I'm very pleased to let you know that you can now access the digital zine PDF of The Deepest Dark and audiobook via Backerkit. This includes solo mode! You should have an email directing you to the digital download. If you have any issues, as always, please let me know.
We've also revised our test prints of the physical zines and cassettes and put in the main orders, which means we'll be starting to post them over the next 2-3 weeks. A few notes on that. First of all - once shipping fees have been collected, your order will be locked and you won't be able to change it.
We've been waiting to have the final versions of zines and cassettes so we can calculate shipping as accurately as possible. EU-based folks, there might be an additional charge of 3-6 Euros due to some new regulations coming in which affect UK to EU shipping, but you'll be notified of the exact amount as soon as we know.
That's all for now - I'll send the next update once we're ready to start shipping, and hopefully everyone will receive their rewards no later than the end of August.
Thank you again for all your support. I'll leave you with this beautiful additional illustration Georgia did for us!
I'm here with your monthly Mystery Snacks update to let you know how the project is going and give hints about the final work where I can.
This month, all writers got their first drafts in on time, I’ve had a chance to check them over and give feedback, and final draft phase is kicked off with two writers already submitting their final drafts! There’s still a couple weeks before final drafts are due and we kick off final layout, but, in the meantime, I think I can share the working titles for all the mysteries so far as a sneak peek!
Already announced in the campaign, written by Steph:
Per Diem at the Museum, an investigation into missing museum items (and a snack stand raid)
Dude, Where’s My Broom?, a magical college campus and coffee shop conundrum
Ostriches on the Loose, an exploration of farm abductions and cryptid sightings
Working titles and some keyword hints (may change since we’re still in draft phases) from stretch goal guest writers:
A Soup-er Suspicious Situation, soup, mice, and magic
Green Zines & Ham, library, cat, and supernatural
One Byte Too Many, sci-fi, androids, and ice cream
A Sharp Mind Needs a Light, bakery, tinkering, and tech
Wild Goose Chez,geese, breadcrumbs, and chaos
Everything so far is on track, and I’ll keep you updated at our next check in for June!
COMPLETED:
Feb – fund project
Mar – kick off guest writers (send guidelines, formatting + style guide)
Mar – set up pre-order store
Apr – guest writer check in
May – guest writer 1st drafts due
May – review 1st drafts
May – kick off guest writer 2nd drafts
NEXT STEPS:
June – guest writer 2nd draft due
June – kick off layout artist
July – final layout due
July – order proof (round 1)
Aug – proofs arrive, check, review update (round 1)
We hit our funding goal recently (and are dangerously close to achieving the "stickers for everyone" goal, too!) Thanks so much for the support.
This week I'm trying to jam out a short mechanics demo framed as a separate storyline centered on a separate (non-Captain) character. This way we can limit the scope (for example: managing a single lead character with a single companion, instead of an entire crew,) while showcasing the gameplay loop, and dipping your toes into the world without spoiling any of the guidebook. Should be pretty dope.
The Final Livestream
Our very last livestream will take place this Friday at 10am PST/1pm EST. You'll be able to watch it directly from the BackerKit page, or from my YouTube channel. I'll post another update once we're a bit closer to the day.
This campaign is a success -- and it's all thanks to all of you!! I want to thank each and every one of the 91 backers who decided to contribute to my quirky little project. I'm very very grateful to you all!
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What's next?
Now that the campaign is over, Backerkit has a 2-3 week period of processing all the funds and data from this campaign (and all the rest of the Zinetopia projects). Once the funds for the campaign are released to me, I'll try to set up the pledge manager as quickly as I can so that I can already send all of you the digital files for Raspberry Juice!
It should take about a week or two for me to set-up the pledge manager on Backerkit, which is a post-campaign platform that allows for processing of shipping fees and the fulfillment of all of your rewards. Once it's set-up, you will get notified and gain access to it. On the pledge manager you'll be able to modify your pledge to add additional goodies from the campaign, add a shipping address for fulfillment of physical goods, and pay shipping fees. If you're at the $1 Follower tier which bears no reward (other than my gratitude!), you'd also be able to change your pledge level to a higher one so that you can get a reward.
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Cheaper printing and shipping
I'm currently in discussions with my collaboration partner from Dieku Games to print and ship our projects together. This should help lower production costs and fulfillment costs for us as project creators, which would also translate to cheaper shipping prices for you as backers!
Raccoon is attempting to slash printing prices for everyone!
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The next update
If everything goes according to plan, you should expect the next update with details on how to use the pledge manager to be sent out in early April.
------------ Until then -- you have my biggest of gratitude -- Thank you all so so much!! ~Omer (tchinaboy)
We’ve reached the final moments of the campaign, and we just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! You believed in Loreforge: Narratools, you shared, supported, voted… and thanks to your enthusiasm we’ve achieved new goals that once seemed so far away!
Only a few hours remain, and on the horizon we can clearly see the next milestone: a new NPC and a new Villain waiting to be revealed. We’re truly just one step away — but you know what? Even if we don’t manage to unlock this last piece, we’re so proud of what we’ve built together that these elements will still find their place in the project.
💫 Because Loreforge isn’t just a campaign — it’s a community of storytellers, creators, and dreamers. And yes, maybe we’ll still surprise ourselves before the end… but we can already promise that Loreforge hides some pretty amazing surprises for the future!
Kicking off our Indie bookshop recommendations for our community goals.
Share your favourite independent bookshop where ever it is so we can get to 30 recommendations. When we reach 30 recommendations every backer from A Digital Bookshop up will receive digital map fragments for each of those bookshops that you can include in your journals.
Call it professional curiosity. Who was your favorite love interest in the Mass Effect, from those listed? Have one that didn't make the list (even if it's in Andromeda!), share in the comments!
