Twisted Fables Is Live!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Oct 16, 2020 at 12:48:04 AM

Hey guys! I don't have much Shattered Seas news today, except to say that the boats are due to arrive right around the first of November (a couple of days later for the US and a day or two earlier for the EU.) Also, the last I heard, the audiobooks were set to launch at the end of October. (And what I've heard on those has been great.) So hopefully you'll either be listening to your audiobook or reading your hardback soon! (Hopefully both!)

The main thing I wanted to tell you guys today, though, is that our new game, Twisted Fables, just launched! It's only $35 for the core game and $75 for the deluxe edition. You can check it out at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diemensiongames/twisted-fables/

Here's a preview video from Board Game Coffee if you want to check out the game a bit: 

And a review from King of Average:

That's all I have for you today! Have a great day, and we'll talk to you again soon!

Seas Shatter and Want to Play Twisted Fables?
over 3 years ago – Sun, Oct 04, 2020 at 01:52:21 AM

Hey guys! I have a little update for you today on Shattered Seas and an offer for Twisted Fables. Let's dive in!

Shattered Seas Is on the Water

The Shattered Seas books are officially on the water! We're sorry for the further delay in getting these out to you. While we shipped quite a few books, we had nowhere near the number of products that we have in the past, which ironically made them very difficult to ship. (More products equals more money equals higher priority for shipping partners.) But, having said that, we can officially confirm they are on their way to you. (Or me, if you opted for an autographed copy.)

Now, this does not include the translated versions of the book, which are still being worked on. This is only for the English version. We will have more news on the translations as we move forward, though I will say at least a couple of them are getting much closer.

Here are the names of the boats the books are on:

US: Vessel(OOCL POLAND/023E)

EU: KMTC NINGBO 2010S

Twisted Fables Partway Print-n-Play

Some of you are likely aware that our next game, Twisted Fables, will be launching on Kickstarter soon. (October 15th, to be exact. You can check out the game's preview page here.) But we had a question for you: do you want to try it for yourself?

Here's the deal. Our factory printed a bunch of cards for the game, and we discovered we weren't going to be able to use them for the final products to backers after the campaign. So, we came up with the idea of a Partway Print-n-Play: we'll ship the cards to interested folks for free, then they can print the rest of the game themselves. (There isn't much printing that's required - just a few character sheets and standees, plus the rulebook if you want a physical copy of it. You'll also need a couple of tokens for tracking health, power, etc.) We'll cover shipping for the cards, too. All we ask is that people post a couple of pictures of playing the game on their platform of choice. (BGG, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

We don't have a ton of these sets available, so be sure to let us know if you are interested in the cards by sending an email to [email protected]. (You can also cc me at [email protected].) Be sure to include your address in the email. These will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Then, once you've done that, here are the links for the rest:

• Twisted Fables Print-n-Play files: http://bit.ly/TFPartwayPnP
• Twisted Fables Rulebook:  http://bit.ly/TFRulebook 
• Twisted Fables KS Page: https://bit.ly/TwistedFablesPreview
• Facebook | BoardGameGeek 

Okay, I think that's it for this update! Have a great day, and I hope you're doing well. Talk to you again soon!

Shattered Seas Addresses and eBook (Important!)
almost 4 years ago – Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 11:25:46 PM

Hi friends! We've got another update for you today, starting with the address lockdown date for Shattered Seas! 

We will be locking down addresses for the English edition of the book on August 15th. If you need to change your address, please do so before then by emailing us at [email protected]! Unfortunately, as mentioned in the last update, it's not possible to change the address yourself, but we are more than happy to do it for you. Just send us an email and we'll get it sorted out. 

There will be a longer wait for the translated versions than for the English one, so, if you pledged for one of those, then you have a little while longer to get in your address changes. We'll let you know when the cutoff for those will be.

So, one thing that a few of you have asked me repeatedly is if there will be an option to get an autographed copy. Well, I talked with the team about it, and the answer is yes! I don't expect there are many of you, but, for those who are interested (here's looking at you, Himle and Kevin), send an email both to [email protected] and to me at [email protected], and let us know that you want an autographed copy. What will then happen is your book will be shipped to me, I'll sign it, and then ship it from my house to yours once that's done. Just be aware, there may be an additional shipping cost to cover shipping to you once I send it your way (we'll figure all that out as we go, but it should hopefully be nominal), and it means you would get the book a little bit after everyone else. (For orders outside the US, this may also mean there are additional duties/fees/taxes/etc. on your end.) We can't do this for too many copies (probably a maximum of 100-200), but I don't think too many people will really care about doing this in any case. I just wanted to offer it for those who really want it.

Speaking of the physical book, our Chinese office got a proof of it this week. Here it is!

That's all there is about the physical book. But what about the eBook? Well, we have begun distributing the eBooks to all backers who got a core game through either the first or second campaign! This basically means that, if you ordered a copy of the game in either campaign, you'll get this eBook for free. The eBook will come in three different versions: PDF, epub, and mobi (for Kindle.) Check your emails or log into your Backerkit account to find yours! (They will likely come in three separate emails, as for some reason Backerkit won't let me lump them together.) I've tested them on a number of devices, but let me know if you run into any problems since I have found eBooks to be persnickety. 

Oh! One other thing! I feel like I should mention a spoiler warning regarding the start of the book. The Intro is necessary for those who aren't familiar with the game, but it also contains what some might consider to be a spoiler for Deep Madness's ending (specifically the scenario in the Uncounted Horrors expansion.) Some would say it's a major spoiler, but I would probably label it a minor one since it's not really how the game ends. In any case, I wanted to mention it so that I could safely say you were warned. ;) 

Lastly, the audiobook is in fact a happening thing! As mentioned in our last update, there will be two versions of this audiobook: one that's a straight narration of the book, and one that's a full-blown audio drama with a cast and sound effects and other awesome stuff! But here's the cool part I didn't really tell you last time: everyone who purchased a core copy of the game through this Kickstarter or the last will get both versions for free! We'll have more info coming out on this as it gets closer to release, but in the meantime check out our partner, Soundbooth Theater, at  http://www.soundbooththeater.com/! They have a bunch of expertly narrated fantasy and game-related books (and audio dramas) available, and they're genuinely good people. (Plus, their founder, Jeff's brother is a backer! Thanks for setting this up, William!) So give them a listen. Speaking of which, if you'd like to listen a little bit right now, here's a sample they did that was taken from the Deep Madness art book. This is what sold us on them doing the Shattered Seas audiobook in the first place. Enjoy! 

Okay, that's it for this update! Have a great week, and we'll talk with you again soon!

Shattered Seas Update and Replacements
almost 4 years ago – Thu, Jul 02, 2020 at 02:08:22 AM

Hey friends! We wanted to drop you another update regarding Shattered Seas' progress. First, though, I know some of you have been waiting for quite a while for replacements. It sounds like many of the packages held up in China due to the pandemic are now on their way. I've heard a lot of you say you've already gotten yours, but, in case you haven't, I just wanted to let you know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

(Should you have any questions, you can as always email us at [email protected]. Cherry is currently on maternity leave, so there may be a slight wait, but we will get back to you. You can also email me at [email protected], though I can't specifically handle replacement requests or tell you where stuff is located.)

But now, Shattered Seas! We've finalized the interior, given the book a good edit, and finished the cover. Everything has been sent over to the printer, and they are in the process of whipping up a ton of books! Previously I had mentioned the word count might go up a little bit, and it did. The final word count came to 73,633. (Many thanks to Russell Groves, by the way, who had some invaluable feedback that made the book significantly better! This also makes him your go-to source for spoilers.) Also, for those wondering about the scenario, it will be packaged with the book. It's called Shattered Worlds and, if you've ever had a hankering to sail through the air on a room tile, this will be your chance!

If you need to edit your shipping address, you're going to need to send us an email at [email protected]. Unfortunately, you can't do it yourself inside of Backerkit, but we'll be able to help you out on our end. We'll also be sure to let you know when we're getting ready to ship the books so you'll have one more chance to send us your changed shipping address.

Regarding translated books, there will be an additional wait of approximately two months. We're sorry about that, but the book is being translated right now, and thus we weren't able to print it at the same time as the English books.

As soon as the eBook is finished, we will send it out to backers. For obvious reasons, our primary focus has been on the print book, but now that it's out of the way, we should have the eBook done before too much longer.

Next, I hinted at some big things in store for the audiobook in the last update. I hesitate to say too much even yet, as the contract isn't quite signed, and so it's possible something could potentially still change. But I'll give a little spoiler: should everything go according to plan, there will be not one version of the audiobook, but two. One will be a standard word-for-word reading of the book. And the other will be a full-cast audio drama production, complete with sound effects and immersive elements. (If you've never heard something like this before, do yourself a favor and go check out Alien: Out of the Shadows on Audible.) As I said, this still isn't 100% set in stone, but it's 90% there. Hopefully, everything will continue according to plan, and I'll be able to go into more detail shortly.

Well, I think that's it for this update. We really appreciate your patience as we finish up the novel (in its various forms) and get it out to you. Hopefully, it's something you'll think was worth the wait. =)

We'll talk to you again soon! Have a great week, stay safe, and stay healthy! Bye for now!

Shattered Seas Update!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 17, 2020 at 01:16:50 AM

Hey guys! Sorry for the radio silence for a little bit. Several of you have been wondering what was going on with the novel Shattered Seas. Well, today I just wanted to send you a quick update discussing that very thing.

As of yesterday, I have finished writing it!

Now, that doesn't mean the book is on its way to you quite yet. I'm currently doing a thorough edit of it, and we are in the process of laying it out for print. But good progress is being made, and we hope to have it off to the printers by the end of May or early June.  We also have our translators lined out, so translations will be getting underway soon. 

But what took so long? Well, for much of last year I wasn't able to really focus on the book. There were just too many other things going on. But starting in the end of December I was really able to hunker down and get it finished. Still, from January to May is quite a chunk of time, especially for a book that's only supposed to be 35,000 words. Well, you're not getting a book that's 35,000 words. Before the edit (which I expect to actually add a bit to the word count, as there's a few things I intend to put in there) the total word count comes to 70,526 words. (Now, a good edit should actually cut out around 10% of the book, but I edit pretty judiciously and ruthlessly even as I write, so there's already plenty of fluff or extraneous stuff on the cutting room floor. That's why I'm fairly confident the word count will actually go up after the additions rather than down from the cuts.) All that to say, you're getting a book that's over twice the length that you pledged for!  

I'm not going to lie, the team and I are pretty darn excited for you to get this, guys. It fleshes out a lot of things in the Deep Madness world, fills in some blanks, and takes Deep Madness's future in a potentially unexpected direction. (Yes, even for me. It was surprising me right up until the last few pages. LOL!) I don't want to give any spoilers here, but I will say this: I think that, at the very least, it will likely subvert a lot of your expectations. And I don't think you'll be bored reading it, either. 

Okay, I promised you a quick update, and I meant it. As such, I'll only mention one other thing here: something very cool is happening with the audio book, which all of you who pledged for a copy of the core game (in this campaign or the first) will be getting. Once again, I can't say too much here, but it could potentially be a much more... engaging experience than one might expect from an audio book? (Not gameplay related, but pretty cool nonetheless.) 

One other thing. LOL. For those of you wondering about the future of Deep Madness and what it may contain, I will say there is some really, REALLY cool stuff that the team is currently working on. (And it may end up tying in with Shattered Seas, too, so it's still on-topic for this update.) Once again, I can't say too much yet. But what I've heard certainly has me excited, and I wanted to pass that along.

All right, that's it for this update! I'll talk with you again soon. Have a great weekend, and I hope you all are doing well with all of the craziness going on in the world right now - as well as enjoying your copy of Deep Madness! Bye for now!