Project status, post-KickStarter
about 7 years ago – Thu, Apr 27, 2017 at 07:51:19 PM

Howdy, folks.

Just wanted to write a brief update now that the campaign is over to let you all know that we haven't forgotten about you, and work is happening behind the scenes now that the funds have cleared.

The last several weeks have seen us doing a number of unexciting things like assembling art notes, drafting contracts for our subcontractors, and all that jazz. Hooray! Drew has also put together a test layout for the Companion Deck, which we've ordered a prototype of. And I'm within spitting distance of finishing first pass edits, which will be handed back to my editor at the end of the day.

Claudia has started working on the illustrations, so we'll be sharing art previews sooooon - which I'm excited about! In the mean time, don't forget you can always join our Google+ community!

Thanks!

Funded!!!! Now what?
about 7 years ago – Mon, Mar 20, 2017 at 09:46:30 PM

First, let me say that Drew and I are absolutely humbled at the level of support our project has gotten. Thank you to each and every one of you, from the bottom of our hearts. Watching this thing blow up the last few days has been a crazy, wonderful experience.

For you as backers, you're probably wondering now that the campaign is over, what happens next? What can you expect? So here is an overview of how this process will look, and what we'll be doing in the next while. This post is a bit long, but please do read through to the end.

Next Steps

1. Waiting for the money to clear

865 pledges take a lot of time to process. Previously when I've run campaigns, it's taken about three weeks for funds to clear. We won't be able to pay for any of our subcontracted work until the money clears, so the next few weeks, you won't hear much from us in terms of updates. 

However! That doesn't mean we won't be busy. Drew and I are going to be coordinating art notes so that as soon as we have money to pay Claudia, she can get right to work. Part of that is also going to involve contacting our backers who are commissioning custom portraits; you can expect emails in the near future coordinating the details of what we need from you - once we've been in touch with Claudia to finalize what she needs from us.

I'm also going to be continuing to edit the final text; currently I'm halfway through first-round edits. Once I'm done with those, our editor will do a second, polishing pass, and I'll complete one more round of edits. It's important to note that edits does not mean writing. The book, and the rules, are done! We're talking about making sure there's no misplaced commas or clunky text in the book at this point.

2. Commissioning art and laying out the book

Claudia is amazing, but even she needs time to make the quantity of art that we are commissioning. Similarly, laying out a book is a huge task, and our layout artist will be doing that in addition to laying out playbooks and making an epub version of the book. We'll do what we can to make that process transparent, by sharing previews of art in development and sneak peeks of layout when possible, both so you know that work is proceeding apace and so that you get to enjoy seeing the art development process as it happens.

3. Printing, shipping, and fulfillment

Once the interior of the book is done along with the Companion Deck, we'll be coordinating printing and fulfilment. For printing, we're working with 360 Digital out of the United States - an excellent printer I've used many times before. They'll be sending books directly to Indie Press Revolution, who will handle our KickStarter fulfilment.

For the Companion Deck, we have to research what will be most cost effective shipping-wise for backers - to give out coupon codes for you to print decks directly from Drive Thru Cards, or to have a batch printed and shipped to IPR to ship along with books. That is something that we will provide further information about later in the process.

4. Delivery Timeline

Because we'd rather be pessimistic, we're aiming for delivery around late September/early October of this year. Of course, delays are always possible, and we'll keep you apprised of anything that comes up as soon as it happens! But we're going to do everything we can to make sure that delivery happens as soon as possible; you want your games and we don't want this hanging over our heads!

How you can stay involved

If you want to participate in a continuing conversation while the game is in development, then we'd like to invite you to please join our Google+ community! KickStarter's comment function is VERY awkward and not well suited to extended conversation, so if you have anything you'd like to chat with us about, please find us there (or email us if there's something you want to ask about privately). We're going to be talking about the art direction process, including soliciting ideas and opinions for what sorts of things we should portray in the chapter art, in the G+ community. So please, do head over and join - we'd love to hear from you.

Backer Surveys

Lastly, Drew and I need to have a meeting and figure out how we're going to handle the survey - which will be done through BackerKit, NOT KickStarter. We need to make sure it's set up correctly and that we get all the information we need, which is something that takes time to configure correctly. So expect details about backer surveys in a later update.  

Thank you!

HARDCOVERS!
about 7 years ago – Sat, Mar 18, 2017 at 07:52:11 PM

Hey hey backers!

$27,000! Wow, we're just blown away at the response we've seen during the past few days and it's all thanks to you folks!

Hardcovers!

Now that we've reached the last stretch goal, any backers who wish to upgrade to a hardcover copy of The Watch can do so by manually upping their pledge anytime before the campaign ends tomorrow (Sunday) at 8pm EST. We'll also give you the option to do so during the Backerkit exit surveys you'll receive after the campaign funds, so if you miss out we've got your back. 

This can get a bit confusing if you're also interested in adding the Companion Deck to your pledge; so this might help:

If you want to...

• upgrade to a hardcover copy, add $33 CAD ($23 USD) to your pledge
• upgrade to a hardcover copy and Companion Deck, add $49 CAD ($35 USD) to your pledge
• add just the Companion Deck, add $16 CAD ($12 USD) to your pledge 

Here's that handy 'how to up my pledge' graphic again too for the newcomers who need a hand. Thank you again so much to all of you, we're just so humbled and grateful and can't wait to assemble The Watch!

Anna and Andrew

 New Stretch Goal: More chapter art!

Lastly, we have ONE. MORE. STRETCH GOAL. (No really. That's all we got!)

If, somehow, you wonderful people manage to push us over $30,000 CAD, we'll DOUBLE the number of chapter art pieces in the book and commission five additional pieces of full-page art from Claudia.

It's been a totally crazy ride. I can't wait to see what happens!

All Hands On Deck!
about 7 years ago – Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 11:34:26 PM

Hello Backers!

#2 Stretch Goal Down!

Well, we did it! Or better yet, YOU do it!

We surpassed our second stretch goal this morning and that means every backer who is backing at a level Warden or higher - that is, getting a copy of the physical softcover - is now eligible to add-on the Companion Deck by adding $12 USD / $16 CAD to their pledge.

The Companion Deck was announced during Update #9 and will include NPC portraits and descriptions (allowing for quick NPC creations by all), mission role cards to streamline and enhance mission rolls, and a slew of other handy reference and rules cards. We're really excited about this deck of 40-50 cards!

If you'd like to add a deck(s) to your order, simply go to "Manage your pledge" and add in the appropriate amount for the deck in addition to your pledge. We've provided a handy visual guide at the bottom of this update to help you out.

Stretch Goal #3: Hardcovers!!! ($27,000 CAD)

If we reach $27,000 before the end of the campaign, we'll unlock hardcover copies of The Watch for backers to upgrade to. In the event we fund this one in the final hours - worry not friends - we will open this upgrade into Backerkit as well allowing you to upgrade afterward. Hardcover copies will be available for $45 USD / $64 CAD plus shipping, which we'll calculate and charge just prior to delivery; that way you pay exactly what it costs and not a cent more.

The Last Push

We're coming up on the final 48 hours and we're gonna ask just one more time for you to share The Watch with your friends so we can make sure everyone who wants to can join us on the ground floor of this. To everyone who has already done so, thank you again; you've been a fantastic group of backers and we're so grateful!

How to Increase your pledge to add the Companion Deck:

Some fun extra content to celebrate 3 days left!
about 7 years ago – Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 03:21:44 PM

Well folks, it's been a long, crazy ride, but the end is in sight! Only 3 days remain until the end of the campaign, which means if you've been waffling about whether to back at the Watch Captain level for a custom portrait of yourself or someone important to you as a woman/nonbinary NPC of The Watch... Well, you're running out of time to hop on board.

As far as conversation around the game - Drew and I were at Breakout Con this past weekend, and people have been posting some great write-ups on Google+, which has been really heartening. The enthusiasm of our players was incredibly energizing! Over at Tribality, Brandes Stoddard also wrote this great review of The Watch, by way of his experience playing D&D 5E - which was really cool to read, as someone who started out in tabletop with D&D and drifted away from that many years ago.

Lastly, just for fun I cut together a bunch of the extra footage that was leftover from making our campaign KickStarter video and posted it here. It contains some outtakes, but also Drew and I saying some pretty smart things about our game that would have been nice to include in the original video that ended up being cut for length.

We hope you find it edifying, or at least entertaining.