Printing errors, new cards and colour theory

Story cards, Question cards, Vice cards and Virtue cards

Well, it has been a busy week! Firstly I have been able to finish off and print the Virtue cards, vice cards, question cards and story cards. The only cards left to get to the first pass stage are the character cards and a single reference card. I have been able to print them all off also! Which has given me a laundry list of changes that need to be implemented asap. First of all the small sentences between the virtue,vice and question cards need to be shortened and enlarged to be visible on the final cards, all the cards need desaturating as a general rule, the question cards need to be balanced contrast wise. Final job is to change the colour of the proof cards so that they match the remaining proof cards (a sort of bronze colour instead of their current colour), then go over the proof card artwork, removing some of the more terrible edits and having the artist touch up the backgrounds. I also need to standardise the reds that appear throughout the card artwork.

That sounds like a lot, but the truth is this is going very quickly, the cards should be done with a little time to spare, but saying that I am still anxious to get them sent off to the card printers before it gets too late in the year; I still need to set up a presentation and a mini essay, not to mention that I still need to write out the rulebook properly! The card box is going to require about £30 to finish, but saying that it will not require much time to complete, which is good.

Overall I am very pleased with the progress of my game, I feel Preposterous has taught me much about the process of card game creation and if I am lucky it might even sell in a year or so!

Proof cards coming along great!

Preposterous proof cards! Artwork by Becky Michalak, Backgrounds, effects, editing by Myself

Well, Preposterous is coming along nicely now; I have been able to put together the majority of the proof cards already! Some need a little bit of work, also there are still another 10 proof cards, along with the 8 character cards to finish. However beyond that the majority of the cards are put together, the next step will be to put together the text only cards (story cards, virtue/vice and questions). I have acquired my presentation box for the game and plan to slightly modify it, my plan is to get a brass plate engraved over the box's Ace symbol with the game's name, then line the inside with red felt and get the rules onto a piece of card on the inside of the lid. Then everything shall be done and dusted with this game... well on the master's side of things; I still want to set it up for sale in the USA (and if that goes well England too) however there will be another stage of proofing before that, and since - for the moment - I am moving on to the third part of my masters degree, which will most likely be based on Preposterous but not be preposterous itself.

Deadlines

The end is Neigh! Well, at least for the second part of my Masters Degree.

So, what have I learnt?

Firstly, I have learnt that the concept of a mid-core game is an attempt to create a third games market in-between two other markets, however the evidence that suggested mid-core games suggests that a market exists for a different type of roleplaying game - one not based on statistics and simple power fantasy.

Secondly, I (believe) I have proven that roleplaying games are not so much about playing a character, more that they are about allowing the player to live out a power fantasy or freedom fantasy. I am not trying to say that this is a negative thing, more that I am more interested in another type of role-playing; I enjoy the aspect of storytelling with friends and collectively creating a world and story.

Thirdly, I have hopefully proven that it can be fun and enjoyable to sit down with a group of friends and create a story! It just takes the right environment and rules, but more importantly it requires just enough of a starting point to get things in motion. Preposterous has proven this concept with it's mechanics, it has also proven that a set criteria for what can or cannot be said completely destroys the players' capability to create anything comfortably.

With all of those conclusions my outcome becomes clear:

Before my presentation in December I plan to finish Preposterous and have a single copy of the game created. This will not be a easy goal to achieve, tragically the company (https://www.thegamecrafter.com/) would require more than a month's advanced notice to create a single copy of the game so I will have to improvise a card set for the time being. In all I need the game finished by the end of December, which is a short deadline to fulfill,  for the amount of cards that require work still, I believe it is a goal that is easily achievable however.

Secondly I will need to buffer out my blog, a lot of the finer details of my game's creation have not been posted as of yet. This list includes:

• A completed change log of the Preposterous rule set, including feedback and intentions for changes.

• A cut up short video of a play test of Preposterous.

• A card listing for Preposterous.

• Some more examples of the finished cards!

Besides all of this I plan to write a short essay explaining what I have learnt from Preposterous, just as a way to express the journey I have taken. I believe I will also need to translate this information into a short presentation (so a power-point), which should not be too difficult.

All in all the end is in sight and the work is mounting up, making me wish my time had been better spent, but I won't be discouraged! I am confidant that I can get this done with time to spare! In fact I have already secured a box for my first copy of preposterous! 

I just gotta get rid of that Spade and put a Brass plate on it!