March Update: Kickstarter Anniversary, Editing, and More Page Reveals
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 06:14:14 PM
Greetings, Chosen!
Last Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of Chosen going live on Kickstarter. I've said before how much of a learning experience this has been for me. I wouldn't trade that knowledge for the world. That said, the projects I do next year and on will likely have a different process.
Namely, I will not take on layout without submitting the game to an editor first. The upside to me starting the layout prior to editing is that the game should need fewer edits once I send it to the editor. The downside is that it feels like it's taking forever to complete the process. All of that is to say that I am still working page by page on layout and editing as I go.
I have two smaller projects in mind for next year. Those will be written and edited before I tackle the layout. However, I will say that progress is progress. I can't really be upset with a 1 year development time for a 120-page TTRPG (custom system, full color, art throughout, with writing, layout, and graphic design all done by me). That's what Chosen has grown into because that's what it needed to be.
On a positive note, an editor is currently reviewing a completed portion of the book as I type this. I would also like to give a shout-out to Pete Petrusha of Imagining Games. He finally got a chance to play Chosen this month and provided some excellent feedback that is sure to make backers' lives much easier once the game comes out.
As for now, we're looking at the end April (maybe May) for completion. I thought I could knock it out by the end of this month, but that didn't happen. With that said, I do have more pages to show you guys from throughout the book. This is the same graphic I used last time to demo pages, and they don't really fit the graphic. They may look a little off but don't worry. Great care has been taken to make sure these will look great once printed.
This is the Setting section of the book.
Lastly, thank you all for your patience. Another thing I did this month was type up a memorial. Unfortunately, we lost one of our backers to that great unknown that comes after we leave this mortal plane. His family reached out to me about his pledge, and I've decided to do a little something for them by writing a proper memorial to go in the book. It's my idea, and the backer's brother told me that he felt like the backer would have loved that.
Thank you all! I will talk to you again soon.
Joe Weaver - Creator
February Update: Add-Ons and Book Layout with Reveal
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Feb 21, 2025 at 11:24:12 PM
Hey everyone!
I hope you are having a better week than me. My family has been dealing with the stomach flu (or something like it) this week. I worked at a local con last weekend and am scheduled to go to the GAMA Expo next week. However, I'm still not 100%, so I will rest again tomorrow. That said, I hope you all are safe and in good health.
Despite a virus's attempt to keep me down, I couldn't resist the opportunity to share the news with you. All add-ons for Chosen are officially manufactured and ready for packing! I received the journals this morning.
I'm still working on this beast called book layout, but I wanted to reveal some pages that are ready for editing with you. Considering how the journals turned out and how the book is coming along, I couldn't be happier with the progress (unless I had a clone who could do more work while I slept. That would actually help a lot).
Here are a few page spreads. Mind you, these may not be the final representations, but they should give you a good idea of how the pages will look. Also, keep in mind that book-binding will create a page gutter down the middle.
And I can't share the first two Origins without showing you the last...
This is a taste of the stuff I've been working on. It is still coming along at a good pace. Being sick has set me back a few days, so there is that. However, I intend to double down and try to get the book to the printer (and you a pdf) by the end of March. We'll see what happens.
I'll reach out to you guys again soon. Stay healthy, friends.
Joe Weaver - Creator
Update: Prototype Journals, Book Progress, and New Opportunities
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Feb 03, 2025 at 06:27:12 PM
Greetings Chosen!
I come to you this evening with happy tidings! The prototype journals have arrived, and the only issues I found were those I expected. The line spacing looks good, but the lines need to be trimmed around the edges (already done). The art and some text boxes have some clipping, which I anticipated and have mostly fixed, but I need to go back through it to make sure I didn't miss anything. Overall, they turned out really well. The paper thicknesses I chose turned out exactly like I hoped they would.
I tried different font effects on the front and back to see which one I liked better. I'm thinking of going with the front cover effect because it differentiates the text from the circle surrounding the game icon instead of continuing the predominant white-outlined-in-red style on the cover.
Book Progress
I'm still hammering away at the layout. I've also made a few changes to the content, primarily the way certain things are worded. The less I have to change after the book goes to editing, the better. One of the content changes I've made is changing "levels" to "status/titles" in order to create a more lived-in feeling instead of a game theater. I've also reverted to my original idea of refraining from calling all Eclipseborn "Chosen." Now, "Chosen" is actually the title you acquire for reaching legendary status.
This means there will be fewer of them in the world, thus giving the word more power within the game. When everything is special, it's not very "special" anymore. Those are just a couple of the tweaks I've made and catch myself to continue to make as I work my way through the book with layout. I will be sure to keep you guys updated on my progress. It's looking awesome!
New Opportunities
After the release of Chosen, I have decided to dedicate time out of my year to make the Advent Chaos website fully functional and friendly to whatever device you happen to use. I just haven't been able to focus on it, and a project like that deserves focus. That also means I will open the "Chaos Corner" on my site. Chaos Corner will be a place where site visitors can view fiction written by me and those I approve of being on the site. I actually met with a writer yesterday to discuss their interest in this. I intend to keep it small simply because I want to write myself, not service a bunch of other writers.
The site will also have links for commissioning a short story (or longer) for a character you create. The options for what games/settings character stories can be based in will likely depend on the comfort level I and anyone I contract to write with me have with that setting. I haven't decided yet, but I'm considering doing something for all you backers regarding this—maybe a discount or something like that, if that sort of thing interests you. I'm still thinking about it, but I just wanted to throw it out there since that's the next thing on my horizon.
The last quarter of the year will likely be spent developing whatever game I release next year. I also have whatever contract work I take this year, but these are my goals for Advent Chaos in 2025.
Closing
Thank you all! Without your support, I would not have gotten this far. We're not quite to the finish line with this journey, but we will be there soon. As business demands, I have to keep an eye on what's coming my way, and I sincerely hope some of you will join me on the next journey as well.
With that, I'm going to sign off for the day. I'm being beckoned by the wife and daughter to come join them for family time (currently watching our way through Amphibia). I hope you all have a great evening and rest of your week! I will be in touch soon.
Sincerely,
Joe Weaver - Creator
Update: Closing the door on 2024, new mechanics, and what's to come!
about 1 year ago
– Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 12:03:16 PM
Happy New Year, Chosen!
I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable end of the year! The weeks of Christmas and New Year are one of the few times each year that my family's daily schedules align so that we can spend time together. My past few weeks have mostly consisted of this, and I'm thankful for that. I'll take it when I can.
However, the door to last year is closed, and it's time to look forward to what's to come. The Eclipseborn Logbook (Journal Add-On) has been sent to the printer for a test copy. When it arrives, I'll make any needed changes and print the order to get it out of the way. That gets us one step closer to project completion.
Meanwhile, I'll continue working on the game book. I had hoped for some good feedback from Pax Unplugged, and my players did not disappoint. At the game's final convention playtest, I tested a new approach to combat mechanics in hopes of creating a more cinematic feel. Instead of the typical one action per turn, players now get three actions per turn. This allowed combat to flow more freely in the game and created some really epic moments, which is what I've been envisioning all along. I'm so excited for you guys to get to experience Chosen for yourselves!
I would like to take a second to shout out to those who came by the booth to talk about the game. Putting faces to the names on the backer list is a great experience. With any luck, I'll get to meet more of you in the future.
Below are the covers and sample page from the logbook:
Logbook Front Cover
Page 3 - The Sample Entry. This is a general entry. You can make yours as detailed or vague as you want. If you want to focus more on the fight with the contract, then by all means write what you feel is important to you.
Back Cover
Also, thanks to feedback from a graphic designer at Metatopia, I've updated the world map with an aesthetic that makes it appear as if it were drawn in blood. I also removed the standard compass graphic and designed my own from scratch to better suit the vibe of the drawing.
For the coming weeks, it's more of the same: layout editing and random tables such as a name generator and a few other charts. Thank you for your continued patience, and I look forward to what I have to show you next month. With any luck, it will be a finished book (or at least getting very close to one).
Until next time,
Happy Hunting!
Joe Weaver - Creator
Mid-Month Update!!!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Dec 02, 2024 at 03:42:57 PM
Greetings, Chosen!!!
For those who celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had an excellent holiday! I'm currently preparing for Pax Unplugged and my first public-facing table for Advent Chaos LLC. It's been an amazing journey to get here, and I owe a large portion of it to you. Making the jump from Game Designer/Writer to LLC Creative Director wasn't something I anticipated back in January. It's been frustrating at times for sure, but I've learned a lot. For that, I am grateful.
I had planned on waiting until I got back from Pax to send out an update, but considering the developments that have taken place over the past week, I wanted to reach out now. Last week, I compared a few of the book's pages to the printing template. Unfortunately, my margins don't align with what's recommended.
For those unfamiliar with the process, that doesn't mean what I have won't work. It just means that I need to be prepared for extra layout changes in case it doesn't. I won't know for certain if there are issues until I have test copies printed, and the game has yet to make it to the printer. That said, I think it would be best to give Chosen some cushion for the sake of quality. I know I've mentioned quality a lot in some of the more recent updates. That's only because it's something I take seriously. Edits shouldn't be rushed and if there is extra layout to do, I don't want there to be any surprises on your end.
All in all, this means I'll be postponing shipment until late February/March. If the game is ready to ship before that, then I will definitely do so. My projections during the Kickstarter campaign were for a 45-60 pg digest-sized book. I've mentioned before how adding an extra 40+ pages threw my time table for the game off. I thought I wouldn't need the cushion I originally planned into the development, but now it's become clear that I very much need it. I underestimated how much the struggle of doing all the writing, layout, & graphic design for Chosen myself, while staying true to that January fulfillment target, would be.
As a first-time publisher, I suppose these could be considered growing pains. That doesn't change the fact that I'm a bit disappointed that I'm hitting this setback. However, I know that the resulting product will have been worth it.
Have a great next few weeks, and I'll be in touch again soon!!!
Sincerely,
Joe Weaver - Creator
