Mid-Summer Status Report
over 1 year ago – Fri, Aug 05, 2022 at 08:26:36 PM

Hi friends!

I know I've owed you another update for a couple of weeks now. I've been waiting until certain issues worked themselves out, so I could report on the results. 

First, please know that there's progress on every front. I had a conversation with Steve Sherrin, the head of the graphics department at Shuffled Ink yesterday. 

•  All of the card files, product packaging, instructions, and dividers have all been 100% approved, and are all in motion. We are entering the phase when we'll have printed proofs and physical prototypes to show, and I'll be sharing them with you as soon as they arrive. 
• Steve and I made some design changes to the configuration of the Hold Everything Box, and he should have an updated digital render for me to see next week. 
• I am currently doing one of the very last things that needs doing on my end, and that's writing the foreword to the Short Story Anthology, so it can be inserted into the design files for the book (all the art and stories for it are complete).

Coin Hiccup.

Our coin maufacturer jumped the gun a bit, and ran the complete order before it was fully approved. The good news is, the sculpts were perfect. The less good news is, they didn't have the totals of the different finishes for each coin, and did all the coins in Antiqued Silver. Luckily, they've been nothing but cooperative about remedying the situation. I've shipped them back all the coins, and they're running the correct amount of Gold and Copper to go along with the Silver ones they've already done. They'll ship the corrected, complete order directly to Shuffled Ink in Orlando for fulfillment.

There was a previous round of coin prototypes that were mostly great, but had some issues. The bevel (the depth of the sculpt) on all of them was too deep, and each one was made a little too thick. The Lovecraftian coin also needed some design updates.  All of that has since been corrected, and the sculpts are now 100% approved.

Here is a look at the finished coins (coins shown in Gold or Copper are from the first round of proofs.)

Why is this taking so long?

I understand this is taking longer that expected. And, I see impatience and frustration in some of your comments. As I've tried to assure you recently, there is absolutely NO CHANCE of this project not getting completed. So much work has already gone into every aspect of this, and now, Reckless Deck's parent company, HeroMaker Studios, is very eager to see these decks available to the public as well. But, I thought I'd break down some of the obstacles that have slowed our progress. Some of them you already know of, and some you don't.

COVID. This is the most obvious one. The changes to the global supply chain definitely  cost us time - though I'm very happy with the adjustments we made, and that now we're printing in the US.

Medical Issues. This is one you don't know about, because frankly, it was a personal matter that wasn't my own, and I didn't feel comfortable sharing it. But I think you deserve to know about a delay, even if it's in the briefest terms. Our designer has been dealing with a serious, ongoing family medical situation that has required her time and attention. Things are more stable for her family now, but there were times when her family had to come first.

So. Many. Tiny. Details. On my first Reckless Deck Kickstarter, there were some design details I didn't give my complete attention to, and questions I didn't ask. As a result, there were some things about the final product I wasn't completely happy with. I've gotten much better at this since then, and I know now how much specificity and attention to detail is required when talking to artists, printers, and designers about their work. I won't settle for a sub par product, and I won't overlook errors and flaws becasue they're annoying and time consuming to deal with. I'm thrilled with everyone's work on this project - but sometimes, revisions happen. 

Shuffled Ink moved facilities. Something I didn't foresee was that our printer had a scheduled move to a larger facility this summer. That's happeining this weekend.

My new job. You all know this is not my primary gig. This past winter, I got a major upgrade in my career. I now have a much more creative job, with a lot more responsibility. I think I've got the balance worked out, but the transition wasn't easy.

Hubris. If I could do it all over again, I'd break this large project into smaller bites. But that ship has long since sailed, and all I can do now is to make sure all the design work is 100%, and to guide our printer and coin producer as they manufacture the best possible version of our product.

Let's Do Something Cool.

While we wait for the proofs and prototypes, how about we have some fun? Who would like to do a CHARACTER CREATING WORKSHOP with me using the PSYCHE cards? We'll do a Zoom meeting that will be a  virtual variation on the workshop I did at IX in Reading, PA in the fall. For this first one, I'll take the first FOUR people to say in the comments they want to workshop a character with me. Then, I'll send those people a handful of prompts to make their card selections from. We'll set an evening in the next week and a half or so, and rock out some amazing characters and cool stories. Anyone who doesnt get a spot will be welcome to join us and watch. If you all like it, we'll do another one. OK, claim your spot!

Cheers all,

Clark

How to get the new SUPERHERO Mini Companion (or not)
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Jun 21, 2022 at 11:21:21 PM

Hi friends!

Logistics for the new SUPERHEROES Mini Deck

I've had the chance to sync with my rep at Backerkit, about how to handle the details of adding (or subtracting) the SUPERHEROES Mini Companion that is replacing the now-defunct TRIBAL & NOMADIC deck. (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, please go back and read the last Project Update before this one.) We feel like you all fall into one of these four categories:

• You backed either the Passport Tier or the Cards Only Tier, in which case, the SUPERHEROES deck simply takes the place of the TRIBAL & NOMADIC deck, and you don't need to do anything.
• You added on TRIBAL & NOMADIC, but you're happy to get SUPERHEROES instead - so you also don't need to do anything. SUPERHEROES will replace TRIBAL & NOMADIC automatically.
• You added on TRIBAL & NOMADIC, and you're not interested in SUPERHEROES. If you contact Backer Support at Backerkit via email, they are aware of the situation, and will help you select any of the other 60 card Mini Companions instead. 
• You didn't order TRIBAL & NOMADIC, but you'd like to add on SUPERHEROES. YES, this can definitely happen - but my Backerkit rep said let's start by getting an idea of how many people will want to add it. If you think you want it, just leave a quick note saying so in the comments below.

Let's take a  closer look at the new Deck, starting with the cover:

 And here's a look at the kind of card content it contains:

 Need to Update Your Address?

This is a question I get A LOT, and I'll admit that I'm behind on addressing individual backer concerns. However, I haven't locked addresses yet! So if you've moved and you need to update your address, you can still just do it yourself. If you don't still have the link to get back to your individual backer profile, you can recover it here:

https://rdpsyche.backerkit.com/

Next update, I hope to have the final coin proofs available for you to see. Everything is still moving forward, and I'll let you know of every development as it happens.

Cheers Gang,

Clark

Fulfillment Estimate and Content Info
almost 2 years ago – Fri, May 20, 2022 at 11:33:30 PM

Hi All,

This one’s gonna be more words than images, because I have more info for you this time than I do art.

Fulfillment

This comes first because I’m sure it’s the thing you’re all most focused on. I can finally let you know where we stand with fulfillment: it looks like we are on schedule to transition from production to fulfillment in EARLY AUGUST. Between now and then, we’re printing. It will take that long to produce all the various card sets, dividers, anthologies, and boxes. Remember, fulfillment is being handled directly by our printer, Shuffled Ink - so we’ll be able to transition from production to fulfillment immediately, without the inventory having to travel to a third party first. Also, remember that Shuffled is a domestic company, located in Orlando, FL  so once we start fulfillment, all the US orders should go pretty quickly. I imagine Canada fulfillment will not be far behind. Shuffled will also create bulk freight orders to go to our fulfillment partners both in Australia, and in Ireland for the EU and rest of the world. How long that will take will depend upon what the freight logistics are at that time.

The Last 2 Mini Companions

In the last update, I indicated I had some decisions to make about the last remaining 60 card companions - VIKINGS and TRIBAL & NOMADIC. Basically, the TRIBAL & NOMADIC deck has proven to be a real problem. I had wanted it to be full of prompts based on real practices and belief systems from actual past and present tribal cultures, and to credit those sources on the card where applicable. I also wanted to include input from individuals with connections to tribal and cultural centers. I reached out to universities, community colleges, tribal owned casinos, and tribal offices, and unfortunately, I wan’t able get anyone at any of these resources sufficiently invested in the project (even though I was offering to pay them for their time). And though several of the anthology authors jumped in and helped create some great content, I was pretty uneasy about going forward without any participation from actual tribal or indigenous-affiliated individuals. My continued reading about the topic was double-and-triple compounding that, as I ran across many instances of Native Americans and people of color writing that it is generally preferred that people not of their heritage not go f**cking around with their history and traditions in fiction. Even using the very WORD “tribal” is apparently quite loaded, and conveys some not great connotations.

Meanwhile, I was reviewing the actual card content for both VIKINGS and TRIBAL & NOMADIC decks. And what I was finding was a LOT of crossover, in both themes and story points. Both were clannish, pre-industrial society-based, only one was about Norse Vikings specifically, and the other one was…not-Vikings. But the kinds of circumstances the characters from both sets could potentially face were very, very similar. This is EXACTLY the kind of redundancy that led me to combining HORROR and URBAN FANTASY into one set, and re-allocating the content for the originally planned PIRATES mini to both the main STEAMPUNK and the SCI FI companion decks.

The takeaways: after months of trying to make it work, I found that

• the TRIBAL & NOMADIC deck was exactly the kind of cultural appropriation bear trap I feared it might be, and also,
• that I already had a way less loaded and polarizing deck that was essentially already serving that purpose.

Why spend the time and money printing 2 separate but similar decks that are “just okay” when I could combine the very best of both of them, and make one deck that’s really great? So that’s what I’m doing. VIKINGS has now become VIKINGS & CLANS, which will be about half Viking-specific content, with the other being prompts for a non-specific, pre-industrial kind of society that could still work for Vikings, but also could be for some other kind of clan or tribe.

Which leaves us with a mini deck slot to fill in the lineup. For me the choice was immediate and obvious - the one main stop on the Sci Fi/Fantasy genre train that I’ve always felt got short shrift in our lineup: SUPERHEROES. This will be a 60 card mini about:

• Getting & managing superpowers
• Deciding where they are on the spectrum of good & evil
• Relationships and team ups with other heroes or villains
• Balancing risk and celebrity, and their hero responsibilities with their personal life

After months of hammering away at the TRIBAL mini deck and feeling like it wasn’t coming together, once I made this decision, both the VIKINGS & CLANS and the SUPERHEROES decks took shape and came together beautifully in just a couple of days. I’m feeling very strongly that this is the right move. The new SUPERHEROES content definitely introduces new kinds of possibilities to the entire set, and dives into a HUGE, mythic-level storytelling idea - having special powers, and being more powerful or capable than anyone else - in a way that I was only able to scratch the surface of in the SCI FI companion. I know it’s late in the game to make a change like this, but I’ll do whatever is necessary to make the set as amazing as it can be.

And finally, here’s some actual images to end on! The print proofs for the DYSTOPIAN & POST APOCALYPSE Companion. Feel free to zoom in, and help yourself to a (somewhat fuzzy) 72 CARD SNEAK PEEK of the content for this set!

I’ll be back with more news in a couple of weeks. Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!

Cheers,

Clark

State of the Project, LOTS of photos
about 2 years ago – Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 06:02:10 PM

Hello again!

In the last update, I promised we'd get to covering all the different aspects of the project. Let's dive in and do that now.

The Cards

All the sets are in the printers hands except for two of the 60 card Mini Companion: VIKINGS and TRIBAL AND NOMADIC. Although you didn't hear from me for an extra month, design work was still taking place. The other 60 card Minis - MATURE AUDIENCES, FAIRY TALES & FOLKLORE, BLANK CARDS, EPIC FANTASY DARK, as well as the CORE SET and the 100 card CORE SET EXPANSION are fully laid out and with Shuffled Ink.

The Playmats

Here's a look at a giant pile of your playmats in my basement!

This entire pile is roughly 70% of them. The rest will be finished once we have a completion date for the card printing from Shuffled Ink. Remember, Shuffled is handling US fulfillment as well. We'll time the rest of the playmat production to coincide with the start of fulfillment.

The Coins

Here's a look at your coins! Or more specifically, the generation of prototypes before the final one. There are some changes I requested on these. The bevel on them is too deep almost across the board, and certain individual coins need a revision here or there. Once I have what I believe will be the final prototype set, I'll shoot a video and put it in a project update.

The Hold Everything Box

There were changes to the length of the CORE SET box in the final layout to accommodate the specific dimensions of 392 actual cards. As a result, how everything fits together in the Hold Everything box needs  adjusting. We're also waiting for Shuffled Ink to get a new piece of equipment specifically for box manufacturing that will make a much better end product.

The Dividers

Here's a look at the gorgeous image for the COSTUMES category (for the classic RECKLESS DECK set) by my good friend and fellow artist, Jennifer Hrabota Lesser: 

The last divider image of the classic RD POWERS category, by Marvel and DC Comics artist Khoi Pham, will be delivered next week. I'm really excited to see his final!

The Anthology

This is what we'll be laying out as soon as we address the VIKINGS/TRIBAL set issue. All the stories are complete and proofread. As promised, each story has its own gorgeous interior illustration, done by illustrator Reiko Murikami. Here's just a taste of the beautiful work she did:

And that's everything. I was supposed to have a meeting with Shuffled yesterday to discus the production schedule, but they had some kind of website malfunction emergency they had to address. Our new meeting is scheduled for later today. Hopefully I will have some real concrete info about our fulfillment schedule by early next week. 

So next week, expect information regarding the printing and fulfillment schedule, and more on the VIKINGS and TRIBAL & NOMADIC Mini Companions. I've been told by Shuffled there are physical print proofs for the cards that are currently in the mail - I'll show you photos once I have them in hand. When I get my first physical Companion Deck prototype, and/or the final round of coin prototypes, I will do a video for you.

I'd like to apologize again for the radio silence in Feburary-March. I'll do my absolute best to not let that happen again.

Talk to you next week,

Clark

Let's Talk About That Last Update
about 2 years ago – Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 05:57:36 PM

Hi All,

So, there was a lot of contention about my last update. I read through all your comments, and I have some points I think are important to address:

• First, there are no NFTs whatsoever involved in this Kickstarter. I am not trying to bait and switch you, or pull some kind of massive whammy that changes the physical decks you were promised into anything else.
  
• I am not trying to sell you anything. And, I'm not trying to pitch you on my next project before I deliver this one. I was letting you know that I got a new job, and that Reckless Deck had been acquired by a company that wants it to continue on, while offering you all some extra free perks, if you want them.
  
• HeroMaker Studios is a newly launched ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY.  Its primary focus will be DIGITAL COMICS. In working for them, I get to see Reckless Deck continue on and reach literally millions of people. Meanwhile, I still get to continue as the individual who shepherds Reckless Deck, and connects directly with creatives like yourselves to help make your art, stories, and gaming as amazing as possible. But now, I also get to help create all new comics characters, tell new stories, and shape a whole new comics universe. And yes, there is an NFT component to the company. I and the team of artists I now lead have been working hard to make some amazing looking art and characters for the first launch.
  
• Someone mentioned in the comments that "I failed to read the room". I think that's a fair assessment, actually. I'm well aware that NFTs are a contentious topic, and that people have strong feelings about the pros and cons of them. But yeah, I definitely did not expect the level of vitriol we saw on Monday. I'm aware there are drawbacks to NFTs. But I also see them as a way for more artists to be employed, well paid, and to have another avenue for selling their work. And, I think this is a way for digital art to finally have some of the same market value and "specialness" that original paintings or numbered prints do. As a working digital artist, this is something I and my colleagues have been talking about for literally years.
  
• We are 6 months past our initial projected delivery window. In the comments, there might have been some pretty wild exaggerations in the comments about how long it's been. (just sayin'.) Please try and keep in mind that we had COVID during this project, major worldwide supply chain issues, and that I'm one guy. I don't have full time employees, or a fully staffed game company - I've been transparent about that since the very beginning. Despite some delays, I, our designer Mary Ann, and our printers at Shuffled Ink are still working extremely hard to get you your rewards.
  
• Refunds are not being offered at this time. The money from your orders has long since been invested into the production of all the products. Please know that absolutely none of your project money went towards producing NFTs in any way. I would offer you refunds if I truly believed I was in over my head, or if the the project was seriously off the rails, and I seriously questioned my ability to complete the project. But everything is still well in hand, and  you will most definitely, without question be get your rewards as promised.

Stay tuned for the next update, which will IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW this one. This next one will be the update you really wanted, I think. I hope it gets you exited again, and maybe even earns back a little of your trust. 

If you made it all the way to the end, thanks for reading.

Clark