Technoir Preorder

Posted by on October 17, 2011 4 comments

The print version of Technoir is nearly available, and you can preorder your copy today. The print version ships October 28th and you’ll get to download the PDF immediately.

If you’ve already bought a PDF copy of the game, and you’d be interested in upgrading to the print version, be sure to email me at jeremy [at] cellar-games [dot] com with a proof of purchase (your PDF order number or the email address you used to contribute to the Kickstarter campaign), and I’ll hook you up with a $5 discount.

The book looks pretty sweet if I do say so myself.

Freelancing

Posted by on August 19, 2011 10 comments

Since Gencon, I’ve been gradually transitioning out of my full-time job as an animator for a video productions company and am beginning to do freelance work for the RPG industry as my primary source of income. If that last phrase doesn’t sound scary to you, then I can only assume the acronym RPG stands for something different to you than it does to me. I am not working for the rocket propelled grenade industry (ok, that sounds frightening as well).

Anyway, I invite you to watch from the safety of your own home as I undertake this exciting and often warned against career move. Will he be able to make rent? Can he find affordable health insurance? Will he marry just for the financial stability? Tune in next week to Freelancer Mystery Theater.
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Gencon 2011 Games on Demand

Posted by on August 1, 2011 7 comments

Hey friends,

In two days I leave for Gencon Indy 2011! Can’t wait to see everyone who’s going out there. Technoir won’t be there in print, unfortunately, but I will have a few special Transmissions to hand out.

I’ll be spending a good chunk of my time at Games on Demand. This is your one-stop location to try out new and not-so-new indie and small-press games. It’s going on Thursday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm and Sunday from 10am to 2pm. You can find it at the Pennsylvania Station C Meeting Room in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Slots start every 2 hours. Be sure to bring some generic tickets. Read more »

Technoir is now on DriveThruRPG and RPGNow!

Posted by on July 26, 2011 9 comments

If you didn’t have a chance to pick up Technoir through the Kickstarter, you can now find the PDF available at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow!

Technoir PDF now available

Posted by on July 25, 2011 2 comments

First things first. The print edition of the game won’t be ready in time for Gen Con Indy as I had been hoping for. Here’s what happened: over the course of the beta testing and the Kickstarter, the page count for the book grew by about 60 pages. This meant a higher per unit cost to have the book printed in color through a Print on Demand printer. That would have led to a higher cover price (for everyone buying the book post-Kickstarter). Plus, I would have had to rush to finish the book and rush through the proofing process—this could have led to several errors and a substandard book.

Thankfully, due the funds raised through the Kickstarter campaign and the sheer numbers of supporters who purchased the print edition of Technoir, I can have the book printed by an offset printer. This means keeping the unit price low enough to stick to the $25 cover price. And while it means it’s going to take longer to print than I originally expected (we’re looking at September now at the earliest), it also means I can take the time to make sure that every error I find (with the help of some amazing proofreaders) is corrected and the full-color art appears exactly as it should on the page. Read more »

Technoir Beta Rev Final

Posted by on July 14, 2011 8 comments

I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of feedback on the Technoir Beta over the last month or so. Your comments and concerns have given me a lot to work with in shaping this little game into something stronger (and, by page count, bigger). I’ve just posted a new version of the beta with what is likely going to be close to the final text of the game. Please look it over and let me know what you think. I’m curious to hear if it addresses issues you may have had with the previous versions. If you get a chance to playtest it over the next week or so, I’d love to get your feedback.


Technoir Beta – 813KB

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Technoir Art Preview

Posted by on July 7, 2011 5 comments

Here a couple pieces of art I’ve been working on for Technoir that are almost complete. These are two of the full page pieces that will introduces the chapters. Enjoy. Read more »

A note on Technoir’s cover art

Posted by on June 27, 2011 3 comments

In the process of the production of Technoir a certain artistic style has been developed for the interior art and it has led to an unfortunate situation in which the cover art I had already commissioned is no longer consistent with the rest of the book.

Because I’ve been using the art by Malcolm McClinton here, on Kickstarter, and elsewhere to promote the book, I wanted to let you know about this decision as soon as possible. To be clear, I’m still extremely happy with Malcolm’s talented work and have no regrets about commissioning it. It’s helped me to conceptualize the atmosphere of the game.

But for me, having a consistent vision throughout the book is important and so I’m designing a new cover that fits this new style.

I know many of you were likely drawn to this game by Malcolm’s art and perhaps even backed the project largely because of it. I am considering printing a short run of an alternate version of the book with Malcolm’s cover. So, if it’s important to you, please let me know if that is something you would want.

Thank you.

 

Talking Technoir

Posted by on June 13, 2011 1 comment

I don’t have time for much of a blog post today, but it did want to point out a few places where Technoir is being discussed elsewhere on the internet. I might have mentioned a couple of these on twitter, but haven’t done so yet on the blog.

First off, Michael Wolf interviewed me last week on the Stargazer’s World blog. We talked about how I got into game design and some of the unique components of Technoir.

Second, the crew from Actual People, Actual Play discussed their playtest of Technoir on their latest episode of their podcast. This was a great source of feedback for me. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Finally, some playtesters have been providing their feedback publicly in a couple of threads at Story Games: [Technoir] A couple issues and [Technoir] 2nd session playtest. The resulting discussion has been amazing for me to reveal some issues in how the game is being communicated and help crystalize for me what I need to make explicit in my next revision of the rules. If you want to see into the guts of how the game is responding to playtest feedback, it’s all happening in that thread.

As always, if you’re talking about Technoir (or Chronica Feudalis for that matter) on your blog, podcast, or a forum somewhere, I’d be happy to hear about, weigh-in if it’s appropriate, and/or link to it from here.

Jeremy’s Guide to Writing Transmissions

Posted by on June 8, 2011 13 comments

So a lot of people have been talking on twitter, forums, and blogs about writing their own transmissions for Technoir. This is amazing. This is exactly what I was hoping for. I want to help you as much as I can to do this. …and do this well. …so you will do it more. So I decided to write a brief guide explaining my process as I’ve written the Twin Cities and Los Angeles transmissions.

Exposition

Write three paragraphs about your city. One is about its unique take on technology, one is about the environment in the region, and the third is about its society—especially given the influences of technology and environment. Think of what themes you want to address with your transmission and talk about them here. This is the most wordy you get to be in the entire document, so enjoy that freedom while you can.

The Nodes

You’re going to come up with 36 nodes. Six connections, six events, six factions, six locations, six objects, and six threats. Each one is going to have a short, one-line description. Don’t write so much that you explain what the node is—write just enough that the GM reading is inspired to define what the node is herself as she connects it to other nodes on her plot map. Read more »