Confluence Post-Kickstarter
Donation protected
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cosmicmirrorgames/cosmic-mirror-games-year-1-confluence-nuther-gener
We didn't make it. Now what?
Now we learn. Consistently throughout the Kickstarter it was made clear to me that people found the Kickstarter confusing. I took a big risk with having 3 books in one Kickstarter, and it did not pay off-- if anything it was actually a huge deterrent. More than this, people found the explanations of the main game confusing as well, and even when I added and moved information around to address some of those issues, I certainly did not get those I had lost back, and worse, people felt that the changes just made it more confusing.
That's okay, this is all still a very intense learning experience for me. Just my second Kickstarter and my second (and third, and fourth) game books. I realize now that in order to make some of this work, it will require more time to be taken. Since I do everything on my own, I felt that it would be okay to do a playtest doc once content was done, and I thought that players would understand that in a playtest document that errors would be normal. Unfortunately, that also reflected poorly on the final product, especially since people felt no reason to expect that all the isuses would be fixed by the end. I am still a no-name designer, so I have nothing to stand on to show people that I can accomplish great feats in a short time. That's also okay. That kind of respect has to be earned.
The Post-Kickstarter GoFundMe
So what now then? We keep going. This GoFundMe carries all the same promises of the Kickstarter, all the same pledge amounts. The difference is that we're going to push off a little on the release dates. The two smaller books have a final release date now of February 2018. Confluence will be pushed back until the art budget feels under control, coming at the latest in June 2018. This is not because the smaller games aren't ready, it's because they still need art, and that budget just has to take a back seat to financing Confluence. This also gives more time to expand them if I so choose.
This GoFundMe is just to help take in some of the money of those who are willing from the Kickstarter. If you would feel more comfortable using a Kickstarter, no worries. This GoFundMe will help us get some more art and help us really "finalize" the book, but a new Kickstarter will be going up on the 1st of October. At that point we will chase a singular goal for Confluence, seeking to get money to wrap up the art for it.
Money for NuAEther and Generations will be raised in separate (very small) Kickstarters to get finalized art for them, but the new Kickstarter will be for Confluence alone. With the funds earned from this GoFundMe, the goal for the Kickstarter in the future will be smaller. At that point it will be easier to know how much money is still needed, and a final number will be picked.
I work on these games because there's a big story I want to tell, and I do it out of the love of it. It never pays me a cent, in fact I often end up spending way more of my own money than I'm even comfortable with. So please consider giving, every dollar honestly counts. With your help, you can help make this dream a reality.
Dane
We didn't make it. Now what?
Now we learn. Consistently throughout the Kickstarter it was made clear to me that people found the Kickstarter confusing. I took a big risk with having 3 books in one Kickstarter, and it did not pay off-- if anything it was actually a huge deterrent. More than this, people found the explanations of the main game confusing as well, and even when I added and moved information around to address some of those issues, I certainly did not get those I had lost back, and worse, people felt that the changes just made it more confusing.
That's okay, this is all still a very intense learning experience for me. Just my second Kickstarter and my second (and third, and fourth) game books. I realize now that in order to make some of this work, it will require more time to be taken. Since I do everything on my own, I felt that it would be okay to do a playtest doc once content was done, and I thought that players would understand that in a playtest document that errors would be normal. Unfortunately, that also reflected poorly on the final product, especially since people felt no reason to expect that all the isuses would be fixed by the end. I am still a no-name designer, so I have nothing to stand on to show people that I can accomplish great feats in a short time. That's also okay. That kind of respect has to be earned.
The Post-Kickstarter GoFundMe
So what now then? We keep going. This GoFundMe carries all the same promises of the Kickstarter, all the same pledge amounts. The difference is that we're going to push off a little on the release dates. The two smaller books have a final release date now of February 2018. Confluence will be pushed back until the art budget feels under control, coming at the latest in June 2018. This is not because the smaller games aren't ready, it's because they still need art, and that budget just has to take a back seat to financing Confluence. This also gives more time to expand them if I so choose.
This GoFundMe is just to help take in some of the money of those who are willing from the Kickstarter. If you would feel more comfortable using a Kickstarter, no worries. This GoFundMe will help us get some more art and help us really "finalize" the book, but a new Kickstarter will be going up on the 1st of October. At that point we will chase a singular goal for Confluence, seeking to get money to wrap up the art for it.
Money for NuAEther and Generations will be raised in separate (very small) Kickstarters to get finalized art for them, but the new Kickstarter will be for Confluence alone. With the funds earned from this GoFundMe, the goal for the Kickstarter in the future will be smaller. At that point it will be easier to know how much money is still needed, and a final number will be picked.
I work on these games because there's a big story I want to tell, and I do it out of the love of it. It never pays me a cent, in fact I often end up spending way more of my own money than I'm even comfortable with. So please consider giving, every dollar honestly counts. With your help, you can help make this dream a reality.
Dane
Organizer
Taylor Baba Pedersen
Organizer
Denver, CO