A Simple Tale

The campaign is done and fully funded

I’m really grateful to everyone for backing me! It means a lot that people wanted to support this little project. It was my first trial on Kickstarter and hopefully one of many and even though the campaign it isn’t too late to grab the game ready for your festive get-togethers by late pledging. It will also be up on itch and DrivethruRPG soon

What have I been doing?

I’ve checked and re-checked the documents making minor amendments and improvements where I felt they were needed. Some of the art has had a little polish and some of the wording has been tweaked slightly.

I’ve uploaded the finalized versions of the docs to DriveThruRPG and submitted them for approval. From experience, that process may take a day or so and I understand the team there are having some seasonal time off so there may be a short delay.

What’s next?

I have started work on my next project already, sourcing art and outlining the book so watch this space for future projects. In my next post I will talk a little about my design choices for that game.

There is still time to support my kickstarter before the campaign expires.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/795398569/the-naughty-elves-a-christmas-themed-ttrpg

My first ever Kickstarter is almost at an end and I’ve learnt a lot over that time. I created this site and learned how to use word press to design, an albeit simple, website to document my design process and promote my games. I also signed up to a few social platforms including bluesky for the first time so look out for my posts appearing there. I got lots of great feedback on my campaign and I have a better idea how to build a successful Kickstarter when I go to launch something larger.

I’ve been working hard the last few evenings polishing the art for the game and proof-reading the prototype (pictured) to make sure the final product will ship in the best condition I can achieve. Art has proven to be a challenge and digitizing hand-drawn characters is a bit of a struggle but this did prompt me to revisit the art in my first game and get rid of the ai assets there. Going forward I think I will favour professionally made creative-commons for future games. I also completed a qualification in Adobe inDesign so that is one more tool in my belt for creating games going forward.

To summarize my thoughts, I have discovered the design of a game’s mechanics is just one part of the process and art and promotion are just as much work. Speaking of moving forward, I have a few projects waiting in the wings but I did start work on a new project that for now I’m calling ‘Captain’s log.’ I’ll just leave this here as a hint:

My first game is now available on itch.io.

It’s a pay-what-you-want, print-and-play mystery generator and solving mechanic that works in any setting and game and can be played as part of a solo RPG, with a group, or as a stand-alone game.

Previously the game was available on drivethruRPG but all the art I used was ai generated. I have since discovered open license art that I feel is a much more ethical alternative to ai and still keeps costs down until I can approach a bigger project that would justify hiring an artist. I went through and selected works of art that fit the mood and mechanics and I can now say that my work is completely ai free.

One thing that I actually like about using open license art is that I cannot be overly specific about the art I choose. I often can’t find exactly what I want so the process is instead browsing through the available art until I spot something that appeals to me or seems to fit the vibes I’m going for. The results are often a less literal representation of the idea and more of an abstract connection. Obviously this wouldn’t work for every situation but when it works I think it is a great option.

I launched and fully funded a Christmas RPG on Kickstarter

It is a Christmas-themed, family-friendly, role-playing game based on The Witch is Dead by Grant Howitt.

The game is completely self-contained and includes the rules, character sheets, creatures and an adventure for you to play all with hand drawn art. The rules are simple and easy to understand, perfect for someone’s first TTRPG experience, to teach to your nan, your niece or for your regular group to try something different. The rules are flexible enough to support a carefree family Christmas movie or a dark tale of revenge.

The game is small and simple and I was experimenting to see what Kickstarter would be like, what would work and what wouldn’t. I got a lot of great feedback, especially around using socials and a website to garner interest in what I’m doing before launching. Second, the scale was off, Kickstarter is better for medium and large projects that require some amount of funding, preferably with a physical book. Third, art and a video are a great way to demonstrate what supporters will get for their support.