First Stretch Goal Unlocked!
about 5 years ago – Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 03:47:13 PM

The first stretch goal is away! The first stretch goal is away!

We did it! The team is overcome at the moment. Knowing we’re going to see the #Streampunks bring our game to life with all the love, talent, and compassion they show every time they go on air is piling onto the joy from funding this weekend.

You are all fantastic.

(Bonus points to all the Star Wars nerds who made the connection between the heading above and Echo Base. Richard is a pun monster and refuses to be stopped.)

What have we unlocked?

First, the Streampunks and QueueTimes studio will be producing a one-shot episode of Descent into Midnight that will be available for everyone to watch. If you’ve seen Callisto 6, Shield of Tomorrow, or their current show, Clear Skies, you know exactly why we’re so excited. If you haven’t, please go check them out. You won't be disappointed.

Second, every single backer will be receiving a PDF print-at-home coloring book full of creatures inspired by Descent into Midnight. We knew as soon as we came up with the idea that this would be part of the first stretch goal. We want kids and kids-at-heart alike to be inspired to learn about the ocean and all the wonderful life within it. We are so excited to be working with artists like Taylor Livingston, Jacob Blackmon, Ben Sigas, and Victor Allen to make it happen, all of whom have done wonderful art for us during the development process. And there may be even more in the mix by the time we’re done.

Here's a sample page:

What's next?

Our next stretch goal is $35,000. With that, we will unlock an additional episode of the Descent into Midnight #Streampunks game. The kinds of stories you can tell with the game really shine when given the opportunity to breathe a little and show how the characters, the Sanctuary they have, and the community they protect grow and change over time. As Harmony builds up in the community and the Corruption encroaches, we will get to see the struggle and the bonds forged as our aquatic guardians face it together.

We will also be unlocking a set of digital files for making your own Harmony and Corruption tokens. The community map is an integral part of long term play, and the game calls for you to use some sort of token (whatever you have handy) to represent the Harmony and Corruption that affect your city. With this stretch goal, we will produce a PDF of printable tokens you can use at home. In addition, we will be producing files you can use to make your own tokens if you have access to a 3D printer or laser cutter.

Some backers may wonder why we aren’t producing physical tokens ourselves and sending them to you. The answer is simple: producing and shipping physical goods can be complex, time consuming, and expensive. We don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the project or getting the books to you as soon as possible.

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

Finally, we have a special guest in this physical realm. A group of you following the project on Twitter banded together in the month before we launched to help us create them, or as they would put it, call them forth from the Echo. Their portrait, and the city you helped us create, will appear in the book as a special thank you to everyone who has supported us through this process.

Everyone, meet The Bark Of A Mangrove Protects The Tree From Fire And Parasites, or as they’ve graciously allowed us to shorten it: “Barky.” If you’d like to hear more from them, you can follow the Descent into Midnight twitter account (@DiMRPG) to see what they’re up to.

Without further ado, here's what Barky (they/them), a Monstrous & Majestic Seeker, gifted with Reality Tunneling and Echoic Illusions, a Soft soul who Lives Within The Echo Itself has to say today.

"It's been a few days since I passed through the Echo into this world. Nice enough oceans, though I don't care for the amount of, well, dry land I've become aware of. That said, my personal preferences and needs don't overshadow those of the beings who live in the dryness, so I'll move on.

It seems that some group of them, humans, that is, are working on a method of collaborative storytelling. The Echo has sent them glimpses of worlds like my own. The stories tell of the Guardians, of compassion, and of hope. It seems they are in need of such things.

Oh! And they have this amazing method of applying pigment to surfaces. They call it coloring and they have, well, outlines of denizens of the deep that you can customize!

Hope and coloring. I'm new to this world, but it seems a fitting pair of things."

FUNDED! We have funded in under 18 hours!
about 5 years ago – Sun, Feb 16, 2020 at 10:45:41 PM

We are humbled. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

We woke up 18 hours ago this morning. Richard, together with his wife and his cat, pressed the launch button. We were full of hope, anticipation, and wonder for the team of excellent people we had assembled to work on the project.

Then as we watched the support pour in, our hearts were filled with gratitude. This is a game about community and beings who come together to do great things. Thank you for coming together with us to make our dream a reality.

We find ourselves looking at 29 days of the campaign still to go and we are incredibly excited about our stretch goals. The Streampunks episodes are going to be unlocked every $5,000, up to a full 12-episode season.

In addition, for each stretch goal we are either adding a digital reward to backers or paying a bonus directly to the contributors on the project. We want to reward them even further for the amazing work they’ve done and will do to make this project happen.

At $30,000, we will produce a Descent into Midnight print-at-home coloring book! We are working with several artists to create coloring book pages that we hope ignite the imaginations of kids about marine biology. Each member of the design team has their own love for the water and the creatures in it, and one of our secret goals with the project is to encourage people to learn more about all the strange and fascinating things in our own oceans.

We are ecstatic. We are humbled. We are grateful. And we are ready to go after the stretch goals with your help!

Thank you from all of us,

-The Descent into Midnight team