Hey folks, as you can see in these images, production is going great! The factory that does my colored pins is already doing final passes on pins, and the one that does my metal pins has just finished the mold stage. The washi tape is also completely finished and being shipped to me now. Please note there are only 100 of the washi tapes being made, so if you want one, pick it up now!
All plastic goods are getting one final sample made to correct some minor issues I saw with the photocard but production on those is so quick this is not going to cause any level of delay.
The only downside to this fast production is that it requires me to deal with waking up at 3am to three factories showing me pictures to confirm they can move to the next step / that errors have been repaired.
The pings haunt my dreams but it's ok because I love seeing the process.
Someone asked for a Pony Charm
Yep, a single person asked for the pony charm to be buyable. I was too lazy to do that, so I decided it would be easier just add the pony charm to every single capsule shaker. If you don't want it, just open it up and pull it out like with any other shaker charms in it you might not want.
By the way. What do you think the factory worker thinks when they have to make this shaker? Like. Have you ever considered that you're sitting in the factory. A new order pops up. There's the RED MAN there? No one tells you why the heck you're making these, just that they must be made, and then placed into a really cute little shaker.
Eh, you know maybe they deal with every other week. Creepy pasta is always in.
My partner, Toadstown (Skipper!) is launching a new project you might like if you love BLUE HELL, it's Blighted Bestiary! He is also running PaleoPals 2, though that's not some sort of terrible nightmare world situation. Blighted Bestiary takes place in the same reality that the HELL series is in though it might not be obvious how....... Check out a little sample of what's to come below.
Other than that, this update is now done! Next update will be me locking orders around the 14th.
"No hellish abominations here! Unless you count the Therizinosaurus!"
"Thank goodness I'm not doing GREEN HELL next because this is everything it wanted to be and so much more!"
Something Has Infected The Woods.
The blight has seeped its way into the plants, beasts, and minds of its captive residents, choking out the very essence of the enchanted grove. So warped is the forest by the rejection of the natural cycle that it may never recover. So, it adapts.
(Not into the boring stuff? Scroll down to Pet Vote for the fun stuff! Also follow RED HELL!) After a lot of juggling factories, tweaking vectors, and correcting samples, all items are currently in production! This means we're on track for products to hopefully arrive by November, and sent out by December as long as there are no delays. It's all in the factory's hands now, so I'll give you an update if they have any delays, but the factories I use are pretty reliable so here's hoping there are none.
Add-ons and Shipping Charged Around September 14th
While the final date for charges is still up to be determined, I will be locking down and charging orders around the 14th of this month. Currently we are on track for my estimates on shipping still being accurate. Please see the below for what to expect.
United States: $5
Canada: $13
UK: $20
EU: $20
Other International: $20
Arise and cekeki plush orders will add +$5 to shipping to cover the size.
The pony plush will add +5 to +$10 to shipping for all orders to cover the size. I will have the final number for this around the 14th after I test out calculations.
For International Backers: VAT tax is not collected by the survey, so you are responsible for paying your country's import tax, if any. Tariff costs will be mitigated where possible. Should any additional shipping costs be necessary, all backers will be informed in future campaign updates.
Pre-Order Store Information
The pre-order store will stay open until delivery in case any of your friends wants to pick up any items before their prices raise. Once the pre-order store closes and all items are delivered fully the items will be listed on etsy at a higher price, with the pins being raised by $2-3 and the pony plushies by $5-$10 so pick them up at a discount while you have the chance! I brought quite a bit of extras of all the pins, so I do not see any worries on that end, but I will remove pin options from the pre-order store if they get close to my threshold for A-Grade expectations.
And now for something more exciting. Help me out with picking a new "pet" backers can pick up. For my upcoming RED HELL project (Follow it if you haven't already!) we'll be hosting the little "grab a pet" event just like last time. Don't worry, you'll have a choice between the new species, or another pony during the project itself. I would never prevent the masses from getting a lovely pony. Anyway, let's see our contestants for this battle!
"Playing with your fears."
Phobe: The False Dragon
Phobes are a rare type of false dragon. They are notable for being fairly tame and attentive towards their owners. While they are mischievous they rarely cause any major harm. The species is so beloved and highly valued because when exposed to phobias it will change its hide patterns and fight off elements of said phobia.
"It's only because of their stupidity that they're able to be so sure of themselves."
Kafkil: The Absurd Lawyer
Tired of legal battles stalling for so long you literally know that the opposing side is trying to wait till you die? Summon a kafkil! Kafkils are created when a beloved non-rabbit animal, or object is sacrificed to the gods. These betrayed beings will loyally follow their owners, defeating all of their enemies before taking revenge on their caretaker. The best way to stop the stalking of a kafkil is to engage in a bureaucratic or legal process. Placing legal documents around one's residence, or directly upon their bodies will ward them off for up to a month, before they return, seeking updated paperwork.
"Do not be scared of her. Spiders do not even fathom your existence, I promise."
Karuhongsa: The Fear Killer
The karuhongsa is apart of the false dragon family. Flocks slowly grow around the locations of powerful dragons. The soothing presence of the karuhongsa causes those around them to seek to understand their fears, especially those around the dragon. As locals stop fearing the beast it slowly withers away into nothing, its anomalous energy fed upon by the growing flocks of karuhongsa.
"It says your name in his voice......You can't bare to throw it away"
Mirrorer: The Living Memory
Mirrorers are anomalous dolls that have come to life after seeing a mirror for the first time. They are lovable, if mischievous creatures that take joy of jumping into mirrors and becoming intangible. The longer they stick around an owner, the more they mimic their actions, behaviors, and voice. Even after the owner has died the mirrorer will continue its mimicking for ages, often becoming a metaphorical "ghost" of its owner for years to come.
Want to see all the ponies created for this project?Check out this imgur album!If you live in a country where imgur is not allowed, please cover your eyes and imagine how awesome seeing 187 ponies would be like. Yep, that's how many ponies were made for this campaign! Considering that there are 342 of you, this means over 50% of backers requested a pony!
Now for more official news. Smoke tests for the Backerkit surveys are being sent out. If you have a failed charge make sure to update your card so that you can get your rewards.
Expect to get your survey within 1 week. All backers will have until September 14th to fill out their surveys.
Have a friend that missed the campaign? Send them to the pre-order shop! This will be as open as long as surveys will be so if you missed out make sure to get in. If you are a backer DO NOT use that link. You will be able to order more addons and pins when you get your surveys.
Note: Shipping will not be charged until near the shipping date for the project.
"Don't worry. We'll be back after this commercial break."
Dear backers, today we hit $16,000. Never thought this freak show would make it. Things are going to get quiet real soon as we work out the numbers, talk to factories, and get the products into your hands. Don't worry, we won't be gone for long. We've handled productions this big before so despite my surprise, it's an exciting one.
There's less than 24 hours left, so if you want to pick some stuff up this is the time to do so, especially the pony plushies.
"This is cute......"
"But this is better!"
Got some quick updates for you folks. First off, a new pony sample that is 12 inches has been completed. We only had a small edit to make to, so they are now ready to go into production. I wanted to get this done in advance because I want to make sure no delays are caused by the plushies.
"Wait, that's not green....."
Second it looks like you folks overwhelmingly voted to see GREEN HELL. Well that's great, cause honestly, I've been looking into making a RED HELL as well. So this is how we're going to do it. When BLUE HELL is out the door, we'll launch RED HELL, and when RED HELL is nearly delivered, we'll launch GREEN HELL.
That'll complete a full RGB HELL trilogy. Maybe we'll even do something special afterwards. After that, who knows, maybe we'll do an emotional whiplash by running a cutesy pony campaign after three projects of HELL.
To get you folks hyped up for RED HELL there's a little (Well big) teaser below, but you can view the opening AND 3 of our RED HELL guests at the pre-launch page. Maybe do me a favor and click the "Count me in" button.
Don't worry, RED (And Green) HELL will have a free digital pet just like BLUE HELL. I know you folks really loved those.
Anyway, I'll see you folks later. From here on out, nothing but boring updates until products are shipped and in your hands. See you folks again (In character), hopefully in just a few months.
TEASER FOR RED HELL
"Have you heard the good news?"
BE NOT AFRAID!
God's only son is here to tell you the good news. The gates to RED HELL are open, and the sinners of the universe shall be cleansed of all evils on their way up. All sinners are FORGIVEN, all you must do is FORGIVE yourself.
Except you Satan. You gotta stay until you at least attempt to show that you can go against your nature by using your power of persuasion for GOOD for once.
Satan says: "MY DEAR LORD HAS OFFERED ME A SIMPLE TASK FOR FREEDOM? GOD IS GOOD AND MERCIFUL. I'LL SHOW HIM I CAN LEARN TO TEMPT MEN INTO HOLY WAYS."
What is RED HELL?
While HELL is where sinners go, RED HELL is a FALSE HELL. When allowed to take the path up to Heaven you may be so overcome by GUILT that you damn yourself by your own hands by rejecting Heaven and walking into the false HELL. While many people left HELL once told they could be cleansed of their crimes, many hold out in RED HELL because in their mind their "Crimes" are too terrible to be forgiven, or they simply have never considered a life where they are not being punished.
In this campaign backers will play as angels (or devils) on Satan's shoulder as he attempts to earn his right to leave HELL while being watched over by Jesus. The choices and comments backers make will matter, as new "transformed" versions of the basic pins will be made based on how much we help (turning them angelic) or hurt (turning them into a high demon) the "sinners."
Taking the form of a wereburrisk (like a werewolf, but for trauma) the abandoned one refuses to leave the gates of RED HELL. In life, his parents disowned him for his life choices. For "changing" in ways they did not approve of, and going down a "wrongful" path in life.
The abandoned one had never felt more like himself in his entire life, but he lived and died with the guilt of "failing his parents." Internalizing this, he willingly entered RED HELL, and when he saw that his parents were not in it, he assumed it was he who was wrong. When the gates to Heaven opened for all sinners opened, he refused to go, for he heard that all sins will be removed, and while he knows he's BAD, this EVIL is his identity.
Jesus says: "This poor soul doesn't realize that staying true to yourself is not an evil. Like the others he wasn't destined for RED HELL, he walked into it willingly believing he deserved the punishment."
(TLDR at the bottom as always. We know I'm a bit wordy.) The votes are in, our beloved MISSING ID has decided to embrace their nature as a phobe and fight against the dragons. To fight the fears the plague this world they've become a knight of the people with their careful training.
Maybe this wasn't the perfect pet game to send our MISSING ID. A world of dragons isn't a very comfortable life, but I think they've come to accept their role as protector of the people. A new life requires a new name and as suggested by readers, they shall now be dubbed-
"The left phobe is our guy, the right phobe? Only exists in a fictional universe. A HELL perhaps?"
Phoebe The Found Identity
In the survey both the "True canonical ending" and "Dragon ending" pin will be pickable, that way you can remember the choices you've made.
"That's all folks, I hope!"
Above is an image of all current pins for this campaign, and what their likely final alignment will be. Some pins will have small tweaks done to their artwork / small color updates, but you shouldn't see any extreme major changes from the artwork above.
I'll be honest with you folks, this campaign did better than I could have possibly imagined. Not even in my wildest predictions did I see us getting this far. I think I'm all out of new pins for now. I trawled through the creepy haunted warehouse and unless you folks want "RED MAN" merch, there ain't nothing else in there, and for the love of god, do not send me in there to get RED MAN merch.
"A parade of ponies."
If you have yet to pick up your free pony,please head over to one of our older updates to grab one now. Once the timer on this campaign ends any ponies without a person will gallop into the sunset and you will be unable to get your free pony!
I would like to thank everyone for taking such an interest in ponies and being willing appreciate their little whimsical lives. I would like to also thank some temp workers I found outside on the streets for helping me draft pony adoption papers once I realized I was dealing with a mega herd.
Lastly I would like to thank my business partner Flipper (ToadsTown) for humoring my plan to offload some stuff I found in an abandoned warehouse to you folks. I figured you folks would be more worried about this but Flipper told me "Nah man, people love haunted shit. This is going to make bank." and it appears I was right to trust him. If you like his art he has a campaign called Paleo Pals 2 coming out soon, take a look.
"Speaking of which. I found these ponies that look like us....that's terrifying but what can you do folks? After all this means if anything we look like them, not the other way around. Wowsers!"
So now that this campaign is winding down, I'd like to allow this update to be a little Q & A session. Had any burning questions about me, the products, or the world you wanted to ask me about? Maybe you got some ideas for themes or items you want to see be made in the future? Feel free to drop them in the comments attached to this update and I'll try to get back to as many of you as possible.
This post will likely be the last post before the end, so let's make it one worth celebrating.
TLDR:
2 new pins have been added. These will be the last pin added to the campaign unless I get a little stir crazy.
Thank you folks for putting up with this oddity of a project.
Get your pony before it's too late.
Feel free to ask questions in this comment section.
(OOC: Sorry to break character folks, but thank you so much for the kind comments you folks had about my semi interactive campaign. I'm very much a story writer and would prefer to have my campaigns to have these small stories or interesting lore bits go along with them. I'm a big fan of making the crowd feel included and hope any of my future campaigns can do the same. After the Q & A section and closing thoughts this campaign's future updates will be in a typical informative backerkit writing style as I want to make sure you folks get nice and simple updates about how your products are coming along.
Don't worry, this will just make it more exciting for when the next campaign comes back with more lore nonsense. Last note, the poll attached will not confirm what my next campaign will be. I just want to get a vibe for what folks want.)
