Afterlife: Wandering Souls is a tabletop RPG about recovering lost memories and exploring strange worlds.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Backerkit Open & Printing Update
over 4 years ago
– Tue, Aug 06, 2019 at 09:48:58 PM
Hail Wanderers!
Good news! Backerkit is officially open! You should have received an email with a link from Backerkit if you haven't, please check your spam filter and otherwise send me a PM and I will get you sorted out. If you want more information on how our Backerkit works check out my July 25th update.
Backerkit being open also means that our pre-order store is open, so any of your friends who missed out on backing our game can now order it. If you have a moment, could you please share the link to the pre-order store on your social media? The more money we can raise on the project, the more we have for future endeavors and every little bit helps!
Updates
Quick update:
Books are getting delivered to AHP HQ next week!
Quick reference, prints, tomes, etc. are getting delivered the week after!
We start shipping at the end of August the moment the dice (all the way from the US) come in.
Long update with photos :
Roughly two weeks ago I went to visit our printer Puntgaaf Drukwerk. They are a small local printer who I worked with for Familiars of Terra and absolutely adore working with. Not only are they very close to where I live, but they are very detailed-focused - right down to letting you pick out the binding colour of your book. I appreciate having an experienced printing partner for Angry Hamster Publishing, because while I may know a lot about design and game development, the actual printing process is still new to me. Each time speak with Puntgaaf I learn a bit more and being able to rely on their experience means AHP can produce the best possible product.
Here is a picture of the printing proof I inspected at their office. The paper quality will be different than what you see here, but I was able to get a sense for the artworks - to see if they were too dark or too light and to make sure there weren't any glaring printing mistakes.
After inspecting the proof pages I got to pick out a colour for the book binding (see red box for example). This was an interesting step I'd never done before. They showed me a few examples of where a contrasting colour was picked for the binding versus a matching one. It was cool to see what a difference such a small detail can make.
Here are just a few of the choices I could pick for binding - sufficed to say it took me some time to decide on one!
Overall, it was a great visit to the printers and I can't wait to have the book in my hands. Seeing the proof pages and the binding made everything all the more real - the Tenebris is almost here!
I also wanted to show you a sneak peek of the quick reference layout (well one of the cards at least).
All the additional items play with the themes of life and death. The quick starts have a floral theme, the Wanderer's Tome has skulls - the tension between these two themes is what Afterlife is all about.
I didn't want to show too many screenshots of the other item's layouts, because once the books come in I want to do a big reveal of most of the products all together!
Right now, what is taking the longest to produce is the dice, which I ordered from Chessex. Their turn around is rather fast (8 weeks), but they also need to be shipped from the US, which takes some additional time. During the Kickstarter I ended up getting a few dice samples from various companies, but the ones from Chessex were the prettiest, so I decided to wait longer and get a product we can really love rather than get it quick and be less happy with it.
Hope all is going well with you! Did you go to GenCon and if yes, how was your con? Were you one of the lucky people who got to play Afterlife at the con?
Greetings,
Liz
Backerkit (Important - Please Read)
almost 5 years ago
– Fri, Jul 26, 2019 at 12:14:48 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
The Importance of Editing
almost 5 years ago
– Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 08:46:13 PM
Hail Wanderers,
How are you on this lovely sunny day (at least here in the Netherlands)? I am doing great! Here's a TL;DR update on the book's progress:
Copy Editing is done!
80% of the art is in!
Layout is done (expect for missing art pieces)
The book is now in proofing
BackerKit will open shortly
Once the book is out of proofing I'll be sending a preview copy to all you awesome backers from the PDF tier upwards so you can see what everything will (sort of) look like!
I wrote up a Kickstarter campaign post mortem for AHP's blog. If you're interested in reading some behind the scenes information about the campaign (and a lot of information about how I previously failed in past campaigns) you can check it out here.
Now time for the more in-depth update!
Why your editor is your best friend...
I've come a long way since producing my first book and one of the biggest lessons I learned when developing books is the importance of a good copy editor. Monte (the copy editor for A:WS) and I met working on 7th Sea Second Edition. He was the copy editor for every book I developed for John Wick Presents and I was enthusiastic to get him working on this project.
When developing a book you can look at a text a thousand times and miss the simplest thing that ties everything together - that is why you need a good editor. You need someone who asks the hard questions about a text and really takes a critical look at how you explain things. It's easy to explain things in person when playtesting, it's harder to translate the feel of the game and its mechanics into usable text. That's the art of design and it's something that as a game developer I am constantly refining.
Me: Of course that makes sense because of X.
Editor: But where does it say X in the text?
Me: ...Oh...
Editors also keep you from doing just plain stupid things, forgetting things, typos (and I am the queen of typos), etc. Here are some highlights from Monte's edits I thought everyone would enjoy.
...when I was your age Pluto was a planet!
*beeeeeep*
#nerding
Our book is never going to be 100% perfect without any mistakes, but let me once again to send all my love to our amazing editing team - Monte, Bob, and Carol - who make sure the book looks good <3.
Layout
After edits were done I started on the layout! Layout is something I love doing, it's my zen moment every day, and there is something I find so satisfying about making sure everything looks beautiful on the page. I love being able to use the design training I have in my job as a publisher and it's fun to continuously improve my skills. Here are two sneak peaks at the layout for Afterlife: Wandering Souls:
Xilo's illustration to go with a limbo written by Steffie.
Look at the badass Wanderer illustrated by Nico!
Well, that is all for now!
Till next time Wanderers!
Greetings,
Liz
The Next Steps
almost 5 years ago
– Tue, Jun 11, 2019 at 03:59:48 PM
Hail Wanderers,
Coming off the heels of an awesome campaign and really nice week off I am feeling good! I'm writing this update to inform you about the next steps in the project and what you can expect.
Timeline
The book, dice, tome, and quick references - The plan is to get all original rewards for this campaign sent out in August 2019. If there are any changes to this I will let you know, but so far so good!
Stretch goals - Any stretch goals that aren't included in the original rewards will come later and once the original rewards are sent out we'll keep you posted about when to expect them - updates most likely starting after we send out the first batch of rewards.
A Wanderer's Guide to Mirages & Limbos - Since this is a physical stretch goal, and shipping can be expensive, we're going to offer you the option to bundle yours original rewards with this book to be sent out at a later date so you only have to pay shipping once. When I know more about this I will update everyone.
Surveys
In the KS world surveys are what we use to collect your shipping information and any other relevant information we may need to get you your rewards - you can send out surveys through Kickstarter itself or by using a pledge manager. We'll be working with BackerKit as a pledge manager and plan to open it at the end of this month. When we do, we'll send out an email letting everyone know this is happening and share any relevant information you need in order to complete your survey.
In BackerKit you'll also be able to make additional purchases for products you might have missed during the campaign and we'll also be offering other AHP products on sale there so you can bundle them with your Afterlife order.
Updates
My plan is to post an update for this campaign once a 'big step' is done - layout, art being done, etc. I realize this sounds nebulous, but trust me, this will equate to at least one update every month (or possibly two weeks towards the end of production). And of course, if you want to hear more from me - let me know in the comments and I can update you :D.
Progress
Since quite some things have already happened I will post a mini-update for you now: The entire book is currently in copy editing, save for a few Limbo characters we're creating with backers, and the copy editing is almost done. Art briefings are out and art is coming in (see the awesome sketch from Nico & Xilo below!) The dice are ordered! Stretch goal authors have their briefings and are starting work on their stretch goals and finally... I've started work on the layout to make sure it is ready for when the drafts are out of copy editing.
Now, time for me to show you some cool pictures.
This is a rough sketch from Xilo of Skelet, a mirage in the Tenebris. I get rough sketches from our artists before they start line work and colouring to make sure we're both on the same page about the briefing! It's still easy to make changes at this stage so comments on a rough sketch can be invaluable.
Here is some awesome line work by Nico depicting one of the venefolk (Tenebris inhabitants) using their special blood magik.
This is what I've been working on when not going through Monte's copy edits! I always find it handy to print out the layout designs I've created to see what they'll actually look like on the page and in actual size. It's a habit I picked up when I worked in fashion design and has really served me will in book layout as well.
What do you think of the layout and the art so far? What are you most excited for next?
Speak to you soon!
Greetings,
Liz
Thank You Wanderers!
almost 5 years ago
– Fri, May 31, 2019 at 03:44:40 PM
It is over, the long boat ride to the Tenebris concludes and we've made it! Welcome to the Dark.
The campaign has ended Wanderers!
We raised just over 17k and unlocked Steffie de Vaan's Limbo in the final hours of the Kickstarter.
I am absolutely floored at the last three days we've had and how the campaign has gone. Thank you so much for coming on this weird/strange journey with me. Saying thank you through a post seems strange to me, I very much wish I could thank everyone in person - shake your hand and do a happy dance together! But this will have to do - thank you, thank you, thank you - you're amazing!
This has been Angry Hamster Publishing's most successful campaign to date raising the most money with the most backers. That's a huge accomplishment!
Now comes my favourite part...
We actually get to make the book! Once the Kickstarter money clears (2-3 weeks) my plan is to post every two weeks or so to keep everyone updated about the project. I hope you'll come on this journey with me and (if you want to) chat in the comments and let your voice be heard!
Until the money clears I'll be a bit silent, taking in everything that's happened so far and enjoying the success we've had with our team :D. Then it is back to working on this project and getting it done for all of you.
