Digital Books Are Out!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 29, 2021 at 06:13:25 AM

Hello backers! Today is a huge update: the book is finished! I wrote the final words this morning and have been recovering ever since. I have also launched the digital copy on Itch so I can sneak it into the current Troikafest Jam that's going on, if you'd like to check that out. Below are some updates regarding the next steps in fulfilling the rewards. 

Digital Books on Itch

Backers who are expecting a copy of the digital book will soon be receiving an email from Itch with a link to download it. You do not need an Itch account to do this BUT you should consider doing so. If you link your download code for Articles of the Arcana with an Itch account, you will be able to download any and all updates to the book in the future absolutely free. As a note, I will not be sending updated PDFs via email. If there are any future updates for content, typos, or anything else, Itch accounts will get that for free. 

These emails have already gone out, so please check your spam and junk folders. DO NOT purchase a copy on Itch right now; you've already paid for it! 

If you don't already have an Itch account and need help with that, please comment here. Either myself or a helpful backer will help you out!

BackerKit Surveys

We are about 80% complete on KS backer surveys in BackerKit, which is great! We're also accepting preorders to bring in new folks who missed out on the KS. Also, if you missed out on any add ons or rewards during the KS campaign, you can add those in BackerKit as well. Again, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know. 

Surveys will be open until May 7th at which point I will be locking down surveys to make the book and deck orders. PLEASE get your survey in by then, especially if you want to add anything to your order. 

I will leave you with a look at the physical book layout I'm currently working on. I'll be ordering these proofs soon! 

Surveys Are Live!
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 03:54:35 PM

The testing on BackerKit went really well, so we're ready to open up surveys for everyone! Check your email for a direct link to your survey, of visit https://articles-arcana.backerkit.com and enter your Kickstarter email address to find your survey. 

The surveys will be open for a couple weeks to give everyone a chance to finish and also allow folks who missed the project to preorder books and decks if they want. When it's time to lock down surveys, you'll get a notice and your cards will be charged for shipping and any addons. 

Thanks again! 

Surveys Opening Soon!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 21, 2021 at 02:17:17 AM

Hello folks! As promised I have been hard at work getting the BackerKit surveys all set up. That whole process is finally done and we will begin sending out the "smoke test" invites in the next couple days. This will be an invite sent to only 5% of backers spread across the different tiers to make sure everything was set up correctly. If they find any issues, I can have a chance to fix them. Once everything is confirmed to be working as expected, the rest of the surveys invites will go out, likely early next week. 

I also wanted to do a quick reminder about the tarot decks. For Kickstarter backers, instead of receiving an at-cost print-on-demand coupon code, I will be doing a bulk order of decks and sending them to you with your other rewards, if any. What this means for backers is A) instead of paying the $15 difference to the printer, you'll just pay that to me via BackerKit, and B) instead of paying the printer separate shipping and getting multiple packages, you'll just pay me one shipping fee and get everything at once. While this is a change from what was originally proposed, I believe it will simplify everyone's lives and also allow me to print a higher-quality tarot deck. 

So, keep an eye out for a smoke test survey invite this week, but if you don't get one, you'll be invited to complete your survey next week. In the meantime, have another tarot deck photo for good luck.

Tarot Deck & Book Progress
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 18, 2021 at 07:35:20 PM

Hello everyone! We have a very important mid-month update for you all, so lets dive right into it with a quick overview:

• ALL ART IS DONE! The cards, the backgrounds, and the campaign prompts art is all turned in and it is gorgeous!
• TAROT DECK IS DONE! I have already received a sample of the deck. It is looking really good and I have some photos below for you. 
• Tarot deck ordering and fulfillment has changed! Read more below.
• The campaign prompt section is being completely revised to pair better with the amazing art that was turned in recently. For a full timeline, read more below.

Tarot Deck Order & Fulfillment

There have been some considerable changes to how the deck is going to be produced, fulfilled to backers, and be available after the fulfillment. First, I'm switching from DriveThruCards to The Game Crafter. TGC offers more card finishing options, a vertical tuck box layout, and is a platform I'm already using for my other game projects. With all that in mind, I believe I can deliver a higher-quality product while also making it easier for me to manage the sales. These will be available for print-on-demand sale after fulfillment.

For Kickstarter backers, you will all be getting a deck shipped by me with all your other physical rewards. This is, again, making my life a lot easier, but also has some savings for you. Instead of paying separate shipping for your book (through me) and your deck (through a print-on-demand service), I can save you a few bucks and make sure everything gets to you all at once. 

If you have additional questions about the updates to the deck printing and fulfillment, please let me know in a comment or message and I will do my best to address them.

Book Progress

As I mentioned above, the book is mostly done, but I'm taking the campaign prompts back to the drawing board. I outlined a completely new story for the 22-card journey that incorporates the amazing spot art that the two campaign artists turned in last week. I am already six cards completed on this new story, and will be looking to complete the final draft this week. Jon will be editing these in tandem and our goal is to have the book competed and edited by the end of this week. If all goes well, the digital version will be available by the end of the month.

Physical books will be ordered from the printers in the following weeks after the BackerKit has launched and a short preorder window has passed to allow folks who missed the Kickstarter campaign to order a book as well. I'm giving this just a week or two so we don't delay the shipping of the books too much. I'm still hoping I can get the books printed, received, and shipped out by the end of May as promised. 

Tarot Deck Preview

Here are some photos of the tarot deck sample I received recently. The cards look vibrant, crisp, and the full-bleed art is as awesome as we had hoped. I can't wait for these to find their way into your hands! Thank you! 

Home Stretch
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 01, 2021 at 08:32:46 PM

Hello everyone! Another month of work has come to a close and we are getting so close to finishing the content creation portion of our work we can smell it! Below are updates around the BackerKit surveys and a tease of recent card art, for those interested. 

Here's the high-level update:

• 36 of 36 background cards are done! We're also cruising toward finishing the entire deck, with 57 of 78 cards completed. We also did a little bit of retooling around the graphic design on the cards to make the deck feel more cohesive and easy to read on the fly. We're really excited about it!
• 36 of 36 backgrounds are written and in the process of being edited. Woo!
• 6 of the 22 campaign prompts are finished and 14 are outlined. You'll noticed this is a step back from the 8 we had last month. I'm still figuring out what I want out of these, but rest assured they will be thematic and easy for game runners to use. 
• Artists for the campaign prompts section have their direction and are beginning work on the 20 spot illustrations that will accompany the prompts. Looking forward to sharing some teases of those soon. 
• As mentioned above, editing is underway. Not to toot my own horn, but I pride myself on a pretty high bar of writing, so I'm hoping that Jon doesn't find a ton that needs to be updated. In addition to finishing the campaign prompts I'll be reviewing Jon's edits as necessary.

BackerKit Surveys

This will be my first project using BackerKit, so I'm taking my time to make sure the whole thing is set up properly so we don't have any trouble there. Once it is live, you'll be able to finalize your orders, set and pay for shipping, add on any items you missed or forgot, and also allow folks who missed the KS campaign to preorder copies as well. Looking forward to getting that out to everyone in the next week or so.

Card Art

The art coming in is a-mazing! Honestly, if we were just making a tarot deck, I would feel extremely proud of the work we're doing. I can't wait for you all to see the finished book and deck, so here's a little tease of some of the recent card art that has come in.