The Final Countdown

I’m actually quite close to a final draft of the core rules- of course, this means I’m ready for serious play testing of the game as I see it, not that it’s ready for final publication. The last thing I want to do is jump the gun and release the game, then have to release updates and addenda right away based on questions people have. I want you to be able to play the game as written, and NOT have any questions! It’s only going to be 16 pages- I should be able to do that!

So, here’s the planned release schedule, which will come in two phases:

April 1: Resolute: the Splintered Realm (Ashcan edition). This $1 pdf includes the full draft of the rules, without illustrations, index, table of contents. It’s all the rules, in final draft form. This gives me 60 days to get feedback (via e-mail, the blog, the forums) on the design, and it gives you a chance to play with the rules for a dirt cheap price. It's also, from a marketing perspective, an opportunity to build momentum for the game before it 'officially' comes out. Remember: game design is a business, too, and these decisions have to be part of the design process!

June 1: Resolute: the Splintered Realm (full edition). This $2 illustrated pdf (not dirt cheap, but pretty close) includes everything, encompassing all errata and revisions that my play testing and any player discussions have generated. If you’ve purchased the ashcan, you get a $1 discount on this book- meaning that you effectively redeem the ashcan for full credit (metaphorically- how to you redeem a digital file?) if you continue on to the full edition. It will be released in both screen-friendly and printer-friendly versions that come packaged together with your purchase.

As of June 1, I’ll also be taking down all existing Resolute games and supplements; I don’t want to create confusion among players about compatibility between editions. Much of the existing Resolute material will be re-imagined through Resolute: the Splintered Realm, released as supplements to these rules.