Pocket Odyssey

June Update
almost 11 years ago – Wed, Jul 08, 2015 at 07:46:12 AM

Hello my incredibly patient backers!

Good news and bad news for this update, bad news is that I have had to push the delivery of the final digital files out further… :(. A detailed plan is below. There is a reason however! Well, at least a reason that I am a couple weeks behind, which is the good news for this update! I have decided to add some additional content in each game box, this content was not scheduled previously which is why the Facebook page went silent for a couple weeks AND I am a little behind. But first, here are a couple new images since the last update.

Here are the last of the Power Cards! If you will notice that there are 2 bonus cards I decided to include in the Collector’s Edition which are from a vote that was taken at the beginning of the Kickstarter campaign. Elemental Body and Scale Person!

Here is the final color for the Telepath Adriana! She is not a new character, she was one of the stretch goals, however, when I previously planned to finish coloring all the character backgrounds, she somehow fell through the cracks. But here she is now! Progress! Her skills are Silvery Aura which is a special aura in a 20ft radius around her, in which she can communicate telepathically with any willing creature as well as move objects up to 20lbs with her mind alone and History which states that her studies have led to a mastery of ancient recorded knowledge. 

Below is an image of the front of the game box, the intention was to be completely finished with this step already, but it ended up being a very time intensive task. You’ll notice that it has been added back in the new schedule.

Now for the fun stuff! I have added 4 new map cards and a single Newb card into each game, this includes the core box that will be in stores.

Below are both sides of the Newb card. A Newb card is a card that makes character creation even more simplistic, when you are playing with someone who would be really over their head when it comes to even the basics of character creation, you can have them use this card which has these stats already chosen for them. There is no difference between the male and female side of the card other than the illustration. The Newb card features a new hero, the Legendary Hero, who is the most powerful character yet, with the ability called “Luminary”, which gives the player advantage anytime they roll the dice. This means they can roll it twice and keep the higher number. They do not get/need any additional power cards and cannot level up. The player using the card will also not need to assign stat points. These characters are overpowered so that new players can make mistakes without bringing the party down or killing themselves, the point is to bring in players who would NEVER otherwise want to/ be able to play an RPG.

For the 4 new map cards, I have decided to create something new, an 8 tile map! Keep in mind there are only 4 new cards, which means that half of these will be on another map set to allow the use of all 8 simultaneously. The 8 tiles form a gob cave, you will notice that most of the map is inside the cave but there are exits to the outside. This map proved very difficult to make, with the interior of the cave alongside the outside environment. I wanted to make sure that there were plenty of areas for smaller skirmishes and the opportunity for heroes to attack the gob stronghold from different directions. And of course a massive pot of magical stuff that players or monsters can fall into… what can go wrong there?!

Lastly, I wanted to share my new schedule with you, there are no more surprises here I promise. I am ready to wrap this project up and get it out to everyone :D. Thanks again for all your patience as this project continues to be pushed back. Also, I have appreciated everyone’s help on the forums and with updates and spreading the word! You guys have been great; I know I have been blessed with the perfect group of Kickstarter backers for my first project. Thanks again and keep supporting more Kickstarter projects!!!

June 10 - Rule Books

June 17 - Send Rules to Editor - FOB Cards

June 24 - Finish Game Boxes - UPC Code

June 25 - Get all files ready for print

July 4 - Review everything and Send final files to WinGo for Printing

P.S. Here is a link to the Facebook page should you want weekly updates (a quick note that I will be updating it on Wednesdays with this new schedule.)

https://www.facebook.com/kaijukraft

April Update
about 11 years ago – Mon, Apr 27, 2015 at 10:54:35 AM

Hello all,

For those who are following along with the new development schedule, everything is running on time so far. I am posting all the work from this past month below. According to the schedule, production will be done by the end of May, and this seems to be realistic as of right now. If you would like to see weekly updates, please follow the Facebook page here...

https://www.facebook.com/kaijukraft

First off are the two new Dragon Slayers! Zir the Devourer, a gob with a large set of teeth and an insatiable hunger. He wanders the world eating anything that catches his fancy... or his wrath. Zir can heal himself during battle by eating pretty much anything he wants, has an increased attack stat due to his sharp set of teeth and can intimidate anything that values its own life. 

Our second slayer is Amara the Warrior Priestess, a holy paladin who has mastered the art of combat and is blessed with the power of healing light. She is also seen wandering the countryside, but with a goal of finding a cure for her turned loved one. She also brings with her the weight of seeing her entire village destroyed by an army of the undead. We are still settling the final powers but at this point she can attack multiple enemies with a single swing of her polearm, weakening them for the final strike. She can heal with her healing light ability and has a vast knowledge in ancient lore, something she uses often on her quest. (note: there are some small tweaks that still need to be made on the below image)

Next, we have a link to an updated rulebook, this is not the final, but is much closer to the end layout. Also included are some rule changes...

drive.google.com/file/d/0ByebUzwrAUcBdTA3Y2RpbmpFc2s/view?usp=sharing

Here is a short summary of the changed rules...

1. Advantage and Disadvantage- now have you roll the die twice and take either the higher or lower number depending.

2. The Melee Attack has also been changed. Instead of giving the player a bonus defensive point (now called dodge points) when he “engages” with an enemy I have added the ability to do a “short movement” before the attack. Here is the language for the melee action…

Melee Attack = the player can take a short movement and attack a monster that he is touching. And the definition of both a short and normal movement…

Short Movement = the shorter side of a power card, give or take a small amount.

Normal Movement = the longer side of a power card, give or take a small amount.

Next, the last of the Monster Sketches, these will be on the back of the monster cards.

Also, I put the final color on 6 more heroes. I was planning for this to be the last of them, but did find out that I had counted wrong, leaving one last hero to be colored yet. Which shouldn't be enough to slow the production down at all.

 Last, but not least, I have begun finishing the sketches that go on the 40 power cards. Unfortunately some of the cards don't have enough room for an illustration, but there are only a hand full of those. Here are the first 20 of them!

Been a busy couple months, but I have been loving the work! Thank you to everyone for bringing this project into existence, I am really looking forward to breathing the sigh of relief that is fast approaching. Thank you all again and please keep supporting more Kickstarter projects! You all have been so great! 

March Update
about 11 years ago – Tue, Apr 07, 2015 at 07:05:45 AM

Hi Again everyone!

Long post this month, thanks for waiting patiently :D

Introduction to the First Dragon Slayer!

Fire Master Xermas

Xermas discovered his special ability to cast extremely powerful fire magic at a very young age when a fire spell went out of control killing a friend of his. Later he learned to control that power through much study and discipline. He found that fire had its own personality and that he could control it by training it as one would a wild beast. Xermas can summon a fire elemental that can move independently from himself and be used to better control the battlefield.

New Art

Now that I have time to work on Pocket Odyssey again, I have been able to really pick up production on the game art. All the maps are completed with the new maps included below (the 2 from last month are not shown).

Though I have been working a lot this month on the game art, I have been taking my time with each piece making sure I am happy with it, above is an example where I went back a week later and updated the look of a map I didn’t quite like. Notice the overall tone of the new map, the original didn’t read like a mystical forest quite enough. I also added new trees and bushes to communicate the idea more. I have went back to many of the maps to tweak them in this way. One map in particular I rebuilt from scratch because I thought the design was weak.

I have begun working on the monster art as well, previous to this month about 10 monsters were already done, below are 10 more. 

Current Progress and Production List

As I worked through the maps this past month, I began to push the quality more and more for each map I made. I was starting to see the whole game come together and I couldn’t stop myself from spending extra time making some improvements. Though they took a bit longer to put together than I was planning for I am very happy with them. I have been spending quite a bit of time each week in development but have been enjoying every second of it. If you read the last couple updates you’ll know that I recently finished a master’s program, the transition from writing a 100 page capstone paper to drawing and making maps has been very exciting. However, I am already WAY past what I had planned for production time and so I have developed the weekly schedule below so that you can see what I have left to do and what to look forward to seeing soon. You may follow the Facebook page (here) if you would like to keep up with the weekly updates. I appreciate all the patience you have had for this project, I am very excited to finish it and get it to you!!!

Development Schedule Due Dates

March 29 = 10 baddy cards  

April 5 = Final line art and color for last 2 dragon slayers , Final draft of rulebooks (ready to send to editor) , 2 reference cards  

April 12 = Finish final color for last 6 characters , 6 Baddy cards

April 19 = 20 power card designs

April 26 = (Family will be in town this week... a wedding!)

May 3 = 20 power card designs

May 10 = Final touch ups for game box art , Register UPC code, Finish flow of battle card designs

May 17 = Review week, Send rulebooks to editor, Organize files for printer

May 24 = Review week, Last second tweaks

May 31 = Send digital files to WinGo!!! (About time, right?)

I can’t say thanks enough to everyone! I know I have let you down on the production schedule, all I can say is that I am working hard to make sure that Pocket Odyssey is all that it can be, and that I apologize for its lateness. I believe that the timeline above is realistic (finally). I am dedicated to meeting these deadlines and have left 3 weeks towards the end to take a breath and make sure everything is exactly right. I will be sending an email out to the Giant Slayers soon to get your tester names for the rule book (you and 5 others), please keep an eye out. Lastly, I just want to say, that your support for this project has truly changed my life, it has pushed me to learn every aspect of this industry and has opened a new door for my family and I. Supporting projects like this really does mean something, so keep supporting more Kickstarters!!! And thank you all :D

February Update
about 11 years ago – Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 05:29:20 AM

Hello Again!

It's been a good month for Pocket Odyssey development; I have enjoyed having the time again to work on the game. The first half of the month was spent on designing the new look and map creation method for the tiles and the second was spent making all the magic items to be included in the Collector’s Edition. Please see the images below and follow the Facebook page for weekly updates!

There are three main zones in Pocket Odyssey, the dungeon, outside spaces (like cities and forested areas) and interiors (like the above image). This is using the new perspective developed last month.

Also say hello to Vertical Maps! This is one of a couple that are included in the final game. My goal for Pocket Odyssey is to maximize the fun factor for all areas of the game, which for maps means creating inspiring environments. A vertical map allows for a much more dangerous and fun event to take place. The only strange thing about vertical maps is that the perspective must be different in order to communicate everything in the scene. Hopefully you’ll agree with me that the perspective shift is worth the added gameplay.

The standard map layouts are created by laying 4 tiles next to each other, 2 on top and 2 below. Vertical maps are created by using 3 tiles one above the other as pictured above.

Note that the art pictured is what will be used for outside map tiles.

Magic Items!!! Some of the items in the Beta Box will be renamed to fit their new theme a little better, but all the effects will stay the same.

Thanks again for your patience as the project development keeps going, everything continues to point to the end of March as a doable deadline for the files. In the next month I plan to work with the Dragon Slayers to finish up their characters to show everyone next time as well as more art! Thanks again, and keep supporting more Kickstarter projects!

January Update
about 11 years ago – Thu, Feb 12, 2015 at 10:05:30 AM

Hi All,

Time for a LONG overdue update!

One thing I have learned during this project is to be more open about the development process. When I started, I really wasn’t confident enough to be as open as I should have been. But starting this year, I am making a change; my goal is to be more open with you guys. After all, you are the reason this project is coming to life!

In the last update I mentioned needing to finish up some personal things and that development would cease during that time. It was a personal project; I was working on a thesis paper and finishing up my graduate degree. It is done now, almost 100 pages later, but originally I thought I would be able to balance working on the game and the Thesis side by side, which didn’t work out so well. 

The core of the paper was actually about you guys, whom I coined the term “Kaiju Backers” for. The paper covered how you guys were the future for Kaiju Kraft and how I could better serve you over the next phase of Kaiju Kraft’s life. I am very thankful for your support, and look forward to making Pocket Odyssey the best it can be. There are many future plans I have for the project and for new content I am planning for you in 2015 (free content), however at this point my goal is to finish development first. I don’t want to continue promising things without delivering first. This is just to let you know, I truly appreciate your support and I plan to show that, not just with finishing Pocket Odyssey, but afterwards as well. 

I created a detailed production calendar and it puts the completion of the digital files for the game at the end of March (which is 5 months behind my original schedule if you are counting). There is some work that I am redoing for quality purposes, mainly the map art. After completing the maps for the beta box I realized my development process could use some improvement. However my general standard of quality has gone up overtime and so I have allotted more time for development than originally planned.

Due to the lateness of the deadlines, I want to be more accountable to you, so I plan on updating the Pocket Odyssey Facebook page every week starting this weekend. Each update may not be huge, but it’s to show that work is being completed, and to create the transparency that you as investors deserve.

Here are some images of the progress I have made this past week on implementing a new system for map creation. There isn’t a lot there, but again, I want to get better at showing work to you more often. We play tested the Beta Box again as well, each time I play it, it makes me excited to get it out to everyone. I made quite a bit of progress a couple weeks ago on a single player mode which is solid at this point but needs more specific testing. Moving forward I will continue developing the maps, so don’t be surprised if the next couple Facebook updates are maps. I still plan on making monthly updates on here, so I will see you again in February if you don’t plan on checking the Facebook updates.

Thanks again for the project support and patience dealing with a n00b Kickstarter developer ;). Pocket Odyssey is still alive (and thanks to the Thesis, better than ever)! Please look forward to more open development this year, and continue to support more Kickstarter projects!!!