Fiction and Speculative Aquatic Biology!
about 4 years ago – Fri, Mar 13, 2020 at 12:03:24 AM

We've hit $45,000 and thus, our fourth stretch goal! Let's jump right into the update.

What have we unlocked?

This stretch goal unlocks a fourth episode of the streamed series the StreamPunks troupe will be doing together with QueueTimes studio. We'll see the world they create come alive and shift as the Harmony of the Guardians and the community builds to fight the encroaching Corruption.

It also unlocks our first short fiction piece, written by the incredible Aly Grauer. We can't wait to see what she brings to the table. Her work on Warda and Skyjacks: Courier's Call, as a performer and dialect coach, and as the author of On The Isle of Sound and Wonder.

If any of you are podcasters, streamers, performers, or just gamers who want to improve character voices, we can't recommend Aly's services as a dialect coach enough.

What's next?

Our next goal is at $50,000. That will unlock a fifth StreamPunks episode and double the bonus we're paying to the production team. We're closing in on 72 hours to go in the project, and we know with your help we can finish strong!

Speculative Biology? YES PLEASE!

I (Richard) came across the project below after someone retweeted it and I IMMEDIATELY backed it and messaged the team that we should ask about cross-promoting with their project. I grabbed the tier with the two previous volumes, the enamel pin, and a "pseudibranch" poster. Turns out one of the team had heard about us and backed Descent into Midnight already, too. Great minds think alike (about weird sea creatures)!

Pretty much everything we've seen of Almost Real: A Speculative Biology Zine (Vol. 3 - Aquatics) could be straight out of a world-building session in a game of Descent into Midnight.

If you aren't already convinced by the artwork above like I was, here's what they've got to say about it:

"Conceived in 2018 by Jay Eaton and assisted by Mia Hye Mardikian, Almost Real: A Speculative Biology Zine is a multi-volume, ~60 page anthology collection series of at least 12 different speculative biology prose and artwork entries, focused around the celebration of speculative biology while aiming to recapture the magic of publications like Zoobooks and interactive encyclopedia artwork entries. With our first volume introducing the concept of the zine and our second leaning into the concept of "themed" issues with its focus on flight, we plan to release an issue every year, and so far have been met with resounding success, enthusiasm, and support from those who want to explore what could be while rooted in science.

This issue we're descending from the clouds and into the waters below with the theme of Aquatics! Whether these are beings that live a completely submerged life, live in tandem with bodies of water, or creatures that draw symbiosis from other aquatic creatures, there's no shortage of creative, creepy, and cool designs our contributors have concocted. Aliens? Got'em. Hypothetical future evolutions of hominids millions of years into the future? Titanous algae on far-off planets created by wayward earthen space probes? There's a multitude of shapes and sizes in life in the oceans, and Almost Real's 3rd volume is no exception."

Third Stretch Goal Reached! Next stop: Short Fiction
about 4 years ago – Wed, Mar 04, 2020 at 06:33:02 PM

We’ve now hit $40,000, and over 750 backers! Thanks to each and every one of you for your support!

What have we unlocked?

Firstly, with the money that we’ve set aside for fulfilling stretch goals, we’re paying a bonus to everyone on the production team, above and beyond the professional contracted rates we’re paying everyone to begin with. Community is what the game is all about, and we’re thrilled to put our money where our mouth is.

Secondly, we’re getting a third episode of Descent into Midnight by the StreamPunks in association with QueueTimes studio! We’re so excited to see what comes of the extra time they’ll have to tell that much richer of a story.

What’s next?

As with each stretch goal, we’ll unlock another streamed episode of the Descent into Midnight with the StreamPunks. With a fourth episode, we’re starting to get into the range of a short campaign, and you’ll be able to see the community they design grow and change as the Corruption tries to worm its way in.

Also, and we’re incredibly excited about this, we’ll be hitting our first short fiction goal! Aly Grauer, an incredibly talented author and performer, will be writing a story set in the universe of Descent into Midnight. Because every game of Descent into Midnight allows you to build your own setting and your own Corruption, the authors we’re working with will have an incredible amount of freedom to explore the themes of the underwater setting, the Corruption, community, hope, and the Echo.

You can find Aly’s work as a performer and storyteller on the Warda podcast, as well as on the Skyjacks: Courier’s Call episodes of Campaign: Skyjacks. In addition, if you want to see why we’re so thrilled to be working with her, you can check out her novel On The Isle of Sound and Wonder, a brilliant retelling of The Tempest that seamlessly blends a steampunk aesthetic, the strange and wonderful world of the fae, and themes of hope and redemption in the face of a terrible Corruption. I (Richard) recently finished the book and as a theatre person, can say that it’s my favorite version of the story, including the original.

A word from “Barky” The Bark Of A Mangrove Protects The Tree From Fire And Parasites

“The Mariana trench was certainly a wonder to behold. The light here is different than the portion of the Echo I’m from, but once you go deep enough, the cool darkness of the depths is the same almost everywhere.

Someday I’ll have to bring The Steam That Rises along with me to visit. She loves to explore hydrothermal vents, and the ones here in the East Pacific Rise are particularly lovely. I don’t share her taste for sulfides, but you’ll never see a lovelier, more brilliant yellow than her sulfuric carapace. There’s something curiously poetic about eating blooming darkness and creating light and art with it, don’t you think?”

Accessible Quick Start, Authors, and the Halfway Point!
about 4 years ago – Sat, Feb 29, 2020 at 08:46:29 PM

We’re halfway through the campaign, but we’re nowhere close to done. We just hit 700 backers, we’re 80% to the third stretch goal, and we’ve got a couple of announcements that we think folks will be excited about as well.

Accessible Quick Start Guide

We’ve just uploaded an accessible version of the Quick Start Guide on the Downloads page of the website. It includes screen reader friendly versions of the Quick Start Guide documents, and Word document versions of the playbooks.

But we’re not done with making the materials accessible yet. During the testing phase of the Word document versions of the playbooks, Megan Tolentino prototyped an HTML version of the playbooks that would help alleviate some of the potential issues around screen reader versions, so we’re going to be developing a single-page HTML version with a simple interface to save/import characters. This will be in addition to the Word document versions we already have available.

Authors For Stretch Goals

We’ve got five fantastic authors lined up for our short fiction stretch goals, which start at the fourth stretch goal and alternate with bonuses for the production team.

• Alyson Grauer, author of On the Isle of Sound and Wonder and performer on the Warda podcast.
• Brandon O'Brien, an author, poet, artist, game designer, and poetry editor of FIYAH: A Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction.
• Ennis Rook Bashe, a graduate student from the New York area whose writings, game design work, and poetry you can find at ennisrook.itch.io.
• Jeff Barber, author of Midnight, Upwind, and one of the games that inspired our own, Blue Planet.
• Matt Pallamary, an author and student of shamanism whose work ties directly into the themes of the game.

A Favor to Ask!
about 4 years ago – Thu, Feb 27, 2020 at 07:42:30 PM

Progress:

We’re over 40% of the way to our third stretch goal with 18 days left in the campaign. This is the part of the campaign usually known as the “doldrums” but we’re energized and rolling right along thanks to all of you.

We’d like to ask a favor:

Take a moment and share a character idea for the game on social media and include the hashtag #ThisIsDiMRPG and a link to the kickstarter (https://dimrpg.io/ks, all lowercase). If you're on Twitter, bonus points for tagging us in (@DiMRPG). Let your imagination run wild! We want to hear what the psionic sea creatures of your world look like.

A quick note from Richard:

I had the distinct pleasure of running a world and character building session for the Dugongs & Seadragons crew. We’ve been a fan of their show ever since we learned that there was (as they describe themselves) "an international collection of nerdy-ass marine biologists" and science communicators using Dungeons & Dragons to teach people about marine science and oceanography.

I’m a San Diego kid whose marine science education began and ended with trips to Sea World every other year with my grandmother. One of the things I love so much about our game is that it has been a vehicle to educate myself and others about all things ocean-related. Getting to experience the joy and wonder of building a fantastical aquatic city together with a group of people who have the knowledge and passion to bring it to life in such specific and nuanced ways was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

Luckily, we recorded it and you’ll be able to hear it on the Dugongs & Seadragons podcast  feed over the next couple weeks.

I’m so excited to re-listen to the world and characters we built, and to see all the amazing character ideas you all come up with. See you around the #ThisIsDiMRPG hashtag!

Second stretch goal unlocked!
about 4 years ago – Sat, Feb 22, 2020 at 10:22:43 PM

The team was getting ready to post our one-week update and then blammo! We hit the second stretch goal, thanks to all of you. 620 of you have pledged to help us make this project a reality, and we continue to be blown away by your support of the project.

What have we unlocked?

First off, the Streampunks and QueueTimes studio will be producing a second episode of Descent into Midnight that will be available for everyone to watch. Doubling the amount of time we get to spend with the characters and world they’re going to build is such a joy.

Second, all backers will receive digital files for making your own Corruption and Harmony tokens at home. We will send everyone files suitable for a standard printer, 3D printer, and laser cutter that you can use to create tokens for your home game.

What’s next?

Our next stretch goal is $40,000. With that, we will unlock a third episode of the Descent into Midnight game by the Streampunks. We want to see more of what they’ll do with the game, and we’re pretty sure all of you will, too.

The second thing we’re unlocking with the next stretch goal is a bonus for the production team. The amount of time and skill required to put together a project like this is well beyond the scope of what Rich, Taylor, and I could have done on our own. This is our way of giving back to the team and thanking them for their hard work. Descent into Midnight is a game about doing tough things together, and it’s important to us to do right by the people we’re working with.

A word from “Barky” The Bark Of A Mangrove Protects The Tree From Fire And Parasites

“I’ve been told that I should seek out the Mariana trench by an orca I met just yesterday. Is it true that the humans here rarely visit the sea floor? It seems such a waste to have so much of the life of their world hidden from them, but I suppose that’s true almost everywhere.

The Echo has a certain fondness it seems for allowing one to see just enough of the things around them to believe they know the shape of the world, only for something new and interesting to coalesce from the depths and shatter that illusion.

In any case, if you could just point me in the direction of the Pacific, I should be able to find my way from there.”

More Fishy Goodness

We recently caught wind of Niwri’s Marvelous Menagerie of the Multiverse, a menagerie of fantastical creatures you can use in your games, but there were specifically two things that caught my (Richard’s) eye.

First, there's going to be fish, which is on brand for us. One of the stated goals of Descent into Midnight is to get people interested in aquatic settings and content, and if the first step toward doing that is introducing some fish into your D&D 5e or traditional fantasy game? Go for it!

Second, and admittedly this is the thing that caught my attention, there’s a plush stuffed animal involved if you back at a high enough level.

If you’ve got a minute, check it out!