Quick check-in
over 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 22, 2022 at 06:15:00 PM

Hi everyone, the last month or so has been very tough for the team. We've had starting a new job, a sudden death of a family member, and taking on daily caregiving responsibilities for a family member spread among the folks currently working on getting the book finished.

We'll have a more comprehensive update for you at the beginning of May, but the short version is we've made progress on Chapter 6 and will be doing some rewrites to better match the text to the space available.

In the meantime, I do want to take a moment to share a snapshot from Chapter 6 that I think really highlights how gorgeous the book is turning out to be. You can see Taylor Livingston's sketch of a strange three-eyed creature in the foreground, and at the page's edge you can see a bit of Devon George's fantastical bubble cityscape peeking through.

Thanks for your patience and well wishes. We're continuing to make progress and marching ever forward toward getting you all this game. We couldn't be doing this without all of you.

-Richard and the DiM team

February Update
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 09, 2022 at 03:21:45 PM

What did we accomplish in February?

In short, we got hit with some unexpected delays due to a family emergency on the team. Layout has been paused for a few weeks, but we have a date set later this month to reconvene and continue work on Chapter 6.

What's next for March?

We're giving the team some time to deal with said emergency and will be reconvening later this month to get the layout process moving again. I'm using this time to handle some of the administrative side of things (hooray taxes!) so when we start back up I won't have anything else on my plate and can be as responsive as possible to our layout designer.

After doing a bit more research, it turns out BackerKit doesn't seem to have a messaging feature outside of payment and orders, so I'm still working out precisely how to get notifications about these updates out to the folks who backed the  project after the Kickstarter campaign wrapped. Luckily, if you're reading this you aren't affected by that bit of news.

A few final words

This month, it's a simple message: protect trans kids. The lives of the trans people we know could be so much easier if gender-affirming care were readily available and they didn't have to fight to be accepted.

Stay safe, and see you next month,

- Richard and the DiM team

January Update
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Feb 06, 2022 at 01:48:55 AM

What did we accomplish in January?

Layout is moving along smoothly! We've got Chapter 3 done and Chapter 4 is undergoing final review/edits. For now we're focusing on getting the main book finished as quickly as possible.

What's next for February?

We're skipping Chapter 5 for now (the Playbook chapter) since it has the most complex layout and moving on to Chapter 6. The plan is to get through chapters 6 - 9 and the appendices/index/etc and then circle back to Chapter 5. Once the main book is complete, we'll work on a redesign of the Playbook handouts and other supplemental material.

Our new tentative target for finishing the book layout is April.  The plan is to get the digital version of the book out to everyone as quickly as possible while we work on getting the catalog records and publishing data generated that will need to be included in the print run.

A few final words

We're rolling along and I'm feeling really good about the progress we're making on the project. Our weekly layout/editing/accessibility meetings are a joy. I was also recently informed that these updates aren't being automatically sent to everyone who backed using BackerKit after the campaign, so we may be switching to using emails from BackerKit that point to these update posts so everyone who backed the project can see them.

In unrelated news, my wife has created a portrait of our fuzzy supervisor.

Hope everyone has a great February! See you in March with more progress.

- Richard and the DiM Team

New Year update
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jan 04, 2022 at 09:21:53 PM

We got a lot done in 2021. We've started to see layout in its final stages for some of the chapters and we've got a streamlined team ready to finish the project. With our current speed, we should have the layout essentially ready to go in a few months. The printing and shipping landscape is still a bit of a mess right now, but we're in no danger of not being able to fulfill the project because of it. Since we did the last update mid December, there's not a whole lot of progress to report on for the last two weeks what with the end of year holidays, but we're getting the team together this week to kick off the new year at top speed.

We hope everyone had a good December and we're looking forward to finishing the project this year.

-Richard and the DiM Team

November/December Update
about 3 years ago – Thu, Dec 09, 2021 at 11:09:47 PM

What did we accomplish in November and the first part of December?

In short, a good chunk of layout! We've got some previews of the Chapter 2 layout and they're phenomenal. We're doing some final tweaks to it but it's just about complete.

What's next for the rest of December?

We're expecting to see the first laid out version of Chapter 3 in just a few days, and should be well on our way through Chapter 4 by the end of the month. We've streamlined our process and should have some exciting sample pages to show as we complete the chapters.

A few final words

Now, we had a few folks ask about the mechanical parrot puppet I mentioned in the last update. My friend's production of Treasure Island was a delight, and getting to talk with the student puppeteer who got to operate the parrot was lovely.

Here's some of the progress photos. For the better part of a month nearly every flat surface in the house (including half the garage) was covered in tools, sketches, painting supplies, etc.

Not pictured are the handle that allows the user to move the beak, rotate the head, and flap the wings.

Getting back to Descent into Midnight, I'm extremely excited by the progress we've been making. All the hard work that has gone in so far is finally starting to come together in a shape that's very close to what you'll see in the final product.

Hope you have a great December, and we'll see you with an update in the new year,

- Richard and the DiM Team