❤️‍🔥 Final Stretch: Backerkit Locks November 30th
about 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 19, 2023 at 01:04:19 PM

Hey all,

I'm pleased to announce we're only some 3-4 months away from shipping! The Backerkit will be closing November 30th. So please make sure your address is still up to date :-) Fulfilment will be rolling out early 2024.

As a reminder, you can modify your Backerkit order by re-clicking on the link sent to your email, or by requesting a new invite under "Lost your survey?" on the Backerkit page.

Cool! What's left to do? 

On Exile: The script is now undergoing editing, and the final layout has already been designed. This means all that remains is typesetting the script once it's edited, interior illustrations, and print prep.

On Crescent: I'm now going through the revamped Crescent script. As I expected, I'm making progress really fast, as the format and ruleset is almost identical to Exile's. I should be done with it mid-November. Then it's just a matter of typesetting, interior illustrations, and print prep. Since the two books are twins, progress on one usually translates to progress on the other, even if the layouts will end up being slightly different.

Logistics: I'm already set up with the printing company that will be handling the run. Communication with them has been excellent, and we know all the specifications of the book. After they print, I'll be shipping your books personally from Portugal (with the special serigraph prints included, of course!)

Trade-offs

Over the summer, I explained the project was in a tricky spot: Unintentionally, I ended up with a lot of project creep. The games ended up being way too ambitious for the scope of this Kickstarter campaign—both in terms of budget timeframe.

For the past 3 months, I've been elucidating solutions. On the one hand, I'm strongly motivated for all the side content (like the playbooks, the campaign framework, the dozens of NPCs, the adventure locations, etc) to come out. I'm rather proud of it, frankly! On the other, I've come to understand a project is all about trade-offs; and of confronting your creative vision with what's realistically possible. 

So, in the interest of staying true to the budget and not borrowing on your patience for any longer, I've decided to cut side content out of this release: The books would simply take too long to come out this way, and end up too expensive to produce once done. Same applies to the locations and, by extension, the extra art we had advertised as part of the campaign.

Creatively, it's challenging for me to put out something when I know it could be so much bigger. But I have to reckon with production costs and financial realities. I'm hoping most of this extended content can see the light of day next year, though.

See you soon

I'm committed to keeping you updated somewhat monthly for the remaining of production. So you will hear again from me at least one more time before the Backerkit orders close, and then before the end of the year when we're gearing up to print. 🖤

stay damned,

em🦇

👁️ Omen: The caravan busts into motion
about 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 23, 2023 at 08:14:41 AM

Happy southward equinox all,

Following the usual pattern, this is a micro update to let you know that in the next 2 weeks a big update is due—I'm just waiting on some communications and WIPs to concretize. 

The gist of it is (and this is part of what the next update will cover with more context, bells, and whistles): EXILE script complete, pen is being put to paper with art, text is being handed off to editing, printing quotes are being requested, logistics regarding shipping and fulfilment are being discussed and set in place. Information about Crescent Moon will come next update as well. As things stand—and this is the first time I may have given a date in a very long time—I'm strongly targeting February/March 2024 for physical release.

I'm looking forward to sharing all this and more (along with previews!) next update. Now that we're past the summer slump and things will seriously start happening, I'm also committed to keep you updated every 4-6 weeks. Plus, since there will be art to show beginning this stretch of the road, things will start looking colourful over here soon. 🦇

Your patience is, as it has always been, beyond appreciated. I know I'm on borrowed time here and that the games are much due, but since the best way I can compensate you is by delivering the best I can, that's what I'll focus on.

all the best,

em

HEX 12: Big decisions loom on the horizon 🤲
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jun 06, 2023 at 08:32:09 AM

Hey all,

Once more, this is a 'shorter update to let you know a big update is on the way' kind of post. I know a couple of you have bee wondering about the current state of things, so it was about time I let you on some of what's happening behind the curtain.

Where are we at?

The project is currently in a very tricky spot. While I consider to have delivered on the creative side, the logistics of 'how do I make something of this scale happen' have caught up to me as my ambitions for what the game can be have solidified and time has passed. To be quite frank, things have snowballed a bit out of control.

Those were money euphemisms. What I mean is that I crowdfunded a small project to be able to develop it, during development I realised the project had the potential to become big (I also came to understand important things about making games professionally I did not account for beforehand), and now I stand between the sword and the wall as I try to make a big game happen with a small game budget.

Cannot you just make it small?

The answer sounds simple from the outside, but my personal situation as a full-time artist makes it so I'm strongly motivated to invest into making the game shine to its brightest potential so that it can support me on the long term. 

The way things have played out make for a chicken and egg situation: Because I over-invested into the design of the game (for I developed it to a scale and polish way beyond the bounds of what was originally Kickstarted here), I want to reap that effort with a production that matches it and justifies the time spent. This was an unforeseen development I only came to understand because I launched this campaign in the first place, without which I couldn't have gotten to develop the game in the first place. 

If I were to start over, my choices would obviously be very different, but alas, this is the situation we're currently facing and there's no other way forward but to tackle it. The biggest irony being that without the bumps and mistakes, I wouldn't have learnt from them and gotten to this point!

What's the move then?

Because I'm really smart, I've come up with a pretty wild plan that might very well untie this knot on several levels. It involves outside help; which I'm in the process of reaching out to, it involves changes; which are ultimately for the best of the game long-term, and it involves sacrifices; all of which I'll explain the why's of if they come to pass. 

I don't want to say too much yet as to not promise anything I'm unsure I can deliver (See? Character development) but I'll know if and how this is happening over the course of the summer. As soon as there's a clear production outlook, I'll share the details with you all in a thorough update.

What if your plan doesn't work?

Then I'll have to cut my loses, crunch some numbers, see what can be done with the remaining budget, and live to fight another day—much like the exiles. 

One way or another, the game is bound to come out: Partly because my debt to you is not forgotten, and no least because this may very well be the best work I've done as an artist so far, and I thirst for the world to see it.

Why is everything taking so long now?

Because of the aforementioned logistical challenges, we're now at a point where all work I do on EXILES happens at the fringes of my other work that pays the bills. This has been the case for all of 2023, and will continue to be such for the remainder of development. Though I wish I could progress faster, I'm very committed to not overworking myself—as it's something I've done in the past, regretted its impact on my health, and am not willing to compromise on. Work is still being made every week, and will continue to happen to the best of my ability until the end of development. Thank you for understanding 🖤

A note on transparency

I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea, so it may be best to state this openly and clearly: As some of you know, I've been working on quite a few games over the past 6 months. This will continue to be the case for the rest of the year. The smaller projects I'm writing and publishing are the driving force behind my store, my Patreon, and this whole design-as-a-career enterprise. Hedgemaze games are not an attempt to sweep EXILES under the rug and pretend it never happened, rather, they are the lifeblood that's keeping things pumping while EXILES remains in development.

Something I've learnt the hard way is that to make this endeavor sustainable you have to work laterally rather than linearly, so please know that anytime a new game comes out, it's not diverting my attention from EXILES, its existence is precisely what allows development for this game to continue!

And that's about it

That's all from me for now. Thank you for reading, understanding, and waiting. I don't say this kind of corny crap lightly, but the things you've allowed to happen for me mean the world. I'm committed on doing my best to pay it back with the physical release of the game. Whenever and however it may happen.

devilishly,

em

HEX 11: New playkit available! Final rules of the game out ⚔️
over 1 year ago – Fri, Feb 24, 2023 at 08:07:54 AM

I'm dragged to the pentacular courtroom. Eyes perch on every corner. Suddenly, I feel caged with bats that hunger for judgement. "What then?" I hear one of them ask. "What did you see down there?". The yellowing cornea of my eyes shudders at the very thought. Someone pushes me to the room's center, and blinded as I am by the candle-flames, I clear my throat. Even if dry and and clumsy from misuse, I tell of what I've seen...

The final rules of the game are here.

Here it is, at long last.

It took a while, but I'm very excited to share these with you. This is the product of over a year of design work, and the playtesting efforts of both myself and many people who have been kind enough to lend their time to this game.

•  Wow this is very different. Yeah, some sections of the rules are a departure from 1e Crescent Moon and pretty different from the original Exiles playkit from a year ago. All in all, I consider this final version of the game to be a very streamlined, polished version of the original concept.
•  Will Crescent Moon 2e be like this? Yes. Although naturally nowhere near as complex as Exiles gets, you can expect the overall flow of the rolls, the traits, and the core system to be ported back into this new format.
•  Why did it take so long? There are several reasons. Part of it were my expectations: When I first started this project, I thought development would only be a matter of working on top of Crescent Moon's system, however, the longer I worked on it, the deeper I got into adjusting the rules to better match the kind of dark fantasy fiction I envisioned, and that in turn led me to interrogate CM's foundation to the core. I've grown as a designer in this time, and while Crescent Moon 1e stands still on very firm ground, I think this version of the game is much more effective at playing to its strengths and has shed away things that didn't serve that core purpose. Pair that with pretty extensive playtesting and a hefty amount of content, and you end up with a longer development time.
•  So is it still an expansion? By this point EXILES has grown bigger than Crescent Moon. It's mechanically distinct, has as many character options, much more content, and is more geared towards campaign play. I find myself thinking about it more in terms of twin games nowadays.
•  What's included in the playkit? All final rules and rolls, all character creation options, all items and arcana, 6 pact playbooks to be doomed with, and 1 example journey: The Scorched Springs. 
•  What's missing? A bizillion examples of play, more prose and extended introduction to concepts like The Below and role-playing games, detailed explanations on all rules, fun tidbits you'd expect from a book, all locations and underdwellers content, final layout, and art. Most of the above is already in the script, so it's just a matter of wrapping it up and sending it to editing.
•  How's the content writing going? All underdwellers are drafted and have gone through several revisions, 6 out of the 8 in-depth journeys/hexes/adventure locations are in some kind of progress state (some on draft 2/2, some on draft 1/2). I had to take a detour to get the playkit up and running over the last couple of weeks, but I shall return to wrapping up the script and the content beginning next week.

State of production

 TLDR: It's gonna take a while.

To be transparent: With my current output capacity and the amount of things I'm juggling personally and professionally, getting this out fast is not my top priority at the current time. It's coming, it's going to be great, and I'm working on it several hours a week—but I think what's best for both the project and myself in the long term is to shift the focus towards slow and steady rather than trying to rush after a deadline, given the original one has already been missed. I intend to share with you the last pieces of content as it all comes together, and provide a more certain timeline once production feels like it's at a place for that. Hopefully, I'm aiming for a 2023 release. But we shall see! As always, I'm very much grateful for your patience, kindness, and words of encouragement over the past year. I feel torn over not being able to meet the original time-frame and honor the compromise I made with you all, but I think the most sensible thing to do for everyone involved is to prioritize the needs of the project, which in this case are more time. I hope once the books are in your hands you feel the wait was worth it. Thank you. 🖤

A limited discord server for EXILES is now up!

 If you were around for Crescent Moon you might remember the 'limited server' format. In short, I've repurposed the discord server that was used for playtesting and turned it into an open space where anyone can join and connect with others to organize games. You're invited to join with this link. It's limited in the sense it might be around for a while, and then disappear once the release window is over.  

I'm launching a monthly game patreon!

This is by far one of the things I'm most excited for as of late. Beginning March 1st, I'm launching a Patreon page where I'll be mailing monthly-ish games, merch, and postcards. The first game in the series is called "We Three Shall Meet Again" by Sam Dunnewold, and it's an asynchronous journalling game about 3 witches sharing 1 body. If you'd like to know more, you can sign up to my newsletter to get an email when the page goes live next Wednesday.

The Fiction First Network plays Exiles! (Soon)

 Lastly: Next month the FFN is going to be dropping an actual play of EXILES facilitated by me! Since the playkit is out, we figured it'd be a good opportunity to highlight what the final game plays like. We be recording this weekend, so if you've got any rules questions you'd like us to cover, feel free to drop them in the comments. 🌿

What's next?

Next time I reach out the script should be out of my hands (by force, if needed) and my focus will have shifted towards working on layout and art compositions with Riley, and beginning to dive into CM2e. I'll keep you posted of how it goes. I'm no longer on twitter, but you can keep up with me on instagram, my newsletter and probably the discord server as well.

See you again when the days are longer. Until then. ✴️

HEX 10: A Foreboding Omen 👁️
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 01:54:41 AM

I continue to delve even deeper—deeper still that anyone thought possible. Turning what shouldn't be unearthed. Disturbing a will of immemorial dormancy and risking the end of its slumber. There, I'm hit with the realization that I must make the climb back. I must at least try, or they'll have my head. But is it too late? Will I even be able to withstand sunlight again? After so long? I ponder, as the dormant voice whispers me to stay, and the unturning stillness of the lightless cave becomes my one belonging.

This is a short update just to let you know a long, exciting update is coming sometime in February. Take it as a wrinkled little letter hastily written in the darkness; a warning of what's to come. 

If you must know, the short of it is that the game is on its final playable state, the playtesting period has successfully wrapped up, and I'm making slow-yet-steady progress on the last bits of content. Excuse I hold off on details: I'll give you the pulp of it in a couple week's time alongside some fun things I'm preparing to share with you. Some directly tie to EXILES, some run parallel to it. It will just take me a minute to get it all sorted out.

I hope you look forward to it. Until then. ✴️