Ryan Maloney @ryantmaloney@qoto.org

WE ARE LIVE!
I want to say how much I appreciate you putting up with all the self-promotion these last few weeks, but the time has finally come for the big ask.

Will you help us subvert expectations and bring Subversion to life?

P-P-P-P-Pledge here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fraggingunicorns/subversion?ref=48gp0g

Ryan and Opti sat down with Steves this week to talk about about our new game Subversion, and the Kickstarter launches in just an hour!
Links in the show notes!
#TTRPGs #ttrpg

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-7yy9d-13957f5?utm_campaign=w_share_ep&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=w_share

Huh.

Consumer Reports (CR) has released a mobile app (iOS, Android on the way) that shows what data companies collect about you, then allows you to have CR get the data deleted:

https://www.permissionslipcr.com

Essentially, CR will act as the data ombudsman for anyone who asks them to. I love it.

CR is a non-profit that accepts no advertising or corporate sponsorship, and they have a great reputation. It's a superb choice to take on the data capitalists.

#privacy

Tahoma (Mt Rainier) casts a shadow across the early morning sky, as seen from Bonney Lake, Washington:

#Photography #MtRainier #WashingtonState

But we are DOING IT! That's probably the biggest difference between people who have the best game ideas and the people who actually make games. Just commitment to seeing it through.

It helps to have a good game and lots of friends.
Which we have.
Stay tuned for more!

And I guess if you want to sign up to make us cry by doing a playtest with your group and give us feedback, I'd be your best friend. :)

But for a fairly chunky RPG, that's a big ask. "Hey, please read all this, gather a group that probably already has a game they love, and play this instead... then make me cry with what you didn't like." lol.
Hard sell.

But that's all part of it. We've done really well with incorporating feedback, but its all just so slow. And every time you ask someone a favor like that, it spends the social capital you have, and for some dank introvert nerds like us, social capital is hard to build.

But then there's the ones that spend big... & suck.

I don't know if people often discuss how stressful that is for independent companies. Making investments and then only making the bare minimum you need to fulfill is a rough go.
So we're trying to be wise.
We've done lots of organic outreach. But that has diminishing returns.

The next big thing we need to do is blind playtesting.

#RoadToSubversionKickstarter:
Post #2:
Met today with YG discussing marketing partnership. There's an open secret with crowdfunding that isn't discussed much. The ones that fund @ large amounts all have SIGNIFICANT investment before & during the campaign in ads spending.

Some companies help you do that, using analytics, expertise, & various strategies to maximize your dollar. Some companies will lend you money to do ad spends. It's all a big gamble. The ones that do well ALWAYS spend big.

#RoadToSubversionKickstarter:
Post #1.5
What we've done so far (Cont.):

Made samples of 3 2-page spreads
We've reached out to various FB groups, especially the ones that let people advertise, got accepted, and now post 1 post a day in one of those groups.
Logo made
We've got partners lined up for:
-Editing
-Layout
-More Art
-Fiction
-Adventure/mission writing
Spoken with Jellop, Backerkit, Rem Alternis, and YG about potential marketing solutions.
Lots of back and forth based on feedback.

#RoadToSubversionKickstarter:
Post #1
What we've done so far:
Worked on the game for 3 years.
Got some modest art assets.
Made some videos.
Playtested with around 10 groups.
Playtesting is ongoing, as is development.
Cried.
Set timelines for launch.
Worked socials to get pre-launch follower count as high as possible.
We've been talking about it every chance we get.
We've got our Kickstarter page designed.
Decided on backer tiers.
Got 5 production quotes.
Got mockups of the book made

After Misspent Youth: Fall In Love, Not In Line is done, we have 3 games in active development.

1. Subversion - Cyberpunk Fantasy RPG in the world of Neo Babylon
2. Fragging Unicorns Games Card Game: Mythological creatures looking for love in a VERY VERY DIVERSE dating pool. Aces collect pals, monogamous folks try to find THE ONE, and poly folks try to maintain more than one lover.
3. Board Game X. I don't mean to be coy, I forgot if the dev wanted to mention it yet.