Nov/Dec update for Twisty Little Passages
about 6 years ago – Fri, Jan 03, 2020 at 01:26:25 AM

Happy new year!

Hope you had a great holiday season.  This update covers a good amount of activity that has been happening for TLP behind the scenes.

First, as anticipated following our last update, content for Twisty Little Passages is 100% complete.  Everything has come together very nicely.  The the world map (stretch goal) is beautiful and engaging, and the metapuzzle (another stretch goal) is complete.  For correctness and quality, we're performing multiple review passes over the complete set of material.  Some individuals have completed a comprehensive playthrough and review of the finished draft.  A couple others are close to completing their review and expect to be done in maybe a week.  We've found some issues along the way, including uncovering a few slightly improved and very clever puzzle solutions, and I'm glad we're catching these details now.  It's important to me that we deliver an error-free, high-quality product that you'll be satisfied with.

While this review process wraps up, I worked with a printer to produce a one-off physical test print of the book.  This process took a few weeks longer than I had anticipated due to back-end technical issues.  This prototype copy is not through PrintNinja, our mass-print manufacturer, but it provides a close approximation of the finished version.  The final version will be even better.  What's the initial verdict? I am feeling very satisfied with the look and feel!  It felt great to get a copy of TLP in my hands. The puzzle maps and art pieces look gorgeous on the printed page. I couldn't help grinning as I flipped through the pages of the entire book for the first time. The puzzle visuals feature a good amount of variety in setting and content. I've never seen a book or puzzle game quite like this. Not to jinx the process, but I think you'll like what you see, and I hope you enjoy playing through it just as much. We'll be making some final tweaks here and there to optimize the printed version of various art assets, but I think the puzzles are ready to deliver and I'm feeling good about where we are today. By my estimation, TLP will deliver on everything we said it would.

Finally, I've paid the printer's fee to Print Ninja for the mass print run and for bulk shipping to our selected logistics hubs for backer distribution.  I'm preparing a final manuscript to deliver to them.  Once they have it, I will first receive an electronic proof from them for review, to confirm everything is set up and laid out properly for printing. Next, Print Ninja will send me a physical test print of selected pages to confirm the print quality is exactly what we want.  It will take a few weeks to receive this physical proof from them.  Finally, after any last modifications following that final-final review, we'll pull the trigger on beginning mass-printing.  I hope to be able to declare by next month's update that we've reached that point.  From there, it will be a couple of months till copies of TLP are delivered to our distributors for final shipping to your door.  During production, I'll keep you updated on progress and any changes to the timeline.

That's it for now.  Wishing you a wonderful new year!

Mike

Twisty Little Passages - October Update
over 6 years ago – Tue, Nov 05, 2019 at 07:34:08 PM

Progress

Greetings! Steady progress on Twisty Little Passages has continued through October.  The Chapter 5 content has been completed and finalized.  I think it all turned out very well.  With the exception of a handful of art assets, the Chapter 6 content is also complete.  Completed drafts of the game ending and Hints & Solutions sections at the end of the book are in place.  In just a week or two, I expect content to be 100% complete!

I appreciate your patience as we prepare the final game material.  It's been a lot of fun putting TLP together as a team and we hope you enjoy it.

Next steps

Once content is 100% complete and we've performed a comprehensive internal review of the finished draft, we'll perform a one-off physical test print of the content for additional testing and review.  Upon completion of this review, we'll deliver the manuscript to Print Ninja, our manufacturer, for printing.  This part of the process will be primarily where we wait for the final product to be printed and delivered over the course of the next few months. We'll keep you up to date on the status of this process along the way.

Final BackerKit Survey Reminder

As scheduled, in preparation for printing, I'll be locking down BackerKit surveys at the end the month, which is less than four weeks away.  As you may recall, shipping addresses need to be locked by the time we go to printing so I can communicate and coordinate the logistics for the copies that are to be sent to each hub region with the manufacturer.  After that point, the final delivery and fulfillment process is largely out of my hands.

Speaking for a moment to our KS backers as a whole, about 95% of backers have completed their BackerKit survey and provided a shipping address.  If you've completed your survey, again, thank you!  If you backed a physical copy of TLP , expect to receive your copy by the campaign target delivery date of April 2020, and sooner with any luck.

A remaining 5% of backers have not yet completed their survey.  Speaking to this 5%, if you don't provide me a shipping address by the time surveys are locked at the end of the month, I won't have your delivery information and won't be able to deliver your KS reward to you.  This means your pledge, while much appreciated on our end in order to support production of Twisty Little Passages, ultimately can't be fulfilled by us. To be completely clear, if your survey is not complete at the end of the month, we won't be having a physical copy printed for you, because we have nowhere to send it.  This would be a shame, because I'm confident the finished product will be beautiful and a lot of fun to experience!

I've been sending out weekly reminder emails to this 5% to get these outstanding BackerKit surveys completed.  I'm unaware of anything more I can do to help all 100% of our physical backers receive their copy of TLP.  Please receive this update as the final call to have your delivery address locked in so you can receive your copy.  If you have any outstanding questions, please reach out asap, as these are the last weeks to have them resolved.

This last section may feel like a bit of a downer, but this is only the`case if your survey isn't completed by the end of the month.  Otherwise, you can rejoice in the knowledge that your reward will be printed soon!

Wishing you a great month!

Mike

Twisty Little Passages - September Update
over 6 years ago – Thu, Oct 03, 2019 at 12:26:14 AM

Progress

Hi! Hope things are going well for you and yours.  Another month has flown by, and our team is continuing to make smooth and steady progress on Twisty Little Passages.  About 3/4 of the book is finalized and it's looking great.  This portion is being proofread for continuity and correctness and is being playtested in its draft form.  We're getting near the end of the Chapter 5 content and starting in on Chapter 6, the final chapter.  I expect we will have a complete draft ready for internal review and testing next month!

Next Steps

Upon completion of our internal review, we will be sending our final draft to the printer for manufacturing and shipping to our logistics hub partners.  All together, I am told this phase is expected to take 2-3 months, during which time, I will mostly be waiting for copies to be printed and arrive at their respective hub destinations. Once copies reach our logistics partners, they will be shipped out directly to you.  Though there is only so much I can do to control the reliability and timing of shipping and postal services (and as you might guess, this is admittedly not all that much), I'll do my best to coordinate worldwide delivery so backers everywhere receive their copies at about the same time.

BackerKit Survey Reminder

According to schedule and in preparation for manufacturing and shipping, I'll be locking down BackerKit surveys at the end of November, which is less than two months away.  I'll need to have addresses locked down by the time we go to printing so I can communicate and coordinate the logistics for the copies that are to be sent to each hub region with the manufacturer.

Please fill out and submit your survey now if you haven't yet.  If you don't have your survey submitted by the lock date, I won't be able to deliver your reward to you.  Please remember that, even after survey submission, you can still update your shipping address at any time up till the point that I lock down shipping addresses.  You will be charged for any shipping and add-ons at the time I lock down addresses.  Meanwhile, if you have questions about the survey, please reach out to me or BackerKit immediately so we can work through them in a timely manner.  Thanks for your patience and attention!

Till next month!

Mike

August update for Twisty Little Passages
over 6 years ago – Thu, Sep 05, 2019 at 04:45:46 PM

Hi!

For those in the US, I hope you were able to enjoy a good holiday weekend.  This is the (belated) August update for Twisty Little Passages.  As they say, "no news is good news".  We are progressing well and on schedule, with chapter four being wrapped up and now we're starting in on chapter five.  There are six chapters in all, so this means that over two-thirds of the content in the book is finalized now.  It's turning out great and I'm excited by the expectation to have the production-ready material completed in the next couple months or so.

Well, I do have some bits of news I could share; it's mostly about what's going on "behind the curtain" -- the parts you don't normally see but have to happen to make a launch run smoothly.  I've registered ISBN codes for the book in its various formats so it can be put up for retail after publication and I'm getting all that data recorded.  I've formalized our relationship with our US logistics provider and have everything set up there for them to receive inventory as soon as it's printed and shipped.  I also have the same process getting set up for their CA, EU and AU hub counterparts.

I've received some new laminated page samples from PrintNinja that let me test more fully how well pages can be marked on and cleaned with various dry-erase markers.  For instance, I'm running an long-term test with different color markers that I began on August 12, observing how completely and easily the markings can be wiped off after leaving the color on the page for various lengths of time.

In the second photo, you can see that the markings for the first days and weeks have come off completely.  I'm pleased to validate dry-erase markers can be wiped off the page cleanly, even after leaving it sitting on the page for weeks.

With the brands of markers recommended in the project FAQ (e.g., ProMarx or Expo), I've been able to take a tissue or paper towel and completely rub off all markings without staining, etc, even after leaving it on for multiple days.  It does take some elbow grease after having left the marker on the page for more than a few days, but it still comes off cleanly.  You don't need to apply water or liquid (hence "dry-erase"), and I'd probably recommend against doing so, especially if you just drew on the page that same day.

I can't vouch for other brands of dry-erase pens, which might not work as cleanly as the ones I recommend. If you're procuring your own dry-erase markers, please either obtain one of these recommended brands or test yours out first in some inconspicuous spots once you receive the book to ensure they'll come off cleanly as you play.

(In case you're wondering, the finished TLP book isn't going to have a spiral binding like the one visible in the first picture; it will have a dual-wire binding, as previously described on the main KS campaign page.  This is just a sample book I received from PrintNinja with the same kind of paper and glossy lamination that I will expect the finished book to feature, which has been nice to test out personally.)

That's it for August.  I anticipate checking in again after September with the expectation of reporting that we're about done with chapter five and starting in on chapter six, the final chapter.

Have a great month!

Mike

Edit: P.S. Oh, I almost forgot to mention -- about 90% of backers have now completed their pledge manager survey and submitted their selections and shipping address.  If you've already submitted your survey, thank you!  You'll be getting charged soon for any shipping fee and add-ons.  Please remember you can still update your shipping address at any time up till the point that I lock down addresses to send out your reward copies.

If you haven't filled out the survey you received from BackerKit yet, you still have a couple months or so, but I'd recommend getting to it soon so you don't forget.  I won't be able to send you out your copy of the book if you don't fill out the survey, and you can always update your shipping address after initially submitting the survey.  Thanks!

BackerKit Pledge Manager Surveys for Twisty Little Passages being sent
over 6 years ago – Fri, Aug 02, 2019 at 03:06:57 AM

 Hi!

As you may recall, we are using Backerkit as a post-campaign pre-order & pledge management platform for Twisty Little Passages.

Thanks for your patience as we worked to get everything set up in this area.  BackerKit has now approved our pledge manager configuration and we are in the process of sending out backer survey emails over the next day or two.  Please check your email spam/junk folder if you haven't received an email from BackerKit by the weekend.

As a backer, BackerKit will have a record of your Kickstarter pledge level and amount.  Via your survey, you will be able to provide your shipping address (if applicable), order add-ons, get additional copies of the book (with additional copies having reduced shipping!) to continue to support indie puzzle design by, e.g., giving TLP as a gift.

If you ordered a "special credit" pledge level, you will be asked how you'd like your name featured in the credits.

If you pledged for more than one copy, this is the point where you need to select the number of copies you pledged for.

Feel free to go through the survey now or whenever you're ready.  At any time over the course of the next few months, while we complete production of the book, you will be able to change your shipping address in Backerkit up until the point we are getting ready ship.  At that point, I'll send out an update to inform you that we're ready to lock in your shipping address and provide a deadline for making shipping address updates.  At this deadline, you will no longer be able to make changes to your provided address.

Local Pickup Option

For those who wanted to pick up rewards directly from me in person, I've made that option available: just select "Local Pickup" as your destination country, and I'll know to keep your book(s) on hand, and you will need to pick it up directly from me.  I can't get completely free shipping for this option, as I'll need to have the books shipped to me from the distribution center, but it will get you a reduced shipping cost, as I can have these copies shipped to me in bulk.

If you have any questions along the way, like something in the survey doesn't make sense, please feel free to ask about it here and I'll respond asap.

Thanks again for being a part of this journey!

Best,

Mike