May Update
almost 3 years ago – Tue, May 16, 2023 at 08:38:42 AM

Hey Backers!

Things have been progressing behind the scenes on our end. We had a chance to play test and rewrite some parts of HLD for clarity of use and game flow. All of the text is with our editor now. The next step after they return it is to make the final adjustments needed and then start laying out the pages. We are on schedule with our intended timeline. 

Backerkit has been a nuisance when working out some of the shipping details. I have it mostly ironed out now. When it is finished I’ll send out a “smoke test” which means a few backers will get an email with their Backerkit survey. That gives us a chance to make sure everything is working correctly. If so, then surveys to collect your information will go out to the rest of backers after that.

Mark has finished all of the art for the items, which means I’ll start designing the final version of the item cards over the next couple weeks, then an editing pass, and finally off to production.

Talk to y’all again in June,

Chris Koger

Spooky Bell Games

April Update - Play Tests and Art
about 3 years ago – Mon, Apr 03, 2023 at 10:15:00 AM

Hi Backers,

Kickstarter has done its thing and the funds have cleared. I have been working on getting everything imported and ready in Backerkit, which I should finish this coming week. We will get surveys out a little while after that.

Here's a sketch of the amped VR drone. Hearing only the sights and sounds channeled through its headset and neurological implants, it is pumped full of drugs and bad ideas, and stitched together from the best of the leftovers of previous enemies. Try your best not to piss it off when you are having a good time in the VR playground. 

We had a great play test session this past week, with a nice mix of very experienced players and newbies, and I'm excited for Josh to start making some of the final adjustments to the text to make this game the best it can be. The adventure flowed super smooth, and we generated some killer ideas and tweaks. Always remember, you have to have a good laugh when everything goes wrong and it all starts to fall apart.

You'll be hearing from me again the first week of May with our regular monthly update. 

Thanks,

Chris Koger

Spooky Bell Games

The Hard Light Dynamic Has Funded!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 13, 2023 at 07:28:19 PM

Greetings Rogue Sentients,

First of all, thank you to the 281 backers who pledged $7,167 to make The Hard Light Dynamic happen! We funded at over 358% of our goal. Our team has been working hard to put this all together and your support means so much to us. I am excited to wrap up this funding campaign and get working on the next steps of this zine.

What Now?

Kickstarter will do its business behind the scenes to finish out the campaign and settle things. Later this week we will work on getting the Backerkit set up and soon after that you'll receive an email to head over there. We will be using Backerkit to fulfill the pledges and track everything once that is done, but if you have issues, we will also respond to messages and comments here on Kickstarter. Please make sure your address and e-mail on Kickstarter are accurate. 

 Going Forward

Going forward we will dive into getting this book completed. Mark will keep jamming out killer art, and Josh and Chris will be tweaking the writing and editing to get it into its final form. We are also excited to announce Wes Ascolese is coming on to help support all the back end of the project, as well as working on the layout and technical side of the project with Chris. Because of our funding level, we will also have the budget for a proper editor. Everything is looking great for delivery of the final project by our desired goal of August 2023.

Communication

Chris will continue to handle most of the updates from here on out. We will do a regular update at the beginning of each month, as well as when any important information needs to be communicated. 

Thanks again for your support. We are going to take a couple days now to breathe, as is always needed after a Kickstarter campaign. Keep an eye out for those cracks and screen tears in reality, especially around the fuzzy edges of your vision where the shadowy figures creep about. Expect to hear from us again soon.

/// Chris Koger and Josh Harper ///

Crossed the $3000 Mark!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Feb 25, 2023 at 05:44:12 PM

Hi Backers,

Thank you for taking us over the $3000 mark! The support for The Hard Light Dynamic keeps growing.

Here's a few places where you can see or hear Josh and I talk about the project a bit more. We have several other interviews and videos coming as well which we will share in the future.

• Go check us out on the Geeks' Cant Twitch as part of World of Game Design's coverage of Zine Quest 5.
• Listen to us talk to Karl on the Gmologist Presents Podcast on Apple or Spotify. 
• Watch us hang out with GarmBreak on Cool Crowdfunding as part of the Midgardia Youtube channel. 

I also wanted to shine a light on a couple other independent creators with projects that are funding right now.

• Go check out Broken Cities by Côme Martin. Travelers explore a strange and ever-changing surrealist City in this GMless, diceless RPG with asymetrical roles!
• Go take a look at Solo Panda Fu by Peter Rudin-Burgess. This Zine adds solo roleplaying to Yin Yang Panda published by Skavenloft, which is available free, and is based on a hack of Lasers and feelings by John Harper.

Thanks,

Chris Koger

Spooky Bell Games

Funded in Under 8 Hours! Thank You!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Feb 21, 2023 at 07:28:26 PM

Hi Backers,

First Things First

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for coming in hot and taking us over our goal in the first 8 hours of the campaign! We appreciate all our returning backers and friends and welcome all you new backers and cybernerds to the fold.

Going Forward

We have a killer adventure, Mark is delivering rad art, and we knew from the get go what level of book and cards we wanted to deliver. So we decided to set our standard high and deliver that no matter what. That means that we aren’t doing any incremental stretch goals. We set a higher funding goal from the start, and now we get to do full color, high quality paper, laminated covers, thick cardstock, and the whole nine yards for everyone who backs a physical book and/or item deck.

Share the Love

Now go out and tell your friends about the rad project you just backed. More updates to come throughout the campaign.

Thanks,

Chris Koger and Joshua Harper

Spooky Bell Games

PS We can all just pretend this is update #1