Choose Your Own Terror 7
almost 7 years ago – Thu, May 09, 2019 at 02:47:37 AM

You guys have been so patient. (Wow. Seriously patient. I posted the last one of these when?!) And you've asked so nicely. Some of you repeatedly. And often. So, at long last, your wish is finally my command. I have at length finished it: the next part of our little Choose Your Own Terror story.  

As with all of these posts, there is no real campaign news in this update. I can say that to my knowledge everything is still going well, and we are still on track. Having said that, this has not been corroborated by the rest of the team, so you're stuck with my feelings for right now. (And those are never wrong, right?) I'll write a full-fledged update for you all as soon as I have something to report from the rest of the team. Hopefully that will be before too long. Having said that, there will be no further campaign tidbits from here on in, so you can stop reading now if you're not interested in the story.

It has been a very long time since our last little outing, so, if you'd like to brush up on what's come before, you can find part one here, part two here, part three here, part four here, part five here, and part six here. If you just want a quick refresher, though, here you go: The story began when you were separated from your wife, Cynthia, and then heroically saved a woman named Diane from the clutches of a thrashing tentacle monster. You and she were both hurt in the struggle (Diane severely so), and so you and your friend, Thomas, started hauling Diane toward the nearest med bay. Along the way you were joined by your wife's acquaintance, Persephone. Thomas split off not long after that, and was promptly blown up when something awful happened in the security block where he went to get weapons. You got Diane to the med-bay, where the doctors began to patch her up. But then the med-bay was devoured, and when you and Persephone searched for Diane you found that she had changed into something that was now far from human. The two of you fled, the Diane thing in hot pursuit, until at last you encountered a security detail who gunned Diane down. The guards then detained the two of you, and Persephone created a distraction so that you could get away and find Cynthia. At the end Persephone was being beaten to a pulp by the guards, with Dr. William West and Station Commander Terrence Wade both on their way. As for which path we chose last time, it was almost unanimous that we leave Persephone to the whims of Dr. West and Commander Wade and head off for Cynthia. So that's what we're going to do.

Part Seven: Option B 

With one last pained look back at Persephone, you run. She made this sacrifice so that you could get to Cynthia. It would dishonor her to do anything less, even if every bone in your body is screaming at you to stay. You just have to believe that she’ll be okay.

The corridors blur around you as you race through them, ignoring anything and everyone that would try to steal your attention as you hurry past. Large swaths of the station seem to be in turmoil. Whether that’s because of the things you’ve lived through or something else, you can’t say. Regardless, you will deal with whatever else is happening after you’re sure Cynthia is safe. 

You make it at last to the research wing where Cynthia works. Bursting into the laboratory, you cry out, “Cynthia! Are you in here? Where are you?”

A cluster of huddled people all turn to look at you with wide eyes. You scan over their faces, hoping, fearing, until –

“You made it!” Cynthia cries, lunging to her feet and running to you. She wraps her arms around you, hugging you in a death grip. “I was so worried,” she whispers, kissing you. “What happened? What’s going on out there?”

“It’s – it’s horrible,” you murmur. “There are… things running rampant through Kadath. Thomas is dead. I… I don’t know what happened to Persephone.”

“You were with Persephone?” Cynthia asks. “And Thomas is…? Oh, I’m so sorry. What kind of things?”

“There’s no time,” you say, forcing yourself to pull away from your wife. “We need to go. Now. We need to get to the shuttle terminal and get out of this place, before it’s too late.”

“Are you sure it’s that bad?” Cynthia says, gripping your arm. Looking at her, you realize that, even though it feels like you’ve been running from these horrors for months, it’s really only been a matter of hours. It’s no wonder that she is so surprised at the current state of things.

“Yes, Honey,” you reply softly. “I am.”

Cynthia studies your face, then nods. “Okay,” she replies. “If you think we need to go, Babe, then we’ll go.”

“Can… can we go with you?” another woman says. “I don’t want to stay here and just wait for whatever’s coming.”

“Of course, Vickie,” Cynthia says. “Whoever wants to come with us can.” 

“I’m in,” says a man you recognize as Caleb. So do three others. 

Hurriedly those who are going with you gather their things and assemble before you. There’s you and Cynthia, Vickie, Bertrand, Caleb, Jennifer, and Nathan.

“If you have anything you can bring as weapons, grab them,” you say. Several retreat to grab knives, saws, or whatever they can find. Once they return, you say, “Okay, stick together and be ready. Anything could be out there.” 

Heading out the door again, the seven of you race toward the shuttle bay. 

“Attention all Kadath residents in Dome Two,” a voice announces over the speakers. “A temporary lockdown is currently in effect for your area. Please return to your quarters or workplace and remain there until the situation is resolved. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Do you think the shuttle to Dome One is still running?” Bertrand asks.

“I guess we’ll find out,” you reply. 

“Maybe we should go straight for the emergency evac submersible b –” Nathan stops talking midsentence with a wet slapping sound. You look back just in time to see him ripped in half by two long scythe-like appendages, attached to a creature your mind can’t quite comprehend.

The corridor erupts around you with tentacles and growths and vile whipping things, horrors birthing from bulging orifices that are growing out of the walls. Barbed tendrils impale Vickie before a circular mouth rips her head from her shoulders. Something else descends upon Bertrand, its talons disemboweling him as it plucks off his limbs.   

“RUN!” you scream, your hand clenching around Cynthia’s wrist. Those of you who are left do just that, a seething wave of impossible horrors surging at your heels.

You manage to pull ahead of the maddened mob, skidding around another corridor with Cynthia panting and screaming beside you. Looking back, you see that Caleb and Jennifer are still with you as well, sweat and blood soaking their clothing. You’re almost to the shuttle bay. Turning another corner, you see it up ahead. You run for it, run as fast as you can. You’re almost to the door. A guard steps in front of you, blocking your way. 

“The shuttle is closed until the lockdown is lifted,” he says. “Return to your rooms, please.”

“We have to get in there!” you cry. “There’s a swarm of those things right behind us!” 

“Then get in some place before they arrive,” he says. “This room’s off-limits.”

“Let us through!” Caleb yells, advancing toward the guard. 

The guard raises his gun. “Don’t make this a thing,” he says. “I will shoot you all if I have to.”

“Please!” Jennifer says. “We’ll die if you leave us out here!”

You hear the monsters coming from around the next bend. You know you have to make a choice, and you need to make it quickly. You could try to rush the guard, though he might shoot you all down before you can overpower him or lock the hatch, using up all of the time you have left. You could run for the emergency evac submersible bay that Nathan mentioned, and hope you can get there before those things reach you. Or you can try to evade the horde at your back by finding a place to hide. Your choices are all perilous, and you feel your own mortality breathing down your neck. But you have to do something. And you have to do it now.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

A. Try to force your way past the guard into the shuttle terminal. 

B. Run for the emergency evac submersible bay.

C. Find a place to hide from the coming onslaught. 

There will be one more part in our little Choose Your Own Terror saga. As such, your choice may very well determine if anyone lives, or if everyone dies. Choose wisely, because this is it, my friends.

Deep Madness Progress and Dawn of Madness Update!
almost 7 years ago – Tue, Apr 09, 2019 at 02:13:26 AM

Hey Deep Madness friend and fellow investigator!

We finally have some fun stuff to show you, so we thought there's no better time than the present to send it your way!

Our very own Cherry is visiting the manufacturer's factory as we speak, and has been taking some cool pictures for us all. Let's take a look as we talk about how things are progressing.

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PRODUCTION OF OG MINIS

The factory is producing the miniatures from all of the original DM content right now. Currently they are focused on the miniatures from the core game. As of right now, there are three production and assembly lines working full steam ahead on Deep Madness.

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PROGRESS ON THE NEW MINIS

We have seen all of the masters for the new miniatures (i.e. the Visages from Faces of the Sphere, the new epic monsters, and Lucas.) Some of them still need some adjustments to meet our standards. When we're satisfied and this process is finished, then we'll begin to produce some test samples. Here are some pictures of the early masters. Please keep in mind that these are NOT final: they are still being refined to bring out as much detail as possible on them. As such, these are all subject to change.

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PROGRESS ON THE PRINTED MATERIALS

We have submitted all of the printed materials to the manufacturer except for The Art of Chang Yuan and the translated materials. (And Shattered Seas, of course. That'll be shipping to you probably in December rather than August, as mentioned during the campaign.) We're finishing up editing and layout on Chang's art book, and the translation work is almost completed for everything. (We're only waiting for a very small bit more to arrive.) Once those two elements are completed, it'll pretty much just be waiting for everything to get made and shipped.

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A FRESH LOOK AT PROFUNDUM

We've also gotten our hands on an official test sample for Profundum! Let's take a look:

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Now, I know you are really interested in seeing Monstrum as well. (I know I am.) We're supposed to have that sample soon, and we'll show it to you as soon as we have it.

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WHAT ARE WE UP TO NOW?

So, some of you may be wondering what we're currently up to, since Deep Madness is starting to wind down on our end. Well, it is and it isn’t. Here's what's going on at Diemension:

1. We are finishing the reprint materials, as mentioned in this update. There's still a few odds and ends that need to be written, edited, or laid out, though very little.

2. I'm still plugging away at Shattered Seas.

3. We're also focusing a lot of our time on Dawn of Madness, as well as a couple of other projects we are hoping to launch in the not-too-distant future - including, but not limited to, our dark fantasy epic Celestial.

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DAWN OF MADNESS TEASER

Speaking of Dawn of Madness: I know that a lot of you are very interested in some news on what's going on with Dawn, and when you can expect the KS to drop. (Judging by the number of questions I've been fielding about it recently, in any case. ;) Currently, it's looking like Dawn will launch as early as August, rather than March (obviously) or April as previously mentioned. There are two reasons for this. The first one is because we wanted to make sure that THIS campaign was well and truly wrapped (at least on our end) and flowing smoothly before jumping on another one. The second reason is because we wanted to make sure that when you saw Dawn it was far enough along to really and truly blow your socks off. Because of the nature and structure of Dawn, though, it means that we need to have a pretty big chunk of it completed before that can happen, unlike many other games where you can give someone a sample scenario and call it good. So, if all goes according to plan, by the time you see DoM it will be in a much more mature state than, say, Deep Madness was the first time people saw it. (That's the plan, at least. =D )

What's that, you say? That barely counted as a teaser, you growl? Okay, fine. Here's a little bit more about Dawn of Madness.

DoM will be a massively story-driven game. Whereas in Deep Madness the characters were important, in DoM they truly are the game. The game is cooperative for 1-4 players, and each player's character has a story that is showcased in one game of the campaign. (Oh, yeah. Did we mention it's campaign driven? Well, now we did.) It's impossible to truly complete a character's story in one playthrough, but the character whose story is the most advanced will be the character whose final boss is brought in to terrorize the players for the epic finale. The choices that the players have made during the game (and the campaign) will further determine how the boss plays and the ending you get.

There are no repeated sculpts in DoM. EVERY MINIATURE WILL BE UNIQUE, strange, and pretty astoundingly creepy. Plus, there are four different versions of each hero, every one more twisted and bizarre than the last.

Last of all, we want to emphasize that DoM is going to be a true horror experience. More so, in fact, than just about any board game that we can think of off the top of our heads. Think the DM madness cards, except the whole game is that. Furthermore, if Deep Madness was our Dead Space/Bioshock/Event Horizon, then this is our Silent Hill/Evil Within/Alan Wake/In the Mouth of Madness. If we succeed, then it is going to mess with you in a way almost no board game has before, and you will constantly be left wondering what is real and what is nightmare.

In case you haven't noticed, we are extremely excited about Dawn of Madness. We think it's going to be a really unique adventure, and that it's going to immerse you in a way few board games have before. We hope that, after this little look at it, you're getting excited about it, too.

Well that's it for today, my friend! Have a great day, and we'll talk to you again soon!

Last Day of the Deep Madness Audio Kickstarter
about 7 years ago – Wed, Mar 13, 2019 at 08:59:21 PM

Hi all! I just wanted to let you know that there are less than 24 hours left to get the latest Kickstarter for the Deep Madness soundtrack audio! If you haven't checked it out yet, now's your last chance. Click here to take a look and listen to some of Alex's samples!

If you purchased this during their first campaign (or during the first Deep Madness pledge manager), then the only change to this is the addition of an FLAC lossless audio pledge level. However, if you haven't gotten your copy yet, then (as mentioned before) I highly recommend this audio. It's extremely atmospheric for your dark dives under the ocean. I wrote a lot of the Deep Madness story and cards while listening to this, so it is literally in Deep Madness's DNA. Anyway, once again, you can check it out here.  

That's it for today, but we'll be back with more very, very soon! Have a great day, guys!

Late Pledge Manager Closing and Progress Update
about 7 years ago – Sat, Mar 02, 2019 at 12:26:52 AM

Hi all! This will be a bit of a shorter update today, but there will be a lot of info in it considering its length. Let's get started!

PLEDGE MANAGER

The pledge manager has officially closed, including for those who requested a pledge manager extension. If you have any issues or need assistance with your order, let us know and we'll see what we can do to help you.

Now, even though orders are officially locked, you will still be able to change your address right up until we need to lock them down for shipping. We will lock those a couple of weeks before the shipping process begins. We will give you lots of notice before we have to lock those down, so you'll be able to get your address change in if necessary.

Thank you again so much for your participation in Deep Madness. We actually more than doubled the money raised during the campaign in the pledge manager. (Yep, you read that right. As of this writing we were over $1,710,000 total.) Wow! That wouldn't have happened without you, and we are overwhelmingly grateful to you for trusting in us and for being so enthusiastic for this game.  

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CURRENT PROGRESS

Speaking of which, you might be wondering what's been happening recently with your game. Well, here's a few highlights!

• We have submitted all of the new models to our manufacturer, and the tooling process has already begun. For those who aren't aware, tooling is where steel molds are made for every model's various pieces, tweaking them to make sure that as much detail as possible is retained by every figure. So that's some very good news!
• Except for a few cards and the translation materials, we have submitted all of the printed materials to our printer and are awaiting their samples. This process should be on-going over the next several weeks.
• Speaking of the translation work, it is in progress! We're hoping to have most of the translated materials back to us by mid- to late-March.
• Last of all, Shattered Seas is proceeding well. I'm still writing it, and will be for the foreseeable future. But it's making good progress.

Unfortunately we don't have any new pictures to show you currently, but we will update you as soon as we have some to show (or more juicy tidbits, whichever comes first.) Have a great day, and we'll talk to you again soon!

Deep Madness Audio Re-Release with New Lossless Edition
about 7 years ago – Wed, Feb 27, 2019 at 12:57:10 AM

Hi everyone!  

We're just a couple days away from the due date for our late PM friends, so if you haven't had a chance to get in there and complete your surveys then please do so as soon as possible. However, that is not the purpose of this new update today. We will also have some more fun stuff coming your way soon, but that is also not the point of this update. 

Today, I'd like to direct your attention to something that is very near and dear to my heart: Alex Benzinger over at Darkraven Games has just released a Kickstarter for a new lossless FLAC version of the Deep Madness official soundtrack! This new Platinum Edition (as well as the earlier released Gold Edition) can be had right now by clicking here!

So, for those wondering how good this is, I wrote a huge chunk of the Deep Madness story content while listening to this album. It is really and truly a part of Deep Madness. We've also featured audio from it in pretty much every video we've released for this campaign. The atmosphere is great, the sound effects are great, the theme song is great. I highly recommend it.

Now, some might wonder (I know because I've been asked) why this wasn't featured during the campaign. The reason is, we couldn't get a hold of Alex at the time and so weren't able to add it. We learned since then, though, that Alex was going through some health problems, which was why he was a little difficult to reach - health problems that have now (thankfully) been resolved. 

Having said all of that, if you don't have this soundtrack, I personally highly recommend you check it out. I'm a big fan, and I think you will be, too. Once again, you can find it here.

Thanks so much for being awesome, and have a great week! We'll talk with you again soon!