CAPERS Assemble – Fulfillment Begins!
over 5 years ago – Fri, Oct 05, 2018 at 01:18:34 PM

Hey there, Macs and Janes,  

The fateful day has arrived. I’ll be sending out CAPERS fulfillment emails shortly.  

Keep an eye on your inboxes. And make sure to check our spam folders. Sometimes these types of emails get dumped in there.  

Fulfilling a Kickstarter with this many components is a complex process. PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS UPDATE. I tried very hard to get everything right. If I goofed up anything, please message me via Kickstarter to help me work it out.  

Everyone will receive:  

• An email with a download link to get all the PDFs for free  
• An email with a discount link to purchase a hardcover OR softcover book at cost from DriveThruRPG based on how you responded to the backer survey  
• An email with a discount link to purchase a deck of CAPERS themed playing cards from DriveThruRPG  
• An email with a discount link to purchase a Moxie Deck from DriveThruRPG  

I’m sorry, but these have to all go out in separate emails, so keep an eye out for all of them. (Jacks and Jills backers will only receive the PDF link. All the other stuff is getting delivered to them.)  

If you don’t see download links in the next day or so, please let me know by messaging me through Kickstarter.  

Some Fulfillment Questions You Might Have  

But I pledged more dollars for more stuff! How do I get that stuff?  

If you increased your pledge to get extra books or decks of cards, you have already received a separate email from NerdBurger Games with instructions to deal with that.

The DriveThruRPG download thing is being stupid! Can you help me?  

Some people have trouble with the standard download button at DriveThru. If you do, you can go to the OLD download interface. See the red circle below.  

What about the maps and paper minis?  

Unfortunately, the maps and minis are still in process. Rather than make everyone wait a few more weeks to get EVERYTHING at once, we opted to get most of the game out now. Maps and minis are coming soon.  

What can I do to make Craig’s day even better?  

That’s easy. Tell your friends about CAPERS. Share on social media. Write a review at DriveThruRPG or on your blog. Point other RPG reviewers and Actual Play podcasters/streamers toward the game. Read the book. Play the game. Tell me about your stories on the Discord channel.  

What if I have other questions?  

Message me via Kickstarter.  

NerdBurger YouTube Channel?  

I’m considering setting up a NerdBurger YouTube channel. Post some short video blogs. Post the occasional RPG design podcast with some of my RPG designer friends. Post some actual play episodes of my games. Maybe some other stuff.  

Doing such a thing requires some time and effort on my part. Before I dive into it, I want to see if you folks are interested in watching such things on YouTube.  

Please pop over to this Google Survey about this and tell me what you think. It’ll only take a minute.  

Discord Channel  

Stop on by the NerdBurger Games Discord and say hi.  

CAPERS Noir Playtesting  

I’ll be looking for playtesters for CAPERS Noir a little later this year. I’ll need multiple groups to run a pre-written adventure with characters they create from the playtest materials.  

If you’re interested in playtesting, please email [email protected] and let me know.  

Finally…  

This moment has been years in the making. I’m thrilled to finally put my little game in your hands. I hope you enjoy it. On behalf of myself and the entire team, thanks for backing and for waiting patiently while we pulled it all together.  

Game on,  

Craig

Proof Copies and Maps
over 5 years ago – Fri, Sep 14, 2018 at 03:13:17 PM

Hey there, Macs and Janes,  

We’re rolling into the final stages, folks. Kind of a quick update this time.  

Proof Round 2  

Karen has her proofread copy. I have my proof copy. We’ll hand off our markups to Mike on Saturday. He’ll revise. Mike, Owen, and I will give the WHOLE thing a final look and then we go to (hopefully) final proof order.  

If THAT proof looks good, it’s time to fulfill the Kickstarter for all of you. Wish us luck. (Please keep in mind, this process can take a couple weeks, maybe more. I have no control over how long it takes to get my book files approved, nor over how long it takes to get my copies printed.)  

Inside the Book  

Here’s a look at the interior of Proof 2.  

Maps, Maps, Maps  

And here’s a look at some of the maps Owen is finishing up. Here’s the distillery I posted in an earlier update along with the adjacent warehouse. You can use each map individually or link them together.  

NerdBurger Games Discord  

Don’t forget our Discord. You can get in invite HERE.  

Now I’m off to put together the last of my tweaks for Mike.  

Game on,  

Craig

Progress, Discord, and Future Plans
over 5 years ago – Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 06:22:23 PM

Hey there, Macs and Janes,  

Busy, busy, busy. Just like all the time, I suppose. Lots in the pipe. Let’s dive in.

NerdBurger Games Discord  

NBG is jumping on the Discord bandwagon. As we get closer to publication, I thought I’d share the Discord with all of you. Feel free to jump on board and chat. Share your enthusiasm for our games in channels devoted to each specific game. Talk about movies/TV/books/comics in the Media Lounge. Got a question for me? There’s a channel for that. Hope to see you there.  

DISCORD LINK

A handful of people have already joined the Discord and there’s some discussion going on. My hope is that the NerdBurger Games Discord becomes a community for fans of the games we produce. A fan community is something I’ve wanted for a long time.

CAPERS Progress  

Maps and minis are underway. PDF support material is about 98% done.  

Layout  

We will be submitting files for the second round of proofing this weekend. This will be the proofreading stage, and if all goes well, the next print will be the final.  

Artwork  

Here’s a look at the crowded speakeasy again, now full color.  

Cards  

Here’s what we’re going with for the Moxie cards.  

Preparing For Launch  

Beyond the game release itself, there are a BUNCH of things in the works for the official CAPERS launch when the Kickstarter is fulfilled. I’ve been in talks with a few people about running some CAPERS and posting their games on podcasts and/or streaming their games via Twitch or YouTube. I’m in talks with a fan of CAPERS to create a Roll20 module for the game, allowing people to get all sorts of Roll20 tools to play super-powered gangsters online. I’m looking into creating some fun freebies to hand out to people at conventions I attend after CAPERS launches.  

All of this is tentative, but very promising. More news as we get closer to launch.

What’s Up After CAPERS?  

Die Laughing  

Plans are underway to bring Die Laughing to Kickstarter before the end of the year. If all goes as expected with the CAPERS Kickstarter fulfillment, I plan to launch a Die Laughing Kickstarter on Tuesday, Oct 30, the day before Halloween.  

Die Laughing is a short-play, GM-less story game where players portray characters in a horror-comedy movie. Everyone is gonna die. It’s just a matter of when and how funny you can make it. After your character is gone, you play a producer on the movie and continue to influence the story and torment the remaining characters. Stay tuned!

CAPERS Noir  

Also, CAPERS Noir is underway. This 40-50 page supplement for CAPERS will roll the timeline forward, out of Prohibition, to the 1940s and build the game into a crime noir setting. You’ll be able to use a lot of the content in CAPERS Noir in your regular CAPERS game or instead play a crime noir story set in 1940s Los Angeles.  

Beth and Owen are on board for artwork and layout, respectively. Mike will be creating a map of Los Angeles in the 1940s.  

Beyond CAPERS Noir  

If all goes well with a future Kickstarter for this supplement, I’ll be producing another couple of supplements. CAPERS Covert will be set in the 1960s and be built around James Bond style law enforcement and criminals, complete with rules for Q-style gadgets, new Powers, and other cools stuff.  

After that will come CAPERS Offworld, a (probably somewhat longer) supplement tying all three time periods together and introducing super-powered criminals and cops in a turn-of-the-20th-century, Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon style intergalactic setting. Alien worlds, new Powers and character options, and so on.  

Game on,  

Craig

NerdBurger Online, Progress, and Pre-Orders
over 5 years ago – Tue, Aug 14, 2018 at 06:07:48 AM

Hey there, Macs and Janes,  

GenCon has come and gone. Several backers swung by the IGDN booth on Thursday to check out the book in progress. I ran some CAPERS and some Die Laughing. Schmoozed, networked, and found some lines into possible expansion of NerdBurger Games’ online presence.  

To that end… 

NerdBurger Online Presence 

I’m looking for fans of NerdBurger Games who are interested in helping me increase NerdBurger Games’ online presence. Two things in particular: 

Actual Play Streaming/Podcasting 

I’m looking for someone who either has an established Twitch channel for indie RPG actual play or is interested in starting one up for NerdBurger Games. The world of actual play streams/videos is a boon to any game that can establish such a thing. If I try to do this myself, it eats up free time, time I would lose from designing more for existing games and designing new games. 

If this is something you’d like to help me with, email me at [email protected] and let’s start a dialogue. I can provide you with a ton of support and all the art/character sheet assets you’d need. See “Disclaimer,” below. 

Roll20 Playset 

I’m looking for someone interested in helping NerdBurger Games (CAPERS in particular) get into Roll20. Roll20 is a great place for playing online RPGs with features built in for character sheets, dice rolling, card flipping, shared tabletop, maps, minis, etc. Creating such assets is time consuming and not something I’m conversant in. And again, it would take time away from me actually working on game design. 

If this is something you’d like to help me with, email me at [email protected] and let’s start a dialogue. I can provide you with a ton of support and all the art/character sheet assets you’d need. See “Disclaimer,” below. 

Disclaimer 

Actual Play Streaming and Roll20 are time-consuming and require expertise I don’t have. NerdBurger Games is just me. I contract out for help in things. I can’t promise anything specific in terms of compensation here, but I won’t leave you out in the cold if you want to help with any of this stuff. Compensation can come in a variety of forms. Some monetary compensation. Free product (existing and future games).Early previews of game work in progress, even before playtesters get involved. Other things. A combination of these things. Let’s talk. Maybe we can come to an agreement. 

The Playing Cards 

The playing card deck is more or less finalized. I’m getting a proof deck made now. Here’s a look at a couple of queens of Prohibition. Giada is Al Capone’s mentor in Chicago. Rita is Nucky Johnson’s right-hand woman in Atlantic City. 

Paper Minis 

Here’s a look at more progress with the paper minis. 

Maps 

Here’s a look at more progress with the maps. This is a small, hidden distillery. It pairs with a hidden warehouse map that will connect to the bottom edge so you can use either one individually or both together. (There are things missing…as I said, work in progress.) 

Moxie Cards 

And here’s a version of the Moxie cards we’re toying around with. 

Adventures 

The backer rewards for CAPERS includes four adventures in PDF. They’re all written, formatted, and ready to go. I’m tinkering with the cover pages. Here’s the first rendition of the cover for Rivals, a first level adventure for gangster characters. Rivals is the adventure that appeared in the CAPERS Preview Edition. 

Backerkit Reminder 

As we get closer to publication, here’s a reminder. If you know anyone who missed out on the Kickstarter and wants to snag a pre-order, tell them togo HERE. The pre-order is the same as the $15 Bootlegger Kickstarter backer level. Everything in PDF plus discount links to buy books, cards, maps, and minis in physical form. 

That’s it for now. If you have questions, fire an email to [email protected] and make sure to check out the Google+ community and my Twitter. 

NBG Google+ Community 

Twitter 

Game on, 

 Craig 

Update 25 – Proofs, Minis, and Cons
almost 6 years ago – Sun, Jul 29, 2018 at 01:39:29 PM

Hey there, Macs and Janes,  

I’m going to be “off the clock” in terms of working on CAPERS for a few days while I attend GenCon. But Beth, Mike, and Owen will keep pushing things forward.  

Proof Copy Review  

I’m doing a complete review of the proof copy. I’ll be handing this off to Mike in the near future for revisions. Here’s what a proof copy review looks like.  

Paper Minis  

Beth has finished her sketch pass for all of the paper minis. Here’s a look at some of that.  

High Level Games Con  

I’ll be an invited designer at High Level Games Con in Atlantic City in mid-October. My hope is to have the Kickstarter rewards to you shortly before then. The maps and paper minis might not be finished by that time, but hopefully everything else will be. My hope is to premiere the book at HLG Con. What a great way to launch an RPG about Prohibition-era gangsters…in ATLANTIC CITY!

If you live in the area, swing on by! 

 And now I’m off to finish prepping for GenCon. I hope to see some of you there.  

Game on,  

Craig