Eight in April: Reflections Upon Recent Releases
This past month has been full of a record number of releases for us, and the response has been great. You have spoken. You have been pleased with our more aggressive release schedule. You enjoy our writing and are happy we’re getting it off our hard drives, and out into the world. We’re pleased as well, but I want to speak to you a bit about our new signature, streamlined digest format we’ve been using.
Though they look simple from the outside, so does a Tootsie Roll. Care has been taken to ensure quality material is cultivated, created, and delivered. The formats have been given due consideration. The fonts support the aesthetic of the product line. Rigorous editing has been done. This is not something dashed off, converted to a PDF, and then offered up to you all within the span of hours. I’m happy to have a talented editorial pool and solid writers such as Dave Olson who has really pitched in and put together some good stuff. I’ve been overseeing and nurturing the various products in development and I’m doing a lot of writing myself, but that’s what writers do, isn’t it?
Art and presentation complement content and can, in some contexts be a part of said content, but first and foremost, I’m sharing my creations with you. Writing is my greatest strength. Though I’ve had natural talent from a young age, it’s required nurturing. It’s required long hours of writing things wrong, getting things right, and learning from both experiences. It requires sacrifice. It requires strength. And it requires a combination of madness and business savvy to make it all come together. I know enough to know I don’t know everything, so surround myself with talented folks, engage the base, and carve a path to fulfill the overarching vision of Reality Blurs. We appreciate your confidence in us and your support of our endeavors. Together, we can do great things.
For now, supporting our existing product lines is a priority. In the past, I failed to offer much support and I entirely own this. I was creating worlds and I managed to get a lot done. Despite the help I picked up along the way, certain things cannot be handed off to others. Well, they could be and it would make some of my work easier, but all of these settings you’ve come to share with me have come from the recesses of my imagination and been forged through dedication and commitment. Rules are refined. Words are refined. Each day presents new challenges. I’ve said it before, I’d like to release everything we do in full color, hardback glory, but that’s not feasible from my side or your side. If I can get out regular releases of support materials helping you play your game, I think that’s much better than if you had to wait a year (or longer) for a support book containing a fraction of what we may be otherwise able to offer you. You’re under no obligation to buy it all, but having the support products in place encourages both new and existing customers to enter a setting knowing there is more stuff available, more grist for the mill.
We’ll certainly have other things out in physical form. We’ll have art as needed to enrich the experience. We’re going to be like you, though, and be selective about where we spend our hard earned dollars. Things are tough all over. If we can offer up an evening (or two’s) diversion with an adventure at a modest price point or give a GM a wealth of ideas in one of our guidebooks RIGHT NOW, I think it’s the right thing to do at the present time.
This month has been crazy busy. We’ve released the most products we ever have in a one-month span and my time was divided between editing, layout, and writing. Not a lot of slack time, but it was worth the time and effort spent. It’s generating a lot of interest in all our product lines as our regular fans are getting their fix and new eyes are reading our words. Yippee!
It’s a grand experiment and one which I’m willing to own. Emulating other’s models only serves one up to a certain point, after which a person must lift up their own sharpened machete and carve their own path. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it can also make a person a pale shadow in comparison with the original.
Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!
