August 2021 Update
almost 3 years ago
– Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 02:49:11 PM
Happy August, God Hunters.
Arclight sends their well-wishes and support, but still has no answer regarding the Kamigakari print-on-demand.
On to business we can control, though. I've hired a second translator, Xavid, an interactive fiction and RPG author that also researches premodern Japan on the side. You can check out their current gaming work here, and their translation of a 17th-century Samurai heraldry book, O-Umajirushi, here!
Xavid will begin working on the second expansion while Ewen finishes the first, so that they can hopefully release within a more reasonable amount of time than the others have, so far. No ETA for either book at the moment, unfortunately.
Finally, I've accepted a pitch document for a Serpent Sea-produced Kamigakari supplement which Arclight will license from us to release in Japan. Its current name, extremely subject to change, is Kamigakari: American God Hunters. Don't expect to hear more about that one until Expansion 1 is ready to come out, but that's what we've been up to.
I hope everyone's staying healthy. If you can get vaccinated and haven't, you really should!
Short Summer Update
almost 3 years ago
– Wed, Jun 02, 2021 at 06:08:50 PM
Happy Pride, God Hunters! Amy here this time.
Brief update, as usual.
We're nearly out of pre-production with the first expansion and ready to begin translation soon, and we've begun exploring ideas for additional Kamigakari content created by Serpent Sea Games. This is something Arclight requested we develop, and we're in the process of figuring out what that would look like. I'm pretty excited.
There's no updates yet on the print-on-demand, we'll get the wheels turning as soon as we're able.
Hope we have better news next month.
"All it takes is faith and trust. Oh, and something I forgot."
about 3 years ago
– Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 01:09:40 AM
"Patience!"
Okay, so the original line from Peter Pan read "Dust!". But in relevance to us, it's the patience part that matters.
Today I'm going to give a little peek behind the curtain, and it isn't likely going to blow anyone's socks off, and the reasons for that are all tangled in with why I'm giving the peek.
Kickstarter is essentially a big ol' ball of faith and trust. You, the backers, put your faith and trust in us, and it's our job to make things fly, just like Peter Pan. Now, we all know that almost all Kickstarters have some degree of bumps along the road, and let's be honest; the faith backers put in isn't always rewarded. (I've been burned on multiple kickstarters. One for over a thousand dollars, and believe me, that was a big ol' bag of ouch.)
However, I'd like to think that in my capacity here, I've always been a straight shooter with you here, God Hunters. Heck, when this whole journey started, I was literally just a backer like all of you. I didn't work for Serpent Sea back then; I'd never so much as looked at Kamigakari. I was just a fan, doing the Fry meme, going "shut up and take my money!"
(For what it's worth, despite the fact that I now work for the company, I'm still a backer, so I am literally in the same boat as all of you waiting for rewards.)
The reason I'm giving you all this ramble is because...well, normally I wouldn't be making an update today. There are reasons for that, and you'll have them before I finish this update. But the real reason I am is because of a couple of our backers. You see, one of your powers as backers is the ability to request a project update. And there are two of you (and no, I have no idea /which/ two of you; I don't get to see that) who routinely, every month, do the "request an update".
You guys deserve information. Your money's in this ship. (Heck, /my/ money's in this ship.) But the whole reason I wasn't going to update you today is simple: I don't have any real news to give you.
Since the last time we talked, everything has been in a giant holding pattern of "everything is proceeding". When we submitted our proof to Arclight for approval, they told us the same day they received it that things were really busy on their end and it was going to take a while to get back to us. This is the nature of licensees and the business world. They have not yet gotten back to us. They're going to, after all, /their/ money is in this boat too. But they have lots of boats in the water, and we're only one of them. Right now, we have to be properly zen and calm and wait for the reply. Until we hear back from them, we don't know if everything is peachy, or if there are changes to be made. If there ARE changes, rest assured I'll jump on them as soon as I hear what they are, but until we hear back, there's literally nothing I can do.
Similarly, translation was ongoing last month. It's still ongoing. We knew it wasn't going to be done in a month, and our translation staff is hard at work getting the supplements ready for me. But there's no layouts or shiny progress to show you; right now everything is very work-in-progress.
So, the update is, essentially "everything continuing, still waiting on approvals, will tell you more when I know it." That's the TL;DR version.
What I am going to ask for, however, is a little bit of faith and trust, God Hunters. I know this boat's been on stormy waters before. But ever since I got on board and started being your point of contact, I'd like to think I've been forthright and honest with you. (Honestly, probably more than some of you would like, sometimes.)
Trust me. If I'm not saying anything to you, it's because I don't have anything to say. You don't have to digitally tap me on the shoulder and give me a virtual "Are we there yet, Papa Smurf?" I want to get there as much as you do. I /like/ sharing good news with you. And as we've seen in the past, I don't shy away from sharing bad news either.
But when I have no news to share, all it does is get everyone's hopes up when they see I posted an update, only to have to read it and see, well, this. A "no-update", like an old-school Marvel no-prize. Find it in your hearts to extend me a little of that faith and trust; I'm going to do my best for you, the same way as I have all along.
Hoping for faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust,
Deanna
March Update!
about 3 years ago
– Fri, Mar 19, 2021 at 07:53:51 PM
Hey there, God Hunters! Deanna here, tapping in for a March update for everyone!
Spring is right around the corner! I'm seeing sunshine, life from the plants, and...oh, wait. A Kamigakari update? Yeah. I can do that.
The update is good news this time! We've seen some good results from our print proofs, and as a result, we're going to drop the PDF updates to you on DriveThru. This copy has tons of fixes, and we're really proud and happy to be able to get it to you!
We're in the process of getting our bright and shiny proofs across the pond to Japan and Arclight. Once we get back an official "ok" from them, we'll put this thing up for Print-on-Demand on DriveThruRPG.
That means two things from your perspective.
First, it means you'll be getting coupons for at-cost copies from DriveThruRPG. YES, we are still working on progress on the offset print, but with printer delays, that's still a "working on" thing. But, if you want a physical copy in your hands NOW, you have a means to get one, till we can get you the offset.
Second, it means that my time should be freed up to go full-speed-ahead on the Expansions, since the core book will be at stages that become Amy's headache and not mine. Meaning that within the near future, I should be able to start dropping teasers and other tidbits.
I'll be dropping another update soonish about the POD copy, with all the nitty-gritty for you guys. Until then, may you always have your Costs in your Spirit Pool!
Deanna
Brrrrr! It's cold out there!
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Feb 11, 2021 at 02:32:52 AM
Hey there, God Hunters! It is COLD out there right now! Deanna here, with an update for you.
Basically, we're in a holding pattern at the moment. Amy and I have the layout issues hammered out, and we've submitted a second print test to DriveThruRPG. (The first one came back with some issues, which I mentioned in my last update.)
At this point, I'm reasonably confident that the issues should be resolved (barring the absolute crapsack luck that was 2020). We're just waiting for the new print test to come back, so we can be sure...we don't want anyone spending any money on a copy that's...well, not correct.
So what does this mean for you? It means that once we get the print test back (which is totally out of our hands; that's up to DTRPG to print it, and ship it to us), we look it over, and hopefully, it hits all the right notes. If it does, then you guys will be notified of a new updated PDF (this new version has quite a few improvements), and the book will be available for Print-on-Demand at that time. Since we'll know that everything is 100% at that point, then the files get shipped off to the printer for the traditional print run. Obviously, we have no estimates on the times at this point, since printing is still running behind from 2020, but I'll keep on keeping you updated as I can.
So, better news than last time, and hopefully by the end of this month, I'll be able to report a successful print test, and get you guys your coupons for POD.
Stay strong, and stay warm,
Deanna
