So I've been working on my first Heroes & Treasure expansion, plus the Kickstarter campaign for the expansion, which is going to launch in only like 4 weeks. Which is not a lot of time.
Unlike the first campaign, I have a mailing list already built up. So my pre-Kickstarter marketing is lower-key than it was last year. Well, so far it's nothing. Hope that works out for me.
The good news from the KS front is that I already have a lot of the web assets ready, like the section header graphics, and I'm reasonably good with GIMP for creating web images quickly. I have Photoshop as well, but GIMP is pretty good for RGB web graphics.. the only downside is that my artist doesn't use GIMP so can't load my files (with the layers) if I need tweaks done.
I already have all my campaign maps finished, so that's good. And I have the full set of enemies spec'ed, but not playtested properly, so the HP and stuff might be off. Sketches for everything, but I'll only have a few full enemies ready for the KS launch I think (four elves, and probably a bat and a wolf and maybe one or two other things). Can add more later.
Need to start up my Facebook feed again I guess, though the utility of doing so BEFORE the KS starts seems low. Plus I don't have the video made yet, which was my primary Facebook marketing piece last year. Will try to get that done two weeks from now.
This ends my stream-of-consciousness for today.
If anyone is interested in the Kickstarter page in progress, drop me a line and I can send you a link. I'm always happy to help others with their KS launches, though there haven't been any posted here for months now, that I can think of.
Comments
Very good observation, now that you mention it
I guess finally people are realizing that BGDF is a forum to DISCUSS all that concerns "Game Design". It is not a place where you get MORE backers. The community is small and I would guess about 3 dozen or so designers.
Most, if not all, are pursuing their OWN designs and are not looking to "back" other Kickstarters.
Some, like you, are planning their OWN KS campaigns ... and I would suggest you share a link/URL to your KS preview for general "analysis". And that seems like the MOST logical thing to do: share your campaign BEFORE you KS.
I never understood the people who would just "Announce" their KS game and NOT use our community to share a preview PRIOR to their launch. Their loss.
Since this is you 2nd time around, I'm pretty sure you have a firm grasp at what you did previously, if there are any small details to improve upon and making your page visually as appealing as possible.
So if I was you, I'd just post up the link in your BLOG and see who takes a look and comments. But nobody is expecting a less attractive campaign than before.
Cheers!
Yeah, I think some people
Yeah, I think some people just post their active KS and disappear, as if this was a place to find backers. To be clear, I’m not doing that ;)
However, I’m not sure I’m ready to post the preview publicly either.. still needs a little too much work, plus no video yet.
Good luck on your next
Good luck on your next Kickstarter! What program does your artist use? If it's an Adobe program, like Photoshop or Illustrator, they should be able to export the files they work on as GIMP files.
Photoshop.. and GIMP can load
Photoshop.. and GIMP can load many Photoshop files, but the problem is the other way.. if I create something quickly in GIMP, she can't load it unless it's flattened. I should really just be working in Photoshop myself at this point, but there are some basic things that I know how to do quickly in GIMP and that's the path of least resistance.
Jay103 wrote:Photoshop.. and
Do you export it as a GIMP file or as PSD? I don't know much about it personally, but it seems that you can export GIMP files as PSD files and retain the layers. I could be totally wrong though, just wanted to make sure you explored that option. :)
GIMP can't write PSD files,
GIMP can't write PSD files, though it can read them except for adjustment layers and anything in CMYK. And text gets converted to graphics. And probably other things I haven't encountered. It's great for quickly making PNG files for a Kickstarter page though :)
Gotcha. Well in case, you
Gotcha. Well in case, you feel like giving it another try, take a look at this:
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-convert-a-GIMP-xcf-file-to-a-Photoshop-psd
Fertessa wrote:Gotcha. Well
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-convert-a-GIMP-xcf-file-to-a-Photoshop-psd
Hmm, I will give that another try when I need it, thanks. Using a PDF intermediary also works reasonably well (as long as you're not doing anything complicated)
Jay103 wrote:Fertessa
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-convert-a-GIMP-xcf-file-to-a-Photoshop-psd
Hmm, I will give that another try when I need it, thanks. Using a PDF intermediary also works reasonably well (as long as you're not doing anything complicated)
No problem! I hope it helps!
Well although I didn't analyze everything...
Looking good so far...
The only thing that I did NOT like is one of the "Adult" characters. To be specific the 4th one (Granny Wizard). She looks too OLD, I would make her "perkier-looking". The bags under her eyes make the illustration look a bit too old (for my tastes anyhow).
Otherwise everything else looks good (not final — but you understand).
Cheers!
Lol, that's one of the kids.
Lol, that's one of the kids. The bags under the eyes are a little too realistic for my taste, but there it is. Maybe I can swap that one out.
Hmm.. Did Xin do a small re-touch of the Sorceress???
I don't know ... but I took a look at the KS page again ... And somehow the 4th character seems fine to me now(!?) Go figure...
Two things come to mind, either her skin was to monochrome (previously) and that now it's a bit "brighter" in color. OR the bags under her eyes (and maybe a tweak to the eyes too — IDK) have been reduced in "intensity"...
To me she looks a LOT better...! I don't know if there was any change. But IF not well then I must have been having an Off-Day. IDK! Cause it looks so much better than the first time I had a look! LOL
Hmm... Maybe I was wrong?!
I took a third look ... and it seems like the 4th character looks at bit "too old"! I could swear that she looked BETTER the last time I looked... Must be too much time watching the screen or working on graphic design until 3:00 AM yesterday... Oh well... (IDK)!
I didn’t change it, lol
I didn’t change it, lol