I've been really busy here lately trying to get ready for a Kickstarter early next year. Feels like my attention is split quite a few ways right now. Here's where I am:
Manufacturing
I've started the process of trying to find a company to manufacture Stellar Drift. It's interesting putting together an actual full component list for the game for the first time; you have to come up with a lot of details that you don't need when you're just prototyping: exact component sizes, materials, printing processes, component finish coatings, possible upgrades/stretch goals... and I'm sure I'm forgetting other stuff. Most (not all) of the companies I've reached out to have responded, and I've gotten one quote already! Think I'm gonna need a few more before I can settle on what the likely manufactured price of Stellar Drift will be tho.
And yes, the company that manufactured Manaforge (Meijia) was one of the companies I contacted. I sent them my component list, still waiting to hear a confirmation that they have what they need.
Previewers
I've also started contacting various content creators about making preview videos and/or just getting attention for the game. So far so good, most of the people I've contacted have responded to me that they are available. Some are from the group of people that previewed Manaforge, some are friends I've made along the way, some are brand new (to me, anyway).
One thing I'm a little surprised by is that many more of the previewers are asking for payments. Note that I don't consider that a bad thing; some people do this sort of thing for their living and they deserve to be compensated for the time and effort they put into it. I'm fine with that. The issue is only that I have a limited budget for advertising, and this will eat into that, so I have to be mindful about where every dollar goes.
I know I still need to contact a few more; no such thing as too much attention, and some of the people I have commitments from have smaller audiences.
Conventions
A couple of weeks ago we went to Game and Party Con in Jacksonville FL. This was a very good convention for gaming! (The con location was... not great, but the con organizers did their best to make it work anyway.) Stellar Drift made its first appearance with the upgraded components, and let me just say wow!, the upgrade had a huge effect. I got of interest in the game, both with people asking to play, and with people stopping as they walked by to watch and get more info. Very successful time for my new game! This says that Stellar Drift has some serious table presence; I don't recall Manaforge getting that kind of attention. Also met a few people that might end up being more previewers.
(The photo above is from that convention.)
I know I'm attending at least one more convention this year, so hopefully I will get a similar amount of attention there. And next time I will be more prepared; for this past con I didn't have any printed materials to pass out to interested people. This time I want to have something I can hand out, as well as a way to direct people to my...
Kickstarter Prelaunch
So, this is a new thing to me. I guess I've seen a couple of these recently, but I didn't know what they were.
Kickstarter now has a feature called a prelaunch page. Unlike a Kickstarter 'preview', where you open up your Kickstarter page before it launches so you can get feedback, a 'prelaunch' page is a little stub of a web page with a quick blurb about your upcoming project. It shows the name of your project, a quick description, one image, and, most importantly, a big 'notify me' button for people to press to receive a notification when the project launches. Very good place to direct people to when you want them to be ready to back your project as soon as its available.
I'm working to get one of those ready to go, so that when people express interest in Stellar Drift, I can direct them there. I might try adding a QR code to any flyers I make that will redirect people to that page. Or something. Unfortunately, it requires that the Kickstarter main page be at least somewhat complete before you can create the prelaunch, but that's something I need to do anyway so it's a small price to pay.
Aaand that's what I've been dealing with recently. Still full speed ahead for as long as I can, trying to get ready for (hopefully) a January 2024 launch. So far so good!
Manufacturing
I've started the process of trying to find a company to manufacture Stellar Drift. It's interesting putting together an actual full component list for the game for the first time; you have to come up with a lot of details that you don't need when you're just prototyping: exact component sizes, materials, printing processes, component finish coatings, possible upgrades/stretch goals... and I'm sure I'm forgetting other stuff. Most (not all) of the companies I've reached out to have responded, and I've gotten one quote already! Think I'm gonna need a few more before I can settle on what the likely manufactured price of Stellar Drift will be tho.
And yes, the company that manufactured Manaforge (Meijia) was one of the companies I contacted. I sent them my component list, still waiting to hear a confirmation that they have what they need.
Previewers
I've also started contacting various content creators about making preview videos and/or just getting attention for the game. So far so good, most of the people I've contacted have responded to me that they are available. Some are from the group of people that previewed Manaforge, some are friends I've made along the way, some are brand new (to me, anyway).
One thing I'm a little surprised by is that many more of the previewers are asking for payments. Note that I don't consider that a bad thing; some people do this sort of thing for their living and they deserve to be compensated for the time and effort they put into it. I'm fine with that. The issue is only that I have a limited budget for advertising, and this will eat into that, so I have to be mindful about where every dollar goes.
I know I still need to contact a few more; no such thing as too much attention, and some of the people I have commitments from have smaller audiences.
Conventions
A couple of weeks ago we went to Game and Party Con in Jacksonville FL. This was a very good convention for gaming! (The con location was... not great, but the con organizers did their best to make it work anyway.) Stellar Drift made its first appearance with the upgraded components, and let me just say wow!, the upgrade had a huge effect. I got of interest in the game, both with people asking to play, and with people stopping as they walked by to watch and get more info. Very successful time for my new game! This says that Stellar Drift has some serious table presence; I don't recall Manaforge getting that kind of attention. Also met a few people that might end up being more previewers.
(The photo above is from that convention.)
I know I'm attending at least one more convention this year, so hopefully I will get a similar amount of attention there. And next time I will be more prepared; for this past con I didn't have any printed materials to pass out to interested people. This time I want to have something I can hand out, as well as a way to direct people to my...
Kickstarter Prelaunch
So, this is a new thing to me. I guess I've seen a couple of these recently, but I didn't know what they were.
Kickstarter now has a feature called a prelaunch page. Unlike a Kickstarter 'preview', where you open up your Kickstarter page before it launches so you can get feedback, a 'prelaunch' page is a little stub of a web page with a quick blurb about your upcoming project. It shows the name of your project, a quick description, one image, and, most importantly, a big 'notify me' button for people to press to receive a notification when the project launches. Very good place to direct people to when you want them to be ready to back your project as soon as its available.
I'm working to get one of those ready to go, so that when people express interest in Stellar Drift, I can direct them there. I might try adding a QR code to any flyers I make that will redirect people to that page. Or something. Unfortunately, it requires that the Kickstarter main page be at least somewhat complete before you can create the prelaunch, but that's something I need to do anyway so it's a small price to pay.
Aaand that's what I've been dealing with recently. Still full speed ahead for as long as I can, trying to get ready for (hopefully) a January 2024 launch. So far so good!
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