CanGames and the Card Backs

CanGames was so much fun. I'm preparing for an academic conference this coming weekend, so it was a great break from the running around I'm doing right now. I ran two full games of Dungeon World using a starter (seed) scenario I wrote for the convention. We also had the latest base Encounter Deck and Useful Item Deck - printed on almost the final thickness (quality) of card stock, new backs and rounded edges (thankfully the final cards will have this done by machine instead of me using my wife's scrap booking tools!). Boy do they look sharp.

The players that came out seemed to really enjoy themselves. It was a good mix of serious and hilarious. Thank you all who came and made some memorable moments. Lily the bard in her Daisy Dukes using the power of interpretive dance still makes me chuckle. And Augustine the Paladin - you were so noble, even when the skeletal dragon had you in its mouth! Spoony the Thief, your "guys, I think I've become a vampire!" was priceless. So many great moments. We are hoping to run a few more sessions around town and all the places our summer travels take us this year.

This is the latest card back (left) we are using. It will probably get tweaked, but the cards looked a lot more professional than our original card back (which was something I threw together quickly anyway). My absolute favourite card right now is the zombie card (right). When we get funding our priority will be to make sure the art on the cards rocks!

Speaking of which, we were hoping to launch, but the reality is we are waiting on a few details (one is we're getting a developer friend to price out creating an Encounter Deck app!) so that we can make sure that we don't lose our shirts but give you the best deal we can as funding partners in this project. It is also slower because we are being very careful as to what capital we lay out before we have funding secured. We are passionate about making something that will actually enhance your gaming experience.

When I'm back, week after next, I will set up an opt-in email list which we promise will be used only once - to send you a notification when the Kickstarter goes live. We are going to have some amazing early supporter deals. You will not want to miss those.

Frank

More than a Little Excited!

So Richard handed me the latest cards. They include all the custom art to date and a full set of revamped Item Cards! They look really good. The paper is 100lb, which is closer to the 140lb paper the actual cards will be on. He also made a great promo card for us to give out at CanGames. I'm including a sneak peak. If you show up for our games you will get a Basic Moves sheet (on really nice card stock), a character sheet, and because I have a couple full sets of item cards - we'll dice off at the end for someone to take the latest beta item card deck home! I can do this because they only contain art we've created (unlike most of the beta monster cards). The Item Cards are system agnostic, will work with any fantasy RPG. I think you are going to like them.

Next week I'll set up an opt in email list here at the blog - it will be for a one time future mailing. That mailing will simply be to announce the launched kickstarter so you can get there for the limited early backer levels. We have some nice ones planned.

Enjoy the promo card, come see us at CanGames to get one, complete with the latest card back.

Art from Cat Hennessey and CanGames Weekend

One of the things Richard has been working on is making sure that we have enough artistic support for when you support us into making all kinds of great expansions to the encounter decks! We've purchased some amazing art from local artist (and cosplayer!) Cat Hennessey. Here is a sample.

We are also working hard to get ourselves ready for CanGames this coming weekend. So excited to show off the cards in our custom scenario. We'll have the latest printed and ready for use this week. If you are in the Ottawa area, why not come and see us there. In addition to running games on Saturday and Sunday, Richard and I will be on hand all Sunday to answer questions and show off the latest cards. Come see us!

Because we want to do this right, we are delaying the launch until June. We wanted to launch our campaign this week, but we still have a few ducks to line up. But things are coming together. Hopefully we'll have a new improved card back to show you soon too.

Meet our Artist at ComicCon!

Richard Dufault will be photographing cosplayers at ComicCon again this year. He does a fantastic job, you should head on over to his website and check out the amazing photography.

This is a sample, a photo he did of me at PopExpo.

We have also purchased digital rights to some sample art from another artist we hope to have help us. I'll post a sample or two soon. Just need to work them into our cards.

Richard, meanwhile, is working on creating and awesome back for our cards.

Second Round of Filming Done

We had a great Dungeon World session Tuesday night. It is the first time I've been in the player seat. I am just so used to running the game that I didn't realize I hadn't had a chance to have the player's experience. It was so much fun. I played a dashing hero, leaping around with my rapier whipping the baddies. It was also the second play test of our CanGames scenario, Richard ran the game and deliberately took it in an unexpected direction using the encounter and trap cards to create an exciting (and sometimes disturbing) scenario. Elves, gnolls, necromancers, and a half-gnoll half-human? baby! Yikes.

I'm hoping that Richard will get a chance to print up the latest cards, we'll round the edges and take some pictures for you all. We are still hoping to launch this month - we have lots to do to get ready. I'm also teaching again this semester, a compressed course which means I lecture twice a week. That will also keep my quite busy. But I'm really looking forward to getting the campaign launched.

Just a bit of a teaser. Following the lead of the hugely successful Combat Description Cards, I've asked some developer friends to help me accurately price out doing an app version of our cards. We'll have it as a stretch goal to be added after we meet some of our initial stretch goals. Our intention is a web-app (I can do that myself if needed) and a stand-alone app for the iOS and Android platforms.