Layout Finishing + Final Editing and One Pager Voting to Come!
Quigley here to give another belated update on the state of the project!
The past month the game has fully been in the skillful hand of the project's layout artist Rook. From the campaign we passed our stretch goal allowing him to go all-out in build an urban-scrapbooky-fantasy style for the game's layout. You can see how that's beginning to take shape in the image below! Chris and Lex have wrapped up on the game's illustrations including those sponsored by the campaign's generous Arts Patrons.
Meanwhile I've been discovering the mysteries of the Backerkit and getting approval for opening up the pledge manager. Apologies for the delay in digital download access as I initially thought that those rewards would be available pre-Pledge Manager, which I was mistake about.
In the next week, I will be sending out the smoke test quickly followed fully opening the Pledge Manager. From there, you'll be able to pay for shipping as well as access your digital downloads: the game as currently available in plain text and a code allowing you to have ownership through Itch.io. All rewards will be delivered through both Backerkit and Itch but I would highly recommend using your Itch key for post-campaign updates.
Once the Pledge Manager is underway, I'll transition focus to taking care of our outstanding stretch goal of 5 quickstart one pagers which will be voted on from a selection of 20 in a future update.
Overall, we're still on track for a delivery by November with final layout and proof-reading throughout August!
Excited to share more in the next week!
PS if you're a follower who missed the campaign, you can access the Pre-Order now through the campaign page.
Large break between updates but production has been going forward as planned. In fact, you can access the game right now through the digital downloads (I think)! The three months the text has gone through major revisions moving the mechanics away from points and towards narrative flexibility. Kodi their editing pass of the text and we've been working to restructure some of the awkward information flow so make play seamless.
A large reason for delay is I have been resting with the Pledge Manager getting things setup for you guys to get accurate shipping costs and access to codes to redeem on itch.io as a backup for rewards here. I'll continue slamming my head into that but didn't want imperfection to keep preventing me sending an update.
Art and layout have been cooking with the finishing of final interior illustrations, the cover, and concept explorations for the game's layout. Below you can find two illustrations by the fantastic Lex and Chris as well as a chosen concept (not final) for the game's layout direction by Rook.
Once we've finished up the core rules, layout will start and we'll begin working on the extra handouts (city one page rules and reference cards) as promised in the campaign's stretch goals. We're pretty happy with how the rules are but if you happen to run the game we'd love to hear your feedback!
Overall production continues smoothly and we’re still on pace for delivery in October.
Interested in Playtesting and Seeing WIP? Join the Discord!
How can you help?
If you have either friends, distributors, or local game stores, spread the word by sharing the link: bit.ly/backyard-rpg
Play the current rules and share your experiences with @quigjam on bluesky or discord.
Join the discord and give feedback to in progress development! See a snapshot of me live ranting about the game below!
We've fully funded ending at a lovely $4552! We appreciate all the support shown from you backers especially those who went the extra mile with Supporter and Art's Patron tiers.
So what does this mean? It means we'll be able to deliver the best possible version of the game including the base product of:
the core system built on the promise of making building urban fantasy settings as easy as possible
6 magical communities all with their own unique inspirations and mechanics
24 events to delve deeper into each community's history and traditions
With our additional stretch goal's we've also unlocked
additional inspiration tables and printable player references to make running the game an ease
5 city "quick-starts" one pagers to get you up and running
a layout upgrade to make the game as visually badass as it can be
What's the next steps? This is my first time running a backerkit campaign so I think that means you get charged while I setup the pledge manager.
Work for the game has been on-going including artwork. Art's Patrons will be reached out to in the next week to get their feedback and start work on additional pieces.
We'll start collecting 25 options for city quickstarts that backers will vote on. Feel free to comment ideas or join the discussion on the discord! Going forward the discord will be the best place to keep up and contribute to the game's development!
That's all for now! Can't wait to make this game real for yall!
As of this morning we’re sitting at $3,804 funded with less than 5 days left in the campaign. Over the past two weeks, we’ve been blasting past our first two stretch goals (meaning we’ll be adding more inspiration tables and printable reference cards). We’re closing in on our 4k stretch goal where we’ll add 5 cities chosen by the backers as quick-starts to the game. See below for a sample of what that will look like for a local favorite Houghton, MI.
We’ve been fortunate enough to get some amazing coverage for the game now added to the campaign page including a feature by zine aficionado JP Coovert.
Development progress is continuing including new artwork and rules revisions. Here’s some early concepts for members of the “Myths” community done by Chris Carson II.
In terms of campaign progress we’ve had to do some recalculations based on the $600 we received from the “Art’s Patron” tier. The money for that reward largely goes to paying the illustrator so it was important to recalculate expenses to have an accurate understanding on how that affected the campaign’s journey to profitability. We’ll still be delivering on everything promised but the adjustment puts our break-even point closer to $4500.
Interested in Playtesting and Seeing WIP? Join the Discord
How can you help?
If you have either friends, distributors, or local game stores, spread the word by sharing the link: bit.ly/backyard-rpg
Play the current rules and share your experiences with @quigjam on bluesky or discord.
Join the discord and give feedback to in progress development! See a snapshot of me live ranting about the game below!
Sometime on Wednesday, we passed our funding goal of $2500! Thank everyone for their support and interest in our cool little world-building game! Fantasy in My Backyard was x8 the funding goal of my last lead campaign, Afterworld, which only asked for $350.
So what does funding mean? Simple, the game is going to get made, including the core rules, 6 magical communities, and 24 events. Additionally, this provides money for the cover, layout, and 3 interior illustrations (now 4 thanks to a generous backer who joined as an Art Patron)!
Speaking of which, here’s some WIP preview for the cover by the amazing Duamn Figueroa Rassol.
We’ve already begun work on another round of revisions, including writing the new rules for the Coven, Pact, and additional events.
For the remainder of the campaign, we’ll include additional content every $500 until the campaign ends. Now, although we’re funded, there is still another $1300 in “out of pocket” investment planned. This $1300 includes money personally invested by team members and a sales projection after the campaign ends. Our ultimate goal is reaching $3888 in funding, which would mean the campaign is covering all expenses, and we can use the money on more expensive goals (like artwork) or begin to take on profit.
Hi there. The World is in chaos! I dig it.
Buuuut... this is a very small, digest-sized stapled zine that is 16-20 pages? 15 bucks worth. Posting it to the UK... $25! That feels super expensive for the size of the product. I would not pay $40 for a small, digest-sized stapled zine with only 16-20 pages.
Please could I downgrade my order to just a digital copy? I only raise this as Big Shiny Books from the States don't usually cost $25 or more. And I am sorry to ask for a refund as this is a super cool project. But $25 is just way too high. More than double what I was expecting. Peace out.
Quigley here to give another belated update on the state of the project!
The past month the game has fully been in the skillful hand of the project's layout artist Rook. From the campaign we passed our stretch goal allowing him to go all-out in build an urban-scrapbooky-fantasy style for the game's layout. You can see how that's beginning to take shape in the image below! Chris and Lex have wrapped up on the game's illustrations including those sponsored by the campaign's generous Arts Patrons.
Meanwhile I've been discovering the mysteries of the Backerkit and getting approval for opening up the pledge manager. Apologies for the delay in digital download access as I initially thought that those rewards would be available pre-Pledge Manager, which I was mistake about.
In the next week, I will be sending out the smoke test quickly followed fully opening the Pledge Manager. From there, you'll be able to pay for shipping as well as access your digital downloads: the game as currently available in plain text and a code allowing you to have ownership through Itch.io. All rewards will be delivered through both Backerkit and Itch but I would highly recommend using your Itch key for post-campaign updates.
Once the Pledge Manager is underway, I'll transition focus to taking care of our outstanding stretch goal of 5 quickstart one pagers which will be voted on from a selection of 20 in a future update.
Overall, we're still on track for a delivery by November with final layout and proof-reading throughout August!
Excited to share more in the next week!
PS if you're a follower who missed the campaign, you can access the Pre-Order now through the campaign page.
Large break between updates but production has been going forward as planned. In fact, you can access the game right now through the digital downloads (I think)! The three months the text has gone through major revisions moving the mechanics away from points and towards narrative flexibility. Kodi their editing pass of the text and we've been working to restructure some of the awkward information flow so make play seamless.
A large reason for delay is I have been resting with the Pledge Manager getting things setup for you guys to get accurate shipping costs and access to codes to redeem on itch.io as a backup for rewards here. I'll continue slamming my head into that but didn't want imperfection to keep preventing me sending an update.
Art and layout have been cooking with the finishing of final interior illustrations, the cover, and concept explorations for the game's layout. Below you can find two illustrations by the fantastic Lex and Chris as well as a chosen concept (not final) for the game's layout direction by Rook.
Once we've finished up the core rules, layout will start and we'll begin working on the extra handouts (city one page rules and reference cards) as promised in the campaign's stretch goals. We're pretty happy with how the rules are but if you happen to run the game we'd love to hear your feedback!
Overall production continues smoothly and we’re still on pace for delivery in October.
Interested in Playtesting and Seeing WIP? Join the Discord!
How can you help?
If you have either friends, distributors, or local game stores, spread the word by sharing the link: bit.ly/backyard-rpg
Play the current rules and share your experiences with @quigjam on bluesky or discord.
Join the discord and give feedback to in progress development! See a snapshot of me live ranting about the game below!
We've fully funded ending at a lovely $4552! We appreciate all the support shown from you backers especially those who went the extra mile with Supporter and Art's Patron tiers.
So what does this mean? It means we'll be able to deliver the best possible version of the game including the base product of:
the core system built on the promise of making building urban fantasy settings as easy as possible
6 magical communities all with their own unique inspirations and mechanics
24 events to delve deeper into each community's history and traditions
With our additional stretch goal's we've also unlocked
additional inspiration tables and printable player references to make running the game an ease
5 city "quick-starts" one pagers to get you up and running
a layout upgrade to make the game as visually badass as it can be
What's the next steps? This is my first time running a backerkit campaign so I think that means you get charged while I setup the pledge manager.
Work for the game has been on-going including artwork. Art's Patrons will be reached out to in the next week to get their feedback and start work on additional pieces.
We'll start collecting 25 options for city quickstarts that backers will vote on. Feel free to comment ideas or join the discussion on the discord! Going forward the discord will be the best place to keep up and contribute to the game's development!
That's all for now! Can't wait to make this game real for yall!
As of this morning we’re sitting at $3,804 funded with less than 5 days left in the campaign. Over the past two weeks, we’ve been blasting past our first two stretch goals (meaning we’ll be adding more inspiration tables and printable reference cards). We’re closing in on our 4k stretch goal where we’ll add 5 cities chosen by the backers as quick-starts to the game. See below for a sample of what that will look like for a local favorite Houghton, MI.
We’ve been fortunate enough to get some amazing coverage for the game now added to the campaign page including a feature by zine aficionado JP Coovert.
Development progress is continuing including new artwork and rules revisions. Here’s some early concepts for members of the “Myths” community done by Chris Carson II.
In terms of campaign progress we’ve had to do some recalculations based on the $600 we received from the “Art’s Patron” tier. The money for that reward largely goes to paying the illustrator so it was important to recalculate expenses to have an accurate understanding on how that affected the campaign’s journey to profitability. We’ll still be delivering on everything promised but the adjustment puts our break-even point closer to $4500.
Interested in Playtesting and Seeing WIP? Join the Discord
How can you help?
If you have either friends, distributors, or local game stores, spread the word by sharing the link: bit.ly/backyard-rpg
Play the current rules and share your experiences with @quigjam on bluesky or discord.
Join the discord and give feedback to in progress development! See a snapshot of me live ranting about the game below!
