Summer Update: Manuscript moves to editing, Layout begins
over 2 years ago
– Sat, Aug 13, 2022 at 06:51:25 PM
Hello backers! Thank you for your patience as The Door Locks Behind inches ever closer to release!
Manuscript Complete
A major milestone in the development timeline has been reached; playtesting of the game's rules and procedures is complete and the manuscript is moving into the first phase of editing. This first round will focus on making sure that the flow of the text makes sense as a whole and that each sentence reads as intended.
Still left on the development side: Sample Region, Sample Dungeon, Sample Campaign World, and filling out the d100 names table. I have a wealth of regions and dungeons leftover from playtesting to choose from, it's just a matter of choosing one of each and polishing them up. The names will just take a bit of time and a lot of coffee.
Layout Begins
Cenza has begun the layout of the final zine. I'll let her take over:
Howdy everyone! here's a little sneak peek at what the process looks like for laying out this book. Ill be taking the next couple months working closely with Ben and Deldon to work on layout, inside illustrations, and editing to make this zine have the look and feel we're striving for. Stay tuned for more updates- we're almost there! - Cenza
(Note: the text here is unedited and liable to change)
Summer Design Challenge
The past couple of months I've been participating in The Gygax '75 Challenge by Ray Otus as part of the playtesting of the region and dungeon generation procedures. These challenges were organized on the NSR Discord server and hosted on The Cauldron Discourse forum. The format is a little different than the procedures in TDLBY, so it was fun to try and mold what I've made into a different structure designed for OD&D. You can follow the links here and scroll down to find my comments.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Release Schedule
A plaintext version of The Door Locks Behind You is still on track for an early September release. The file should be accessible for screen readers. The entirety of the game's text will be contained and, minus the art and final layout, the document will be feature complete. The rest of the zine will take another few months to finish layout and spot art, as well as format for full digital release and printing. Once we know more about how long this process will take, we'll give an update on our physical release timeline.
Thank you all so much for your patience, the extra time in the oven has absolutely helped TDLBY grow into a much stronger, more polished product. I'm excited by what we have finished so far, and can't wait to see the final product!
- deldon
Monsters & Combat Preview
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 06:28:39 PM
Hello backers! I've added the next design preview to the Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jyAZmJEqEQ0-ofKcyf8l-2WtjHbqn6FO?usp=sharing
This preview started with just an update to the Monsters chapter, and then I updated the combat procedures to match, and then I had to include the new core resolution mechanic to make sense of it all. The changelog documents the differences from the August 2021 playtest document.
The next update will be Character Creation, updated for the new core resolution mechanic.
As before, this is a rough draft, and will change as the rest of the game is developed.
The best place to ask questions about these previews is the TDLBY development discord, open to all backers. Follow this link if you're not already in there. https://discord.gg/Revqe6Y7
Also, Cenza has finished the other postcard!
Again, thanks for your patience!
January Dev Update, Release Update, ZiMo, and Future plans!
almost 3 years ago
– Sat, Mar 19, 2022 at 12:21:40 AM
In this update: Playtesting, Licensing, Release Updates, ZiMo, and Future Plans!
This is a long one, I've done my best to make the headlines easy to skim.
Playtests
The first playtest closed a while ago, and I have recently taken the files down. These files (available to backers late last year) could be thought of as an "alpha version" and no longer reflect the working document in a way that constructive feedback can be derived (put another way, I've gotten all the feedback I need for that version). Be on the lookout for more piecemeal playtesting content coming out in the next few months. These updates will be pushed to a backer-only Drive folder, with an announcement here when they go live.
The next playtest will contain either clearer procedures for dungeon creation OR new, more expanded procedures for monster creation. The rough draft version of this content will go live Friday, January 28th.
Licensing
On release, The Door Locks Behind You will have a System Reference Document (SRD) released under CC-BY 4.0. This means that anyone can create an original work and distribute it for free or for profit so long as they give proper accreditation to the source material (the TDLBY SRD).
The Door Locks Behind You will be copyrighted deldon, all of the individual images will be copyrighted of their respective artists, and the soundtrack will be copyrighted Jesse Myers Music. The SRD will contain the bulk of the game's text (everything needed to play including a character sheet) presented in a format optimized for web and mobile display. The PDF version of The Door Locks Behind You will still include exclusive content not found in the SRD, namely any content that is immediately gameable such as dungeons, the overworld, and an as-yet unannounced feature.
For backers who supported at the digital tier, you are still getting exclusive content in the form of ready- to-print item cards, character sheets, and the fully illustrated zine. Please consider the full digital package as a thank you for getting us to a point that we can even begin to discuss SRD-level distribution.
Release Update
In the December 1st Update I outlined this tentative timeline on the remainder of the project:
- Wrap up development & playtesting
- Submit manuscript for editing
- Layout
- Backer Surveys go out (time to submit your address for shipping and email address for digital rewards). Pledge Manager goes live.
- Order print proofs, adjust as needed
- Print layout approved. Pledge Manager and Surveys close.
- Order print run. Pdfs published, game is live. (February 26th)
- Pack + Ship zines.
- Perform a sacrificial ritual to the Postal Gods to ensure prompt and safe delivery via USPS.
This was updated from the original release schedule due to the need to prioritize some family affairs, requiring me to step back for a few months. While I'm still in the midst of those affairs, I have been able to carve out more time to work on TDLBY.
Currently, I am still at the first step, wrapping up development & playtesting on TDLBY. This isn't exciting news (for me or I'm sure for you) but it is where we are. Again, I'd like to iterate that we are a very small team of first time TTRPG creators, and while Ben and Cenza have a wealth of professional experience in their disciplines on this project this is the first time that I have brought a game through to a professional level of polish. I am confident that the game we are publishing will be a good, functional game, but I'm not willing to sacrifice that in order to meet an arbitrary deadline that I, myself, have set.
As such, due to the aforementioned circumstances, I do not have a solidified release date. This game is something I'm excited to see to completion (so I can finally play it!), and while I'm still committed to finishing it, there are things in life that are more important to attend to.
ZiMo!
This project would not exist without Kickstarter's annual ZineQuest promotion. This year, with very short notice, Kickstarter has announced (on Twitter, via the Director of Games, and not an official channel) that ZineQuest4 will be happening concurrently with GenCon in August. This decision, coupled with other recent decisions made by the Kickstarter Board of Directors, has encouraged the Indie TTRPG community to make a concentrated effort to divest from Kickstarter. One of the initiatives driving this is Zine Month, abbreviated ZiMo with the hashtag #ZiMo.
I highly encourage anyone who was interested in this project to check out other creators putting out TTRPG content in February of this year by finding the projects on the official ZiMo website! There you can also find a link to the very active Discord server, where many creators are talking about and advertising their games. Going forward, these creators will be launching their crowdfunding campaigns on other websites, and this year many are already doing so. The ZiMo website is a hub for advertising all of these projects regardless of where they are running their crowdfunding campaign, and the best place to find exciting new content coming from the Indie TTRPG community.
The Future of Crowdfunding
After the recent announcements by Kickstarter — coupled with a long, extant list of grievances — I have made the decision to move away from Kickstarter for future crowdfunding projects. This isn't so much a reaction to KS's announcement about moving to a blockchain based protocol as much as it is a boiling point for continuing to invest in a platform that routinely ignores independent and marginalized creators. Since I am not (yet) dependent on my game projects for income, I have the privilege to choose where I fund my projects, and am making the choice to fund outside of the Kickstarter platform. As independent creators, it is important to build community outside of individual platforms in order to break down barriers that keep the creators from their audience, and disrupt the systems that would seek to make community a commodity. I hope that many other creators with the privilege to do so will help in this endeavor to break down the monopoly that Kickstarter is creating on the indie tabletop market.
Future Communications
I apologize if it seems that I am difficult to contact.
Currently, the best way to contact me is to email me at [email protected] for professional inquiries, or to message me directly on Discord @deldon#1306 for any other kinds of questions (or just to chat!).
Thanks again for your patience. The Door Locks Behind You has been going through some exciting changes the last month, albeit ones that are difficult to display. The next update will contain the new playtest content and will go up this Friday January 28th. I will continue to update the project's timeline as we move closer to release. I hope I join you in looking forward to TDLBY hitting the table!
- deldon
Dungeon Design Preview
almost 3 years ago
– Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 12:46:29 PM
Hello backers! Attached you'll find a link to the folder which will contain all future previews of The Door Locks Behind You. Currently the only document in there is a sample of Dungeon Design Procedures.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jyAZmJEqEQ0-ofKcyf8l-2WtjHbqn6FO?usp=sharing
This folder will populate as more previews are put out during development. These documents are rough drafts and will be changed as needed.
The best place to ask questions about these previews is the TDLBY development discord, open to all backers. Follow this link if you're not already in there. https://discord.gg/Revqe6Y7
These new procedures go into much further detail than the last edition, owing to the fact that dungeon creation has now been given nearly 3x the space in the final zine.
I'll post another update the next time I add a new document to the folder.
Thanks for your patience.
deldon
