to look into that part of it and make it more specific or easier to understand.

Most important of all, get as much negative feedback as you can. People will tend to be nice, but good feedback really isn’t helpful. Ask questions that are as open as possible (not leading): rather than “Did you like Character X?”, “What did you think of Character X?” and so on. (Kudos to anyone who has a character called Character X in their game!).

Playtesting is a vital part of game development and I would always recommend you start as early as possible in the process.

 

In Summary

There are a million things to think about when creating a game. I think the first 3 to think about are originality, funding and playtesting. Do you agree? If not, come and post on our Facebook page and tell me what you think!

 

Our To-Do List! – The Oracle

I’ve a confession to make. I’m absolutely terrible with making lists. I draw them up on little scraps of receipts that I find. I stuff them into pockets and forget about them, or use them as impromptu bookmarks. However, I have a list for you today that I’m really excited about.

Ed has given me the low down on everything he’s got cooking this year and it is HUGE! Looks like we’ll be working round the clock to get each of these projects completed. So, here are the items we are either currently working on or will be coming throughout the next weeks and months.

– Era: The Consortium – Graphic Novel – This is going to be a 100 page graphic novel anthology of 5 stories about the bug war. There are some great stories to choose from and I’m excited to see what the team comes up with!

– Era: The Consortium – The Fifth Race – This is the second expansion for this series and will bring a fifth playable race into the mix in the Consortium! More details of this new species will come out in our next post.

– Era: The Consortium – RTFM in the 450s CE! (working title) – Our third expansion will brings loads of new equipment into play! Is there really anything better than getting new tech in a science fiction game? I don’t think so.

– Era: The Consortium – Models – Ed is currently looking into the creation of some models of characters to add to your gameplay!

– Era: Lyres – Pocket Edition – The Kickstarter is underway now! You have just over one week to get your hands on a copy.

– Era: Lyres – Website Expansion – As per the Kickstarter, we are adding content to the website for the Bestiary and Locations pages. Keep checking back for more additions!

– Era: The Empowered – Comics – We are planning to create a series of comics for various Empowered characters. I won’t be handing out too much detail on this one just yet but I can tell you that several of the characters involved were also featured in earlier projects, such as the Primer. You’re certain to recognize at least a few faces.

– Era: Survival – Core Rulebook – Our newest game will go out on Kickstarter in mid-March! We’re practically there already. This is our second full-length game, weighing in at 230 pages and the team is incredibly excited to set this one loose.

– Era: Silence – New Game – This is our second pocket game and a truly unique playing experience. I’ll pass along more information as we move towards its release date, sometime towards the middle of the year.

– Era: The Empowered – Full Game – This is our next major game and we will be making progress throughout the year towards completion. I’ll keep you posted and be sure to check back for more details as we move forward with this and all our games!

More game news next week!

-A

First Draft Completion – The Oracle

This is it, the big moment when all that hard work pays off. The completed first draft of Era: Survival’s core rulebook is now in Ed’s hands. It’s such a great feeling to get to this point. Congratulations to Ed and everyone on the team who worked on this project. So, what does that mean for the rest of us… what happens now?

There’s a little saying I’ve heard, “Editing is where the magic happens”. Well, right now Ed is working that magic on the rulebook before he sends it out to editors. Our job will then be to take a final look over the document and try to spot any errors that might have been missed. Survival still has a few hurtles to jump but it’s certainly getting close to the finish line.

Images are still coming in and in fact, Mikhail is currently working on the front cover! I may get to show you a copy of that once it’s finished but I make no promises. Ed might just want to keep that bit a secret until it’s time to launch.

That’s it for me, I’ll see you again next week!

-A

Secret Image from the Secret War – The Oracle

I’m sure you know by now that the Consortium’s first expansion, The Secret War was a mighty success. The Kickstarter event finished at nearly 300% funded and we couldn’t be happier. Thank you to everyone who helped us add on to the Consortium world. The digital copies will be sent out shortly for those who chose that reward. In the meantime I have a little something special to show you.

This is a brand new, never before seen image from The Secret War. Life is never dull when you’re in the Consortium. Things are getting tense and it looks like betrayal is just around the corner. Enjoy!

 

 

Our next project will be the Fifth Race expansion which we will be working on over the next few months. Come back each week to see how we’re coming along with this and all our other Consortium projects!

Until next time!
-A

How to deal with stuff when you’re on a tight deadline…

Hi everyone,

The answer is just to get on with it!

On that note, I’ve got to get back to work on Era: Survival, which I aim to have ready sooner than you think!

Yeah, tight deadlines… one day, I’ll learn not to do that!

– Ed

P.S. Apologies for not having much of substance, the deadline is seriously tight right now. I’ll be back with more of the regularly scheduled random comments soon, I hope!

Become a Legendary Lyre! – The Oracle

Hot on the heels of the recent Kickstarter success of The Secret War, we’re bringing you another opportunity to get a copy of a great game. Era: Lyres pocket edition is rocketing off the charts and on its way to 500% funded! This Kickstarter is not just a chance to pick up an amazing game at an amazing price (only £1)  it’s also a fabulous opportunity for you to help us build on the game.

Right now you can join nearly 100 backers and add your most creative ideas to the world of Lyres. We’ve had an incredible amount of supporter generated creatures and items. Do you have a whimsical creature or fantastical item that you’d love to see inside the Lyres game? Come join us and you never know just what you’ll find… I heard talk of hang gliding goblins. Good stuff!

Next week I’ll give you a rundown of everything we’ve got in the works for 2016. It’s already been an amazing start to this year and I’m excited to see where we’re heading!

See you next time!
-A

Dice and Stuff Episode 59 – Travelling to Belisama

Hi everyone!

It’s the subject of many books and movies and usually sounds very boring on the face of it.

However, travelling is important (just teleporting places might be more convenient but it loses the transitional cooldown period that’s needed to maintain the tension at the action times!)

This episode of Dice and Stuff involves travelling to Belisama. What are Claymore going to get up to en route?

– Ed

Meet the Swarm – The Oracle

Era: Survival is coming along well and Ed tells me that the story images are looking brilliant. They’re even adding an extra story to cover one of the factions; the Swarm. They have taken a different approach to survival in our new world and today I get to give you a little glimpse.

 

The Swarm is one of the largest factions operating on Gaia and they believe that they are the best hope for humanity to survive Infection. They do have an impressive record having created large tracks of infection free territory, called Clean Zones. However, it does come at a cost.

The founder of this faction believed that in order to fight the Infected, humanity had to approach the world with the same uncompromising zeal to take what they needed. At some point in history this simple ideology became something much more dangerous.

The followers of the Swarm are brainwashed Drones or Specials who sweep over territory, burning everything and anything that could carry Infection. In recent years, this wave of single minded destruction has come creeping ever closer to the more inhabited lands of Gaia. People caught in the path of the Swarm are given a simple choice; join them or burn. No one knows exactly how the Swarm maintain such a vast Clean Zone of uninfected territory but you can bet that it isn’t easy.

 

Keep following along for more sneak peeks from the world of Survival!

-A

Celebrating Kickstarter Success – The Oracle

By now you’re probably already aware that Era: The Consortium’s first expansion, The Secret War, has toppled its expectation and finished off at nearly 300% funded! That is an amazing accomplishment and we couldn’t be happier with all the great support you’ve shown us. Thank you to everyone who put the word out, shared what we are doing and helped us to get this project realized.

So, what’s happening now? Right now our artist is working on the very last two images to go into the book and Ed will be nailing down the Contributors list. He is busy putting the finishing touches on the final product before it goes to printing. This Kickstarter was a great event and you can look forward to more expansions for this game as the year moves along.

Until next time!

-A

Development Blog – What do you think about when going to Kickstarter?

Hi everyone!

I get asked about Kickstarter more often than I get asked about anything else apart from the truth behind Era: The Consortium’s mysteries!

So, today, I thought I’d write a little bit about Kickstarter, some of the process and things to watch out for as someone who posts their game there.

I’m going to kick off with a few cold, hard, and less than pleasant facts:

– Kickstarter is a platform which caters to a lot of people. A lot of projects make tens of thousands of dollars. Unless you have an overwhelming army of supporters before you launch or get lucky enough to be a Staff Pick, I’m sorry, but your first project is not likely to. Be aware of this going in and you have a better chance of not being crushed.

– There are a huge number of “services” out there which promise you’ll get Kickstarter success through Twitter or Facebook advertising, claim they have never failed, etc. I’ve not yet met one worth working with or entrusting my money to (and I have spoken to several and worked with one). My advice is to ignore them.

– Which brings me to paid advertising in general. I’ve found it is, mostly, not worth it, but I have a fairly niche product in a Tabletop RPG. I guess some products (travel cases that I keep getting spammed with ads for, for example) might be worth it, but I’d say Tabletop RPG books, it is not.

 

Okay. So… not nice facts, but facts, from my experience. Kickstarter is not a quick and easy way to get tonnes of money. It’s a lot of work, preparation, and trust-building. You need to be consistently solid and honest, before people will begin to back you in large numbers.

People are becoming more wary of Kickstarter as time goes on and stories of people cheating people out of their money become more common. A staggeringly large number of projects don’t deliver on time (an old article, but I believe it’s still true, as a backer of over 50 Kickstarters myself). So plan. Allow for problems, give yourself an extra window when you’re committing to a date.

Most important, though, is having something to show beyond vague images and a promise you’ll do something. I try not to go to Kickstarter without a “nearly finished” book, and I’ve been criticised heavily for that in the past, but I have not had a single Kickstarter fail since my very first (which is where I learned quite a lot of this…).

At the end of the day, no matter what you do, people are going to say bad things about your book, claim what you’re doing is pointless/a waste of money/tome/effort. That’s really the primary thing you have to be prepared for when going to Kickstarter, I’m afraid – a lot of people really suck. With any luck, by the time you get to Kickstarter, you have dealt with enough of those people to not have it stop you.

 

So what can you do to help your Kickstarter do the best it can?

– Have your product as near to finished as possible with the maximum amount to show to potential backers.

– Have rewards that genuinely thank your backers for what they have done to help you – they are giving you the money you need to start. Value that and show you value them, because without them, your product would not exist.

– Get reviews, preferably before you start the Kickstarter but definitely before you finish. Most reviewers only ask for a review copy of the book (they can’t be paid, it makes them look biased), and it really does make a difference.

 

That’s all I have time for today… I have to go launch a Kickstarter! 😀

– Ed

Lyres Pocket Coming your way! – The Oracle

Now that The Secret War Kickstarter has ended, and achieved nearly 300% funding, I’ve got more good news coming your way!

Era: Lyres is headed out to Kickstarter tomorrow! Back by popular demand, this fun and unique take on the typical rpg format is going through a bit of an overhaul. In addition to micro-sizing this version in a carry-it-with-you essential copy, we’re also including some great Stretch Goals. The Lyres website has already added Locations and Bestiary pages with more content to be added in those categories as Stretch Goals are realized. Frankly, we’re bursting with creepy creatures and interesting locations that we’d love to share with you!

So, are you ready for the best part? Ed has decided to make this latest Lyres version available at a price of only £1 for the Digital full color version. Yeah, you heard me… less than a mug of your favorite brew or a spin in the laundromat. We want to make Lyres available to anyone who loves fantasy, rpg, and having a laugh. You can’t go wrong trying it out.

Before I leave you today I want to thank everyone who came out to AnimeCon this past weekend and took the time to visit with us. It turned out to be a fabulous event. There was such a rush that Ed ran out of all the copies he brought of Era: the Consortium rulebook! A great time was had by all and the team got to meet loads of fabulous new people. So, hello to all our news friends! Make yourself at home.

See you next time!

-A

Era: Survival is getting more content! – The Oracle

Are you ready for a game that’s going to reel you in and keep you? The more I hear Ed talking about Survival the more I’m sure this game is going to do just that.

Last weekend Ed had a detailed session with this game’s co-creator and they were able to fix a few uncertainties. They’ve got great things planned and it all starts with the core rulebook, weighing in at about 230 pages! So… what exactly is inside this huge book? I’m glad you asked.

This in-depth book is going to include a Bestiary which will hand out detailed descriptions and images of 17 creatures (Infected and otherwise) which you just may happen across during your travels in Gaia. The book will also have a list of the 20 most common Deformities resulting from Infection. I’m all about immersion but something tells me I don’t want that list to include images.

The book will also have three more factions than were previously intended which brings the total to 14! If it fits, Ed is even looking at expansion possibilities for more creatures. More creatures mean more fun for everyone. This game is getting huge and I can’t wait to see the finished product.

That is almost it for me today. Last week I told you that Ed was working on some images and I hoped to get my hands on one for you. Well, I won’t keep you waiting any longer. Here it is, enjoy!

2 - Part 2 Title Page

See you next time!

-A

Reviews are here – The Oracle

Several posts ago I mentioned we were seeing reviews coming in and I want to make sure that you’ve seen them all. Ed has sent copies of The Consortium, as well as The Secret War, around to a bunch of great places and we’re starting to get quite a bit of response. From what I’ve seen it looks like everyone who has gotten a copy has really enjoyed it.

More and more reviews are starting to filter in and Ed even took the time to answer some questions at RPG.net. If you’re looking for information on our games this is a great place to start. Be sure you’re checking out our Facebook and Twitter pages to get the latest reviews as they come to us.

We’d also love to know what you think of our games, please feel free to write up your own review and share it with us!

Check out these reviews…

CampaignMastery

RPG.net Q&A

Geek Native

Talk About Games

Wild Muse Games

Now that you’re all caught up, why don’t you come play a game with us? Ed is running sessions right now over at AnimeCon. Throw on a coat and come join us!

See you next week!

-A

A busy time!

Hi everyone!

Things are pretty busy over here at “Shades of Vengeance HQ” (yeah, that’s what I call the shed in my back garden).

The second part of the Ice Cream for Everyone Podcast is now available here! I talk about helping other people we helped create their games, a little about Kickstarter and a few random questions at the end!

We’ve had new deliveries of Consortium books (15 paperback, 15 hardback!), we’ve got a convention tomorrow and you will know if you’re incredibly eagle-eyed that it’s actually our company year end, so we need to do a stock take and get all the info over to our accountant!

Whew.

So yeah, combine that with the normal writing stuff I have ongoing and you’ll see what I’m pretty busy!

In relation to that, see you guys next week!

– Ed

P.S. Don’t forget it’s the last two days of our Kickstarter!

It’s Convention Time! – The Oracle

It’s that time of year again when Ed gathers up a big bundle of all our best games and goodies and brings them out to share with everyone. He’s not quite like Santa Claus but close.

Ed’s been planning sessions and collecting supplies for weeks in anticipation of this convention and he’s just about ready to bring it all together for the first event of the year! This Saturday and Sunday stop by AnimeCon to play The Consortium, Lyres, or Survival with our dedicated team. We absolutely love running games and can’t wait to show you around some of our favorites. Swing by our booth and strike up a conversation!

Before you pack your bags for AnimeCon I just have one question for you… have you seen The Secret War? Our first Consortium expansion is counting down its final days in Kickstarter so don’t miss out on being a part of this addition to our most popular game. We have more great content coming out for Consortium in the coming months so be sure to follow along as we expand this world.

That’s it for me, see you next time!

-A

The world of Era: Survival is growing! – The Oracle

When Ed told me he was adding more detail to Era: Survival I was not surprised. Not in the least. Each of the games we’ve made have gone through incredible growth up to and even past their initial production!

Survival is a deeply intense game and I think Ed felt there was more room to bring this experience to life. So, to do that he has decided to add 3 new factions to the game! These fully developed factions will be entirely playable and help to give you some more perspective of life on Gaia. I don’t know about you but when it comes to games I feel that more detail is definitely a good thing.

In fact, this game has so much content and detail that the current working copy page count is over 200! That’s a bit more than we expected but Ed is determined to give you everything you’ll need to really get inside this world and this game.

Check back with me next week and I should have an image to show you. Ed’s told me that they’re working on the larger title page images now and hopefully one should be ready for us.

See you next time!

-A

I’m making you an offer you can’t refuse – The Oracle

That’s right, I said it. However, unlike the classic mafia phrase I can assure you no horses were harmed in the making of this Kickstarter. We’re down to just about the last week of The Secret War expansion for Era: The Consortium and in honor of that I’m going to give you a rundown of all the great rewards we’re offering for supporting this project. If you’ve followed or supported one of our games before you’ll know that we love to bundle together deals and give you plenty of chances to add on with items you may have missed getting in the past. So, here they are in no particular order…

– Your name in the credits
– Comics for both The Last Stand of Stiletto Unit and Counting Down From One
– Digital and physical versions of The Secret War Expansion
– 3 Sessions of a Bonus Campaign, delivered digitally
– A stylized memory card which includes bonus material
– Era: The Consortium core rulebook either digital, paperback, or hardcover
– Signed copies

Those are just the basic rewards. Ed’s also included every other game we’ve created either independently or with another creator as an available add-on. You get the opportunity to have the full collection of Shades of Vengeance games!

Looking for a third party review to help you figure out if this game is everything I’ve been telling you? I’ve got that as well. We’ve had a few people take a look at the game and present their honest opinion. We are looking forward to a review coming from rpg.net as well. Come see what they have to say about us!

Geek Native

Talk About Games

Wild Muse Games

 

Back next week with more news!

-A

My thoughts on Kickstarter and various other topics – Part 1!

Hi everyone!

I have been doing an interview session with Willem from Ice Cream for Everyone each week for the past month.

The first episode (consisting of the first two of our conversations) has come out this week, so rather than talk to you about stuff and repeat myself, I thought I’d give you the chance to listen to this podcast!

I talk about loads of stuff, like:

– ImagineRPG, Shades of Vengeance and what the difference is!
– My history in gaming
– My inspiration for Sci-Fi!
– Behind the scenes of the Kickstarter
– The history of Era: The Consortium
– and much more…!

I hope you enjoy it! Part 2 coming out next week.

– Ed

Era: Silence has a permanent home – The Oracle

We’ve only just begun putting up the images and adding some detail but already the world of Era: Silence is starting to feel comfortable. Check out the subsite for additional artwork as it’s completed and further game details as we go through the process of bringing you this unique vision. It’s all very secretive at the moment and I only get little glimpses from Ed which adds a great deal of mystery to our newest game. I will be just as surprised as every one of you as this world develops. From what I’m seeing so far, it’s looking action packed.

While you’re waiting for progress on Era: Silence I can give you something fantastic to make the wait easier. The Pocket Edition of Era: Lyres that I’ve mentioned a few posts ago will be coming around shortly. You can expect to see an opportunity to get the digital version for only £1. Besides being easy on the wallet, this smaller edition will have just what you need to run a game without the fluff and all that extra background. Head over to the website to keep tabs on this new edition as well as to check out some of our new style additions. As per the Stretch Goals we will have some background added to the website, stop by and tell us what you think!

Before you leave I want to shout out a huge thank you to everyone who has been supporting and spreading the word about our Consortium expansion Kickstarter, The Secret War. We couldn’t have made it to over 200% funded with a little under two weeks to go without you. I don’t want to get sappy or anything but you guys keep us striving to make better and better games.

Until next time, keep on rolling!

-A

Survival is Necessary – The Oracle

Today I’d like to take a minute and talk about Era: Survival. By now you probably know that it’s not like anything else currently on our roster. I’m not just talking about the dark landscape and gritty story. This game is going to have some unique elements that we haven’t given to any other game.

The world will be entirely fleshed-out which is going to be reminiscent of Consortium and yet it won’t have those long periods of history. Quite frankly, in this world no one gives two hoots about what happened in the past. Survival is in the present, it’s what’s happening right now!

You can expect to see a large number of detailed locations with loads of different factions. All of that is going to be covered in depth with the book and there will be plenty of examples of different kinds of sessions. We’re putting everything we’ve got behind this game because we believe it’s got great potential. So, stick around and keep tabs on this one. I think you’re going to like it!

We’ve got more art coming in and more news next week so I’ll see you then!

-A

Is the Secret War the end of the Consortium? – The Oracle

Not a chance! As we enter the last two weeks of our Kickstarter for the Secret War I want to take a moment and reassure everyone that this is only just the beginning of what we have scheduled for the Consortium. Ed has plans for two more expansions after this and the next one coming up is going to be a big one.

Expansion 2 introduces a new species; the Pliangrathilon. Several weeks back we gave you a small glimpse into what their homeworld looks like. If you’ve forgotten, I’ll give you a hint… think cold, desolate, and rocky. It might not sound cozy to you and me, but the Pliangrathilon love it. I’ve been tasked with writing a few stories for this expansion and I’m getting eager to start fleshing out their world.

Besides all these new expansions coming out you can also expect to see an Era: The Consortium book at some point. Working title will be “Consortium 2” and it’s going to follow the history that we’ve laid out so far and on into the future. Ed already has plans for most of what will be happening and I hope he’ll share more of that soon.

I’ll be back next week with more news and updates!

-A

Development Blog: Why is Artwork important?

Hi everyone!

It’s been a while since I did my last development blog entry – I have been crazy busy with several things recently – but here we are now!

Today, I’m going to talk artwork – why is artwork important in games? Does it make any difference?

Before I make the obvious reply to that question, I’m going to start with a little bit of science. Humans are visual creatures – a beautiful sunset is something that people (as a generalisation) remember more clearly and are more drawn to, than a page of text describing the same sunset. Pictures, when used properly, can stimulate immersion in a way text on its own can find challenging.

So, let me present you with this image, a brand new one from my latest game in development:

Silence Demo Image - websafe

From this image, I am willing to bet you can pretty much instantly see a few things about this game:

– This individual is wearing leather and cloth in a sort of medieval type style – probably a fantasy game of some sort?

– She’s wielding what appears to be a magic sword – more strength for the fantasy series.

– The sword is stronger than steel and doesn’t strike like a lightsaber does, so it’s not cutting through precisely due to heat – more likely to be magic.

– It’s a stone statue with a good level of detail – helps place the period.

– etc…

And this is an image which shows a person hitting something with a sword. That’s all it is.

An image can tell you a lot about a game instantly – if anyone has been by a convention or seen pictures of our convention booths on Facebook, you’ll see that we cover it with images from our games. I often study which image catches peoples’ eye, I think that’s very interesting.

The right image can make someone pick up your book and start to look at it. This is what you want, as a game creator – it doesn’t matter how good your game is or how many shelves it is on if no-one picks it up to find out more.

The wrong image can give a similarly negative impression – it can make a book look low-quality, or instantly give people a different impression about what the game is about thanks to getting a few details wrong. The artists that work for me are used to me being very specific with many details in order to get the “feel” of an image right – a wrong or inconsistent item in the image, the wrong clothes on one of the characters, an incorrect piece of furniture in the background… these things can ruin the feel of an image.

A lot of game developers also choose to go with greyscale images, because it’s much cheaper. I, personally, feel this is a mistake – we don’t see the world in black and white, and if you want to get a genuine feel for the game, I think that colour is important.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion, but I’ve had a lot of compliments on the layout, artwork and general presentation of the books I’ve written.

What do you think? What’s the minimum level of quality you would buy for $30 or $20 or $10? And how do you assess that – it’s very hard to assess the writing of a book when you first pick it up, but very easy to flick through and look over the pictures.

I think artwork matters. Artwork is what gets people to pick up your book, quality writing, quality rules and a strong hook is what gets them to buy it.

– Ed

More chances to meet the team and get some goodies! – The Oracle

The first convention of 2016 is almost upon us! We have so many fabulous games to show you and loads of fun stuff to bring along that Ed’s probably going to rent a car to haul it all. Set your watch to meet us at AnimeCon in London on February 5th.

Anyone who’s seen us at a convention knows that we absolutely love talking to fans and we love running game sessions. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the rules! The GM’s are patient and the ruleset is famously easy to pick up. If you don’t believe me bring along your grandma and we’ll get her rolling in under 20 minutes!

We’ve got more conventions this year than ever before so you’ll have plenty of chances to come find us and I do hope that you will stop by. Of course, for those of us who are geographically challenged and find ourselves too far away to attend, you can always pick up some great unique items through a Kickstarter.

We’ll be running several more events throughout the year and they’re guaranteed to be packed full of rewards. Right now, The Secret War kickstarter is over 200% funded. We’ve got 17 more days before the finish of the event so there’s plenty of time to head over and choose a reward for supporting us. Thank you to everyone who has helped in bringing The Secret War to life.

I mentioned recently that Ed was going to put the word out to reviewers about The Consortium and the system that we’re running. Well, he’s been getting some good feedback and today I’ll leave you with this one from Wild Musings Game Design site. This reviewer gets extra bonus points from me for their use of the word “skullduggery”, well done. Check it out and feel free to comment with your own thoughts. As always, we’d love to hear from you!

That’s it for me, until next time!

-A

Racing to a Spring deadline – The Oracle

Ed told me something just recently. He said that he wants Era: Survival to be ready for MCM in May. I don’t know about you but I think he’s raving mad. Don’t get me wrong, our team is great and we’ve pulled off tight schedules before but this is going to be a race to the finish.

Right now production is buckling down and artwork is moving on to the more ambitious goals which means that the title pages and story images are starting development now. I’m curious to see what they come up with because what I’ve already seen is fantastic. The dark and gritty feel of this world really comes through in all that fog and shadow.

Survival certainly has a different tone and feel from any of the other games we’ve done before and we love the chance to do something this unique. The team working on this game is entirely dedicated and they love the project. I’m going to take a guess that each of them will have a fully outfitted survival bunker installed in their home by the time they’re done creating this game. I’ve already started mine.

I’ll see you next week for more news and updates!

-A