Planning Ahead

I'm pretty good at publishing games. I know how to go through the process at this point, and can feel my way through the steps along the way. However, once I release that bugger to the wild, there is invariably a little drop. I send it out and just sort of wait. And wait. And noodle some drawings. And wait. And think about what I might do next. And then wait some more. Because I'm never quite sure what to do.

Remember when I said that worldbuiding starts with a vision? Well, that's true for every project - it starts with a vision.

The vision (at this point), is something called Dispatches from the Pale. It is a series of short (4-6 page) supplements for Shards of Tomorrow. Each one will be themed in some way, and will expand the game in some direction. It might detail a moon, six of the common creatures that dwell there, 2 NPCs who are important players in this place, a vehicle used here, and maybe an adventure or reason to go there. One dispatch might be a deeper dive into the messari, and another might just have blueprints for a battle cruiser with the full specs for the entire thing, including all of its resources, crew, random tables for what's in its cargo bay... I think of it like 'the Cloud City Primer' or 'Into Jabba's Palace'. The first would have the city, the Ugnaughts, Lando, cloud cars, rules of carbon freezing... the second would have sail barges and skiffs, the Sarlaac, Jabba, his guards, and maybe some rules for bounty hunting for fun and profit. I obviously cannot do THOSE books, but that's the general idea. These are also important, because they would be posted to DrivethruRPG, which is where people actually see that I'm coming out with things. It's my most direct way to routinely say to the gaming world at large "I MAKE GAME STUFF".  

These would be short enough to:

- Be able to be produced in a timely manner and with some consistency. I think at least every two months would be a minimum, and more frequently would be ideal. Monthly is a bit of a dream, but I'm very productive very quickly when I want to be.

- Stay focused on really exploring one thing well. It would lock down some facet of the game and add a layer of detail somewhere. It would give a meaningful piece to the larger puzzle.

The reason that this is important to think about now is because I'm starting to generate content that may or or may not belong in the core rules. For example, I don't know yet if the core rules include full details for Banquo II and its three moons, or if it focuses primarily on Banquo's Tooth, with the other moons and planet mentioned, but with details for each saved for a later resource. I'm leaning towards the latter, because I want to give each one the time and attention it deserves.