I apologize for the late update, but I wanted to shift updates to the middle of the month instead of the end of the month, so I waited a couple weeks longer. I've been writing away at the dungeons and regularly meeting with my editor, I'm really slow, and the progress is good. We're on track to start layout by the end of summer, and things will move quickly as we move into that phase of the project. We have already started laying out player aids and accessories, so there is also progress on that front.
A couple of weeks ago, Anthers, who is providing the music for the vinyl gamebook, did a show in Oakland, and I was able to attend! One of the members of the band is someone who I've known for over 20 years, so it was great to see him play. They've worked out the entire score for the vinyl, and they are on track to go to the studio this month. I got some fun analog photography of Oakland and the venue where they were playing, and I'll share some of those with you here.
Downtown Oakland
Oakland Beauty Supply, An Arts and Music Venue
Entrance to the Show
Zine Thing!
Thank you everyone for your support as I continue to build this ambitious project!
This update is short. I continue to write and hone the manuscript for the main book and Thicker Than Blood. We’re looking to be on track to enter into layout this summer. The biggest thing hanging over the head of this project is that it is being printed by Panda in China. Thankfully, we’re a little way out from actually moving into physical production, so we’re taking a wait and see approach to the Trump tariffs. I haven’t made any decisions about charging a tariff fee since we won’t be fulfilling soon. I’ll keep all of y’all in the loop as we move along since international trade is fluid rn, just a general clusterf*ck. However, the current political climate means that a politically informed proudly Queer work is more important than ever, so I’m not letting any of this bring me down as we develop Orgy of the Blood Leeches.
This month I have been making quite a bit of progress on Thicker Than Blood, the vinyl adventure. I have a solid draft of the system and a prototype map, and most exciting is that all of the vinyl cover art has been finalized by Zach Hazard. I've put together two mockups that are a more complete representation of the final project. The splatter and color on the vinyl aren't exactly correct, the vinyl will be see-through hospital green with the red splatter, but these two mockups show much more of how the work is shaping up.
This month’s update will be short. We’ve been clearing our plate of 2024 projects over the last month, and we continue to make progress on Blood Leeches.
The most exciting things we have to share are art from Zach hazard for the solo gamebook vinyl adventure Orgy of the Blood Leeches: Thicker Than Blood. I am sharing the character portraits for each of the two possible player characters who star in this adventure. Zach has also finished the back cover and the two inside flaps of the gate fold vinyl, but we’re saving that art to show later.
It’s looking like Anthers is now going to be entering into the studio in June due to their upcoming tour, but they’ve already shared an exciting demo for the ambient score that will be on the vinyl itself (along with two of their songs).
I hope to write the scripts for Amanda’s full spread illustrations by the end of the month, and I will be writing Thicker Than Blood During the month of March. I will turn my writing work back towards the main manuscript in April, and we’re looking at starting layout in earnest this Summer.
We hope everyone had a great holiday season through December and January. We took some vacation ourselves during that time. Here's some of the progress that has been made recently since funding:
Early Bird Patches have been manufactured and delivered.
Zach Vaupen Hazard is completing the illustrations for the Solo Vinyl Gamebook Adventure during the month of February. This prequel adventure is now officially titled Orgy of the Blood Leeches: Thicker Than Blood.
Anthers is going into the studio in March to record the original audio for Orgy of the Blood Leeches: Thicker Than Blood.
We're working with Panda to finalize our specs and quotes for the box now that we know standees will be included.
Sam Wildman is working on some really innovative maps, and I hope we'll have a new WIP to share during our next update.
Christian Sorrell has taken a slightly larger role on the editorial team. During the month of March, we will hold an editorial team meeting consisting of: myself, D.N. Wilkie, Greenspore, and Christian Sorrell. We will take a look together at the final manuscript together to identify any major revisions to make before passing it over to D.N. Wilkie and Greenspore to further layout and revise. This team will come back together to look at the laid out draft created by D.N. Wilkie and Greenspore to identify any final revisions needed before proofing, printing, and distribution. You can also expect to see a couple posts about this process in detail on The Adventure Gaming Periodical, the RV Games newsletter, in the coming weeks.
Late Pledges are available and will be available all the way until fulfillment.
See you next month, same bat time, same bat place!
