Loving Life and Plugging Away

Well, the only promise I haven't been keeping lately is updating the blog. I suppose that would help, but I'm just too busy writing and polishing the game. I can tell you a few things right now with some certainty... although not 100%:

- The book will be 160 pages.
- It has over 120 illustrations, many new, and others that I've had for a while but which almost no one has seen...
- I've managed to squeeze every little cool thing I've ever wanted to put into the game in here somewhere. It's a very dense, tightly-packed little game. That doesn't mean that the layout is cramped - I've worked to break up the pages with some variety, and to leave some white space so the whole thing can breathe.

As of right now, the illustrations are 99% done (I may do a handful of spot icons for the various ant hills that are profiled in the rules, depending on space as I get closer to the); the writing is 99% done (I have two short adventures to write the endings for, and I think I might have room to squeeze in an appendix on running 'soldiers of fortune' campaigns) and editing is about 50% done (I've done my second-final edit of the first half of the game, and I've done a rough edit of the second half of the game).

I ran a play test the other night of some optional rules for a zero-level funnel ala DCC, and it went so much better than I could have ever imagined. I'll post the play test notes when I release the rules (as a way to generate some traffic for sales), but I cannot believe how clean the system runs in play, and how it operates exactly the way I want it to.

I keep thanking my Kickstarter backers, and I want to do it one more time... you all have given me the freedom from pressure to write and work without the shadow over me of whether or not anyone will every buy or play this thing. To be honest, that is often the largest force hanging over a project for me - whether or not anyone will care at the end. I have read a bit about KS creators feeling pressure because there's now an expectation or some sort of stifling of creativity that happens. For some reason, I've found this whole experience has done just the opposite. The initial surge of enthusiasm and the ongoing feedback from the community as I've worked has been an incredible gift. I get to sit here and listen to the Shins and plug away at a game I love. You've all justified the time and energy I've invested, and I truly appreciate it. I hope that when you see the game in a few weeks, you'll be glad you jumped in when you did.

Mike