Cards charging, PM locking! Dev diary stream! TTS! GenCon!
almost 2 years ago – Tue, May 24, 2022 at 01:44:26 AM

Reminder: orders locking & cards charging on June 1st

Oh, hello there, filmmakers! Thanks for reading. Should have opened with that.

But yes, it's important to get your attention and remind you that as stated in previous updates, pledge manager orders are locking and your cards for addons and shipping will be charged on June 1st. After that point you will not be able to make changes to your order without going through me manually, so if only for the sake of my own sanity please double-check it all looks good!

But: addresses are NOT locking yet!

Yes, you will still be able to change your addresses until July 1st at the earliest. So there's time to squeeze in a move!

If you have any questions or issues just PM me or email me at [email protected]. Happy to help.

What else is going on? Lots!

Roll Camera Design Post-Mortem Livestream: Saturday, May 28!

As I've said before, I've been wanting to do a design diary / post-mortem type video on Roll Camera and its development, which was very interesting. So, I'm going to livestream that trip through the Roll Camera archives on Twitch this Saturday, May 28th, at 7am PST / 10am EST / 4pm CET. I'll go through most of the design's highlights from first draft to final, talking about some of the decisions made along the way. I'll be joined by my brother Erik, a (video) game designer himself, who was also there through most of the game's various iterations. 

Come on by and say hi! It'll also serve as a Q&A where you can ask anything you like. If you can't make it, no worries: when it's done I'll be uploading the stream to the Keen Bean Studio youtube channel for later consumption at your convenience.

Final Tabletop Simulator mod is up!

I've worked with the TTS dev and Roll Camera and the B-Movie Expansion are fully up on Tabletop Simulator right now, with all content added, updated and the mod fully scripted. It's awesome if you need a Roll Camera fix right away.

I've been hearing some buzz about Tabletop Playground recently. I've tried and failed with Tabletopia, but I'm always open to new software. I've heard TTP is also pretty good for development. Has anyone used it? Would you recommend it over TTS? 

How's production of the game going?

Pretty good, thanks for asking. Despite lockdowns and delays in Shanghai, the factory is estimating I should get the PPC (pre-production copy) of the expansion in a couple weeks, and pending approval of that, the project should be complete by the beginning of July. I always add a week or two onto that for loading/packing/etc. After that point my freight partner has estimated up to 8-9 weeks for freight, depending on the destination region of course - Australia for example almost always gets stuff first, since they're physically closest to China. But that's not a guarantee. I'm not going to make any further schedule predictions until production has wrapped and we're getting games on ships. The freight world is still a bit wobbly right now. Let's wait and see. 

The good news is, we are on track to hit our delivery estimates! All except one, actually: GenCon.

Regarding GenCon

As you may know, conventions are an extremely important revenue stream for indie game publishers. So as you can imagine I was really hoping to have the expansion ready to sell at the GenCon booth of Grand Gamers Guild, my US partner. I've already booked tickets from Germany and accommodation to be there. But the delays and freight uncertainty mean there's almost no chance of getting the expansion to Indianapolis in time.

There is another option - air freight. Of course it's VERY expensive to send games by air, so if I did do this it would only be a handful, but it might still be worth it for the bit of profit I can eke out of the sales to offset the expense of going there. I'm not sure yet. But I'd like to hear your thoughts to help inform my decision. Because of course, if you're going to be there too, I'd like to offer you the chance to pick up your copy of the game and/or expansion while you're there (and I'd love to meet you, as well!). 

So: if you are planning to attend GenCon and you've backed or pre-ordered Roll Camera or the expansion, please answer this little poll.

This will help me gauge whether it's worth doing. If indeed I did end up offering pickup at GenCon, you would need to sign up on a list beforehand, and it's unlikely I would have any addons. But I'll keep you posted. I also don't want anyone who isn't going to GenCon to feel left out. That's why I'm being transparent - I need GenCon as a business, but I value you as a backer more. So, let me know your thoughts.

Either way, I WILL be attending GenCon, so I'd love to meet you there! I'll let you know the booth # when I have it.

That's it! Seen any good films?

I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once, and it's still settling in my brain. I absolutely laughed, I quite possibly cried, it was a lot of fun, and I am always a fan of films that make full use of cinema as a medium for their stories - but weirdly, I'm not sure I actually liked it. And I don't know what to make of that. I have been following Daniels for a while though and I do think they are THE most creative filmmakers in action right now. The fact that this movie is doing gangbusters business means maybe they'll get to do something big-budget, which would just be great to see. And I'm always happy to cheer on original films, considering how rarely they are made these days. I still think I preferred Swiss Army Man to EEAAO, though. Time will tell!

That's me, and I hope you are doing super.

Your pal,

Mal

Of paper proofs and golden geeks
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 03:51:28 AM

B-Movie paper proofs have been approved!

I'm visiting my parents in New Mexico right now, so I had the factory ship me the paper proofs for the B-Movie Expansion here to their awesome ranch house (that's my son, far more interested in legos, in the background). I love the paper proofs; they're nothing more than the e-proofs printed out on big sheets of regular glossy paper, but it's fun to see the game's artwork in its actual size. The point of the sheets is to approve the colors of all the game's elements. And lemme tell you, it all looks GREAT! I've given the factory my approval. They've already started manufacturing the base game reprint and the non-paper expansion components (wooden tokens mostly) and now they can start on the expansion. 

I always keep one sheet framed as a memento, but the rest I will happily mail to YOU, dear backer, if you'd like them, for whatever purpose you desire. The first US resident to write YES I'LL HAVE THESE COOL PAPER SHEETS in the comments will get these mailed to them to the address on file in Backerkit! 

Roll Camera nominated for 2 Golden Geeks! 

"Uh, Mal, didn't I already vote for this?"

Sort of! Thanks to you, Roll Camera was nominated for the Golden Geek in two categories: Thematic and Cooperative. Super cool! That's already a big honor, and a huge step toward making this game more visible. Now there's a second round of voting to determine the winner. If I haven't already exhausted all your patience and goodwill, have a click and a vote - maybe we can win! Competition is steep (I mean come on, Sleeping Gods is in both those categories, and that's one magnificent game), but who knows? 

Okay okay, I'm pretty sure that's all the voting I'll ask you to do for Roll Camera. Enough already, right?? I'm pretty sure the only big award left is the Spiel des Jahres, and unless I'm mistaken, there's no voting involved. You're off the hook - or aus dem Schneider, as it were.

That's it for now!

I'll be thinking of you as I enjoy some trademark New Mexican green chile enchiladas...ohhhhh baby, I'm hungry. 

See you next update!

Your pal,

Mal

Dice Tower award! Golden Geek award! And a few other things!
about 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 04:58:21 AM

Help me nominate Roll Camera for a Golden Geek award!

Hey filmmakers!

One of the refrains I've been hearing a lot from reviewers of Roll Camera! is that it is underrated and/or just not talked about as much as it deserves to be. That buck stops with me, I'm afraid - I assume I'm just not yet as skilled as some of the other larger publishers at getting that big ol' marketing machine churning.

But - I do have you! If you've played Roll Camera and agree that it could do with some more visibility, nominating Roll Camera for one of BGG's Golden Geek awards would be a big, big help.

I did find out yesterday that Roll Camera was nominated for Best Theming by the Dice Tower - that was also incredibly gratifying to see! So, fingers crossed - a one-two punch of Dice Tower and Golden Geek noms could really put Roll Camera on the map. More than anything I want to dress Roll Camera in a smart tuxedo and top hat for its red carpet premiere.

How's printing going?

In classic Murphy's Law fashion, literally the very day after I posted my last update, in which I said all the files were approved and the factory was ready to begin - Shanghai was thrust into a massive COVID-19 lockdown which is only now easing up, very very slowly. I've been in touch with the factory employees - who luckily are doing well despite reported food shortages in the city - and it seems they can start with at least part of the production. I've asked for a revised timeline which they will deliver when they know more. Of course right now it's impossible for them to provide an accurate schedule.

But, that's why schedules have contingencies. Provided printing can indeed start soon, we should be okay. I've done everything I can on my end, and now it's time to put on our lucky underwear and hope for the best.

Pledge Manager closing / cards charging June 1

That's still the plan, so if you need to make changes to your order, you've still got time. 

Anything else?

I will do a livestream dev diary / port-mortem, probably later next month. It will be recorded afterward so you can have a gander even if you can't make it to throw hardball questions at me live.

Also, I've got a few new games in various stages of development. If you're interested in following along, please join us over in the friendly Keen Bean Studio Discord! I have a dev channel there where I post regular updates, if that sort of thing appeals to you.

What have you been watching recently? I've been watching the Apple+ show Severance, which is so, so good. It's just the right mix of weird and emotional. I have to imagine one of the main inspirations for the Lumen corporation is Apple itself, though. Kinda strange considering they're bankrolling it. 

I gotta say, series is where all the good "movies" have gone. I can't really think of a proper film I've seen recently that I thought was really outstanding. Dune had great worldbuilding but I find the story pretty old-fashioned; Coda was fine, I guess, but Best Picture? The Batman was definitely the most Batman I've seen in a while, hooray? But series have been killing it: Mare of Easttown, For All Mankind, Ozark, The Righteous Gemstones, Only Murders in the Building - it's like all the great mid-range (ie, smaller than a huge studio blockbuster but bigger than a tiny indie movie) content has gone to streaming. And that's exactly the range Roll Camera tries to capture - hmm, I wonder whether there could be a Roll Camera Series somehow? 🤔

All right, that's enough outta me! Have a great one-

Your pal

Mal

Digital proof at 100% approval! PNP is yours! Pledge Manager closing in June!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 04:25:40 AM

E-Proofs have been E-pproved

Hey filmmakers!

I just finished the final round of inspection and approval for the digital proofs, or e-proofs, of the expansion components. This is always the most nerve-wracking part for me, because it's really the last chance to make changes to the game's files without incurring major delays. So I go through it all with a fine-tooth comb, with other people as well, trying to ensure all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted. I'm the kind of person who is deeply bothered by the tail of a lower-case "g" being slightly cut off (this happened for some reason on one of the idea cards - now fixed, so you'll NEVER KNOW which one it was, hahahahahaha). Just the thought of that tiny error across thousands of copies of the game makes me nauseous. So I hope you know that if there ARE typos or other wrinkles with the final production, it wasn't for a lack of trying to smooth them out. Lordy, how we've been a-smoothin' this past month. I know I can't have found everything - nothing is ever perfect - but I can confidently say I've done my best.

Next up, the factory will produce the PPC (pre-production copy) for final approval. I CAN still make changes at that point - veterans of the first campaign will recall I made a graphical adjustment to the clapper box's inner lip - but I doubt that'll be necessary. We'll see - I will make a video to share with you when I have the PPC in hand. Once that's approved, production will begin. And I want to get this show on the road! Or freight ship, as it were. 

PNP is away!

Martin Gonzalvez (the PNP king as far as I'm concerned - check out his PNP FB group if you aren't already a member) has formatted all the expansion files, and the updated base game cards, and I have sent them out (2 separate files - one for the Roll Camera base game PNP, and another for the B-Movie PNP. It was too big to send as one). If you are a Kickstarter backer, you will find the PNP files in your survey, which you can access here. I just pushed the button so give it a few hours if you don't see it quite yet.

I'm pretty proud of NAILING the estimated delivery for the PNP (March 2022)! It's a small sign that this whole thing is ticking along right on schedule. Which is nice, because if you have ever had to make a schedule for a year-long project before, you know that a good deal of it is wishful thinking and guesswork, buoyed by a hearty amount of contingency. So far, so good!

Pledge Manager closing & cards charging on June 1st

Just to repeat: on Wednesday June 1st, I will be closing the Backerkit pledge manager and charging your credit card for the shipping costs and any addons (or your whole order if you're reading this as a preorder backer). This date may be pushed later, depending on manufacturing, but it won't come earlier.

However, I will NOT yet be locking your addresses! I will wait to lock addresses as late as possible, so around July most likely, but I'll keep you posted (again, depends on how long printing takes). So you've still got several months to move to that new beachside villa and ensure Roll Camera still arrives! Whew.

An idea

I would like to do a "post-mortem" or design diary for Roll Camera and the B-Movie Expansion that goes into how it was created, from start to finish, and walks through the different versions and decisions that were made along the way. Usually this is done as a blog post, but being a child of visual media, I was thinking of doing it as a live stream, kinda like what Cole Wehrle did with his John Company breakdown, which I found fascinating and fun. And now would be a good time to do one for Roll Camera, since we're just waiting for the games to be printed and shipped. And being a livestream, we could do a Q+A at the same time.

So I put it to you: is that something that would interest you? Assuming you'd be available, would you tune in? Or would you prefer to read it as a written post?

All right filmmakers, that's it for now! Feel free to say hi in the comments, even if you usually lurk (I know I do with KS updates). I always enjoy hearing from you.

Your pal,

Mal

Files at the factory! Addon tuckboxes!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Mar 01, 2022 at 11:52:32 PM

Files away!

Hey filmmakers,

Just a quick update on where we're at. The files are all at the factory (aka, uploaded to their FTP server, as you can see above), and we're having lots of thrilling exciting back and forth email exchanges like, "hey you forgot to extend the player board UV files to the bleed line" and "the PDF of the box art is reading as corrupted can you re-export and resend it" and so on. Truly gripping stuff.

One of the things I decided to do was put the upgraded addons (metal dice and wooden tokens) into their own little tuckboxes, like so:

I decided to do this because we ended up selling a bunch of metal dice when we were at Essen (actually we sold out within the first couple hours), but we were just handing them over in the little plastic baggies they came with from the factory. A proper box will make them easier to store, sell (both for us and for retailers), and it's somewhere pretty you can keep the original plastic dice that come with the game! I'm also doing one of these for the wooden genre tokens. 

Funnily enough, I think the factory sent me the exact same cut file for this tuckbox as the Root Vagabond Pack, which is what I referenced initially, and they said "oh yeah we made that." 

And yes, you can still add metal dice and/or wooden tokens to your order if you want. Otherwise you can get them from me personally when you come see me at GenCon or Essen!

The rough timeline

So the rough timeline right now looks something like this (although keep in mind my timelines are always as flexible as they need to be to get the job done right and account for unforeseen circumstances):

March - printing starts

April / May - printing complete, pledge manager closed & cards charged for addons & shipping

June / July - freight across the ocean blue (this one is the big question mark in terms of timing and scheduling)

August / September - fulfillment to you

Of course I'll share more specific details as we go along. Each region will be fulfilling separately so once I have more info there I'll be breaking down the timeline that way. My goal is to have Roll Camera and the B-Movie Expansion on hand to sell at GenCon in August (I've already booked my tickets!) so hopefully that means you'll get your game on the earlier side of this estimated timeline. Fingers crossed!

Either way, expect my updates to come around once per month while we wait for the printers to print and ships to sail.

Ukraine

I know, I know. It's just been on my mind - I live in Berlin, and it's not that far from Kyiv (750 miles for you fellow Americans). As you might know I do the weekly travel and language comic Itchy Feet, and I wanted to share yesterday's comic with you. I also wanted to share with you this link to NPR's list of charities supporting the Ukrainian people through this pointless war. Let's hope for a quick, peaceful end to all this.