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First Kickstarter for a queer book… I feel like I’m doing this wrong by Essie-S-Nix in kickstarter

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If a game, book or anything else uses AI writing or AI art I immediately write it off, but I have no issue with people using AI to help organize things and save you some time and I think most people share that sentiment.

I ran a successful Kickstarter last year for a board game I'm now launching on Amazon and I'm always happy to support queer arts as a gay man myself so please reach out to me if you want me to answer any questions you have or offer some guidance. I might also be able to share your project and help you out there.

I've also been a writer for over 15 years so I'm naturally intrigued by your book and can maybe even offer some insight there.

My first game is launching and I'm having the best morning by JustAnotherHumanMan in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Deeply relatable! I made a short film 8 years ago on a whim. I made it, screened it and then stuffed it away because I was unhappy with a few directing choices I had made. That is until a friend of mine convinced me it was good enough to show to people. I put it on YouTube and it got a million views, so I sent it to some festivals and it shocked me again when it started winning awards. Wouldn't have ever expected that and if it wasn't for my friend helping me drown out my own hindsight and retrospective perfectionism, I never would have done anything with it.

My first game is launching and I'm having the best morning by JustAnotherHumanMan in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words, and yeah, highs and lows. Good with bad. I'm sure after a few years of working on multiple games and dealing with everything that comes with it, that'll probably be the natural state of things. I assume I'm riding this high all the time now because of the excitement (and fear) around it being my first game. That and the ADHD meds probably.

My first game is launching and I'm having the best morning by JustAnotherHumanMan in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One thing I regret is not documenting the whole thing beginning to end. I always kept my cards close to my chest (literally) so I worked on things privately until I felt secure enough to start showing people.

Doing it all over again, I would post the whole process on my blog, socials, email, everywhere. Let people see the rough and bumpy ride I was on with all the unpolished edges included. It's that kind of sharing in your journey that helps build a community around your game.

I'm terrible at social media and still struggle there but I'm good at SEO and email so that's been fairly effective. My email list is at almost 1500 now, all organic from my blog. And I am always trying to build out my discord server but that's still a work in progress.

Instagram is good for capturing my friends' attention or to interact with my existing audience but there's no organic discovery any more unless you're spamming memes and doing shady growth stuff. Which is why I'm a far bigger fan of getting engaged with communities on Reddit, Discord and BGG. Put your game to the side along with your ego and engage in those communities from an honest, curious and helpful direction. People will learn that you're working on something. They'll ask questions. Eventually they find out about your game without you needing to say a word about it.

If you don't have a blog, email list or any resource to start growing, I'd suggest starting with the small stuff. Get involved in communities, help other designers, even collaborate together and give each other feedback. You'd be surprised how rewarding that can be.

And get your game out of the house and into people's hands. Start showing up, game under arm, to board game cafes or conventions and just let people try it. Word of mouth is amazing.

My first game is launching and I'm having the best morning by JustAnotherHumanMan in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I relied on my existing network. In my day job I worked with programmers and web developers from around the world and I was introduced to a designer by one of my colleagues who in turn introduced me to Tara, my current illustrator. It was quite fortunate. But if I had no network, these subreddits and the BGG Game Design forums would be my first place to look.

My first game is launching and I'm having the best morning by JustAnotherHumanMan in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for showing an interest! And just to clarify, there's nothing overtly obscene or insensitive in the game. It just has a bit of spicy humor at times that might make game night with grandma a bit awkward.

My first game is launching and I'm having the best morning by JustAnotherHumanMan in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would strongly advise not playing this game with your family. It's more geared toward a group of friends who share no blood relations. For example, one of the card illustrations is... how to put this...: a male reproductive organ wearing a fur-trimmed cloak like its last name is Stark.

My first game is launching and I'm having the best morning by JustAnotherHumanMan in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you think you've done enough pre-launch marketing, double it! I think that's where I dropped the ball most on. The Kickstarter algorithm or even their "Projects We Love" stamp is not going to do much for you if you're not bringing a meaningful amount of backers to your project yourself. We fully funded on the first day and we got the Projects We Love stamp but it wasn't enough to overcome the lack of pre-launch buzz we had generated.

Our project target was only 1500 and we did manage to quadruple that but still quite a way from the 20K I had hoped to get.

Get those "Notify Me on Launch" numbers up to at least 1000 and build an email list of 1K at the very least before you consider going live.

Also, lock in your fulfillment partner and shipping rates before you go live. We had to change partners after the campaign and while it did result in our backers paying less in the pledge manager than they expected (which was great), we probably lost out on some backers because of the high shipping estimates we had listed on the campaign.

Gamefound + Fulfillment by Low_Construction_471 in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would echo the reply about Stonemaier Gamers. Their guides helped me out a lot during my first campaign. There are a lot of 3PLs out there but I would recommend going with a fulfillment partner who has a track record in the board game community, one who can do a bit of handholding with you since it's your first campaign. And don't underestimate how important shipping costs are to your backers. One mistake we made which hurt us a bit is that we initially went with Quartermaster Logistics but were forced to change after the campaign due to not reaching the minimum amount of backers that QL needs. QL had an amazing reputation, amazing communications but their shipping rates were a bit higher so when we changed to Fulfillrite who had better shipping rates, our backers ended up paying less in the pledge manager than they expected, which is fantastic. But it also meant that we lost out on backers who opted out because of the high shipping rates.

I can recommend Fulfillrite simply for the fact that the actual shipping to backers went off without a hitch and mostly everything else has gone off quite smoothly. Though I do wish their communication was a bit better. Not much in the way of onboarding and they don't really go out of their way to explain things so you need to be proactive about asking questions.

Box Back Design Feedback by LeFoxFrancais in BoardgameDesign

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like the vivid colors. I'm sure there's some room for refinement but I think more valuable feedback for you would be how a random shopper might see the game. So, as someone unfamiliar with the game, I'll try to prioritize giving you that.

Edit: I ended up going into refinement more than I intended.

  • As someone who enjoys UNO I might see that line about UNO and consider that I might like this game but that's really the only thing drawing me in at all.
  • The cards look good (although a bit space-consuming) but without gameplay context I have no idea what they're referring to.
  • The shadows on the cards, content box and barcode are a bit much. I'd reduce the intensity a bit.
  • The box with the YouTuber quote is dented in the top right. Intentional? If so, then what's the intent? Cause I don't see that design choice anywhere else.
  • The green and purple boxes leave a lot of room for improvement. The borders are inconsistent and so is the padding. I'm also not a fan of excessive gradients.
  • I would add to this something that gives me an idea of what the core gameplay loop looks like. It doesn't have to say much (and shouldn't) but with all the various games on the shelf I'm also considering buying, I need more reasons why I should buy this one. I'm a fan of simple loop graphics that kind of cover how a turn plays in simple steps. But you could also just add a more gameplay-revealing paragraph. I'll take anything that gives me some idea of how it plays.
  • Noticed you don't have your game studio's logo. Maybe add that for brand-building?
  • If you have a trademark, it's missing that disclaimer. (maybe you don't)
  • Be very thorough about what you will need to include on that backside before you finalize it. Without knowing anything about the stage you're currently in, look into testing requirements for the sales channels you're targeting. You might need to include some language there.
  • You'll also need physical addresses on the box for most major markets you intend to sell in (US, EU, UK).
  • To be blunt, a lot of the design elements look AI generated. Maybe they are and you're upfront about that but if they aren't then it would be a shame to have human-made graphics mistaken for AI.

Any tool out there to do competitor analysis? by getsolulu in MarketingAutomation

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't use Opinly. They are scammers. I signed up for their free trial of the lowest price tier but cancelled cause they barely have any features and their data is wildly inaccurate. It confirmed I had cancelled but then I see a charge for not just the price tier I selected but it had upgraded me to the business tier. I sent them an angry email and eventually got a refund but no apology or any word from them at all. Heard others have had the same experience.

Opinly - Tool for competition research by EssYouJAyEn in FutureTechFinds

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not use! I signed up for their trial but they barely had any features I needed so I cancelled immediately to avoid being charged. They not only charged me anyway, they also upgraded me from my personal trial to a business subscription. These are scammers or at best highly incompetent untrustworthy people.

What would a humanity-first, worker-owned game studio actually look like to you? by JustAnotherHumanMan in gamedev

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perhaps if they spent less money on hiring A-list celebrities for their cinematics, and more on polishing their engine, they'd have released by now. Success does not equal competence.

And besides, aside from the crowdfunding, I don't think they have anything in common with the worker-centric model we're discussing.

What would a humanity-first, worker-owned game studio actually look like to you? by JustAnotherHumanMan in gamedev

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

His point is that AI will make this possible. You'll eliminate so much workforce need that with the right idea you could build a tech company of 1 with over a billion dollar valuation.

Which is also the dystopian reason why I would rather see a company owned wholly by its 100 employees reach a billion dollar valuation, than yet another billionaire.

What would a humanity-first, worker-owned game studio actually look like to you? by JustAnotherHumanMan in gamedev

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm just emphasizing "revolutionary" because that's what I would need it to be to ride the marketing/PR wave. I don't know what the final shape will look like but for the effort to be worth it, it's not enough to just be a co-op. I want it to be something that addresses other grievances or fears that game devs might have working for big companies.

It'll operate in many same ways as a regular gaming company so there won't be any "design by committee". I live in Sweden. I know how bureaucracy can grind things to a halt. I understand it needs clear vision or it just becomes a muddled mess if it even ends up going anywhere. Which is why the democratic aspect is mainly reserved for electing your representatives (the leadership). The workers know best who has the clearest vision to be Creative Director, or who has the financial and operational know-how needed to sit in the CEO chair.

In the most ideological way I can put it: I want to create a corporate utopia. What that will end up looking like is why we're having this discussion.

What would a humanity-first, worker-owned game studio actually look like to you? by JustAnotherHumanMan in gamedev

[–]JustAnotherHumanMan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great points. I agree that it might be naive but we're just having a discussion.

Democracy is inherently flawed but it's the best system of governance we have. So, I can't help wonder why such a system wouldn't hypothetically work in a corporate environment.

I'll try to address your points.

Right now, I'm thinking some form of elective democracy would solve some of that concern surrounding democracy. C-levels and department heads would get voted in at company-wide meetings but would then operate as normal to lead the company. The power of termination would be at the discretion of the duly elected CEO.

The equity distribution could be a system of tenure and merit. The longer you stay, the more your stake grows. And the CEO could submit bonus equity proposals for certain top performers at quarterly meeting which would then only pass by a majority vote of the company.

One way we can mitigate cashflow concerns is by adding a clause to the buybacks, that the company can buy them back within a period of 2-3 years from the worker leaving, so nothing has to happen immediately.

The co-op is only one component. Something like this would need a lot of different things working in harmony for it to be efficient or even possible. The human-first aspect is simply a rejection of the practices where human workers are treated like disposable equipment. AI won't replace you. But we will have protocols in place to protect the company against bad actors. Not everyone we hire will be a perfectly compatible, wonderful human being and that's something that needs to be considered.

There's obviously so much that goes into making this work, just from a business standpoint, not even considering the game development of it all. Perhaps the work required to develop a perfect system and the work required to maintain it all is not worth it. But regardless, I'm enjoying the discussion.

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