DoM Timeline Update (Take Two)
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 02:44:59 AM

Hi there! So, earlier today I posted an update that was titled DoM Timeline Update, and then I completely forgot to mention anything about the timeline. My bad, guys. I've pasted the previous update we posted below, so you don't have to go searching for it to read what it contained (if you didn't check it out yet.) But let's get the stuff I missed first. 

Taking into account the information presented below, our current estimates are for delivery in Q2 2023 at the very latest. (Our hope, though, is to ship in Q1 if everything goes well.) This delivery will include the wave one content, which is:

• The Core Game
• The Otherworld Miniature Box (The Core Game Minis)
• Faces of the Sphere and Its Crossover Pack
• Sentience Dice Packs
• The Neoprene Game Mat
• Metal Sentience Token Packs
• Deep Madness Crossover Pack I

Another question I've been asked is regarding the translated versions. So, here's where that stands. We aren't waiting for the game to be totally finished before starting the translations. We're doing it piece-by-piece as something is completed. As such, our goal is to ship the translated versions of DoM a few months after the English version, rather than a year or so after it (as is often the case for translated games.)  

The wave two content will be further out - likely at least a year after the wave one delivery. There will be four more books in the expansions which, even if we shorten them, will still take time to do. (We will likely bring on board additional writers to help with those, as well.) We also still need to make steel molds for the wave two minis and finalize the wanderers' components (just as we're doing for the wave one content.)

Okay, with that said, here is the original update:

We have another update for you today besides the live stream I did a couple of days ago. (You can see it here if you missed it - or had to step away during part of the insanely long, four-hour behemoth. The Dawn of Madness-specific section was nearer to the end, starting around the 2-hour 30-minute mark, though you could probably come in around 2-hours 45-minutes and not miss much.) This update will lay out specific points on where we are and the game's progress. Let's jump in.

Miniature Production

As mentioned previously, the wave-one miniature manufacturing is complete, including all the copies of the core game miniature box and The Faces of the Sphere crossover expansion. These boxes are being stored in the factory's warehouse and are ready to go once the printed materials finish.

Game Development

• Story Progress

With the additional writers now on the team, we are working on all of the remaining wanderers simultaneously. Here is a breakdown of where every wanderer is currently:

Emily Hawkins: 100% finished. Her story is completed, and all gameplay elements have been tested and are playable.

Catherine Little: 90% finished. Her wanderer stage stories are finished, and her endings are in-development. The wanderer stage stories have been tested and are playable. It'll be completed within one month.

Claude Reinhardt: 80% finished. His wanderer stage stories are nearing completion, and we are finalizing them. He should be finished within two months.

Lynas Gershwin: 30% finished. We have begun writing his stories and have had a good, smooth start. We estimate him to be completed in approximately three months.

• Game Design and Testing

Abominations: We are finalizing the last of the abominations' rules.

Wanderer-Specific: We still need to test the stories' gameplay after we finish all of the stories, particularly for the finale stages.

Everything Else: We have finished all the game development apart from these aspects.

• Graphic Design and Layout

General Components: The general components' graphic designs and layouts are finished.

Emily's Components: Emily's components are finished.

Other Wanderers' Components: The other wanderers' components are being developed alongside their wanderers.

Rulebook: We finished editing the rulebook last week. We are currently working on its layout.

Next Steps

• I received a new gameplay sample late last week, which I showed off/unboxed on the live stream. Now that I have that, I will make a new video explaining how the new rules work and show you the revised gameplay. (As previously noted, this will have spoilers in it.)
• After we finish the rulebook's layout, we'll upload it for you to check out in a future update. (Is it weird to say I'm excited about the rulebook? Maybe so. I guess it's just such a far cry from the previous one that I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.)
• We are continuing to work on the stories and their associated gameplay elements. We hope to finish them earlier than expected.

All told, the core game will likely be around 350,000 words long (80,000 to 100,000 words per story) and include over 1,000 cards. It has undoubtedly grown far beyond our initial projections for it. We are keenly aware of the delays this game has suffered (both caused by us and beyond our control), and we thank you for your continued patience with us and this project. I think it's safe to say there's finally a light at the end of the (very long) tunnel.

Okay, that's it for this update! We'll be back shortly with more - hopefully including a new rulebook! Have a great week, and we'll talk with you again soon.

DoM Timeline Update
over 1 year ago – Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 07:30:18 AM

Hey guys! We have another update for you today besides the live stream I did a couple of days ago. (You can see it here if you missed it - or had to step away during part of the insanely long, four-hour behemoth. The Dawn of Madness-specific section was nearer to the end, starting around the 2-hour 30-minute mark, though you could probably come in around 2-hours 45-minutes and not miss much.) This update will lay out specific points on where we are and the game's progress. Let's jump in. 

Miniature Production

As mentioned previously, the wave-one miniature manufacturing is complete, including all the copies of the core game miniature box and The Faces of the Sphere crossover expansion. These boxes are being stored in the factory's warehouse and are ready to go once the printed materials finish. 

Game Development

• Story Progress

With the additional writers now on the team, we are working on all of the remaining wanderers simultaneously. Here is a breakdown of where every wanderer is currently:

Emily Hawkins: 100% finished. Her story is completed, and all gameplay elements have been tested and are playable.

Catherine Little: 90% finished. Her wanderer stage stories are finished, and her endings are in-development. The wanderer stage stories have been tested and are playable. It'll be completed within one month.

Claude Reinhardt: 80% finished. His wanderer stage stories are nearing completion, and we are finalizing them. He should be finished within two months. 

Lynas Gershwin: 30% finished. We have begun writing his stories and have had a good, smooth start. We estimate him to be completed in approximately three months.

• Game Design and Testing

Abominations: We are finalizing the last of the abominations' rules.

Wanderer-Specific: We still need to test the stories' gameplay after we finish all of the stories, particularly for the finale stages.

Everything Else: We have finished all the game development apart from these aspects.

• Graphic Design and Layout

General Components: The general components' graphic designs and layouts are finished.

Emily's Components: Emily's components are finished.

Other Wanderers' Components: The other wanderers' components are being developed alongside their wanderers.  

Rulebook: We finished editing the rulebook last week. We are currently working on its layout.

Next Steps

• I received a new gameplay sample late last week, which I showed off/unboxed on the live stream. Now that I have that, I will make a new video explaining how the new rules work and show you the revised gameplay. (As previously noted, this will have spoilers in it.) 
• After we finish the rulebook's layout, we'll upload it for you to check out in a future update. (Is it weird to say I'm excited about the rulebook? Maybe so. I guess it's just such a far cry from the previous one that I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.)
• We are continuing to work on the stories and their associated gameplay elements. We hope to finish them earlier than expected.

All told, the core game will likely be around 350,000 words long (80,000 to 100,000 words per story) and include over 1,000 cards. It has undoubtedly grown far beyond our initial projections for it. We are keenly aware of the delays this game has suffered (both caused by us and beyond our control), and we thank you for your continued patience with us and this project. I think it's safe to say there's finally a light at the end of the (very long) tunnel.

Okay, that's it for this update! We'll be back shortly with more - hopefully including a new rulebook! Have a great week, and we'll talk with you again soon.

Live Stream of Awesomeness Incoming!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 07:22:42 AM

Hey guys! I will be live streaming today at 1 pm PDT (8 pm GMT), and I'd love it if you could join me! I'll have lots of Dawn of Madness stuff to show off, finalized Celestial minis, and some exciting Deep Madness news! 

For Dawn of Madness specifically, I received a new sample yesterday (complete with a component we haven't revealed previously), as well as all of the finished core minis in the Otherworld box! If you have questions about gameplay, this is a great time to get a deep-dive look. 

I'll be live on YouTube and Facebook. You can find the video links below:

In other news, we finished editing the rulebook yesterday, and are now finalizing the layout. We should have that to show you all shortly!

Talk to you again soon, and I hope to see you on the live stream!

Progress, Gen Con, a Live Stream, and More
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 13, 2022 at 10:56:11 AM

Hey guys! I'm sorry this update is tardy in arriving to you. Time got away from us. However, we do have a few things to go over with you today. First, let's discuss what's going on development-wise right now, then we'll look back at Gen Con, and finally, we'll talk about an upcoming live stream with all sorts of fun stuff. (I'll also throw some new art in at the end of the update, just because. Does it tie into anything being discussed? No, but it's new art!)

Progress Update

Since we got the game sample we showed off last month, the team has been playtesting like fiends. They found several mechanics and rules to refine, tweak, and balance from that testing, which will tighten up the game experience in almost every possible way. (The most significant elements they tweaked were game length, the game's difficulty, and several of the wanderer's actions and abilities. In addition to this, there was also a general refinement and balance across many of the components.) 

We edited all the components that needed changing as a result of that testing and have sent those to the factory. They'll get us a new sample with those revised components, and then they'll send that to me. Once I have it, I should finally be able to film a playthrough of the game for you all! (This will be a FULL SPOILER video when it does come out, so be warned about that.)

I am working on Catherine's endings, while writing is also underway on Claude and Lynas. (See our last update for more info on what's happening with story development.) Perhaps more importantly, we are currently working on editing and formatting the rulebook. Once we finish that, we will finally have the new version to show you all. Hopefully, that won't be much longer, either. 

Oh! Also, the miniature boxes have finished the manufacturing process! Here's a picture:

A Curious Development

A while back, we revealed a new alternate mode for Dawn of Madness where you could play with either two or three wanderers rather than four using support cards. We have always assumed this would be just a variant ruleset that would likely be more difficult and would not be our recommended way to play the game. However, after this most recent round of balancing and testing, a strange thing happened: we discovered using the refined support cards actually made the game easier than playing with four wanderers, with more possible strategies revealing themselves thanks to the extra actions. It just provided a little added flexibility to the game. 

As such, we are no longer considering playing with fewer wanderers as a variant rule. Now, you'll always use two wanderers for one or two players, three wanderers for three players, and four for four. (Of course, you still can play with all four wanderers with fewer players. But it's no longer our recommended way to play the game.) 

Does this really change anything? No. But we thought it was interesting, and decided maybe you would, too.

DG at Gen Con

As mentioned in our last update, I went to Gen Con earlier this month. I conscripted a good chunk of my family to help out and was also joined by some truly fantastic volunteers. (Thanks so much, Curtis, Bill, Jeff, Robert, Marissa, and Sarah! You guys made it possible!) 

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat. It was so great to meet you or see you again. Thank you for all of the warmth and kind words you poured out on us, too. It meant a ton. 

I was hoping to get a lot more content for you guys at Gen Con, but there were some logistical issues that led to me basically running a day behind the entire con. Because of this, I never really got to the point where I could comfortably get a bunch of videos, etc., done for you guys. However, I did still get some pictures of the booth and minis, so I'll post those here.

I was also invited by Seth (one of our awesome backers) to participate in a couple of panels at Gen Con - one on making horror appealing/beautiful and one on gamifying stories.    The first (horror) one is on video and the other (game-to-story) one is on audio, so you can check those out here and here if you'd like to watch/listen to them. (They're an hour long each, so be warned.) I was furthermore interviewed by KoA, which you can find below if you'd like to watch it. 

Last but certainly not least (at least in my book), I became a big TikTok star thanks to this amazing little one-minute video which you can see here. 

So that's what's been happening. But what is coming up? Let's find out!

Live Stream of Epic Awesomeness

Couldn't make it to Gen Con? Or maybe you did, but you just didn't get enough of those sweet, sweet minis. Well, I will be doing a live stream to fill that gap! 

Hankering for some up-close looks at DoM minis or components? My pleasure. Want Deep Madness news? Done. Hoping to see Celestial stuff? You got it! I have so much to show you guys, and I can't wait to do it. 

Right now, I'm thinking of shooting for Saturday, September 24th for the live stream at 1 PM PDT. (8 PM GMT.) I believe this is an hour earlier than the last few we've done, which hopefully will make it easier for people all over the world to tune in. It will be on Facebook and YouTube, but I'll also post a link in an update so you'll be sure to find it. You won't want to miss this one. It will be packed!

New Art

Ah, I also promised you some new art, didn't I? Here it is.

Okay, that's it for this update! We'll talk with you again soon, and I hope to see you on the live stream! Have a great week, my friend!

An Update on the Update
over 1 year ago – Mon, Oct 03, 2022 at 05:36:50 AM

Hey guys! I hope you had a great June. We don't have a full update for you today, but rather an update that a big update is coming. (Basically, we didn't want you to think we'd forgotten about you.) 

We've been working like crazy people recently to get a bunch of card files sent to the factory so we can have samples printed. We're still waiting to get these samples back, though, so we don't have much to show you yet. (We also still have a file or two to send them - specifically, the terror cards, which I'm finishing up the bios/flavor text on.) 

Having said that, we plan on posting an update showing off all the cards as soon as we have them. Assuming all goes according to plan, I think you'll be happy with what you see.  

Some more good news: we've been working on getting all these cards finished at least partially so that we would have them in time for Gen Con, which is coming up at the start of August. This means it won't be much longer before you finally see the game's new version in action! (Whether you can make it to Gen Con or not.) That won't be in this next update, but it will be coming soon. (I'm hoping to film a game played with my test subjects - wait, I mean volunteers - at Gen Con. If that doesn't work out timewise, though, then I'll still get a video up for you not long after that.) 

Also, I know some people have been waiting for a while to hear how many cards this game will actually contain. Well, by Roger's rough calculations, he thinks we'll be somewhere in the vicinity of 1,200(!) cards. (And no, this isn't a deck builder. LOL!)

I realize we don't have many gameplay/progress updates for you today, but we figured we'd show you some more art to tide you over. So, here you go!

Okay, that's it for this update! We'll be back soon with all those sweet, sweet samples to show off!