Update!
almost 4 years ago – Mon, Jul 06, 2020 at 03:31:09 PM

A NEW PLAYER ENTERS

We want to take a moment to thank all of the folks who expressed interest in the management position we opened up a few weeks ago. We got a TON of responses. If we didn’t reach out to interview you, please don’t take that to mean you aren’t awesome and that we weren’t super grateful to you.

Ultimately, we ended up bringing on Darrel Crenshaw, a longtime friend to Jim and big supporter of The Midnight World. Darrel started on Monday of last week, and he is *already* improving the efficiency of the project.

You’re going to notice a lot more consistency in update releases and Lore posts going forward, thanks to Darrel’s efforts. 

TESTING MATERIALS

One of the first projects Darrel has us working on is getting the testing materials out to those of you who backed that level of the Kickstarter. Right now, we’re trying to figure out exactly how we want those tests to be structured, but the goal is to have specific testing materials go out regularly that are designed to help us get eyes on how particular mechanics function. We’ll also be setting up a forum to allow us a good way to track your feedback.

WHERE ARE WE ON THE ROADMAP?

As we mentioned a few updates ago, the pandemic has shifted our timeline, as to be expected. Our editor has had to take a (likely temporary) step back, and we’ve sadly lost our layout designer. That said, if you or someone you know is a layout designer, we’d love to chat with you! Pop us a message at [email protected]

Thanks guys! Be safe!

Weekly Lore Post: Epicurean Assets
almost 4 years ago – Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 12:40:57 PM

Who is Epicurean Assets? Are they truly as benign as they'd have us believe? 

[Image of a press release on official Epicurean Assets letterhead. The logo is a stylized blue and black Epsilon. The header reads "Ending Need By Meeting Want." Below a bold blue divider, the text reads "From our founding in 1946, our organization has made great strides in promoting the noble cause of ending world hunger and homelessness. We began as a food bank in a small Belgian village just outside of Crupet in the post-war economy, dedicated to helping those displaced or injured during the war find convalescence. In the decades since, we have radically shifted our focus. It has become clear to us that meeting basic needs is only one of the elements required for a thriving society. Indeed, what is life for in the absence of comfort? In the intervening decades, we have vastly expanded our holdings to include amenities, entertainment, and all the finest that life has to offer.

It has long been our goal to ensure that everyone has access to not only sustenance and housing, but also the little luxuries that make life worth living. It is for this reason that we have decided to open a new distribution and administrative center in Athens, Ohio. Our new facility will serve the entire Midwest region of the United States. We are very excited to help bring jobs, support and philanthropic work to our friends and family in the West. Though we have maintained holdings across the United States for many years, this will be the first major endeavor to establish our Brand in North America.

To those who seek exciting employment opportunities and have a passion to support your community: We urge you to apply at one of our recruitment centers. As this is the first time Epicurean Assets will be operating on American soil without the intermediary of a franchisee or subsidiary, we will be hiring exclusively from a pool of local applicants. The only personnel that will be transferred from our European offices will be select administrative and leadership roles to help facilitate the activation of this location. Even then, these employees with function in a temporary capacity until their duties can be transitioned to local hires.

This is only the first of what we hope to be many such facilities in America. We are very excited to begin sharing the luxury we have built with you, and to play our part in finally making the American Dream accessible to every day Citizens.

With your help, we can do more than simply defeat poverty; we can build a world so devoid of need that want can become our priority.

Claire Braggs,
Head of Global Communication
Epicurean Assets, Brussels"]

Progress! And a call for aid.
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 09:44:34 PM

Hey all! The Jim and I of Gem&Eye have been silent for a couple of weeks, and we wanted to reach out to you all and let you know what's going on with everything. 

• We're hard at work, but behind schedule. Jim has recently had to uptick his work hours to keep up with increased demand, and James is working nearly 60 hours at a week right now. We don't have to tell you guys that a lot of companies are using this opportunity to say "We're all in this together, but seriously we need you to justify your paycheck right now." That said, we absolutely are still working, just slower than we originally anticipated. 

• Due to this, and due to supply problems throughout the world right now, we're likely to miss our original target date. We had originally hoped to put books in your hands by late September, but we're having trouble all across our development and shipping chain right now. We still feel very confident that you'll have the book in your hands by the end of the year, though.

• We have close to 90% of our Backerkit Surveys returned!!! If you've completed your survey and are owed pre-release goodies, expect an email within the next few days to get those rewards cranking! If you haven't filled out your survey, do that as soon as you can. 

• We're looking for a bit of help. Jim and I work hard hours at administrative jobs, and frankly we're running out of the fuel required to both create and also manage ourselves. Thanks to some very generous addons through Backerkit, we have a bit of extra cash. We'd like to use that cash to hire a project manager who could help keep us accountable and on task. If you have any experience with managing projects like this, and you have any interests, please hit us up at [email protected] so that we can discuss the possibility of bringing you on! 

Thanks everyone! We look forward to beginning the next phase of our terrifying journey together!

Backerkit progress and Pre-Order store opened!
almost 4 years ago – Thu, May 21, 2020 at 08:09:19 AM

Hey everyone! 

We've gotten the next step of the Backerkit journey complete! The "smoke test" is out now, so many of you will receive your surveys today. 

Also, our Pre-order store is now open. If there was anything you wanted to add, or if you wanted to back The Midnight World and weren't able to before, you can do so through the Pre-Order store now! 

Thanks for your patience everyone!

I think I fixed the Backerkit problem!
almost 4 years ago – Tue, May 19, 2020 at 03:24:19 PM

Hey all! 

Sorry for being a bit slow on updates over the past two weeks, but as mentioned in my last update, we're all busy at work over here. 

I think I figured out what the problem was with Backerkit, and (you guessed it) it was user error. Hopefully within the next couple of days, the "smoke test" will go out and we should be live shortly after that. 

One big piece of news! Jim and I are currently working to put together a Twitch stream! We're going to use it to stream some playtest sessions, and if you've backed at one of the playtest levels you're likely to get an email from us soon asking for your availability. You certainly don't have to appear on the stream, but it will be an option for folks who are desperate to get their hands on the game. We figured this might be an easy way to keep our momentum going while we all suffer through this isolation together. 

I'll let you guys know ASAP once the Backerkit is live! 

-James