More Art on the Way
over 9 years ago
– Fri, Sep 04, 2015 at 09:56:47 PM
Hi Backers,
Thank you for your patience since our last update. As many of you will recall, we hit some snags with our art plan which required me to build a new art team. Thankfully I have found a lead artist who I've just signed on for the remaining ERA decks with subcontractors in the wings should we need them. Our contract specifies a timeline of 14 weeks max, but our illustrator thinks there is a strong possibility of finishing that sooner.
Leaving another 4 months for art and 4 months for production, this puts us at worst at a delivery date of April of 2016. I think it will be much sooner than that, but again, I just want to provide a worst-case scenario. So we are looking at 4-6 months delay from our original delivery date of October 2015, 6 months being if things take longer than hoped. As I have accumulated some experience and lessons with my previous Kickstarter, I am hoping that the finalization and production process for ERA will be smoother and more streamlined.
Contract/payments have been tucked away with my new illustrator, so we will be starting on black and white roughs very soon and I hope to have some full color illustrations shortly thereafter. I am thinking within a month or sooner I should have some completed illustrations to show.
Thank you again for your patience as I strive to keep the vision for this game intact despite several challenges the project has faced.
-Steve
Pushing Through Challenges
over 9 years ago
– Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 02:13:46 PM
Hey Backers,
Just wanted to inform you that we are hitting more delays with ERA but I am doing everything I can to right this situation. One part of me says that I shouldn't for a moment allow myself an excuse for why these challenges keep popping up, and yet another part of me says I need to create space for errors or delays given the scope of this project, and that any mindset in myself that expects a perfect delivery is both unrealistic and dangerous. As I have said before, I feel immense pressure to bring this project to completion, but my quest for a perfect product is usually the culprit in our delays. When I have been faced with challenges, I am usually offered an expedient solution that would solve my problems, but would sacrifice the quality or the vision I have for the product. Although the delays I have accrued on this project pain me, I can't think of one instance where I have let my high standard for this project slip or be compromised. The catch-22 in this is that, while I know personally the project is going to be better for my decision, it will give the outside appearance of a project that is lagging behind or (worse) neglected and not cared for, when the exact opposite is true.
This campaign allowed for a whole year for the product to be made, and that is why any delay in this timetable seems especially unacceptable to me. At the same time we all must admit this is not your typical Kickstarter game with a few cards in a little pocket-sized box that seems so prevalent nowadays. Sometimes I think of this project as "giving birth to twins," because both the content and scope of this project is easily as much as two normal Kickstarter games. Of course, this was my choice, so I don’t have the option to complain! And I don’t feel tempted to complain—I know that this game, once finished, is going to be absolutely awesome.
It is tough to put an estimate on the delay but it looks like at least a month and a half or even two. There are many reasons why this occurred and I don’t feel I am obliged to discuss who/what/why for every element that had a part in this delay. For each instance of a delay, I felt they were absolutely necessary and the responsibility is completely my own.
My general feeling in all of this is that, at the end of the day, I care about delivering an amazing product. I want a game that is going to make a real impact far beyond the initial “buzz” of those first couple weeks after delivery. There will be no moment for me where I pat myself on the back and pop open a bottle of champagne simply because I have delivered the product I promised. I am shooting for much more. This cannot be an excuse for endless delays, but I will choose a delay if it means making this the absolute best game I can, from art to playtesting to component quality…and down the list it goes. I have never fallen in the “just get it done” camp and that mindset has for the most part done me more good than bad in the past.
I would say the usual “thank you for your patience” bit, but as backers you have already extended that in simply backing this project. You knew (I hope!) from the get-go that this was a large undertaking. If the climb to the top of the hill takes us longer than we hoped, or becomes harder than we imagined, I am determined that our view from the top will not only be worth it but far better than expected in the end.
Thank you backers,
Steve
Art Plans
over 9 years ago
– Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 02:13:19 PM
Hey Backers,
Just wanted to give you an update on where we are at with Era. A while back we had some unforseen staffing issues which required us to find extra help with the art. This has not been an easy task, although we have found some artists willing to help in smaller chunks. Joel, as I mentioned in a previous update, has completed some art for us on a previous project and may be stepping up here soon, and 3 weeks ago I brought on a new project manager who will help us streamline some of the processes we are undergoing now as well as boost our productivity. We are meeting weekly, reviewing our progress, and hope to be rolling out our next steps soon.
Our priority at the moment is tying the ends on our art situation. Although we had a Plan B in place, that plan was tied too much to our Plan A (which did not work) and now we are having to put a Plan C together from scratch. This does *not* mean in any way that we have encountered financial difficulties or have budget concerns. The project is still on track financially, and I have reviewed this several times with my new project manager. The issue has to do with balancing our desire for quality in the art with the time it takes to complete each of these individual decks. I do not want to hide behind this excuse update after update, but I do want to emphasize how we are putting out 11 tuck boxes worth of product that is not that much different from the Fantasy Flight LCG expansion decks, plus a base game. My vision for this game has always been the highest quality, and I hope many of you can see beyond the frustration of a delayed game and realize that labor pains are likely and sometimes unavoidable in a project this big.
My new project manager has given me a lot of perspective on the changes we can implement going forward and is balancing my desire for a perfect product with some realism and measurable goals.
I cannot promise at this point that our art plan will be nailed down any time soon, but we are doing everything we can to ensure every card in this game wows us and brings this game to life. (I hope you are happy with the art we have shown so far). At this time I do not have an estimate on how long the delays will be (specifically because we have not finalized how many artists will be coming on board/who will be assigned what/what their individual schedules allow, not to mention style, their interest in the subject matter, compensation, etc.), but I will provide a new delivery estimate as soon as I can. This is a very intense and complex process that requires a lot more coordination than would appear on the surface, and it has pained me that our original plan has not panned out as I hoped. Nonetheless we are making progress. Thank you as always for your patience!
-Steve
Expanding Our Art Team
over 9 years ago
– Sun, May 24, 2015 at 05:17:00 PM
Hey Backers!
I am back from a much-needed break and am excited to resume work on Era! Yesterday I met with Joel, a good friend and colleague of mine, who will be helping us wrangle together more great artists to help us with the remaining Era decks. This is a big game and I want it to look great from start to finish! I am still to this day blown away about how many decks we were able to unlock during the campaign....it's going to make for a great gaming experience with so many different decks to try.
Anyways, just wanted to reiterate how massive this project is and how well, considering, we are doing. A game with this many illustrations, this many expansion decks, and this level of art quality is a lot closer to what Fantasy Flight attempts to do, rather than most typical KS projects. Art-wise we are trailing behind about 3 weeks here, but I think we will be back up to speed shortly as we grow our art team. I will certainly keep everyone up to speed with how things are proceeding, and it is my priority to hit our schedule and delivery dates as best we possibly can. I don't want to sacrifice quality and I'm committed to delivering a beautiful, well-produced game to you all. By the end of next month I will also be starting up more playtesting for all of the decks. I want to continue to refine everything and make each of these decks razor-sharp until we have to pass everything off to the printers.
Thank you as always for your patience and enthusiasm. Now that I am back from my hiatus I will be updating more frequently. Thank you all again!
-Steve
Nova Cry has Launched!
almost 10 years ago
– Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 06:16:49 AM
Hey Backers!
I couldn't be more excited about our new Kickstarter project that launched TODAY!
Nova Cry is an amazing, gorgeous sci-fi card-game that plays in 30 minutes for 2-6 players. You can get more info about the game's story in our last update, or you can hop directly to the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eratheboardgame/nova-cry-redux-a-30-minute-sci-fi-card-game.
Here's some awesome stuff to keep in mind:
- FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING!!! (And EU-friendly shipping)
- The game is 100% READY TO PRINT
- We have lots of EARLY BIRD spots open!
Nova Cry is an exciting game we just re-obtained the rights to, allowing us to go full steam into production immediately after the Kickstarter ends! For the full story of how this opportunity unfolded, you can read the story under the banner "OUR LONG JOURNEY" towards the bottom of the page.
Thank you for joining me in yet another exciting campaign!
You guys and gals are an incredible group of backers, and I am so excited to have the chance to share it with you all!
Have a fantastic day!
Steve
