Community

Hello friends,

I've been a bit quiet since the campaign ended as I've been busy working with the team to get this game finished, but I thought I'd send you a quick update so you know where we're at.

Firstly, Jen sent me the final cover this weekend and I could not be more delighted with it!

Meanwhile Francita has almost entirely finished the layout of the book - once Jen has finished the two interior spot art illustrations those will be added in and we'll have a completed zine.

Aleena has a functional version of the app built and is now making some slight adjustments to make it feel visually cohesive with the zine design. She has sent me screen captures of the app working. She has created a virtual block tower with functional physics. I'm not kidding, she might have magical powers. You can see a quick video of a work-in-progress version of the app here!
She will be submitting the app to Apple and Android app stores this week, then we have to wait for them both to approve it for listing which can take a few weeks . After that the app will be available for download!


But of course you aren't just getting one game - thanks to hitting the final stretch goal, you will all be receiving a digital copy of the updated version of March Winds, April Showers with improved layout and illustrations by Steph Windross. The game is about teenagers navigating their emotions and Steph has been tapping into that aesthetic perfectly:

If you want to see how March Winds, April Showers plays then you're in luck. By a bizarre coincidence, not one but two Actual Plays of the game are airing this week!

Firstly, Who Hurt You Actual Plays will be broadcasting their pre-recorded game of teenagers staring down adulthood on youtube tomorrow, Tuesday 17th March at 7pm GMT

Then EUphoria AP will be broadcasting a live actual play with an all women and femme cast as part of TTRPGirls, this Friday 20th March at 7pm GMT on twitch.tv/euphoriaap
This AP features a cast who all have experiences of migration and will feature slightly aged-up characters navigating the difficult goodbyes that come with immigration.

I'm excited for all this and probably am going to cry a lot. 


Finally, those of you who backed lots of projects in Zinetopia may have already started getting backer surveys from some people. I'm holding off for now until we're a bit closer to printing the physical zines, then I'll be sending out surveys to everyone who backed for a physical zine so I can get your shipping info. You'll also have the option to add a physical copy of March Winds, April Showers onto your order at this point - Logan at Fistful of Ink has been scheming with me to make it something really unique and cool, inspired by the idea that it's been made in a classroom with paper torn out of school workbooks!
 
I'll post another update when I'm ready to send out surveys, but for now thanks as always for your support.

-Michelle

Hi everyone!

I'm so excited to let you all know that Lie To Him just met the final stretch goal of £1500. This means I'm going to be revamping my GMless TTRPG zine March Winds, April Showers! Everyone who backed at the digital zine tier and above will also receive a PDF of this zine completely free as a thank you for your overwhelming support.

I'm also going to work with Fistful of Ink, who are printing Lie To Him, to make a physical zine of March Winds, April Showers which will be available as an add-on to anyone who pledged at the physical zine tier or above! If you pledged at the highest tier for a unique handmade mini-zine, I will throw in a physical copy of March Winds, April Showers for free.

 
Don't worry though, as excited as I am to get to work on revamping March Winds, April Showers I'm still very much focused on creating Lie To Him right now.

Wow everyone, I can't quite believe I'm writing this. Lie To Him hit the initial £500 goal in the first hour after going live. I cannot thank you all enough for believing in this game and putting your money towards making it a reality.

I was so genuinely shocked this happened that by the time I calmed down enough to write this update, we'd also met the threshold for the first stretch goal. So not only is the zine definitely happening, it's going to have additional artwork in the interior! 

The next stretch goal is a big one - not long before this project launched I was sitting puzzling out how I could possibly make Lie To Him more accessible for players who don't own a tumbling block tower or tarot cards when a message popped up from Aleena asking if I'd be interested in her creating an app. It was such a creative and amazing idea that I just had to say yes! I really, really want to make the app available for free as part of the purchase of the game, and the £850 mark is where I need to reach to make that feasible while still ensuring that Aleena's labour is fairly compensated. So please keep spreading the word if you can!

Thank you again for supporting this project, it means the world to me. 

Stay honest,
Michelle

So! Thanks to all of you and your incredible support, Lie To Him smashed through not only its original funding goal, but the first two stretch goals within 24 hours of launch. The zine is getting extra illustrations by Jen. The app is going to be free for everyone who buys the game. It's going to be exactly as I hoped. 

I can't quite wrap my head around that.

As I'm writing we've also hit the extra stretch goal I named Michelle Pays Herself, so I am actually going to pay myself a small fee for the work I've done and will continue to do on this project! 

I've now added the final stretch goal to the page. This is a big swing and I'm fully prepared to not make it this far, but if the total makes it to £1500, I plan to make a second zine. This will be a new version of my GMless TTRPG March Winds, April Showers revamped with original art. I'm very proud of this game but the current version on itch was made with canva, stock images and a dream and the result is a little janky looking. I'd love to give it the makeover it deserves. A digital copy will be sent to all backers at 'Lie of Omission' or above for free and a physical copy will be sent to the 'Bespoke Fallacy' backers for free, and to anyone else who chooses to buy it as an add-on at a discounted price.

If that sounds interesting to you please keep sharing this crowdfunder around. And if it doesn't, hey, that's fine, you've already contributed massively to the success of Lie To Him so thank you, thank you, thank you!