The Videos Have Landed!
about 5 years ago – Wed, Dec 04, 2019 at 08:41:34 PM

(NOTE: So, as of this writing, now that we have playthrough videos done Kickstarter has developed a bug that won't show embedded videos. LOL! How's that for irony?)

They're here, guys. After a journey through the proverbial desert, suddenly we have a deluge of playthrough goodness. We have not just one video, but TWO! 

The first video is from Lance at Learn to Play. His video is a great look at playing Dawn of Madness that clearly walks through several rounds. I highly recommend it. (If the embedded video doesn't start working, you can find it at https://youtu.be/QHZCfZLOT5s.) 

Next, we have a slightly less... refined video from me. It is far from perfect, and I am still not a great videographer. Having said that, you may find it entertaining if for no other reason than because I do so very badly in it. (I certainly did.) From a tactics standpoint, I think it's safe to say mine is probably not the epitome of best practices. 

I should also mention that I only play a round-and-a-half in this video. Why, you ask? Because I feel very, very strongly that I want you guys to play this with me. I already know how the stories go, and what the best choice(s) to make are. But you don't. So, you're going to tell me where to go and what to do in the encounters, then I'm going to film another video and play out what happens, and I really think we're all going to have a good time. 

Don't care about playing along? No problem. You should hopefully still be able to get a good idea for the mechanics, as I put off playing a story encounter for as long as I could to show you some other gameplay stuff. (To my poor Wanderers' detriment, I fear.) Should this embedded video not start working, either, you can find the video at  https://youtu.be/4UghuQUTr3k.

So what's it going to be, guys? Are we going to go for the air vent to see what's in it, or check out the papers on the desk? Let me know in the comments!

Daily Unlocks

Today we have 12 Devour cards for Masquerade Freedom opening up at the Core level, and 48 Finale Encounter cards for Anita at the Otherworld level! More bad stuff coming for your Wanderers! Huzzah!

We're not going to do a Gameplay Deep Dive today, because we figured you had enough to do with the videos. We'll be back tomorrow, though, with more fun stuff. Talk to you again soon, have a great day, and be sure to tell me in the comments which direction we should go in the next video!

Encountering the Family, Devoured by Frailty, and Diving Into Encounters
about 5 years ago – Tue, Dec 03, 2019 at 11:19:31 PM

Hi there, guys! How's your day so far?

I wanted to start off this update by discussing the playthrough video that I'm making with you. I was really pushing to have it done for this update, but try as I might it just isn't quite there. Having said that, it is really close. So I will probably not wait for the next regular update, but instead put out a second update midday today. I know how anticipated this video is, and I don't want you to have to wait another full day to get it if you don't have to. Having said that, some things could go wrong (such as taking too long to upload), but hopefully, if all goes according to plan, I'll have a midday update out for you later with that video.  

Also! We are going to do another live stream this Wednesday at 3pm PST! We're going to try to have this one on both YouTube and Facebook for those who aren't fans of Facebook. (And if I can't do both, then we'll go with YouTube this time rather than Facebook.) Come hang out with me if you can!

Okay, so with video stuff out of the way, let's get to the daily unlocks!

Encountering the Family and Devoured by Frailty 

Today we unlock 12 Devour cards for Masquerade Frailty at the Core level, and 40 Encounter cards for Anita at the Otherworld level. What is creeping under the surface of the family home Anita is visiting? Why are the walls bulging and the ceiling starting to churn? You'll have to dive into these encounters to find out.

Speaking of diving into encounters, that's exactly what we're going to do now!

Gameplay Deep Dive: Encounters

The encounters are one of the core gameplay experiences in DoM. During a chapter, every Wanderer will need to enter the encounters contained within the current Central Wanderer’s book, making decisions, resolving tests, and reshaping the Central Wanderer’s story.

Here are some interesting game features about encounters:

1. Every player's decisions make a sizable impact on the Central Wanderer’s story. Your choices or test results will not only earn plot points toward one or more of the Central Wanderer's specific endings, but they will also lead to branching paths in the story, block off some choices, and open others. You will unlock deeper hidden encounters, spread consequence tokens across the Conscious Realm that will impact the story in the future, and reveal portals to areas in the Conscious Realm. As an example, perhaps in one encounter you may normally go to meet a nice chap who only wants to give you good things (hey, it could happen), but if you have completed a different encounter first then you may instead be chased by a Wanderer's faceless mother - and the only way to escape her is to run down the corridor swarming with innumerable cockroaches.

2. Every Wanderer has his own strengths and weaknesses, so different Wanderers resolving the same encounter would come to completely different outcomes. This fact alone will alter the plot dramatically, with a heavy impact on the finale.

3. One of the most interesting features in my opinion is that you are not only contributing to the Central Wanderer's stories: you will also get rewards that only come from that particular encounter. Most of the encounters will give you a Coda card as a reward for resolving it. That Coda card contains special abilities that will allow you to build up and customize your Wanderer - abilities that may not be found in other Wanderers' stories (or even in other encounters within the same story.) This allows you to forge a different Wanderer yourself in each campaign you play - even if you're playing with the same Wanderer as before. Some Codas from different stories can even create powerful combos - if you’re lucky enough to get them both.

There are three types of Encounter cards in Dawn of Madness: Portal Encounters, Realm Encounters, and Deep Encounters. Portal Encounters are the main encounters that go on the game board. And, when one is completed, it is turned over to reveal a portal into the Conscious Realm. Both Realm and Deep Encounters appear on the Central Wanderer's Conscious Realm sheet, their locations marked by tokens matching the red and blue question marks shown on their cards below.

An Encounter card features a little bit of flavor text to give you a taste of what the story may contain, and then below that are the requirements to enter that encounter (with required Mental Capacity on the left and Domains you need to spend from your dashboard on the right.) There are also two slightly different flavors of encounters across all three types: Reality Shards (which are green in color) and Explorations (which are blue.) Reality Shards are closer to seeing through the Central Wanderer's eyes and experiencing her life, while the Explorations are more akin to exploring the world the Otherworld pieced together from her mind. Either variation can be experienced by any Wanderer.

So, what are some more purposes of these encounters?

1. Every Wanderer has four different endings. Of these, some may be considered “better” while others could be called “much, much worse”. Although there is not a standard rule of thumb that will direct you toward obtaining the best endings, you will still gain a sense the further the story develops of how your choices are influencing the ending - and may even give you some hints of what you need to do to win the finale.

2. In addition to upgrading your Wanderer through Coda cards, you and your fellow Wanderers will need Memory Shards to gain access to your own memories, gain new abilities, upgrade your active Coda card limit, clear Devour tokens off the board, and fight the Abomination. While Memory Shards can be gained from defeating enemies, by far the most plentiful source of them is inside encounters.

3. The encounters are the main place in the game where we are going to try to scare you. =)

I hope you enjoyed this little look into encounters. We'll be back with more shortly (and hopefully I'll be back a little sooner than normal with a video for you, should all of the pieces fall into place.) Regardless, have a great day and we'll talk with you again soon!

The Standee Gameplay Expansion, Daily Unlocks, and World Shards
about 5 years ago – Mon, Dec 02, 2019 at 08:37:49 PM

Welcome back, Wanderers! I hope your weekend was a good one. 

I have some news today that I thought was impossible at this point. But here it is anyway. So why don't we get into that straightaway?

The Standee Gameplay Expansion

They told me it couldn't be done. And then they went ahead and did it anyway.

For those of you who wanted the gameplay content but didn't care about the minis, today your requests are answered! May I introduce the Standee Gameplay Expansion! 

This expansion includes everything missing from the Core level that is included in the Gameplay Mostly All-In. It will contain both of the Otherworld stretch goal Wanderer expansions once they're unlocked (Edward the clockmaker and Anita the writer), it has the add-on Wanderer expansions for Mordecai the anthropologist and Cary the actor, it has the Numina, the Executioners, the Depressions, and even the Watchers. And all of it without minis. 

We realize this will only appeal to a very specific portion of our community, but we wanted you to know that you are important to us, too. Honestly, I had given up hope on this, so I am extremely happy to be able to offer this to you today, regardless of how many people actually get it. 

The Standee Expansion is available starting today for $99. To add it to your pledge, first click on "Manage your pledge": 

Next, click "Change your pledge":

And then add the amount of the expansion to your total and click "Continue". (For the Core pledge, it would be $79+99 to equal $178.)

We'll figure out what additional expansions you pledged for in the pledge manager later on.

Now, once again, if you are getting the Otherworld or a higher pledge level then this is probably not for you. (You will already have much or all of this content already included in your pledge level.) This is strictly for people who want the gameplay content but don't care about the minis. Also, this collection will be a KS-exclusive box. That doesn't mean the contents are, necessarily: only the box itself. We won't offer this collection at retail.

Well hopefully this has made some of you happy! Now, onto other stuff!

Our Daily Unlocks

Today we unlock a piece (or pieces) of Anita's world, as well as some ways that Masquerade Bliss is going to mess with you! At the Core level we've unlocked 12 Devour cards for Bliss, and at the Otherworld level we have 8 World Shards (4 regular and 4 exhausted) that give you a glimpse into Anita's fractured life. 

And speaking of World Shards...

Gameplay Deep Dive: World Shards 

Today we're going to take a look at the ground beneath the Wanderers' feet: the World Shards!

Though, calling it ground could be somewhat deceptive...

In Dawn of Madness, Wanderers and other entities move around the Otherworld performing actions, diving into encounters, and ripping each other to pieces. However, as mentioned in the last update, the Otherworld is not a specific place. Instead, it is a fragmented, conscious alternate dimension filled with shards from the worlds and lives of every person who has been thrust into it.

The Otherworld was not specifically created by the Golden Dawn Church. But, whether it is a byproduct of their consciousness fusion experiments or they simply pierced into a place that has existed for time immemorial, it has certainly benefitted from the fruits of their endeavors. The Golden Dawn seek a way to harness this realm for their own purposes, but it is hard to do that when entry seems for the most part to be a one-way ticket. For instance, early on they tried to gain some foothold in the place by injecting their agents into it, armed with technology to protect them while allowing them to broadcast back to the church. The end-result of this was the Watchers. Like the Watchers, all efforts have thus far ended in one degree or another of failure. But every iteration sees them move one step closer to their goals.

The Wanderers have been sucked into the Otherworld not only as a part of an experiment, however, but also because, for one reason or another, they were "special." Their receptive mental states (combined with their unique pasts) reacted with the Golden Dawn's experiments to hurl them into the Otherworld, while also preserving parts of their essential being in a way that very few others could hope to achieve. Regardless, as they entered the Otherworld it ripped their minds apart, fracturing them beyond recognition. And now their lives, their memories, and the places they inhabited are a part of the fundamental structure of the Otherworld. Their fragments of consciousness are the key fuel for this realm - and the main topography for it as well. Whenever new Wanderers are thrust into the Otherworld, their new World Shards are added to its milieu. All of those World Shards intertwine to forge an ever-twisting, malleable, and hopelessly fragmented world.

In the game, each Wanderer’s World Shards can provide the Wanderers with differently colored Domains, provide their own unique game effects, and unveil Memories for their specific Wanderer. For example, Emily’s World Shards offer different kinds of mental and physical treatments which can reshape the functions and capacities of a Wanderer's Domains, while Lynas's World Shards can help purify negative conditions and earn Glory tokens (which can be used to temporarily summon a powerful entity into the Otherworld). Different combinations of Wanderers can completely change the Otherworld, which will affect the Domains you can get and the actions you can perform.

During the game, players need to make good use of the available World Shards' Domain resources and unique actions in order to have any chance of surviving a bit longer in the Otherworld. This is a place with endless chaos and malice. Those who fail to adapt to and exploit it will be devoured and corrupted, becoming Distortions or Abominations themselves - or being annihilated altogether.

I hope you've enjoyed this look into World Shards and the Otherworld. We'll be back tomorrow with more cool stuff (including probably at least one video)! Have a great day!

OnTabletop, Emergence of Worlds, Domains, and Shaping the Future of DoM!
about 5 years ago – Sun, Dec 01, 2019 at 10:55:57 PM

Hi all! It's been another great day over here in Kickstarter-land. Perhaps it's been (unsurprisingly) a little slower than the last couple of days, but it's been impressive nonetheless! In fact, we unlocked another new stretch goal!

We also got mentioned today in The Weekender from OnTabletop! It's not necessarily the most accurate look at the game, but it's still cool to be featured on the show! (Our segment starts at around 56:00, though the video below should be keyed directly to the segment.)

There'll be more videos shortly. The last couple days were a bit more... hectic than I was expecting, so it's taken me longer to edit my playthrough video. Having said that, it should be done shortly. Also, Lance with Learn 2 Play will have a playthrough video up before long, so keep an eye out for that, too. 

Our Daily Unlocks: Emergence of Worlds and Confronting Masquerade Impotent

The portal takes its final form, and Anita is all but lost. Who knows what horrible, monstrous things will come through the breach? Likely Anita won't. But perhaps, somewhere deep inside, at least the act of creation still burns within her.

Today we unlock Anita's third Malformation, Emergence of Worlds, at the Otherworld level. In addition, we have also unlocked 10 Confrontation cards for Masquerade Impotent at the Core level. 

The Death of Concepts, and the Rise of Domains

So, one of the things that backers mentioned as a barrier to understanding Dawn of Madness was the relation between Sentience, Concepts, and Domains. One solution (raised by Sharkey and others) was to merge the ideas of Concepts and Domains, essentially eliminating the Concepts. We're going to give this a try. So, the five symbols on the Wanderer dashboards are no longer Concepts: they are now Domains.  Thanks, guys - you just made a major impact on Dawn of Madness.

We wanted this to be a game that you guys helped us make in more ways than one. The game is not finalized yet (thus why we said this was a true Kickstarter project, not just a preorder campaign), and there is certainly room to improve and refine. While we will always go with what we think is best for the game, in this case that was what you all were suggesting. So, to everyone who weighed in on this, thank you. Let's see where it goes. =)

Because of this we will now be referring only to Domains in the future, not Concepts. If this causes any confusion, we ask that those of you who get it help those who don't. (You guys are the reason we're doing this, after all.) But, without further ado, let's dive deeper into Domains!

Gameplay Deep Dive: Domains

First, though, a caveat: in the last Deep Dive, I threw a couple people off because they started to think the philosophy behind Sentience was sounding like we were making a different game than the one they signed up for. That's not the case. LOL! This game is still all about creeping you out. I can pretty much guarantee the things we're talking about now will hardly even cross your mind as you're playing (if they do at all.) But these Deep Dive updates allow us to reveal things to you and talk about things that we never otherwise could, whether in-game or even in the rulebook. If this stuff starts to make your eyes cross, then stop reading. You won't enjoy the game any less for skipping this. But for those of you who like it, onward! =D

There are five different Domains, and each one is closely knit to one of the five Sentience colors. (They can and do appear in any of the colors, but each has one color that they are more regularly favored by - which is reflected in the fact that they appear twice on that Sentience color's dice.) These symbols may seem like random cool (or strange, depending who you are) icons, but they are more than that. Each one has a theme behind it that ties in with the Otherworld and the Deep Madness Universe.

• The tentacle fingers, as mentioned in yesterday's update, are like the warping effect of violence - but they can also mean manipulation and initiative, which is why it can also be used in-game to reroll bad dice rolls. They are favored by red Sentience, which is why there are two of them on every red die. 
• The eye Domain stands for awareness, as well as protection. That's why it can be used to block damage that you are meant to receive. (It is favored by green.) 
• The sphere is straight out of Deep Madness. If you have played that game, then you are at least familiar with the sphere. It stands for the unknown, the unexpected, the boundless, and the uncertain. That's why it is treated as a wild result in-game. Purple favors the sphere. 
• The skull reflects the fusions of two consciousnesses - like two minds becoming one. It can also mean synergy and connection. That's why you can use them in-game to play a Domain card and help another player. They are favored by the yellow dice.  (Fun fact: the original skull icon was actually two skulls fusing together - which was also straight out of Deep Madness. However, it was too hard to see at small sizes, so we had to switch to the current version.)
• Lastly, the brain Domain refers to mentality - the capacity for intelligent thought. That's why brain Domains can be used in place of Mental Capacity in-game. The blue dice favor them.

One other thing that should be explained is the idea of Domains themselves. First of all, some have wondered if this game takes place in some sort of dream world, or, if not, exactly what kind of place the Otherworld is. It is not a dream, but it is also not a "physical" reality in our sense of the word. It is a place that is conscious, and it thrives on the consciousnesses of others. Domains, then, are how this living dimension breaks up consciousnesses - and devours them.  Each Domain is essentially a specialty or attribute of a conscious being - a "domain" of expertise, in a sense. (The word Domain would here mean "a specified sphere of activity or knowledge.") So perhaps when you use a Domain you are using your own mind's latent abilities... or maybe you're stealing a piece of someone else's consciousness, siphoning it out of the Otherworld for your own purposes. In the end, though, does it really matter as long as you pass the test? =D

Now, another problem that people have mentioned (and which I came to realize myself a couple of days ago) was that the Domains each needed a name, (We're still working out what to do with the Sentience as far as names go, or if they'll even have names.) We're going to be working on this, and we've listed some of our initial thoughts below. Sharkey also had some ideas on what these should be called, so we "fused" some of his insights into our own thoughts. Here's what we're currently thinking about calling them:

• Tentacle Fingers - Ferocity
• Eye - Awareness
• Sphere - Eldritch
• Skull - Fusion
• Brain - Mentality

But we want to know, what do you think they should be called? As I said, we will still use the one that we feel is best for the game. But, as I also said, that could very well be your idea. So let's get discussing! Throw your ideas down in the comments!

That's it for this update! We will talk to you all again tomorrow! Have a great Sunday!

More Stretch Goals Down, The Sentinels Wake, The Portal Takes Form, and Studying Sentience
about 5 years ago – Sat, Nov 30, 2019 at 10:52:15 PM

You guys are simply amazing. Thank you so much to everyone who jumped on one of the Gameplay All-In levels, whether you're new here or you've been with us from the start. We appreciate you more than you know.

We unlocked five more stretch goals today! Here's where we are right now:

We have now unlocked all three of Edward's Aberrations, the Sentinels. The Sentinels are not evil. Nor are they good. Instead, they are the dispassionate, unflinching, and relentless wardens of time. They wait, as lifeless as unwound automatons, until a disturbance awakens them from their dreamless slumber. Then they will go to any lengths necessary to close whatever breach has occurred in time's continuum - and eradicate the rupture's cause so that no further tampering can take place. Edward is about to find out that there are very good reasons why time travelers only appear in science fiction - and it's not just because of the laws of physics.

The Portal Blooms

Today our daily unlocks have brought us 10 Confrontation cards for Masquerade Freedom at the Core level, as well as Anita's second Malformation - The Portal Blooms! Anita's writings are beginning to have quite a drastic effect on her physical wellbeing. She is beginning to display symptoms that would certainly be called unhealthy by some medical professionals - but what she wants to know is why the sacs on the ceiling are starting to twitch.

Contests and News 

It's come to my attention that we've been featured in a couple of articles, including one on Gizmodo! So that's pretty cool! Neither one has a whole lot of content, but if you want to look at them you can find Gizmodo's here and the other one, by Kick Agency, here.

In addition, there is a new contest going on to win an Otherworld pledge of Dawn of Madness in The Boardroom Magazine Board Game Group! You can check it out by clicking here. (You'll have to join the group to enter the contest, I believe.) This contest runs through December 4th, so check it out soon!

Furthermore, it's time for us to announce another winner of our Facebook post contest! Congratulations, Matt Neenan! If you're reading this, you just won an Otherworld pledge! (And even if you're not, you still won it.) If you'd like to participate in this contest, it is still ongoing and we still have eight copies to give away. Just go to this Facebook post, like it and share it to be entered! 

Gameplay Deep Dive: Sentience

This is technically the second in this series (with the first one being about Abominations all the way back in Update 4), but back then I called it Gameplay Focus, which I've decided is a lousy name. So, we're now going to call these Deep Dives, and we're going to have many more of them in the future. 

One of the most common questions we get is about Sentience, Concepts, and Domains. So, today we're going to dive into one of these three - the building blocks for all the rest, Sentience. 

Sentience makes up the five colors in the game: blue, red, yellow, green, and purple. In the current version, Sentience is portrayed as being akin to the five senses, but this may change in the future as this is not exactly how we see these five colors actually functioning. For us, the Sentience is more about personality than it is about senses. 

The word "sentience" basically means to be conscious. To feel. To perceive. And that is much closer to how we see this important resource working in the game. In psychology (and marketing), colors are often used to describe emotions or states of mind. For instance, red can be the color of passion or rage, while blue can mean peace or intellect (among a variety of other things in both cases.) We have taken this idea and applied it to our Wanderers' personalities. 

In our current thinking, red can be positive, but it is also aggressive and violent. Yellow is friendly, gentle, and sometimes cunning. Green is sometimes immature, often passive, and occasionally defensive. Blue, meanwhile, is cold, calm, and calculating. Purple is a bit different, though, in that we see it as more the color of the Otherworld. So, in our view, it represents the unknown, weirdness, and gloom.

For example, Emily is a bit of an introvert, which is why she has two green Sentience. She is friendly and tries to be kind and helpful, which is why she has three yellow Sentience. (She also is very receptive to outside influences, and has an easy time fusing with other forces in the Otherworld - both good and bad.) However, she also has a violent streak, which is why she has two red. She is also not always very calm or rational under pressure, which is why she has only one blue. 

So, looking at a Wanderer's Sentience pool, you can actually learn a bit about their personality. 

What does all of that have to do with the game? Actually, quite a bit. It means that certain Wanderers are much better at certain tests than others are, and consequently that Wanderers will approach situations very differently. For example, the resolution that Catherine (who has three red Sentience) may reach in an Encounter could be completely different from the one that Emily or Lynas would have arrived at. (And, very likely, her way of doing things would end up being much more violent. =D) In this way, other Wanderers can dramatically impact the course and outcome of a given Wanderer's chapter - for good or ill. It's often not up to the Central Wanderer to forge the path of his or her story: it's actually up to everyone else.

These ideas also extend to the Concepts (which may be simplified to just being called Domains - we'll discuss that with you guys in a future Deep Dive.) For instance, the tentacle fingers (as I lovingly refer to them) reflect violence and how it can warp us. That's why there are two of them on every red die. The skull reflects the fusions of two consciousnesses - like two minds becoming one. (Perhaps it could be though of as being a little akin to empathy on radioactive steroids.) That's why the yellow dice favor it.  And the sphere reflects the Otherworld - the strange, the unknown, and the inconstant. That's why the purple dice favor it (and why that symbol serves as DoM's wilds.)

In the future we'll go over Concepts and Domains - and ask you your thoughts on them, as they seem to be the biggest roadblock in people understanding Dawn of Madness. But that's a different update for a different day. In the meantime, hopefully you have found this look at Sentience to be interesting both in how it impacts the game and in revealing a bit of our thought process. =) 

All right, I think that's enough for one update. Before I go, though, I wanted to give you one final reminder that, as of this writing, the $303 Black Friday Gameplay All-In deal still has a couple of hours before it closes at 9am PST today, so if you wanted to take advantage of it then this is your last call!  We will talk to you again soon, and in the meantime I hope you have a great Saturday and a fantastic weekend!