StoryGuider, a collection of choice driven coloring book adventures for kids is coming soon to print! This 36 story series features in-game activities, lively characters, intentional social-emotional skills practice, human made drawings, and more.
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Sandy the Dragon AND coloring book is live (digitally)! New keys sent, and main collection updated!
Hello all!
Just a quick update to let you know that the digital version of the 12 Sandy the Dragon adventures are finished, on itchio, and digitally distributed!
I've sent distribution keys to those who had the dragon-specific adventures only, and for folks who got the whole collection, you won't get a new key because the key you already have gives you continued access to the collection. You'll just need to go back to the big StoryGuider collection page and download the new files to get the new games/books!
AND... the digital coloring books are out there too! This is the print-and-play for just the characters so you have some extra pages to go along with your adventures or can check out just the characters before you try the game!
I hope you enjoy these print-and-play releases, and I'll have our regularly scheduled print-on-demand progress update at our regularly scheduled monthly interval as well.
StoryGuider: Proofs, dragon series cover reveals, and timing!
Hello all!
I'm here with your monthly StoryGuider update, and... proofs for the Heroes and Friends series came in!
I’ve gone through all the proof copies and, overall, they're pretty OK, but I did find a few issues with:
Layout in relation to book seam (image or text too close to inner seam)
Print quality (resolution unclear on an image or section of text)
Page # placement error (image layer was partially overtop of the page number on one page)
So, I am fixing those ASAP. Revisions have already been submitted for proofs round 2, and I'm using expedited shipping to make sure they get here as fast as possible.
And in parallel to all that, I’m working on Sandy the Dragon!
There’s 12 more stories and The Big Book of Dragons yet to come, and it’s moving along. Right now, I have all covers colored and laid out (shown below), and all the prepatory pages for the whole series are written and proofread (this includes the credits/ISBN page, skills practice page, recommended supplemental activities page, story summary page, and internal title page). Additionally, all content drafts are completed.
What’s left here is taking all the content drafts and getting them to final draft stage, which does involve a lot of clean up and fine tuning along with matching to art and confirming layout. I’ll be starting on that this week, and I am hoping to have that completed before summer break starts during the 2nd week of June.
Beyond that, there’s still lots to do, but I’ll leave our big running schedule to cover those items!
COMPLETED:
Oct – campaign funds released from Backerkit
Oct – send contracts for funded art to artists
Oct – draft the Tome Traveller Trilogy (part of the Heroes series)
Oct → Nov – collect first round of art from early artist kick-offs (from itchio and ko-fi prefunds)
Nov – artists working on Heroes series
Nov/Dec – finish writing the new Dragon series adventures
Nov → Jan – reformat the Heroes series
Jan – Heroes series art due
Jan – order Heroes series proofs (round 1)
Jan – artists working on Friends series
Feb – Friends series art due
Feb – Heroes series proofs arrive, review, update (round 1)
Jan – Mar – reformat the Friends series
Jan – Apr – artists working on Dragon series
Mar – Dragon series art due
Mar – send backer surveys
Apr – update + order Friends series proofs (round 1)
Apr – update + order Heroes series proofs (round 1.5)
Apr – set up digial pages for Friends and Heroes series
Apr – fulfill digital print-and-play for Friends and Heroes series
May – Heroes series proofs arrive
May – Friends series proofs arrive
May – Friends series proofs review, update, reorder (round 2)
NEXT STEPS:
May/June – Heroes series proofs review, update, reorder (round 2)
May/June – reformat the Dragon series and make coloring book
June – order Dragons series and coloring book proofs (round 1)
June – set up digial pages for Dragons series
June/July – fulfill digital print-and-play for Dragon series
June/July – Friends series proofs arrive, review, update (round 2)
June/July– if no issues with Friends series, start to distribute POD keys
July – Heroes series proofs arrive, review, update (round 2)
July – Dragon series proofs arrive, review, update (round 1)
July – if no issues with Heroes, Dragons, or coloring book, start to distribute POD keys
July – Sept – continue release of OK’d proofs as possible
As always, thank you for supporting the project, and I have lots more info on this (and other work) in the TTRPGkids monthly Dev Log if you want the nitty gritty details on the whole process.
Until next update (late June), happy gaming, and have a good start to your summer!
StoryGuider: surveys locking, digital Heroes and Friends coming soon, and formatting things
Hi all!
You've been getting an email here and there about filling our surveys and locking orders in, but also, since we're close to the first digital round going out, I wanted to touch base and let you know what's going on right now for the immediate timing and show a couple features/design choices with the PDFs you'll be getting soon.
First, all filled out surveys will lock tomorrow, and then I'll be submitting card charges for any add-ons or pre-order store purchases shortly after to make sure we're ready to go into digital release.
Second, what I'm working on right now is making sure the digital format is set to go and then updating the itchio pages so I can send you codes.
This means, I'm adding links to all the "go to page" prompts so, if you're using the PDF, you can click on it, and it will take you right to the page without you having to search (like in the image here):
I'm also creating an instruction document that tells you how to print physical copies so you end up with two side-by-side page like this:
Or one full page like this:
I'm also making new title card images for each story (like these):
And am updating the itchio page text + adding screenshots from the new versions of the game (like this):
For each book, it's like a 12 step process to update everything, and it does take some time, so, this means you may start to see updated itchio pages a few days before I send everyone their codes for digital downloads just because I won't be able to to ALL the page updates on the same day of distribution. If you see Hans Gets Hangry pop up with a new version on itchio today, it's just me getting ready for distribution, and you haven't missed getting your download key.
Other than that, I have a new Dev Log out that goes into some more detail about StoryGuider and its detail schedule, which you can find here:
StoryGuider: more cover art shares to help with survey choices!
Hi all!
I recieved a question about what stories were in each of the big books, so I thought I would add a graphic to help now that the individual story covers for the first two sets are done!
The Big Book of Heroes will contain the following trilogies: Treasure Seekers Adventure Chef Hero City Astronaut
The Big Book of Friends will contain the following trilogies: Wizard Mediator Mouse Betti the Yeti Tome Traveller (new)
The Big Book of Dragons will contain twelve Sandy the Dragon stories (combination of those already released and new ones). I don't have colored covers for those yet since they have a later fulfillment date, but I'll send you images once they're ready.
If you don't want to decide until you see all the title images, you can 100% leave your survey open past the closing period at the end of this month, and you will 100% still be able to fill it out later. The only downside is that you won't be in the first wave of digital fulfillment since I won't know which books you want.
If you have any questions or would like a higher resolution image, please let me know by emailing me at[email protected] and including the word "StoryGuider" as the first word in the title.
I'll send a more detailed "Dev Log" update on 4/21 and will be locking in submitted surveys soon after that to allow for digital fulfillment for the first two sets. In the meantime, please check out your surveys (or visit the pre-order store) in the next couple weeks if you want to be in the first fulfillment round, and I'm looking forward to sending you some games soon!
StoryGuider surveys incoming! Also, new art and status updates!
Hello Everybody!
First off, surveys are on the way!
I sent out the smoke test this morning, which means that about 5% of backers will get their surveys to fill out now so we can make sure there's no major problems when we send them to everyone else.
If you recieved a survey, please fill it out when you can! Once I see that a couple people have completed the process with no issues, I'll be able to send them out to everyone else. Also, if you missed the campaign and want to pre-order, please do this ASAP so you can still get in on the first round of the release!
Secondly, I wanted to share one of my favorite pieces of the art (by Soren Leigh) for the new Sandy the Dragon adventures:
The final story of the series will be Sandy and friends working through some common new player TTRPG issues so we can send you off from StoryGuider and onto your next game system with some helpful tips. With regards to the timeline:
I mentioned last time there was some health stuff going on, and I did find out I will need a major surgery in April plus a bunch of extra doctor's stuff leading up to that point. I'm still working towards the dates I planned, and I'll keep you updated if anything changes due to the medical and life events.
I'm still working on layout and rewrites for the Big Book of Friends series, with all but 3 of the 12 completed. I'm still planning on finishing that up by the end of March so I can order proofs soon.
Once that's all settled, I'll be working on getting the Heroes and Friends digital releases set up and starting layout for the Dragons series!
Current priorities are: #1 - Finish layouts for the Friends series (3 remaining) #2 - Update Heroes/Friends based on proofs, and order next round of proofs #3 - Prep print-and-play files, game pages, and keys for Heroes/Friends while survey is running + waiting for proofs to deliver
Please keep an eye out for your surveys this and next week, and you can expect the next project update in late April when I'll be closing surveys and having status on the Heroes and Friends releases.
We are about 6 months past the end of the funding campaign for StoryGuider, and, since the last update:
art for the Heroes and Friends sets are complete and the Dragons set is almost finished (and on track)
the first 18 books are laid out (18 to go)
the first 6 proofs are in!
I ordered the first 6 proofs early to make sure my formatting on the interior was correct (i.e. words were not getting eaten by the seam), and I did find an issue that I wasn't expecting! The printer requires a blank page at the end of the book for an internal barcode, and I'd left that page blank by putting a white page there, which I think they detected as being an object. This resulted in them adding extra pages at the end, which I don't want.
I know how to fix it for the next iteration, but this basically let me find the issue before I needed to submit the whole lot for printing and was able to work on laying out 12 other books while the proofs were being printed and shipped (hopefully saving time from a proof iteration later).
From a timeline standpoint: Digital print-and-play distribution is still on track to meet the Heroes and Friends target (April) but may be delayed a month (June –> July) for the Dragons and coloring book target due to some life things that I talk about in today's TTRPGkids Dev Log. I've also delayed surveys to March since I want to prioritize layout/ordering proofs, which are longer lead items. POD key distribution will be parallel to print-and-play distribution if all proofs come in perfect, but it will likely be 1-2 months behind each print-and-play distribution if I find errors in the proofs and need to run a second round to correct it. I'm expediting all POD proofs to speed up the iteration process, and I'll keep you updated as it goes.
And I am delaying my next project, Begamed Brochures to 2027 to help me have a little more time to close StoryGuider out by the promise dates and stay on track for Mystery Snacks (metioned later).
There's also a full timeline in my Dev Log post with lots more info, if you're interested in the details.
My current StoryGuider priorities are: #1 - Finish layouts for the Heroes/Friends sets #2 - Update Heroes/Friends based on proofs, and order next round of proofs #3 - Send out surveys to backers #4 - Prep print-and-play files, game pages, and keys for Heroes/Friends while survey is running + waiting for proofs to deliver
ALSO.... Mystery Snacks is in it's final days on Backerkit! This is an anthology of all-ages friendly mysteries + a rules-lite system that's designed for solving fun-sized capers.
You can expect the next project update in late March when I'll have status on surveys, art reveals for the Dragons series, and a more detailed timeline walk for digital and POD distribution.
Made just for kids, by the ENnie awarded TTRPGkids, StoryGuider lets young players, ages 2-7, have a special story that twists and turns down the paths that they choose!
Tested for both home games and classes, these all-ages stories are:
Easy first-time TTRPGs for families
Solo-playable adventures for early readers
Awesome for groups, classes, and camps
Choose how many adventures you want with up to 36 total in the BIG BUNDLE to keep explorers engaged in a wide variety of stories!
And remember to sign up today!
Follow along with this project to get updates and some sneak peeks of digital content as we get closer to launch AND, on the TTRPGkids newsletter (newsletter sign up here) to get access to a secret teir on campaign launch that will grant you a $5 discount on the BIG BUNDLE!
