Exciting Updates from Ben aka ThatGamerPriest
Hello, dear subscribers,
First of all, another huge thank you to you for subscribing to this email newsletter. Right now, we do not have many subscribers. Any help you can give in getting the word out about it, including posting to social media, would be tremendously appreciated. We are inching closer to several upcoming crowdfunding campaigns. I want to be able to keep everyone potentially interested in the loop about them, update you on thoughts about design, progress on the campaigns, and slowly build a contact list to help bring them to successful funding.
Speaking of inching closer to our crowdfunding campaigns, that is the reason I write today. I wanted to provide, not so much design insights, but a general update today on progress. I also have some exciting announcements, including about Broken: a Tragic Romance Game! I'll hold that to the end.
First, and most importantly, I am excited to share that we plan to launch our first APON Games crowdfunding campaign in the beginning of May! During the first week of May, we plan to launch an itchfunding campaign for the Hard Lessons. If you do not know about the Hard Lessons, it was written by Joshua Wise, with layout and additional design work by me. Besides working on the project and spearheading the itchfunding campaign, I absolutely love the Hard Lessons. The stories it tells are incredibly memorable! Let me tell you a bit about the game, show you some sneak peaks into the layout and design, and hopefully get you excited about the campaign as well.
The Hard Lessons is a GM'less storytelling and world-building game, designed for fast pick-up-and-play that's easy for new or shy players but deep enough for seasoned roleplayers. Written for a one-shot experience, the Hard Lessons is perfect for a party or game-night environment, or as a session zero world-building tool for your next campaign! All you need is the rules, a standard deck of cards, and something to drink to get playing.
In the Hard Lessons, you'll play a group of former students who gather to remember their master who taught them in the master’s school. They will tell stories about who they each thought their master was, and how they experienced them. When the night passes and the sun finally rises, this group of former students must decide whether one of them will take up the mantle of master, whether none of them will, or if they will destroy the school once and for all. They may even discover a traitor in their midst.
I made this art for and these bullet points for the itchfunding page. I am proud of how they came out!
easy "pick up and play" rules
GM'less shared narrative
flexible play style for both new and experienced roleplayers
setting neutral world-building rules for any genre imaginable
system neutral rules perfect for your campaign's next session 0
additional Play Sets for specific setting and style experience
Here's also a sneak peak of the front page of the game's layout.
I'm very excited about the way the crowdfunding page on itch is looking. Unfortunately, unlike a kickstarter, we can't set up a landing page for you to sign up and be notified when the campaign goes live. That means we count on things like followers on our itch.io account, email lists like this one, our discord, and other things like that to get interest. For me, this is a test run of crowdfunding as I prepare for the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for Broken: a Tragic Romance Game.
That leads me to another bit of exciting updates. I have begun formally preparing for a Broken crowdfunding campaign. This includes initial talks with someone to join the team as editor. I also have been in talks with some of my absolute favorite designers and creators in the ttrpg world about reading and writing blurbs for the game. Once I start to get them, I can't wait to share them with you. It is a bit of a nerve-racking experience preparing to crowdfund for the first time. While that is true for the Hard Lessons, it feels even more true for Broken. I've now started sharing Broken with lots of people, including some of the people I look up to the most as designers. That is intimidating! But, it also feels good to begin moving toward the eventual release of the game.
Thanks for reading our updates. Again, if you can help spread the word about these updates, I would be incredibly grateful. Keep an eye on our itch.io page for more updates and the upcoming itchfunding campaign for The Hard Lessons!