Leftovers or 273 - 248 - 2 = 23
about 1 month ago
– Fri, Nov 29, 2024 at 09:01:21 AM
First, if you celebrate it, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. For those who don’t, I hope yesterday was a good day. Aside from eating dinner with my family and watching my favorite football team play—and win—last night, I spent most of the day ruminating.
Twenty-three pages.
That’s all I have left to work with.
#$@*!
I have 23 pages to play with. The layout and page count are set in stone. I’ve already cut an entire chapter (which, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t affect the game). I plan to fill the remaining 23 pages with a solid background chapter. Everything you need to play the game is there.
I’ve realized now that the overwriting was worse than I thought. My desire to make this game as complete as possible was, in hindsight, a pipe dream.
What about the supplement? It’s going to be packed.
It’s still happening, and you’ll get an at-cost code from DriveThruRPG to print it yourself. It just means the supplement will be bigger, and those who couldn’t back the Kickstarter will have a new release out of the gate with the book.
I’ve been told—privately, through messages and emails—that I haven’t failed anyone. Extra content and a follow-up supplement sound great to many. However, one of my guiding principles has always been to make this game as complete as possible, including as much non-game information as possible. With each edition, I’ve managed to squeeze in a little more. Every manuscript has been self-contained.
But now?
I feel like I failed.
This isn’t about seeking sympathy. It’s not about making excuses for writing a game that lacks information. It’s not about rewriting whole chapters to squeeze in a little more (though I’ve done that too). I admit to myself that I should have known when to stop.
Those who’ve followed my ramblings over the years know I’ve written a lot about mental health. I’ve probably shared more about my struggles than I should. And while this situation might not seem like a failure to you, to me, it is.
I didn’t meet my goal.
I have 23 pages left to give you as much as I can.
Even though this process has unexpectedly resulted in a new supplement, I still feel like I let you down.
So, off I go to make the most of these 23 pages.
#$@*!
Update: Backerkit is Now Open.
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Nov 22, 2024 at 11:23:48 AM
Exciting news: the Backerkit is officially open! This marks an important milestone for Colonial Gothic.
Curious about the journey to this point? Here’s a quick look at the key milestones along the way:
- Recover from a letdown.
- Accept a much-needed kick in the pants from friends.
- Dive into writing and revisions.
- Draft the first version—messy but done.
- Playtest that messy draft.
- Write.
- Write some more.
- Revise.
- Edit the final pre-edit draft.
- Launch the Kickstarter.
- Develop art descriptions.
- Wrap up the Kickstarter.
- Receive the artwork.
- Work on the layout.
- Close the Kickstarter.
- Open Backerkit.
Quite a journey, right?
Now, it’s time for the next step.
As my old swim coach in high school liked to yell: "Sprint to the finish!"
Update, laying the ink
about 2 months ago
– Thu, Nov 21, 2024 at 08:51:19 AM
Things have been busy. The first real layout pass is underway, and Chapter 5 is closing. Things should get easier from there, mostly because there are fewer tables to handle.
The first pass of the layout has always been the hardest for me. The main challenge is simply tackling the task. Once it's done, though, the flow and structure become clear. With that foundation, tweaking and fine-tuning are much easier.
I’m not setting a specific timetable for completing the first pass. Once it’s finished, I’ll let you know and share a backer-only update so you can see it for yourself.
This is another short and sweet update, but what else can I share?
Oh, right—it's snowing as I write this. Also, we’re adopting a new cat. She’ll soon have a grumpy older stepbrother. I feel slightly sorry for him; he’s about to have a bundle of energy roaming the house.
So, what to do with the extra material, a update
about 2 months ago
– Thu, Nov 14, 2024 at 07:45:50 AM
First, I want to thank you for your feedback and advice last week about cutting material to keep the book manageable. I listened to and considered everything you shared, both publicly and privately. I especially want to thank those who contacted me directly—it meant a lot.
With that out of the way, let’s talk—well, write—about the extra material.
Initially planning this project, I focused solely on the main book. I wanted to avoid stretch goals that could inflate costs, and given the current economy, I couldn’t risk jeopardizing the primary goal: getting the book to you.
Originally, I planned to create separate PDFs for the extra material, send them to backers, and later offer them for sale. This approach seemed solid, but then you surprised me by suggesting a companion book.
At first, I hesitated. My main concern was that I couldn’t cover printing and shipping costs within budget. However, after some discussion, I thought I could use DriveThruRPG to make the companion book available, providing an option that wouldn’t strain the budget.
So here’s what I plan to do:
When the main books are printed, you’ll receive what you backed. I’ll also email you a coupon for DriveThruRPG, allowing you to print the companion book yourself. While I don’t love that it means an additional cost on your end, it’s the best solution I’ve found.
So, what will this companion book include? Everything that was removed from the rulebook:
- The Guide to the Colonies chapter
- The chapter on cults and secret societies
- All creatures originally intended for the rulebook
- Complete background text for each creature included in the main book
- The full, unedited chapter on the Native Nations
- Additional rules that didn’t quite fit with the main book this time
- And the sample adventure
That’s where things stand right now, and of all my options, this is the best path forward.
A Headache, a Stomachache, and No Sleep: The Pain of Letting People Down
about 2 months ago
– Sat, Nov 09, 2024 at 04:15:44 AM
This manuscript turned out much larger than anticipated, significantly exceeding the original page count. As the page count kept increasing, this has weighed heavily on my mind.
To address this, I had to make some hard decisions to reduce the content. The Threat chapter has been slimmed down, and the Indigenous chapter was rewritten. Even with these cuts, the manuscript still stands at 240 pages—still too long.
Now, I’m left with three difficult choices, all of which have been causing me sleepless nights. Ultimately, I decided to remove two chapters and the bibliography.
I feel like I’ve let you all down by not meeting my goal of creating a fully comprehensive book.
Here’s my plan going forward:
- I’ll create The Guide to Life in the Colonies as a separate PDF and include it for free.
- I’ll also create the Cults and Secret Societies chapter as a separate PDF and include it for free.
- Lastly, I’ll include a separate PDF for the bibliography.
Why not reformat the book and increase its size? Even with a larger format, the book would still exceed a manageable page count.
Here’s what that looks like:
- Page count for 6x9 format: 700 pages.
- Page count for 8.5x11 format: 500 pages.
This raises a few issues:
- Make the book unmanageable for play. This is a roleplaying game, after all, and not a history book.
- I will never increase the retail price of the book. Period.
- Blow the budget, and that I will never do.
I feel genuinely disappointed. I wanted to provide everything in one volume, and it hurts to have to include some sections as separate PDFs. But from the beginning, I’ve been transparent about this project and want to continue in that spirit.
Is having too much content really a bad thing? Not in the bigger picture. It shows how much I care about this game and how much I worked to give you as much as possible.
Still, I feel like I’ve fallen short of my goals and your expectations.
I'm sorry for letting you down and for having to include some content as PDFs instead of in the main book.
