I'm happy to say that fulfillment is going smoothly! I've shipped about 200 packages to backers now, and games are starting to arrive at people's doorsteps. It's so exciting see...
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Blinking Birch Games
2 months ago
Charging Cards & Digital Distribution
Hi all,
Quick note that I forgot to mention in the October Update - I'll be charging your card very soon after your survey is locked. You can expect the timeline to look someth...
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Blinking Birch Games
3 months ago
October Update: Surveys!
Backerkit Surveys
The smoke test has been sent for the Backerkit surveys! This means about 5% of backers just received an email with a link to their survey. So long as no one r...
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Blinking Birch Games
3 months ago
September Update: Slight Delay
Updated Timeline
The PDF of Death of the Author is almost, very nearly finalized! James has been sending me layout updates over the past month and I've just provided my final i...
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Blinking Birch Games
4 months ago
August Update: The Author
August Update
Production on Death of the Author is trucking along! Here's what has happened over the past month:
• Victor and I playtested the two-player version. I made some m...
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Blinking Birch Games
6 months ago
July Update - On Schedule!
July Update
It's been over a month since the end of the campaign for Death of the Author. Here's what's happened since then!
• I wrote the additional sections of the game (i.e....
I'm happy to say that fulfillment is going smoothly! I've shipped about 200 packages to backers now, and games are starting to arrive at people's doorsteps. It's so exciting seeing pictures of Death of the Author in people's hands!
There are currently 50 backers who I'm unable to fulfill rewards for. Please complete the survey and, if relevant, check that your payment went through. Once you complete the survey, you will automatically have access to the PDF, and if you've ordered a physical copy I'll be able to ship it your way.
I've been stopping by the post office nearly every day, but now that surveys are just trickling in I'm planning to mail out new packages 1-2 per week. Thus, if you complete your survey now, its guaranteed your package will be shipped next week.
The World We Left Behind
The print run of The World We Left Behind is expected to arrive at my doorstep early next week. As soon as it arrives, I'll be mailing out packages to all backers who included TWWLB as an add-on.
I'm also planning to distribute the PDFs of TWWLB once I have the physical copies in hand, so that should be just a few days!
Itchio Codes
In addition to the downloads on Backerkit, I'm still planning to distribute itchio codes for all digital downloads. I'm currently waiting until a few more people finish their survey to make these easier to send as a batch. When this is distributed, you'll receive a separate email with your code.
Public Release of Death of the Author
Once Death of the Author is mailed to everyone who's already completed their surveys (including those who added on The World We Left Behind), I'll be fully releasing the physical version to the public. Copies will be available to purchase on the itchio page, Indie Press Revolution, and Heart of the Deernicorn, among others.
I'll also be mailing copies to everyone who preordered the game on the itchio page, as well as everyone who claimed a physical community copy.
Thanks your your generosity, at least 23 physical community copies will be distributed - copies have been claimed throughout the world, including Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Armenia, and the Philippines. These are shipped at no cost to those who claimed them, and I can't wait to mail them out.
Issues with Fulfillment
If you've had any problems with your backer rewards (such as a game arriving with a bent corner), or if you have any questions, please email me at [email protected].
Also, if there's anything preventing you from filling out the Backerkit survey and getting your rewards, feel free to let me know and we can work out a solution.
Other Projects
Here are a couple other projects I'm involved in that I'd love for you to check out!
A Fool's Errand is another tarot TTRPG! In this science fantasy world designed by Planet Arcana GMs J Strautman and B Marsollier, play as a group of Fools on a journey. Gain the attention, favor, or jealousy of the gods: the Major Arcana.
I'm the developmental editor & line/copy editor of A Fool's Errand! I've already done a ton of dev editing on this project and it's truly something special.
The Time We Have is a tragic, 2-player zombie game designed by Elliot Davis, played on opposite sides of a closed door. The characters are two brother and one has just been infected. Play out your final conversations in the week you have remaining. Will you open the door?
I'm the line/copy editor of The Time We Have - I've worked on Elliot's other games before (Project ECCO, Rom Com Drama Bomb) and I've been so impressed by each one.
Lastly, if you've played Death of the Author, I'd love to hear about your game! Who was your Character? Who was your Author? What type of story did you tell? You can comment below, or tag me @GoblinMixtape pretty much everywhere on social media.
That's everything for now - I'll continue sending updates in the future when news arises.
Quick note that I forgot to mention in the October Update - I'll be charging your card very soon after your survey is locked. You can expect the timeline to look something like this, starting at when your survey is completed:
0 hours - Survey completed 48 hours - Survey answers are locked 48-72 hours - Card is charged for shipping and add-ons 72 hours - Address is locked and shipping begins! (with a slight delay for those who added the physical version of The World We Left Behind)
This means that the sooner you complete the survey, the sooner you'll receive both the digital and physical versions of the game.
If you preordered, rather than backed the campaign, I will be charging cards in about 48 hours, and will send out a final notice for address changes since some of these were submitted a few months ago.
Once any required payment is collected, you'll receive an email about digital downloads! As of right now, the available downloads are: - Pages & Spreads versions of Death of the Author - Entire digital package for Anamnesis (if chosen as an add-on)
I am still working on the extras for Death of the Author, which are expected to be delivered in November. If you added on The World We Left Behind (thank you!), the PDF is expected to be delivered shortly after the rest - I am receiving the test print in the mail today and just need to double-check if anything needs to be edited before digital distribution (if all goes well, I'll be ordering TWWLB print run today!).
Once the first batch of backers who completed their surveys receive their digital copies, I will make the itchio page live to the public and will generate itchio download keys for backers.
If you have any issues with your survey, or with receiving your digital rewards, please let me know at [email protected].
The smoke test has been sent for the Backerkit surveys! This means about 5% of backers just received an email with a link to their survey. So long as no one runs into issues, the remainder of the surveys will be sent shortly.
Here are a couple things to know about the surveys:
#1: You can change your pledge level
If you backed at the digital level but have since decided you want a physical copy of Death of the Author, simply click the hyperlink on "$8 - Digital".... ....then click "Switch Pledge Levels?".
#2: You can add-on extra items to your pledge
After answering a couple questions, you'll be brought to the add-on page. Here, you can add any of the following items:
An additional physical copy of Death of the Author
A physical copy to donate as a community copy
A minor arcana card with options for game Defiances written on its face (there's a limited number of these cards remaining)
Physical or digital copies of Anamnesis, my solo tarot game about rediscovering yourself after memory loss (Death of the Author is based on the system I created in Anamnesis)
Physical or digital copies of The World We Left Behind, my upcoming 1-5 player game about traveling across an alien planet and unraveling the mystery of what happened to its now-missing sapient species. Players draw and write on a deck of poker cards as they play. NOTE: This game is scheduled for release in November, so adding-on a physical copy may delay shipment of your items to November.
If you already added add-ons during the campaign, these will show on your list of items to the right.
If you run into any issues with your survey, or have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
Production Update
The test print arrived, and it looks wonderful!
Ignore the scratch marks at the top - I was carrying it around in my backpack!
I ordered the full print run, which is scheduled to arrive on Thursday. If all goes well, I'll be starting to mail out copies the week of Oct 14th to backers who have completed their surveys.
I'll be distributing the PDF version very soon - ideally within the next week. I originally said I'd be distributing the digital files over Itchio - this is still true, but I'll also now be distributing them via Backerkit. Once I have this set up, everyone who has completes their survey will receive an email with a link to the download page.
I'm still working on the digital extras (gameplay tracking sheet, audiobook, etc.) - I expect these to be ready in November.
Tarot Card Extras
I've been working on creating the tarot card extras, both the major and minor cards. During this, I decided to ditch the silver sharpie and instead use a black permanent marker to write on the cards. This is for a number of reasons:
I can fit more writing! I realized there was too much I wanted to say on these cards, and it would've been difficult to fit it all with the silver marker.
It's WAY less time-consuming. When I made the cards for Anamnesis, I often had to go over them multiple times to make sure the silver showed well enough. No need to do that with the black marker!
I can make some fun decisions about where to write on each card. I'm not showing an example image since each card is meant to be one-of-a-kind, but often the writing curls around different elements of the card art, as if it's hidden within the art itself.
There are still a handful of minor arcana cards available as add-ons. If you're using the Rider-Waite deck (illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith) to play, you can actually substitute this card into your deck and use it during gameplay.
That should be everything! If all goes smoothly, you should have digital and/or physical copies of Death of the Author in your hands by the next update. Thank you for your support!
The PDF of Death of the Author is almost, very nearly finalized! James has been sending me layout updates over the past month and I've just provided my final in-layout proofreading edits. We should be ordering the text print within the next week or so.
With that said, due to some members of the team catching sick and having unexpected life events, we've eaten through our "buffer month" of time and are now on a slight delay. Our timeline hasn't shifted by much, but here's an updated estimate!
September - Test print ordered Early October - Full print run ordered Late October - Fulfillment begins November - Fulfillment ends
So long as the test print turns out well, we expect to complete shipping by mid-November, rather than the end of October. US backers are expected to receive their packages by the end of November, while international backers can expect the game to hit their mailbox by mid-December.
The PDF version of the game is still expected to be sent to everyone in early October. The extra digital supplements (audiobook, designer's commentary version, etc.) will likely be provided separately at a later date - I'm currently aiming for the end of October, though this might go into November.
I'll let you know if this timeline shifts at all in the future!
Backerkit Surveys
I'm putting the final touches on the Backerkit survey. As soon as it's ready, I'll send an update with instructions - a few backers will also receive the "smoke test" to ensure everything is working as intended.
As part of the survey, you'll have the option of upgrading your pledge and/or adding add-ons such as Anamnesis and my upcoming game The World We Left Behind (which, ironically, is on the same production schedule as Death of the Author!). I'm expecting to be sending out these surveys in the next couple of weeks, so be on the lookout for the update & survey in your email.
Tangled Blessings
Image Credit: Cassi Mothwin
Lastly, I want to shout out the Backerkit campaign for Tangled Blessings: Echoes of Lost Electives! Tangled Blessings by Cassi Mothwin is a hack of Anamnesis that takes 1-2 players through a story of students at a foreboding magic academy.
This game is SO good. I've had an incredible time playing it myself and was delighted to contribute some prompts to the Echoes of Lost Electives expansion.
You can pick up both the core book and the supplement during this campaign, so check it out if it strikes your interest!
That's all for now! Thanks for reading - I'm incredibly excited about how Death of the Author has turned out and I can't wait to share this game with you.
Production on Death of the Author is trucking along! Here's what has happened over the past month:
Victor and I playtested the two-player version. I made some minor tweaks, but the playtest went great! We told a story about a spaceship AI going rogue, who was both the Character and the antagonist.
The text of the game is officially finalized! Marx did an incredible job with their editing, I cannot recommend them more highly. The game is so much better than it was before.
James is continuing to work on the layout - he's sent me a few different options for the prompt pages and I'm very excited about them!
I started working on the tarot card extras: minor arcana with edits to the original prompts, and major arcana with messages from the Author.
Victor completed the stretch goal artwork of the Author! Here it is below: I think it's my favorite piece of art in the entire game.
The art for The Author, styled like a major arcana card. The top has the roman numerals XXII and the bottom says THE AUTHOR. Shows a woman standing with an open book in one hand and puppet strings in the other, a mannequin dangling from them near her feet. Her face is obscured with an ink smudge, and ink drips from the open book onto her sleeve.
We're still expecting to mail out games in October, and send out Backerkit surveys for add-ons and shipping in Aug/Sept. I'll send an update when that's ready to go!
