Fundbetter Qs: 11 to 15

So this last week I leapt over a huge development hurdle. (That is, I finished the writing side of the game development WAY ahead of schedule. The muse hit, what can I say?!) I’ve also been doing more research so I’ll try to do a separate blog post about experimenting with marketing and working with an audio artist! Yay! But without further dithering, let’s finish up this application, shall we? We shall!

11. What are you planning to do after launch? How will you support and/or extend the game, what’s your backup plan if it doesn’t work well, and what will be your next project?

“Drink and eat cake,” is the real answer, but they probably mean BEYOND that.

The plan is a pretty simple one, this is a pretty simple product. I’ll have an email address for support, make sure that’s available anywhere I distribute the game, and keep an eye on it for questions. I don’t anticipate any updates or DLCs or what have you. If I were to do more with the story it would likely be in a new game. The idea here is a complete experience, you buy you play, you enjoyed. (Hopefully.) Bugs or issues, I’ll be available to help, (In this, I have some back up because the community around Fungus, the Unity plugin I’m using, is great and so I’m not sweating that too badly.)

As for my next project? Well. I've got a novel about space migrants and giant robots and ghosts inhabiting machines of war. I've got a novel about make-up witches and magical bakers and a conspiracy to rob them of their history. Hopefully, I can use a similar format, but I'll look for different art styles and to add new tricks each game.

What about you? Will you forums and trouble tickets? Are you planning something that big? Are you better off just relying on the comments on your distribution site of choice? Or comments on the blog post where people can download your game? I think that’s going to have to do with the size of your game and if you plan to add content. Good luck to those of you doing something more ambitious.

12. You and/or your colleagues. Have you made games before? Have you made games together before? What’s your relationship if you’re working with anyone else? (paid freelancers, revenue share, etc.)

This one's straight forward. Are you hiring artists? Are you hiring a marketing expert? (If so, good for you!) Are you hiring your best friends to do voice work? How are you compensating them for their time? Is it barter, is it sharing the money when the game starts selling? Is it a big turkey dinner on you? It's good to have these things clear and figured out early to avoid hurt feelings (or lawsuits) later. Get it in writing, even if that's just an informal agreement in an email, it's better than nothing. Don't have nothing. Especially when you finally publish your game.

While this project is primarily just me, my partner and I have been making games together or separately for decade. While we’ve mostly done table top roleplaying games, he’s been around while I cussed my way through some Twine development. On this project, he’ll be editing so that it’s not just my eyes on the words. (He’s edited professionally for other table top companies, and he’s delightfully critical of my work. In a good way.) I can’t wait to get things to a point where I can chew my nails while he plays through the story. I'd like to pay him for his time, however, which is one of the reasons I'm looking for funding.

I'm also working with a musician to create original music for the game. He's kind of amazing. So far the deal w'er woking out is that we'll sell his tracks as a side thing and he gets the proceeds, but I'd also like to just give him some money at the front end. Again, hence funding.

13. The name of your preferred coffee format; the cocktail you like most; your favorite word. If you don’t have dealings with coffee or alcohol, provide only your favorite word. You won’t be penalized.

Have fun with this one. I know I am.

Right. So this is where things get really contentious and controversial. In college, I worked as a barista at an indie coffee bar. I cold brew my own fair trade coffee grown by a woman’s co-op in Africa. I am and have been a coffee snob. However. Due to living in Japan I have discovered a dark secret about myself.

(Its hard to see, but there's an 800 year old shrine in the back of that picture up in the mountains. I live in a fairytale book.)

I really like canned coffee. I KNOW you’re horrified if you’re used to a certain kind of coffee preparation. (My Italian friends have all but called me a monster.) But. Until you know the joy of a hot can of coffee on a cold morning waiting for the train, its hard to explain the satisfaction of these little cans of quick relief. They change seasonally from hot to cold, and there’s always some new blend to try. Sometimes they come with little toys attached to the top. (This can came with a little character from Streetfighter. SO CUTE!) I don’t know, Japanese convenience coffee is just a new and amazing thing to me. Your mileage may vary.

More simply, my favorite cocktail is ice, Orangina and whisky. (Suntori especially, but it’s local.) This year they had blood orangina and it was PERFECT for this mix. But. I don’t know if anyone can find that elsewhere. Does a cocktail have to have three ingredients? Yeah probably. Which is why ice is a must!

What’s my favorite word? Um. English or what? eh. Let’s go international then. 仕様が無い. I hear it a lot hear. Pronounced ‘shiyouganai’, it means ‘it can’t be helped.’ It’s a way to suggest surrendering to something insurmountable. But I often hear it more to suggest ‘well, we can’t waste our energy getting frustrated about a thing we can’t fix. On to the next problem!’ It sounds really like fatalistic, but it never seems that way when I hear it around here. Its more like ‘well, shit happens, don’t kill yourself over it.’ I don’t know. It’s an attitude I’ve taken to heart and has helped me a lot.

14. What are the emotions that people will experience playing this game?

My instinct is to say “oh my god, everything, thoughts and feelings we do not have names for yet. It will be an experience both terrible and wonderful and at the end, you will find the mundane world outside my story mundane.” But then I’d have to break into a Hellraiser-type monologue. And also that’s not true, so. Here’s something better.

I’m aiming for disquiet, moments of joy and sisterly affection. I’m hoping that women who play this will remember think of their sisters or the BBFs and what they would do in the same situation. I hope that men who play it will call their sisters or reach out to a female friend and tell them how much ass they kick, (assuming they know someone who kicks. If they don’t, I hope they’ll rush out and make one.) I hope they feel a little sad sometimes and happy and maybe even scared sometimes.

15. Why do you want to make this game? What is there in it that speaks to you?

I think each person who comes to this will have a million answers. Rightly so. But at this point, I hope you'll consider keeping it short and sweet. Be real when you apply, show your passion, but favor brevity.

I want to make this game because I have a story to tell and I know that the audience exists who want to read stories like mine. I have a voice that is unique and thanks to the tools now available, I can make something new, interactive, and visual as well. But also, I'm making this game because I want potential non-traditional game makers to look at this and go 'yeah, me too.' And get out there. If I can do it, they can do it. That's why I'm sharing my steps, my process, and the tools I'm using on the site. A teaching tool as well as a game.

And that's it! At least for this series. Everything you never wanted about my application to Fundbetter but weren't afraid to ask!

#FundBetter #cannedcoffee #仕様が無い #why