KS Relaunch Success

I haven't posted since starting the Relaunch, but with all of the time spent sharing/commenting/promoting/etc, its hard to find time to do anything else.
The good news is... the Relaunch exceeded the funding goal, and even exceeded the original campaigns higher funding goal!
One of the best ways to see how a campaign performed is through Kicktraq, or through Bigger Cake (https://www.biggercake.com/projects/149227034/legends-of-novus).  Have a look if you want to see some details.

I am very thankful for running a shorter campaign, just 17 days, and for all the amazing support of many determined backers in the campaign.
I attribute the improved funding and awareness to the following things:

1- The initial launch provided me with over 400 contacts that regularly use Kickstarter.  By being able to direct message them for the relaunch, this helped make Day 1 very strong (over $10,000 CAD).  A few of those were Superbackers, and regular commenters that encouraged Kicktraq and sharing.

2- More awareness from high profile reviewers (ie Tantrum and DiceTower).  This was a heavy investment, but for this campaign I feel it was worth it.  Perhaps the game would have been fine without Tantrum, but I honestly believe the DT preview video generated a lot of interest.

3- The sharing of the campaign by people I have helped with their games.  Whether it was their rules, their mechanics, or doing videos of their games on TTS, they were very appreciative.  Many of these individuals backed my game, and shared on Twitter and FB and IG.  Their extended reach direct to gamers helped with early and late awareness.

So, how could this info help future game designers?  Pretty simple.  First find a way to get email contacts of people who WANT your kind of game.  Don't buy or spam for contacts, but find ways to genuinely interact with people that like what you have as a them.  Second is to create a budget for marketing beyond just spammy FB posts.   Yes, the posts are high engagement, but the personal touch that professional reviewers can provide is more genuine.  And third, help others often and without expectations of payment.  Don't even mention wanting their help with your KS, leave it to them to say they want to help you, then mention your KS.

Now I am on to assembling useable templates and getting art completed.  The next four months of file prep, and other designs, will be challenging but fulfilling as it helps finalize parts of the game.

I am thoroughly excited about sharing more of Novus with over 600 people, in particular the Art Book and the 5E Adventure PDF.  More story time!

Heres the main ad that was shared in the last half of the campaign, focused on some of the best art in the game and basics to catch a browsers eye.

The Relaunch!

It has been a very busy three weeks leading up to the relaunch, and now the KS has been live for 4 days.
Haven't done a Blog post as all time/energy has been channelled into that venture.
Now its at 91% on a decent trend to fund to goal very soon, but a TON of time/effort had to be placed for this.
Some examples, for those that might be interested, include:

• Helping create TTS games for other developers
• Creating gameplay videos for other games
• Rebuilding the KS pages (went through three header styles and multiple layouts to get to where it is now)
• Order/sent out prototypes to 8 different reviewers
• Building hype via FB posts, ads, and emails
• Videos of myself playing/using game and components
• And so much more.

Long story short, if you plan to launch something that will succeed, it will take a lot of time, a lot of planning, a lot of professionalism, and a lot of social interactions.  Really difficult to succeed without those things, especially if not going to conventions!

Back to the KS feeds.... Strive to find/fund that last 10%!

Here is the latest KS image, and sending FB posts to DnD sites with this:

⚔️If you love DnD, but need something a little lighter for when the group can't get together or just something different and epic, check out this! ⚔️
Some very awesome art commissioned specifically for this game but could very easily adapt to your use in a DnD campaign.  AND... if you do pledge for the game you will get a bonus 5E Adventure written by the games designer!
http://kck.st/2Nr2FVF

The Joy of Helping Others

Over the past two weeks I decided to step back from focusing on my creations, and instead have been helping others in the hobby.
My Kickstarter launch date is June 25th, and there is still plenty to do, but I wanted to support some cool projects that were either on KS now or will be soon.
No charge, no commitment, just support from a fellow designer.
Some examples I have done include the following:

• Frequent posts (10+ per day) on FB, and then bits on Twitter and IG.  Just joining in conversations in general game groups, and in design groups.
• Creating Tabletop Simulator games for upcoming KS.  This included Minotaurus, Dungeon Brawler (funded), the Matching Game (not launched yet), and Legion (not launched yet).  Building their games, and testing them, has been pretty fun and educational for myself.
• Playthroughs for many new games, including the above, and my favorite was for Untamed and The Goblin King is Angry.  I share these in FB groups to show people some of the cool games being designed by others.
• Making mini promo videos to post on FB and IG

I can only hope these acts of kindness create some kind of karmic energy down the road, but even if they don't it has still been an educational experience on how to structure rulebooks and game card wording.

Feel free to checkout my videos on YouTube (Wes Woodbury).

Here is one example:

Untamed PnP Video

https://youtu.be/PFEO8oImzpo

The Power of Reviews

One thing I am working at improving for any future game launches, and for Legends of Novus relaunch, is having as many reviewers/previewers as I can find/afford.

The benefits to these far outweighs the costs, in my opinion anyhow.  I will list some of the pros and cons:

CONS

• Cost of creating prototypes
• Cost of shipping to reviewers
• Cost for Paid Reviews (vs unpaid) - often paid reviewers have a much higher audience
• Time spent to communicate with, and post, for reviewers

PROS

• External viewpoints on your game
• Additional playtests from experienced gamers
• Exponential increase in exposure (some reviewers have in excess of 2000 to 5000 regular views on their videos)
• Being able to stamp their "Brand" name on your KS shows a certain level of personal investment and professionalism to your game
• Better quality video then most game designers can create on their own

With the relaunch of Novus I will have a chance to see the full impact of more reviewers, and higher profile reviewers (ie Tantrum House playthrough and Dice Tower Preview).  This does not guarantee backers, but it does guarantee exposure for the games visuals and mechanics.

I hope to follow this post up with a success story by July, but nothing is certain of course.

Until then...

Always Busy!

It has been over three weeks since I posted an entry here, and trust me it is not due to having nothing worthwhile to share...
As I continue to prepare Legends of Novus for its relaunch in June, it seems there is never enough time to do everything I would like to do for it.
Some of the things I've been working on include:

• Review/update of Rulebook with newest icons/etc, done.
• Boardgame reviews to demonstrate my involvement in the hobby and my thoughts on non-fantasy games, 4 youtube videos so far.
• Entry into a boardgame design contest using Spellbook'd.
• Developing a companion app for Novus (free to game backers).
• Developing 5E content from Novus world, including creature sheets and an adventure module.
• New component video and solo playthrough video using new prototype.
• Daily involvement on boardgame sites/chats.
• Listening to game development podcasts.

That's just some of it... even managed to create a digital version of a deckbuilder I would like to make after Novus, calling it PlaYer Character right now.

For any aspiring game designers out there, my words of advice for this entry are...

Force time into your day, EVERY day, to create something on your game design journey.  I have used pen/paper, my laptop, my cellphone, sent emails to myself, taken photos with markups, anything to make sure I am finding ways to design daily to stay on track and develop skills.

Here is a screenshot of PlaYer Character:

Print & Play by AdMagic

Recently I decided to choose a different manufacturer to create the new prototypes of Legends of Novus (for the DiceTower and Tantrum videos for KS relaunch).
I decided to move away from GameCrafter for this version for a couple of reasons:

1 - I believe it is good to experiment with different servers, and different productions.  This helps me understand differences in quality, and in tech requirements to provide files to manufacturers.  I can tell you the difference in how I submit files to PnP is much different than GC, but with some similarities.

2 - When canvassing the gaming community, PnP comes up often as a game creation tool of choice.  So as much as I enjoyed the prototypes I have done with Gamecrafter (and cards from DTC), I wanted to see what people liked more about PnP.

3 - Time... It turns out PnP had a faster turnaround time from file submission to getting your game.  For the Gamecrafter I waited about a month for my copy, with few emails/confirmations.  With PnP I had a few file check emails sent to me... by humans... and was able to correct some issues before the final print.  This showed me great customer service, and the time from production to getting my game was only 2 weeks.

Do I still like the GameCrafter?  Yes, absolutely.  They can deliver a pretty solid product with what you need.  Do I prefer PnP?  I would say yes, I believe the file creation system is simpler (for how I run my programs anyhow), and the color quality I have gotten back has been better from PnP.

Just thought I would share.  Regardless, both are expensive, but the cost is worth the feeling of getting something you created in a near final form.  I truly recommend trying this if you have a game you feel is near its final stages, that you want to playtest more formally in game clubs or such.

If you have any questions about the process just let me know, would be happy to share my experience with you.

Bringing back a Prototype for a Contest

The Board Game Design Lab is running their second game design contest, and I thought it would be a good idea to enter it again.
Last year I entered Legends of Novus, however I was very much a rookie in graphic design and game design.  I am certainly no expert now, but I feel a lot has been learned this past year and figure now is as good a time as any to test that theory.
I cannot run Novus in the contest, as I plan to make it available to the public through the KS relaunch in June (and believe it will succeed this time).  But there is a game I have prototyped and tested many times that I think is worth entering into the contest...
The description I put in the rules, just in MS word, were as follows:

Spellbook'd
Take on the role of an aspiring Wizard in an Academy of Magic. Each Wizard is
building up their skills to win an upcoming contest of their skills, judged by the Council of
Archmages. Study the different schools of magic, redeem your knowledge for Magems,
and partake in a Spell Battle in your effort to become the victor of the contest!
Spellbook’d is a card drafting and dueling game involving three different game
rounds to gather cards, spells, and points to win the game. After the three different
rounds of play the Wizard with the most Spell Points is declared the winner.
2-3 players (expandable to 6 players if printed twice)
30-45 minutes playtime
Ages 12+

I enjoyed playing this every time I had the chance, and am excited to put some energy into something other than Legends of Novus.  As amazing as I feel Novus is, it can be tough to dedicate hours each and every night to a single title.  It is important to still develop Novus, as the relaunch deserves the support, but I will still take some time for Spellbook'd as well to see how it can perform.

If you are designing games I would recommend you always have a few titles in the works. One should be your primary focus, but have others in different stages so that when you want to design, and need something different, you have options to play with.

Here is an early sellsheet, still working on it, for the contest.

How to Prepare for a Relaunch?

It has been almost two weeks since the end of the unfunded KS campaign for Legends of Novus.  I made it very clear to the backers, and any other watchers/reviewers, that the game would be relaunched in June with some changes.
The question is... what should change, and what should stay the same?  After doing some research, inquiring to people with emails, learning new skills, and just contemplating what might work, here is what I think will be most effective:

1.  Reduce component costs/quality for initial funding goal.  Then establish higher quality components that could be earned with greater funding.  The most significant component quality to be changed is the Character Boards, turning them from thick cardboard into thinner boxboard format.  This will reduce the cost of that component by about 80%!
2. Order new prototype that is professional quality of the final graphic designs.  The older style, and even the new PnP, does not show enough faith to viewers that the game is ready to make.
3. Plan to revisit KS video to incorporate newer prototype into.
4. Create a digital application and/or enhanced web site to provide more info to potential game investors.  Considering a few options, such as getting onto iTunes and Google Play stores with a basic game info application I am creating through free software called Mobincube..
5. Create a board game review YouTube channel by FunDaMental Games.  Complete 3-5 game reviews and post on youtube.  This is to demonstrate a rudimentary understanding of board games, and attempt to gain new followers through this.
6. Create a new game setup and training video, needs to be higher quality and clearly articulated for the How to Play video.
7. Redo the KS promo video, most of it will stay, but the new components will need to wait.
8. Redo the KS campaign … the biggest job of all!

I am sure there will be more, but those are the big ones...

SAMPLE self - created App for the game:

Legends of Novus will need a Relaunch... and thats okay!

After 30 long days the game that I planned to create was unable to fund on its first attempt on Kickstarter.  One thing I have learned recently is that many games struggle in their first attempts now.  The competition is getting better and better, which is great for gamers/backers, but hard for new designers trying to "break into boardgames".

As I gather all of the data, review all of the potential missed funding opportunities, and strategize a relaunch, I thought it also important to post here on my Blog.

Below was the final update I placed on my Novus Kickstarter, figured instead of retyping it all that this can summarize some things I believe my campaign was missing...

To be continued...

Hello everyone, as many of you have predicted through the fairly reliable Kicktraq and Bigger Cake trend graphs, Legends of Novus was not able to attain its funding goal for this first attempt. It has been a very fun, engaging, and educational 4 weeks going through this campaign. To say this was a failure would be wrong, I feel what was learned this past month will make me a better game designer and marketer for any future endeavours. And to have over 400 people take interest, with over $20,000 Canadian pledges, means that Novus was important to many people!

The creatures that have been plaguing Novus will not relent, and your support will be needed when we get the chance to try this again! If even 50% of you came back for Day 1 of the relaunch we could see a fantastic % funded and interest in the kickstarter and gaming community.

Here is a quick video, a temporary farewell...

Something does need to change though, I cannot relaunch as it is now and expect it to succeed. So here are a few of the things that will be considered between now and the relaunch:

• Reducing the minimum funding goal to a more attainable result early on. In order to do this there will need to be a game component to review, to determine what is a must have and what is a nice to have. The most costly component, for example, are the dual layer character boards. If these were playmats to begin with, and the dual layer turned into a Stretch Goal, then the initial costs would go down significantly while still allowing for that to become a component with enough funding.
• Kickstarter game exclusives... there is some dissent on whether these are important or not, but I believe in a game like this they can be created/included without taking away from a potential retail game in the future. This would most likely be in the form of special characters, classes, and creatures.
• Add-Ons instead of excessive Pledge Levels. Things like the Art Book and the Neoprene Mat are great things to have, but they may have deterred backers as they can make the pledge levels confusing, and feel that if they don’t contribute the highest level then they aren’t getting the full game.
• Additional Game Reviews/Previews by more prominent people in the industry. By having these, the game will get more media exposure and views, which drives more traffic to the game and thus more people become interested. This comes at a cost, of course, which must be balanced carefully.
• New art... The game is already loaded with some fantastic art, but the more there is the more visually appealing the game becomes. I will work with the artist to decide on some new pieces to gather specifically for the relaunch, rather than releasing it all before the launch.
• New prototypes, using all of the new graphics, and inputting those new graphics into the intro video. You may have noticed the promo video used the older format of card graphics and the older character sheet. Although the video was still very appealing, it will match the game more with the newer graphics/images instead.

Here is an estimated timeline of events to lead toward the relaunch. Exact date is to be determined by the end of April, then will announce in the FB group and to some of the Kickstarter awareness groups out there.

I am sure there will be some other things to reconsider between now and the relaunch, and anything you wish to recommend you can feel free to do so. Here are a few ways you can:

Email me at fundamentalgames@icloud.com

Join the games Facebook Group and comment there (link at bottom of KS page)

Send me a tweet, or FB message, I am Wesley Woodbury, should be easy enough to find;)

2 Weeks of Kickstarter... Whats Happened?

Legends of Novus has been active on Kickstarter for 15 days now, 50% of the planned campaign time.

Most estimates say a game should be over half funded by this point... it is currently sitting at 36% of its goal.  If nothing else were planned to promote it, and if I did not have faith that it was a truly enjoyable game, this would be the time to cancel and decide if and when to relaunch.

I am not going to pull the plug and cancel until the day before it ends though, going against conventional wisdom based on some planned events and promotion.  Whether this is successful or not is completely unknown, but if nothing else it will still gather more attention, earn more backers, and make the game show as more professional by the end of the campaign.

A few things planned are:

• BoardGameGeek Ads running for the final two weeks of the KS.  Now that any pre-planned game followers have joined, and early KS browsers, these Ads will hopefully gain the attention of those who like fantasy, and missed the initial launch information.
• Podcasts airing from Funding the Dream (Richard Bliss), We're Not Wizards (Richard Simpson), and Getting Leafy (Blake Lively) are all airing information and interviews with me about the game.  As people download/listen they may gain an interest and decide to support the game and the company.
•  Well known game creator, publisher, and blogger Jamey Stegmaier, read an email I sent to him about my KS strategies and may include it in a Blog post.  Given that hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people read his content weekly, this could send a few people to read about the Kickstarter as well, potentially earning new backers.
• The GAMA is coming up in Mid March, right before my campaign ends.  A former employer of mine, who owns three game stores, will be attending and is planning to share my Info Sheet and discuss the game with people of influence at the show.  This is a big wargaming and fantasy crowd, and also big fans of Kickstarters.  Who knows what kind of boost that could give to the campaign!

So with all of that in the works, the next two weeks could easily bring in more interest and backers than the first two weeks.  I will continue my daily updates and game training videos, share on social media, and engage with the gaming community however I can (without over-spamming) in an effort to keep the world of Novus gaining exposure and traffic.

In two weeks I hope to provide a positive blog update of how this all worked out, but nothing is certain, all one can do is take a risk and try try try!

Wes

The Launch!

Well, launch day came and went in a blur.  Feb 19th, 9am, was 3.5 days ago now.  Thought it would be a good time to share a few thoughts.

First, how was the competition?
Pretty substantial.  Before I launched my game there were about 6 titles launched in the tabletop boardgame category.  After I launched, within another 2 hours, my game was no longer on the front page of the New section, as another 6-8 games had launched afterwards (which pushes you down the New list).  2 of those games were a similar theme as mine (fantasy adventure).

How did you do on launch day?
Day one resulted in just over 100 backers, and just over $5,000 CAN (about $3,500 USD).  For a very new person to the industry, and someone who has not been to any major conventions, I felt this was a reasonable result.

How are you advertising?
Mainly Facebook targeted ads, as well as discussions on social FB groups, Twitter, Instagram, and a small bit on Reddit (very difficult platform to share on FYI).
I spent about $50 on FB the first 2 days, and will continue to use their simple services to Boost posts.  I also attempted to use a social influencer, someone who has hundreds of thousands of contacts/followers, to see if that has any impact.

Do you talk to your backers?
Yes, I reply to every single comment/question on FB, Twitter, IG, and of course the Comments section of the actual KS.  I feel it is extremely important to be personal with the groups, and let them know how important it is for them to enjoy your game.

How often do you post updates?
I have made the decision to do one post per day, at around 11 or midnight.  This is for two reasons...
1- To thank and appreciate all new backers, as well as backers who have stayed with the campaign.
2 - To showcase specific parts of the game that I feel players would like to know about.
I am doing these updates with just a paragraph or two of text, accompanied by a 3-5 minute video of the two points above.  Thus far it seems to be liked by the backers.  This also allows me to share the video on YouTube, and other platforms via linked youtube video posts.
Some people may say a post per day is a lot, which is why I am trying to make sure each post serves an educational purpose towards the game (not just backstory, but actual gameplay).

Do you think you will get "funded"?
At this point, I honestly don't know.  I can tell you I have put a lot of time and energy into creating this project, sharing it, playing it, and now advertising it.  The artist has done a fantastic job, with minimal compensation (focused on the Funded result).  No matter what, the plan is to keep at it until 2 days prior to end of KS, if it is less than 60% funded then it may be time to quit, regroup, and relaunch in the future once additional prototypes and plays have taken place.

Updating my Prototype

I never imagined, when first creating Legends of Novus, that I would put together so many versions of the cards and game.  I thought I would get it right the first time, then once I was given some feedback I thought it would be done the second time.
Well... lets look at some of the card versions again...

I had no idea what I was getting myself into, or how many hours I would spend revising and retyping and reconfiguring the components of this game.

From the map layout, to the card configuration, to the text / rules, to the *shudder* rulebook (6 complete retypes!).

I want Legends of Novus to truly strike home with the fantasy gaming community.  I have loved fantasy my entire life, and don't want to create a game that people don't even want to consider playing after looking at the components/rules.

With some amazing support from the lead artist, Andrea Butera, and much feedback from the game design community, the game is truly eye catching now.  Is it perfect?  no, I don't think there is any way to please all fantasy fans.  But does it do justice to the fantasy setting it inhabits?  Absolutely.  When I printed out the most recent versions of the game cards/components I truly felt like this was something that looks polished and professional.  After a few more validations of grammar, spacing, and graphic layout this game is ready for production (plus the final artwork replacements of course).

Printing out the new material this morning was an exciting moment, and using them to play some games at some games stores over the coming days will be the perfect leadup to the KS launch on Tuesday (with some photo ops of course).

Here is a pic of some the most recent prototype components of Legends of Novus...

and a few digital images for higher quality viewing...

PnP Decision

When making a game with a ton of cards, and unique pieces such as the dual layer character sheets, it may seem odd to offer a PnP as it would be expensive for gamers to assemble.
After some discussion with the PnP community, and observing other game KSs, I decided that LoN should still have a pledge level for PnP.  If you think about it, the cost can be kept relatively cheap as there is zero production required for them (other than making the PDFs, which is not complicated).

So LoN will have a PnP tier, for $6 USD, in the KS.  But prior to that the PnP community had a few people willing to create my game from scratch , so I made the files and sent it off to one of them.  This person, Martin Gonzalvez, had some great feedback on how to better alter the PnPs to meet the basic needs of the community.  I figured it best to share a few recommendations here:

1 - All card files should be on a 9card grid, with 1pixel wide cut lines running between them all.
2 - If you are including backs, they should be on the second page.  All cards will print best if they are centred with same size space around cards.
3 - Reminder cards and standees, and similar things with two sides, should be set so they can be printed and folded (with a dotted fold line).
4 - Arrange tokens so that two sided print images will line up perfect when cut.
5 - If making a game board, segment it into letter size sheets or smaller, and safe those PDFs.  You can still make a large PDF in case someone wants to print that way, but no required.

The game is ready for PnP, and one player already has it made.  Hope this helps create some more buzz about Novus!

Here is a sample of the PnP made by someone:

The Kindness of Strangers

One of the harder things to find, well without spending a ton of money on manufacturing, shipping, and pay to play... Is good reviews.
If you are a very new game designer, with rough ideas for games, finding reviewers and playtesters will be a challenge.  Once you have your game polished and made, it can still be tough to find people willing to get your game, play your game, videotape themselves, and give a decent review.
I am using this blog entry to tell you about John Galvin, he was an unknown backer to me on my first KS, Duel of the Dragons.  He mentioned he had a youtube channel, but didn't say much beyond that and I completely forgot about it during the production and shipping times of my game.
John actually did not get his original KS game, somehow it was lost between here and NY.  So after a few email chats I sent him a new copy of the game, this time tracked just in case it was lost/stolen again.  He got the game and had it played at a game store with a few guys.
He not only taped and showed that video, but also an unboxing video, a how to play video, a game setup video, and a review video.  Then one more video after that.
I can honestly say I was surprised by all of this, and he does it for all kinds of games that he buys/backs at no expense to the game maker and actually doesn't even tell the maker when or how many videos he is posting.  You would only know if you are subscribed to his channels and look at it regularly, or get push notifications.
So, in summary, just wanted to thank John again for the kindness of strangers.  His reviews were very positive about my first game, visually entertaining, a pretty accurate about the gameplay.  Check it out in the link below if you like:

Duel of the Dragons Review - 2 Gun Pixie - John Galvin

Driving Awareness

The challenge from six months ago continues on today, how to get people interested in a game they have never heard of from a person they don't know and a company that has no history.  This is very difficult to do in such a broad and exciting hobby world.
One thing some games and other businesses like to do is contests and giveaways.  I have mentioned giving away a copy of Duel of the Dragons, and will be doing that again.  That can get expensive though, and only gets a prize to a few people.
In Legends of Novus the best visual to the game is the art.  Andrea Butera continues to amaze me with his character and creature work for Novus.  Boris Turano is doing a magnificent job with creating eye catching locations that capture this amazing world we have now created together through story, game mechanics, and art.
So it makes sense to try and share that with people while advertising the game and trying to earn email subscribers (who may end up backing the game later on or sharing the game/links with friends).

This resulted in a decision to offer 12 photo posters, just 8x10s, to give away to random people on the email list the day before the Kickstarter.  I will be promoting it for a full month in hopes to gain more and more email subscribers who like the art and want a chance to win one.  The cost of printing an 8x10 is fairly low (compared to giving away a game or other physical item).

I will share a post stating how many more subscribers this helped bring in during the next blog entry.  Hoping this can gather at least 100 more people in the coming weeks.  That may not sound like much, but again this is an unknown game in a well populated game setting (fantasy).

Here is the Ad Poster....

Updated Components and Art

The past week has been a tremendous time of improvement for the art and graphics of Novus!  I have been working on fine tuning wording and mechanics, playthroughs and social media exposure while Andrea has been working day and night at graphic design for the map, cards, and icons in the game.

The result is a new and improved look to nearly every aspect of Legends of Novus that we feel players are going to fall in love with when they see it, both on their screens (via website, FB, and KS), and when it hits their tables if they choose to support it.

This is not a project that has gotten this far overnight, it has been almost 12 months of daily commitment, from 1 hour on busy nights to 5-6 hours when time is available.  And its not over yet, the next four weeks require even more time and energy to create awareness of the KS campaign, develop video content, make sure rules book is fully understandable one more time, amongst other things.  Then there's 30 days of KS madness, a fun and critical time where I will get to interact with backers and reviewers, and maybe even some media depending on how it goes over.

Here are some updated images of icons and components to see how it is progressing!

Happy New Year!!! The Year of Novus!

It's the beginning of a new and exciting year, 2019 is here!
FunDaMental Games had a small game launch via Kickstarter in 2018, and all backers have now received their game copies.  The game is considered successful in my opinion, in that it was manufactured to the identified quality/specifications, communications were maintained via KS comments/updates and regular emails with the backers, and the product was delivered on time (a rarity in the KS gaming world).

Legends of Novus is less than 50 days away to its KS launch now, and time will feel in very short supply as I attempt to finish the KS campaign pages, conduct a new live playthrough with four players, get a video of the KS completed with a professional photographer/video editor, and finalize details on the core components of the game with the manufacture.  A lot to do, but I feel it is very important to get this completed in the early part of the year and aim for the Feb 19th launch date so that the artists can finalize their work and aim for a December delivery date again to the backers.

To support communication I have launched a new Game Giveaway, of some extra copies of Duel of the Dragons I had made just in case their were shipping/damage issues for the backers.  This will help gain some new email subscribers and awareness of FunDaMental Games prior to the LoN launch date.
Also, very new to me, is the function of paid advertising via FaceBook.  Right now just doing Boosted Ads with links to the email subscription for the game, then closer to KS the ads will be based on Legends of Novus awareness targeting gamers in highly populated areas of the US and Canada (and a little bit in Europe as well).

To anyone reading this post (whether now or months from now if you happen to look back on it), I hope that this year marks a new and fantastic journey as a game developer and producer in the coming year(s).  Creating this small company, investing countless hours of time and energy, and investing in Adobe, art, advertisements, and videos, and creating all of these groups/sites is a big risk to take if nothing comes of it down the road.  Nothing comes without some form of risk though, and there is quote that says you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so this is my big shot this year.  Lets see if it can score!