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Hi, Rose here. ^_^
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Hi, folks. Rose here, with an update from Eddy!
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Hello, good dogs! There's a lot happening, so let's dive right into the updates!
PUGMIRE CORE RULEBOOK
The book is back from indexing. I know it's weird to say this, but the index looks amazing -- it's extremely comprehensive! Since we have a little time, we're doing some final visual tweaks, and then it'll be off to the printer. Around that time we'll send out the final PDF to everyone as well.
SCREEN, DICE, AND CARDS
These are at the "talking specifications with the printers" stage. We're looking into the right path to do these well, as well as deliver them in a timely fashion.
I've also been working with the tireless Mike Chaney on (digital) proofs of the cards. They're going to be a great resource to work with the game. Unfortunately, we couldn't fit all the text of some of the more complex spells and tricks onto the cards, but each one will have a handy page reference. This way, you'll be able to flip to the right section if you need a rules clarification.
MONARCHIES OF MAU
Mike, Rich, and I have talked about the visual direction of Mau, and I wrote up some art notes for Mau Early Access. We're starting to get the first sketches in, and they're looking pretty good. As with Pugmire Early Access, this process allows us to refine our ideas before we commit to a particular direction. I'm hoping the book will find the right balance of feeling like a Pugmire product while still having its own look and feel.
FICTION ANTHOLOGY
We've finalized the author list, and everyone is or will be working on revisions soon. The open call that Jim held yielded many great submissions, and it was difficult to decide on which stories to include. I agonized over which stories fit best with the other, already-accepted stories. No matter what, I'm ecstatic that so many talented writers are bringing their best to Pugmire!
PAN'S GUIDE
Revisions are fast and furious right now. Matthew Dawkins is trying a new, much more collaborative process. It's running into some snags (like any new process), but we're seeing some great results.
EARPLAY
Our actors continue to impress me -- not only did they turn in great performances, but they were accurate as well. They even corrected obvious mistakes in the script on the fly! Usually there's a chance we'd have to re-record some lines (called "brush ups" or "pickups"). But it turns out we only needed a couple, and those were easily acquired. I'm suggesting cuts and other changes to improve the experience, but we've got a great bedrock of solid acting to work from.
Speaking of acting, let me introduce you to the cast of "Pugmire: Friends and Enemies." The first three you might recognize as our friends from "Foreververse," the Geek & Sundry show!
FETCH QUEST CARD GAME
I've received some preliminary feedback from the closed playtest, which I haven't had time to read through. I'll start digging into that soon, as well as poking the other playtesters to see if they have thoughts to share. In the meantime, I'm keeping an eye on what works and what doesn't on Onyx Path's Prince's Gambit Kickstarter.
GEN CON!
With all this, I'm also working with Onyx Path to firm up my Gen Con attendance plans. It's the 50th anniversary, which makes it a special show, but it'll also be the biggest show for Pugmire as well. We're hoping to have copies of the game to sell at the show, as well as Pugmire demos. We're also working with the amazing Wrecking Crew to get some Mau demos out there, as well as Pugmire games. There may be more surprises for Pugmire fans at the show, and I'm always happy to chat for a bit and show off pictures of my pug, Murray.
AND MORE
On top of all this, I have some exciting, non-Pugmire things happening in my life. But don't worry -- Pugmire is still my baby, and I'm always working to make sure the world is in safe hands during the times when I get busy on other things. Knowing that I have such a supportive and understanding community helps as well. So thank you!
Hi, everyone! Rose here, with a new update from Eddy.
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Greetings, citizens of Pugmire! It's time for another update!
PUGMIRE CORE RULEBOOK
The Backer PDF went out, and we got some great errata. Thanks so much to the people who took the time to point out those little problems that can sometimes creep in -- it'll never be perfect, but you've saved me from some of the more embaressing typos! The book is now off for indexing, which means we'll probably have a final version in April. And then, off to the printers to make beautiful physical books!
SCREEN, DICE, AND CARDS
Now that the text is locked in, we've started work on the Pugmire Guide screen, the custom dice, and the card deck. All these are in the initial discussion stages, so I don't have much say yet.
MONARCHIES OF MAU
I finished the draft, and did an edit pass myself. While I want Early Access to read well, a lot changed between Pugmire Early Access and the final Pugmire book. Based on that, my time is better spent getting Mau to where I can have better conversations with the community, instead of making the text as polished as possible. It's now over in art direction, so Mike and Rich can use the text to discuss how Mau will look compared to Pugmire.
FICTION ANTHOLOGY
I've looked over all the first drafts now for world consistency. We're getting some amazing stories in, and I can't wait for everyone to read them. And we have some great writers on board -- some which you're recognize from other Onyx Path products, but many others who are new to Onyx Path but not necessarily new to writing great stories. Even a couple of my friends from the video game industry have contributed. We need to finish a few things before we can release an author's list, so that's something to look forward to!
PAN'S GUIDE
The first draft is in, and both Matthew Dawkins and I have offered our notes and redlines -- Matt is handling the overall direction of the project, while I'm only handling world details and rules concerns to make sure it's matching up with my vision for the line.
EARPLAY
The audio team is still hard at work. We've run into a few snags, which isn't unusual at this stage. The final product often deviates in little ways from the script -- maybe a particular line isn't working out right, or how I wrote it doesn't work as well once it's put together -- and so we discuss how to design the audio with what we have. This is definitely the most time-intensive part of the process, but the team is doing wonderfully and we're making good progress.
FETCH QUEST CARD GAME
After transcribing my hand-written cards into something I can share with other humans, I have a Fetch Quest playtest package which I've sent off to a closed alpha playtest group. Before folks ask, I'm not opening up testing right now -- things can and often do change rapidly at this stage, so I need to keep the number of people I communicate with manageable. If all goes as I envision, we'll have an "early access" version of the game at some point for everyone to test out, but it'll be a while before we get to that. Part of that is wanting to see what Onyx Path learns from doing the Prince's Gambit Kickstarter. That will be our first card game KS campaign, and a great chance to see what works and what doesn't before we make firm decisions on how to proceed with Fetch Quest. So, don't be surprised if you don't hear much about this until later in the year, but it's definitely something I'm thinking about.
LICENSED PUGMIRE PRODUCTS!
During and since the Kickstarter, I've been talking with several people about Pugmire licensing deals. One of those has finally come to pass: handmade Pugmire chibi amigurumi! I admit I didn't know much about this art of knitting stuffed yarn creatures before we started talking, but McFidget Media Crafts have worked with me and Rich to come up with an adorable version of Yosha. I know some folks were disappointed that we never got to make Yosha dolls in the original Kickstarter, but this is the next best thing. Check out their Etsy page!
AND MORE
Wow! That's a ton of updates right there, and there's more in the background. As I said back in January, 2017 will be Pugmire's year. But I should get back to work -- there are some more Pugmire audio files I need to review. So, until next month, be a good dog!
Hi, folks! Rose here, with an update from Eddy.
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Hello wonderful Kickstarter backers! Things are kicking into a new gear, so let's dive into the update!
PUGMIRE CORE RULEBOOK
As I hope you've already seen, we'll have a Backer PDF for folks on Wednesday! It's a week later than our planned release date, but we wanted to give folks time to adjust their pledges before we lock things down. Rich posted details about this release and why we do Backer PDFs in update 50. This is the first time we've used BackerKit to deliver a book PDF, so please bear with us if there are hiccups! Check out Rich's update if you haven't already: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/pugmire-fantasy-tabletop-rpg/posts/1798356
MONARCHIES OF MAU
I ran a couple playtests of Mau at Midwinter last month, and reception was positive. The playtests helped me identify areas that need work, and solidify areas that are working well. Players said the game made them feel like cats in the same way that Pugmire makes them feel like dogs. They also helped me identify some specific areas that I needed to improve. Based on that, I'm revising and finalizing the first draft of Monarchies of Mau Early Access, so more people can kick the tires. (Or, in the case of the Midwinter playtests, kick the cultist rats off of a roof.)
Last month I mentioned art direction for Mau. Since then, Rich nailed down the look of the iconic characters (including a few Kickstarter backer characters)! He brought them to Midwinter to get feedback as well, but they're already looking great!
FICTION ANTHOLOGY
Jim and I reconnected on the pitches, and we agreed on which ones worked and which ones didn't. I'm also getting first drafts to review for world-building details and continuity.
As for the story I'm submitting, I decided that a new-to-you story rather than a reprint was better. So, I'll be reworking an unpublished Pugmire story titled "Thank You, Darcy Cat." It features Darcy Cat and Alistair Afghan, two characters that show up a few times in the Pugmire game. In fact, a small section of the story is the opening fiction of the Guide section.
This will also be the story that gets converted into a non-interactive audio drama. I love the banter between Alistair and Darcy, which will translate well to audio. But the story rewrite and the audio script are a bit further down the road.
PAN'S GUIDE
The Pan's Guide team is working hard on a first draft. Now that I've answered initial questions about the world and the project, I've stepped back to let the inestimable Matthew Dawkins spearhead the project. I have every faith that he'll do a wonderful job!
EARPLAY
We finalized the scripts, and then I got them all into the software we use. There I found more problems I had to revise, and locked the script down right before I got on the plane to Midwinter. Recording started a few days after that (in fact, I listened in to the first session from a meeting room at Midwinter!). Now we're all done with recording aside from my bits, which I'm going to do tonight. The actors were all great and very efficient, so a few parts we recorded with different actors to give us alternatives. Once we listen to how they sound together and decide on the final performances, I'll announce the final cast list.
Meanwhile, the audio team has picked up the baton and started running with it. I've listened to some amazing music compositions, and the treatment on one of the monster voices is chilling!
FETCH QUEST CARD GAME
I'm also thinking about the future of Pugmire. Monarchies of Mau is the next big step, but I'm also working on a cooperative card game tentatively titled "Fetch Quest" (thanks to Rose for the title). I ran a game of it at Midwinter, and I was surprised at how well the very first game ran. There are a lot of areas I need to polish, but the core gameplay kept all six players engaged for an hour and a half, and near the end they were furiously strategizing and balancing all their resources to defeat the game. I plan to talk more about Fetch Quest after the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter.
AND MORE
And with that, I'm off to get some more work done. Hope you enjoy the PDF release on Wednesday!
RichT here:
We have about 75 people who have not completed their BackerKit Backer Surveys. I will continue to send reminders as this is very important. Without filled-in Surveys we can't fulfill your pledge rewards. If the Survey is not completed by Wednesday's Lock-Down, we will have no choice but to assume that you just wanted to support the KS, and desire no reward. As a surprisingly large number of backers have done for our other KSs.
So, please, be sure your Survey was filled out and good to go before Wednesday, because we really want to send you all your rewards. That way, you're happy and we're happy- thanks!