Newborn Games

CREATOR

14 days ago

Project Update: 🎃 October Production Update — Putting Silent Læke to the Test

October is almost over.

Halloween is just around the corner.

And somewhere in Silent Læke, the woods are getting darker.

So, what have we been up to this month?

Well, not as many new pages as I'd hoped.

But quite a lot of game development.

And some exciting news on the production side, too.

Let's get into it.

🃏 Campaign Mode: The First Playtest

One of October's biggest milestones was something I've been looking forward to for quite some time:

We finally put Silent Læke's Campaign Mode to the test!

As you know, Silent Læke was originally designed around intense, replayable one-shot experiences, particularly with one or two Players and a Director. Campaign Mode takes things further.

What happens when the story doesn't end after three Days?
When the characters explore each Place in Silent Læke
When the consequences of one story begin to shape the next?

This first playtest gave me the opportunity to explore those questions at the table, rather than just on paper.
And it was incredibly useful.

We tested and refined several mechanics, including the Sheriff Response Matrix, and experimented with additional game modules such as Wings of Passion, playing through several episodes of Silent Læke's very own delightfully questionable soap opera.

We also explored how previously developed scenarios, including Last Traces and The Cherry Pie Incident, could intertwine within a continuing campaign. And perhaps most importantly, the experience helped me identify several opportunities to refine the game's underlying rules.

There's nothing quite like watching your carefully designed mechanics collide with actual Players.

Some things worked exactly as intended.

Others taught me something.

And that's precisely why we playtest.

Over the next two or three months, I'll be running another Campaign Mode playtest to see whether the lessons learned during this first run hold up with a different group.

After all, one successful experiment is encouraging.

Two successful experiments start to look like a pattern.

And I want these mechanics to be solid.

🎨 A New Pair of Hands

Now for some rather exciting production news.

I've hired a graphic designer to work on the Silent Læke core rulebook!

And not just any graphic designer. She already has experience working on published tabletop RPGs, which is exactly the kind of expertise I wanted to bring into this project. I'll introduce her properly in a future update, along with more details about her work.

But for now, I wanted you to know that this is an important step forward. Not only will her expertise help make the finished corebook even more beautiful, but having someone dedicated to graphic design and layout should also make the production process considerably more efficient.

It means I can concentrate more of my time on writing, developing and refining the game while another experienced professional helps bring the book itself to life.

Less on my shoulders. More hands making Silent Læke happen.

And that's a very welcome development.

📖 Six Books. One Game.

Meanwhile, work on the manuscript continues.

I've made further progress on Book of Whispers, the fourth and final Book of Part I: For Everyone Who Conquers.

But I've also been revisiting some familiar territory.

Specifically, I've been going back through Book of Dusk and Book of Faces, carefully reviewing how they connect with the mechanics established in Book of Threads and the content being developed for Book of Whispers.

Why?

Because these aren't supposed to be six separate books that happen to share a cover.

They're six Books that make up one game.

As the mechanics and setting details become more refined, I want to ensure that concepts are introduced naturally, references are genuinely useful, and everything connects in a way that makes sense to someone reading the corebook for the first time. That means revisiting earlier chapters, adjusting explanations, improving cross-references and making sure the whole thing reads as a coherent manual.

It's not particularly glamorous work.

It doesn't always produce an impressive number of new pages.

But it matters.

And it's helping the different parts of Silent Læke come together as a whole.

🎬 About the Rough Cut Edition...

Last month, I asked whether you'd prefer early access to a playable Silent Læke: Rough Cut Edition — The whole game. Before the final cut. — or whether you'd rather wait for the finished corebook.

Well, the results are in.

Six votes.

One answer.

100% chose:
🌲 "Either works for me. I'll be happy whichever way you decide to handle it."

Not exactly the dramatic showdown I was expecting. 😄

But I appreciate the trust.

For now, my priority remains finishing the corebook.

Once the manuscript is ready, I'll assess whether preparing a Rough Cut Edition would be worthwhile without significantly delaying the final release. If it makes sense, I'll be delighted to let you into Silent Læke a little earlier. And if not, we'll keep working towards the final cut.

Either way, thank you to everyone who participated.

🌲 Looking Ahead

So, October wasn't a particularly productive month in terms of new pages written.

But it was an important month for testing, refining and preparing the next stages of production.

Campaign Mode has undergone its first playtest.
Several mechanics and additional game modules have been put through their paces.
Another round of campaign testing is being prepared.
A professional graphic designer is joining the production.
And the six Books of Silent Læke are becoming increasingly interconnected.

There's still plenty of work ahead.

But the game keeps growing.

And the team helping me bring it to life is growing with it.

Which brings us to one last thing...