We will be at Pax Unplugged 2018. We have swag and slap bracelets. Find us wandering the show floor!
Now that we have that important news out of the way, lets talk about development! We’ve been working pretty hard to bring you more content. We’re closing in on having finalized content for the second test wave. It will more than double the content currently available. That is to say, some things are quadrupled while some are seeing a touch under double. When you smash the classes with magic, its like, a lot of content. That’s how math works, right?
We have not set a final date for the Kickstarter. But it will happen in January (actually, Feb 12th). I want to stress a few things about this one. It will be a PDF only. This keeps our costs under control, allows us to focus on creating and editing the product, and makes it more affordable for backers. Once all that is done, we then will launch another Kickstarter for the book printing. Trying to do everything at once (developing, editing, printing, shipping, etc.) is very costly and would diminish the overall product. Splitting the Kickstarter campaigns into two separate campaigns alleviates this and makes both campaigns more affordable for us and for the backers.
Why should we support this first one instead of waiting for the book campaign? Well, totally reasonable question asker, I’ll tell you why. Because of the PDF Kickstarter isn’t funded then there will be no physical book.
We’re a very small team (2 people) and we can only create so much in our spare time. While we would love to keep developing forever, we need to eventually release some more content. The reality is that we have bills to pay and food to buy. Every hour we spend working on the Retroverse project (writing these updates included) is an hour we could have spent working at a cash register. We hate cash registers.
So, if you want the project to be finished in any reasonable time, we need to limit the amount of time behind cash registers. An easy way to do that is to support the first Kickstarter!
Why not just finish the PDF first and then do a Kickstarter for the book? Jeez, who gave you a microphone? Well, to help with context, in 1 year we have created over two novels (1.5 of that you haven’t even seen yet!) worth of content, released three adventures, created nearly 100 new illustrations, and facilitated several crossover promotions. All of this from our own pockets, free time, and patreon support.
Now imagine if we had an actual budget and could even hire some help.
Also, we’re still a long way off from the completed project. We’re doing very well at our current rate, but it could take a whole lot longer if we continue working on this only in our free time.
How can we make sure you hit funding on the first day? Great question, totally random person I certainly didn’t plant in the crowd. In this day, Kickstarter campaigns can be made or broken in their first day. Being funded on day 1 ensures that we can immediately begin working on finalized content goals. It also greatly boosts the chances of hitting stretch goals (like new adventures, character sheets, Pixel Minis, and even a Systems Reference Document possibly). With a PDF, our goal will be far lower than the $50,000 of the first Kickstarter. That being said, the backer tiers will also be more affordable. So even if we have the same number of backers, it will not result in the same amount of funding. So, what can you do? Here’s some important things.
1. Don’t wait to back us. If we fail, you’re not charged. So, throw your hat into the ring day 1.
2. Tell you friends. Seriously, this helps more than anything in the world.
3. Play the Retroverse. The first test wave is free!
4. Tell your family. I Can’t stress enough how powerful word of mouth is.
5. Give yourself a big ol’ pat on the back. You’re awesome and we appreciate you regardless if you do any of these things!
Ultimately, if we can do in 30 days, what we did in 4 on the original Kickstarter, it’s going to be amazing.
In other news, we put out a Halloween adventure. It’s cool and free. It’s got new Retroverse content (the Restless race and Glitch Hunter class) and a full spooky adventure inside. Have fun trying to survive.
In final news, we have been doing a Development Diary every month. We’ve talked about a ton of content and we plan on doing a lot more! Come check them out!
Final reminder to see us at Pax Unplugged! We do not have a booth. We will just be there to meet and greet people! It’s likely we will run a game or two as well.
Thanks for all you do!
-Chris