Production update + microsetting PDF coming soon
over 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 15, 2022 at 05:41:15 AM

Hi backers,

I have an update for you as freight continues to move along, albeit slower than I had been hoping!

Here are the headlines, with additional details below!

• I held back freight for 2 weeks for an extra round of product inspections. I explain why I decided to do the extra spot checks below, and how the results of the checks were very reassuring: everything's looking fantastic!
• We are still currently expecting to fulfill on the same timeline as the previous update, with some regions starting fulfillment as early as October and others as early as November, but with a greater likelihood of November for more regions.
• A bonus PDF of the 13 author/artist-created microsettings is coming next week!
• A new Deck of Worlds playthrough preview just dropped from author Clare Marshall!
• Our project coordinator Zach has a card game Kickstarter ending in 48 hours!

Let's get into the details!

I held freight for an extra round of product inspections

Originally we were looking at our finished products being packaged and ready for freight at the end of August. After I spotted a small production discrepancy in the production photos and videos I was being sent, we held the freight so I could inspect all of the mass production samples to be absolutely certain that everything had printed correctly.

One of my mantras as a designer and project manager comes from a family saying from my opa, who did a lot of woodworking: "measure twice, cut once." In other words, whenever you have a chance to do an extra check before passing a point of no return, do it.

The discrepancy I identified from the photos/videos was an admittedly minor detail, but the kind of detail that can sometimes be a flag for other issues that might have been missed: the box printer had forgotten to add the semi-circle thumb cut on the back of the expansion tuck boxes, which is a new feature I wanted to add this printing to make them easier to open. 

We discussed the possibility of redoing the boxes and agreed it would not be worth the additional delays, especially for an optional added feature that wasn't part of the original 2019 printing.

But we also agreed it was worth delaying a week for me to receive and review a final production sample of every item, just in case there are any issues that need addressing. 

The mass production sample arrived and the materials were looking fantastic!

Except for one thing: the backs of the Landmark cards on the main Deck of Worlds sample unit did not match the color saturation of the rest of the card backs. I sent sample photos of the card backs to a few collaborators to see if they could notice the difference or if I was being too detail-obsessed, and most people were able to notice that something was different and could spot the mismatched card in a lineup.

(An aside for any print nerds out there: I decided to simulate the issue I was seeing by manipulating the CMYK channels of the print files in Photoshop, and it looks like the K ink on the cards I received was lower than it should have been, desaturating the card and sucking out the drop shadows.)

I flagged the issue to the printer ASAP, along with instructions not to freight any decks until we could inspect a broad sample of the print run.

I'm proud to say that printer responded with the level of care and urgency I look for in a production partner. They expedited me another sample to review while their quality control team pulled hundreds of samples to inspect (armed with my instructions for what to look for).

The good news is that they haven't found a single misprinted deck in their inspection, and they've sent me photos and videos to confirm. It looks like the issue is likely a one-off, and it was a coincidence that it happened to be on the deck they sent me for inspection. To be absolutely certain, they are sending a few hundred extra sets of Landmark cards. In the unlikely event that any other decks have the same issue, we'll be able to replace them.

While I feel a little silly that I delayed 2 weeks to find out that everything was okay all along, I don't regret taking the time to make sure things were handled correctly and to have secured a backup plan with replacement cards.

"Measure twice, cut once."

I'm resting easier knowing everything else is looking fantastic!

No further change to the fulfillment timeline for now

In these updates, I've been trying to provide conservative timeline estimates that include some buffer, and so far the last broad timeline I provided remains the same: I expect us to start fulfilling in October for some regions and November for others, but with more likelihood of November for more regions than before and mid-to-late November being a possibility. There's so much uncertainty in international freight operations right now.

Disruptions can and do happen, so keep in mind that these are working estimates.

Luckily, my colleague Miroki Tong who came on board to help manage production and freight timelines was able to work on confirming our freight arrangements while the inspection was happening, so there has been parallel progress confirming our container sizes, final destinations, packing lists, customs arrangements, and final carrier quotes. The big milestone will be when the boats actually start to hit water. For now, we've been getting closer every week. We're still in a global supply chain crunch, and despite following up constantly to keep our shipments at top of mind with our freight forwarders, we have to accept that much of the process at this point is outside our control.

I'll continue to collect major updates into one of these posts every few weeks, and you may also find me posting mini-updates on the project comments page.

A bonus PDF of the 13 author/artist-created microsettings is coming next week

One of the add-ons I've been most excited about is the set of 13 postcards featuring microsettings created by a team of authors and artists using early alpha copies of Deck of Worlds. You've seen sneak peeks of some of the artwork in previous updates.

The physical printed postcards are included in the two DEVOUR reward tiers, and were available as an add-on. Those backers will receive their postcards along with the rest of their rewards, and the plan was to post the lore and flash fiction associated with each microsetting as a series of free blog posts on The Story Engine Deck website.

But as a fun treat for backers, I decided to go through with the unreached stretch goal of designing the 13 microsettings into a fully designed PDF lorebook. We'll still be updating the blog with stories that are publicly accessible, but I wanted to give backers early access to the resource in its fully designed glory.

The settings and lore came out looking and reading beautifully, and I'm excited for you to experience them!

Get ready for this arriving via BackerKit download next week!

A new deck playthrough preview just dropped from author Clare Marshall

Clare Marshall is a university friend who went on to start Faery Ink Press, write YA fantasy, sci fi, and post-apocalyptic books and release the fantasy serial podcast Wingtorn.

She also releases free tutorials and playthroughs on her YouTube channel showcasing how she uses different creative tools in her process. When she told me about she'd homebrewed The Story Engine Deck + Microscope into an improvised solo RPG system, I knew I wanted her to have one of the alpha copies of Deck of Worlds to blend into her creative experimentation.

Over the weekend she released a Deck of Worlds playthrough preview that touched on something I'm super passionate about.

Clare recorded the video while recovering from a major surgery and talked about taking time for open-ended creative play as a healing activity.

I've always been a big believer in the act of creative expression as a valid, self-nourishing activity that doesn't have to be tied to specific outcomes. Sometimes the point isn't to write a publishable novel or n Instagram-worthy piece of art—it's just about holding time to explore creative play and be open to spending time in our process. We can write or make the art with the same spirit of self-care and open curiosity we might bring to mindfulness exercises or yoga or brewing a cup of tea as a ritual of time spent in the company of ourselves.

Getting to watch Clare play with the deck was a powerful moment in a week that has otherwise been about very structured, directed problem-solving with logistics. Hearing her laugh at the absurd card combinations and get intrigued by the non-obvious cues and end up with a delightfully strange setting of horse-racing/bet-placing monks and a bridge that gives you blisters but heals your other hurts—it's wonderful! I so admire her creative intelligence bravery and energy. I hope she keeps finding time for experiments like these!

In whatever creative state this update finds you, I thought you might enjoy the preview, too!

Our project coordinator Zach has a card game Kickstarter ending in 48 hours

Zach was instrumental in helping me keep up with communications during the Kickstarter, helping design the deck and expansions, and art-directing the microsetting postcards (and illustrating one of them himself)!

He's been running a Kickstarter for his original card game, Wizlords in Space, which I got to playtest at Gen Con. It's a ton of fun! The theme and art are DELIGHTFUL and make it approachable to casual players, but the mechanics let you go super deep with your strategizing. 

Normally I'm very hesitant to promote Kickstarters while mine is experiencing delays, but Zach has contributed so much to Deck of Worlds and I would love to see his first game succeed.

At the time of writing, he's $75 short of his funding goal with 48 hours left. If any of you like fast, fun, tightly-themed battle-strategy games, please take a look and consider picking up a copy! I'd love if one of our backers tipped him over the funding finish line!

That's all for now

As always:

•  If you need to update your address, you can still do that yourself via BackerKit by following these instructions.
•  If you need to update your pledge contents, DM me here on Kickstarter or via the BackerKit help form. Backers in the US, UK, and EU can still update the items in their pledges.
•  If you want to access your Digital Downloads, follow these instructions.
•  If you have any trouble accessing your files, contact BackerKit for help.
•  If you have a general question about the campaign not covered by the FAQ, feel free to comment below or DM me here on Kickstarter.

Production check-in: all packing to be finished this month!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Aug 17, 2022 at 04:28:51 AM

Hi again everyone!

I wanted to provide a quick check-in: the factory and packing facility managed to keep fairly close to the revised timeline they provided in the most recent update. Originally they forecasted August 20 for everything to be ready, and it looks like it will be ready about a week later than that (near the end of August).

Right now, I don't think this will change the timelines we provided in the previous update. Fulfillment is still likely to start in October for some regions but November for most regions. I'll start to post updates with region-specific timelines as freight begins to depart for and/or arrive at each fulfillment hub.

All main decks, storage boxes, sleeves, and playmats are completely finished and packed. It's just the expansions and boosters that have proven time-consuming to pack in preset configurations. The good news is that doing this work now will save time during fulfillment by reducing the number of SKUs our fulfillment partners need to pick to fulfill each order. In other words, we'll be starting each region a little later but finishing considerably faster than we would otherwise.

Also, in case you missed it, I've edited and released the first video in the new demo series for Deck of Worlds! You can subscribe to our YouTube to get notifications as videos come out.

Thanks for standing by and understanding the shift in timelines discussed in the last update. It continues to look like the disruption will be fairly minimal.

As always, I'm available via DM or in the comments for help, and here is a round-up of the most common queries:

• If you need to update your address, you can still do that yourself via BackerKit by following these instructions.
• If you need to update your pledge contents, DM me here on Kickstarter or via the BackerKit help form. Backers in the US, UK, and EU can still update the items in their pledges.
• If you want to access your Digital Downloads, follow these instructions.
• If you have any trouble accessing your files, contact BackerKit for help.
• If you have a general question about the campaign not covered by the FAQ, feel free to comment below or DM me here on Kickstarter.

Thanks again!

Production update: possible 3-4 week delay
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 19, 2022 at 08:05:41 PM

Hi backers,

I wanted to share some production updates, including a delay the printer just notified me about that could shift back our fulfillment timeline by 3-4 weeks.

It's always frustrating to hit a speed bump this close to fulfillment. While it's still possible we'll be shipping before the end of October in some regions, my policy is to be upfront and transparent when I get news that could affect timelines, and to walk everyone through the likely scenarios.

In this case, the short summary is that fulfillment is likely to start in October for some regions but November for most regions. I'll be doing everything in my power to close the gap and mitigate the risks of delay.

Let's go through the details together.

The bad news

Originally our printer was anticipating completing production and packing of all decks, expansions, boosters, and extras before the end of the month. This would leave us with a little more than 2 months for freight before the start of October, and all of October to deal with shipping and absorb any minor delays that might come up. 

I've been emailing the printer at check-in points during the process to confirm that the timelines they gave me are being kept. Over the weekend, they told me that with the volume and complexity of all the expansions, boosters, and extras, they anticipate needing an additional 3-4 weeks, with most of that time reserved for packing the correct configurations of everything.

It's still feasible that we could begin shipping in October if every remaining fulfillment stages go off without a hitch, but I never like to assume that global logistics are going to be frictionless. I also know from experience that freight can get more congested as the holiday retail season approaches, which would increase the number of logistics factors that are outside my control.

The good news

The main deck is finished production and the boosters and expansions are well underway.

The printer is actively looking for ways to speed up the process and knows how invested I am in keeping to our schedule.

We've made our freight preparations and our fulfillment partners are standing by and know how eager I am to close any potential gaps in the timeline.

It's likely that some regions will still be able to fulfill on the original schedule. Freight is generally 4-8 weeks depending on the destination, and it helps to buffer an extra week or so on either end of that period in case something goes wrong.

With Asia and Australia/New Zealand, it's likely freight will be quick and decks will be shipping on time. For the US, the UK/EU, and Canada, each destination has its own freight arrangement and could fall anywhere in that 4-8 week range. Most international destinations will be shipped from either the US or UK and will share those hubs' freight timelines.

I've had freight arrive in as little as 4 weeks. If that happens in any of those regions, it could well end up fulfilling in October as originally scheduled, but I'd rather go in open-eyed to the likelihood of shipping in November instead.

EDIT: These estimates are for when regions might begin shipping. For regions with a significant volume of shipments (especially for the US), it may take a few weeks to get through all orders.

What happens next

I'll continue checking in with the printer on progress and letting you know how plans are actualizing.

For small updates that don't impact the overall timeline in significant ways, I like to consolidate piecemeal progress into more comprehensive updates every 3-6 weeks, but you have my assurance that if any major developments arise, I will let you know as soon as I have confirmation and clarity on what the new information means for our timeline.

I am so, so eager to start fulfilling and I'll be standing by to troubleshoot any issues, big or small, that crop up between now and then. 

I'm always available via DM for help, and here's a round-up of common queries:

•  If you need to update your address, you can still do that yourself via BackerKit by following these instructions.
•  If you need to update your pledge contents, DM me here on Kickstarter or via the BackerKit help form.
•  If you want to access your Digital Downloads, follow these instructions.
•  If you have any trouble accessing your files, contact BackerKit for help.
•  If you have a general question about the campaign not covered by the FAQ, feel free to comment below or DM me here on Kickstarter.

Thanks for your patience and support!

Quick mini-update: June 15 survey deadline for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Jun 09, 2022 at 03:54:35 AM

I'm checking back in a little sooner than expected with a short update for backers in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and our Asian shipping hub countries (China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Viet Nam, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and the Philippines).

If you aren't from one of these countries, no worries, you can skip this update!

If you are receiving physical rewards in one of these countries: your deadline to complete your survey or change your pledge is June 15 (next week!)

We are planning ahead to reduce freight times by providing our printer and freight forwarders with the allocations of cargo going to each temporary fulfillment hub well in advance of the freight process. We don't have to lock your addresses yet if you move within your country, but we do want to finalize the quantity of products/cargo starting with our hubs in Canada, Australia, and China.

If you live in one of these countries and complete your survey after June 15, we will make every effort to fulfill your pledge using your local hub if we have the excess stock to do so, but we may instead have to use the nearest hub with available stock. This means shipping may be slower, more expensive, and more likely to incur duty.

Also, if you have friends in one of these countries who are interested in Deck of Worlds, let them know that June 15 is the cutoff for preorders with specialized regional shipping for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. You can find the preorder store here!

That's all for now!

• If you need to update your address, you can still do that via your survey link. Details here, although some US backers may need to DM me for help changing the state in their shipping address.
• If you need to update your pledge contents, DM me here on Kickstarter.
• If you have a general question about the campaign not covered by the FAQ, feel free to comment below or DM me here on Kickstarter.

Thanks for your support!

All proofs reviewed and approved + starting production + more stretch goals delivered
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Jun 04, 2022 at 11:33:14 PM

Hi everyone!

I have some updates to share, so as always I'll start with the headlines and then get into the details!

• All print proofs have been approved (a few weeks later than expected, but still within our time buffer) and we are into production!
• VAT-friendly fulfillment to the EU is now happening via a registered EU VAT representative in the UK with no change to how backers in the EU will receive packages
• The Field Notes PDF stretch goal has been delivered via BackerKit
• A PDF of print-at-home storage dividers has been delivered via BackerKit
• The Experimental Playmodes PDF stretch goal is being expanded into a series of modules
• Round 2 of educator deck allocation has begun
• More demo videos have been recorded and are to be released later this month

Let's get into it!

All print proofs have been approved and we have moved into production!

Every last card, box, guidebook, insert, and scrap of paper has been reviewed in detail approved for printing, which is now underway.

Receiving the print proofs and resolving the issues took longer than I expected by a few weeks overall, but we are still on schedule for fulfillment starting in October (just with less emergency buffer than before).

The delays were mostly from two factors: communication from the printer was slower than the last time I worked with them, and we had to spend a couple of weeks redoing the layouts of the 15 expansion box print files and 24 booster box files (12 inside files, 12 outside files) as the printer discovered last-minute that the templates we were using could lead to the boxes being a little bit too tight around the cards. Finding this out four months after sending in the print files is obviously a little frustrating, but the printer and I have always been in full agreement that we would rather take the time to do things right rather than rushing something out the door.

Fortunately, the review process is finished and we're into physical production now!

As I mentioned above, I am still forecasting fulfillment starting in October. Standard freight estimates leave us with a couple of weeks of buffer to work with on my original timeline, and I'll be taking every opportunity I can get to plan ahead and minimize the chance of delays. My goal will be to have our freight forwarders standing by to arrange pickup as quickly as possible after production finishes, and to have our fulfillment partners ready to go as quickly as possible after freight lands at each distribution hub.

VAT-friendly fulfillment to the EU happening via a registered EU VAT representative in the UK with no change to backer experience

From the perspective of EU backers receiving rewards, absolutely nothing is changing. I still like to be up-front whenever I adapt my fulfillment plans on the logistics side so there are no surprises.

Instead of fulfilling EU parcels from within the EU using a new fulfillment partner, we will be using a registered EU VAT representative in the UK to send EU parcels with all VAT/duties prepaidand accounted for. All backers will receive their parcels exactly as they would had they been shipped from within the EU.

Since launching the project last year, my favourite UK fulfillment partner Spiral Galaxy Games has finished the paperwork to serve as an EU VAT representative with the capability to ship to the EU with a seamless customer experience through IOSS and DDP methods. I worked with them to fulfill my last project and they consistently went above and beyond to work through the obstacles presented by the freight crisis, Brexit deadline, changing EU VAT laws, and COVID. They were superb to work with, and I think we'll also be able to streamline logistics and timelines by consolidating freight and focusing on working with one partner whose onboarding process and protocols we have already tried and tested.

If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please get in touch via DM to let me know. In the incredibly unlikely event that any EU backer is charged for any VAT upon delivery, we will either get in touch with the carrier to resolve it for you or reimburse you for any charges assessed.

The Field Notes PDF stretch goal has been delivered via BackerKit

While waiting for proofs to come in, we continued to make progress on stretch goals!

The Field Notes PDF is now ready for download. It breaks down the process of creating a micro-setting in greater detail, with room for notes, brainstorms, maps, and a robust set of worldbuilding questions to help you understand how your cues work together, what your micro-setting looks like, and how it fits into the geography and lore of your world map in greater detail.

My project coordinator Zach led the process of designing this resource and after a few design iterations, I'm really thrilled with what we've ended up with!

A PDF of print-at-home storage dividers has been delivered via BackerKit

This was a request from backers that I thought could be a helpful resource! These are designed to be printed as additional dividers for the storage box add-on, or to be used as dividers in any homemade longbox set-up for storing 3" x 3" cards.

For best results, fold the sheet in half along the middle dotted line, then cut along the dotted lines on the edge of each folded rectangle. You'll end up with a double-sided divider you can glue shut or glue onto a piece of stiff cardstock.

The Experimental Playmodes PDF stretch goal is being expanded into a series of experimental play modules

I switched from brainstorming to writing early drafts of the Experimental Playmodes PDF last week, and I quickly realized that a lot of the material was richer and more engaging than the medley of quick writing and brainstorming exercises I was originally planning to release.

Instead of releasing everything as one big mixed PDF, I am going to be breaking some of the more interesting concepts into a series of 2-4-page PDFs each with a different focus. I think you're really going to enjoy these! If there are any playmodes that aren't fully-fleshed enough to stand on their own, I may collect those in a single medley PDF at the end.

So far, the "Cultural Exchange" and "Trade Relations" modules are ready to move into design and playtesting, and the "Pen Pal," "Pilgrimage," and "Planet-Prompter" modules have been rough-drafted and are in revision. I overshot the goal with my "Species and Ecosystems" modules and wrote way too much species material, so I'll be trimming some of that back and trying to create more brainstorming questions and prompts for connecting species into an ecosystem. Polishing these and finishing the lesson plans will likely be the next big development push.

Round 2 of educator deck allocation has begun

There were 19 educator deck applicants who didn't complete the BackerKit reward survey or respond to the confirmation email by the extended deadline. To keep allocations moving and make sure each deck finds a place in a classroom, those recipients have been moved to the waitlist and their decks were offered tp randomly selected schools, libraries and community groups,  that were already on the waitlist. 

As I mentioned in the last educator update, I tried my best to investigate bounceback emails and fix any typos that people entered into their email addresses, but if you applied for a free educator deck and did not receive an email from me with either confirmation of a deck allocation OR information about being waitlisted, please feel free to contact me via DM here on Kickstarter.

More demo videos have been recorded and are to be released over the coming months

While the unboxing video showcases an impromptu demo of the main deck and creative expansions, I did have a chance to record a series of videos starting with the creation of a simple micro-setting, then creating and connecting a complex micro-setting, and then layering in the Culture Keyholes Expansion and Lore Fragments Expansion. I also get deeper into the guidebook material and explain the different techniques for deploying the creative expansions. I intend to continue the series by recording a video demoing the Adventure Prompts Expansion in detail, and then one example of creating with a genre expansion, and one example of creating with a cartography expansion.

The material is now being edited and will be released via our YouTube channel over the coming months. I'll be prioritizing stretch goal delivery over editing these videos and recording new material as the unboxing video already covers a lot of bases, but I do eventually want to have a robust video library of demos for all demos.

That's all for now!

I'll continue to keep you updated as production moves forward. As always, I'm available for questions and troubleshooting but here's a quick directory to solving the most common backer issues:

•  If you need to update your address, you can still do that via your survey link. Details here, although some US backers may need to DM me for help changing the state in their shipping address.
•  If you need to update your pledge contents, DM me here on Kickstarter.
•  If you want to access your Digital Downloads, follow these instructions.
•  If you have any trouble accessing your files, contact BackerKit for help.
•  If you have a general question about the campaign not covered by the FAQ, feel free to comment below or DM me here on Kickstarter.

Thanks for your support and interest as we continue to progress toward fulfillment!