November/December Update
over 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

Octopus Tarot and Playing Cards!
over 3 years ago – Sun, Nov 21, 2021 at 01:17:34 AM

This is just a quick shout-out to a project we're not affiliated with but I think folks might be interested in. The Octopus Tarot and Playing Cards campaign just wrapped up here on Kickstarter but they're taking pre-orders through BackerKit.

And with that I'm off to go review the latest layout progress. See you all with the next update in December!

- Richard

October/November Update
over 3 years ago – Wed, Nov 17, 2021 at 02:34:31 PM

What did we accomplish in October and the first half November?

In short, not much on the book, BUT we're now full steam ahead for the rest of the layout. The delay was two-fold. First, I had a commitment to a local theatre production to help build a mechanical articulated parrot puppet, which ate up much of my free time. More importantly, our layout design had to pause for several weeks due to some life changes on the team, but we're past that and had a great meeting this weekend outlining what's up next on the docket.

What's next for the second half of November?

We're all set to have both the front matter (the pages before chapter 1) and chapter 2 in final accessibility and layout review by the end of November, and we don't have any other (known) life upheavals in sight. I'm optimistic that by the first quarter of 2022, we'll have the majority of the layout complete and be working on the final details like getting publishing and library catalog meta-data. Backers should already have access to the text of the game (see the previous backer-only update) and we'll get folks a nice copy of the digital layout as soon as it's ready.

A few final words

In the long journey of this project, there have been ups and downs, slogs and sprints. I'm extremely excited by the workflow we have currently and am very confident we're going to be start chewing through chapter layouts rapidly. Despite all the challenges we've had, there's never been a question in my mind about whether we'll get the book made and into your hands. Every layout and design meeting we have, every page that's laid out, every accessibility note we get and correct is a joy and a step toward that goal, and I can't wait to share the results with you as we get them.

Thanks again for your patience and your support.

-Richard and the DiM Team

September Update
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 07, 2021 at 08:59:52 PM

What did we accomplish in September?

In short, we have the first finished chapter! Chapter 1 is undergoing one last accessibility check, but aside from inserting page numbers references, it's looking like the final product. In addition, I've been continuing work on the digital character keeper.

What's next for October?

I'll continue work on the digital character keeper. We still have at least a few months to go to finish the layout, so I'm pacing myself on the software development work. We're also taking a brief pause on the layout because of some real-life situations that have cropped up, but we expect to get things rolling again in November. Given how smoothly the work on Chapter 1 has been going, I have every confidence we'll be moving forward rapidly on the other chapters, especially the simpler ones that don't have play examples or the Playbook chapters.

A few final words

We're still rolling along, and the book is turning out as gorgeous as I'd hoped. Next month's update will likely also be a bit spare, but we should have some good progress to report on by the end of November.

- Richard and the DiM Team

August Update
over 3 years ago – Wed, Sep 08, 2021 at 11:59:03 PM

What did we accomplish in August?

Let's start with a preview of the new layout!

The finished book will have one of Devon George's full color illustrations per chapter, and we're planning on each chapter's pages being bordered by bits from that illustration. The black and white illustrations from Taylor Livingston are getting a watercolor background treatment to really make them pop. With this design getting fine-tuned, we'll be ready to start surging ahead on the layout soon.

• Layout revisions on chapter 1 and pre-chapter 1 content.
• Minor editing and copy updates based on layout flow, etc.
• Playbook Moves and general infrastructure improvements to digital character keeper.

While three items may not sound like much, we're zero-ing in on the final template for standard text chapters (the Playbook chapter will be its own fun beast). This includes concurrent accessibility review, adjusting text as needed so it flows properly, minor editing updates, and shuffling around some of the content as needed.

The work on the digital character keeper has been slower than I'd like, but a lot of that is ensuring that it will be a single-page html file that does everything a page using a heavier-weight software library would do. Manually recreating all the functionality it needs is time consuming, but should be worth it in the end. And I have no doubts it's going to be ready by the time the digital version of the book is ready to distribute.

What's next for September?

• Continued work on the digital character keeper (next up is selecting arbitrary Playbook Moves from other Playbooks gained via Insights and then Corruption Moves).
• Finalizing the base layout template for standard text chapters.
• Finish Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 layout. 

We're already in the process of laying out Chapter 2, but obviously that won't be finalized until we have the final decisions on Chapter 1 and the overall style guide. We've been working closely with our accessibility consultant to ensure we won't be running into unexpected issues down the line, and work should proceed quickly on the rest of the layout until we get to the Playbook chapter.  That chapter presents some unique layout challenges that we'll deal with once we get there.

A few final words

We're moving along with layout and accessibility review and the digital character keeper, I've been keeping an ear out about the logistics phase that will follow. Shipping and printing are going to be costlier than we had anticipated due to the effects of the pandemic, but we're lucky in that we're planning on using a domestic printer and don't need to import components like some other projects. We're still in good shape to get books to everyone once they're ready.

On a personal note, the fulfillment side of this project has essentially marked the time of the pandemic for me. It's given me something to focus on creatively, a reason to stay organized, and a long term goal to accomplish. I'm grateful to all of you for your patience and your belief in the project.

Thank you

- Richard and the DiM Team