📝 Pledge Manager for Quest Snakes going out this week!
1 day ago
– Tue, Dec 10, 2024 at 09:00:43 AM
Greetings citizens of Scaledonia!
This is Dick Durden again, coming to you with a quick update on this lovely Tuesday morning.
A few of you have been popping in to ask about the status of the pledge manager, so I wanted to summarize where we’re at:
- I just submitted a handful of edits and improvements per BackerKit's feedback right before writing this update.
- BackerKit will give the survey one final review today and should officially approve it.
- Once that happens, we will launch a "Smoke Test," which means the survey will be sent out to 5-10% of backers at random. We start with a small sample size to ensure everything runs smoothly. Once we pass the smoke test and address any feedback that might crop up, we will send the survey out to everyone.
- We should have the smoke test out in the next 48 hours and be able to send the survey out to everyone before the end of the week!
I wanted to ensure we didn’t rush this process because we have a lot of first-time backers who came out to support Quest Snakes—so it was really important to me that every little detail was accounted for, and we maximized clarity throughout the survey. A good example of this is adding questions that provide extensive information about your pledge tier and asking you to confirm that you understand what comes with your pledge. I noticed a handful of backers who got the Deluxe Edition also added the Bard + Druid expansions as add-ons. This was not necessary because these expansions come with the Deluxe Edition.
The survey will ensure you understand what you’re getting and give you the chance to modify your cart so you don’t accidentally get duplicate items or miss out on something you might have wanted.
Anyway, I promised I’d keep this short, so I’m going to wrap it up!
On the manufacturing side, here are a few quick updates so you can track where we’re at:
- We will wrap up our final sampling before the end of December. All art has been passed off to Whatz so we can review the latest standard and book box designs, neoprene mats with stitched edges, metal coins, holo Slippy, bags, and sticker sheets. Once we approve these samples, we should be clear to kick off full production. We were hoping to hit this milestone by the mid-January at the latest, so we’re slightly ahead of schedule here!
- Vee is wrapping up some last-minute polish on a handful of card art.
- I’ve completed my text and edit pass on all card text except the six "Immortalize Your Snake" cards, which I’ll finish this week after we get the pledge manager surveys out.
- We’ve kicked off manufacturing on the enamel pins and anticipate having those finished by January.
- We’re doing one more edit pass on the plushie prototype because we really want to ensure the design is perfect. We’ll kick off manufacturing on that in January.
- The shirts only take three weeks to print and are made here in the US, so we’re just sitting on the finalized designs for those and will kick that effort off once we get closer to fulfillment.
So much for a quick update! Haha for those who have stuck it out with me and read this far, I’ll include a little treat. Here are the proofs from the pins—our partners at Tasty Peach Studios did an AMAZING job with these, and we can’t wait to get them to you. And remember, you’ll still be able to add them to your cart via the pledge manager when that goes out!
Y'all are amazing! Thank you for continuing to cheer us on through this most epic of quests.
Cheers,
Dick Durden
Game Designer
🐍 Quest Snakes Update - Pledge Manager, Manufacturing, and Fulfilment
22 days ago
– Tue, Nov 19, 2024 at 01:36:59 PM
Hello citizens of Scaledonia!
This is Dick Durden here again with our first major update since wrapping up the campaign. Perhaps it goes without saying at this point, but I feel the need to once again thank you all for supporting us on this journey. Now the exciting stuff begins, so let’s waste no time and jump right in.
Since we last spoke, Vee and I have feverishly been working on polishing art, coordinating with manufacturing and distribution, building out the pledge manager, and doing everything we can to ensure this journey is as smooth for you all as humanly possible. Let me list out a quick hit list of where we stand today:
- Art is 90% complete. This includes polish on existing art, as well as developing the art for new snakes and guild leaders that we unlocked throughout the campaign.
- The pledge manager survey is complete and being QA'd as I write this.
- We are kicking off our last batch of sampling to ensure all of our stretch goal upgrades are exactly how we want them so the quality of Quest Snakes is unrivaled!
^^ We feel like we are right on track with our initial projections! There is still plenty of room for curveballs to be thrown our way, but we are working tirelessly to ensure we make you all proud.
Next, I'd like to highlight a specific update regarding distribution that I find quite exciting. We had already partnered with Bridge Distribution (out of Atlanta, GA) to handle fulfillment. But we wanted to reduce costs for all of our EU + UK friends since so many of you came out to support Quest Snakes. So I am excited to announce that we are partnering with Meeple Distribution (Netherlands) for a majority of our non-US fulfillment. Where it still makes sense (i.e., Canada), Bridge will handle shipping. But partnering with Meeple has let us cut costs for EU + UK folks by a pretty significant chunk. We are really proud and excited about this partnership, and hope you are too!
From a product + manufacturing perspective, I wanted to give a quick update regarding the Exclusive Deluxe Book Box. A handful of folks who backed the Deluxe Bundle expressed that they really like the base game box and were saddened they couldn't get it with the Deluxe Bundle.
We took this feedback very seriously, considering this was our most popular tier, and we want to do right by everyone who supported us. We also wanted to avoid logistical challenges like offering extra boxes or creating new SKUs, for these risked muddying fulfillment and creating clutter.
I'm really excited about the solution we landed on—it feels simple, addresses what folks want, and simply adds value to the Deluxe Bundle. We are working with Whatz Games (our manufacturer) to create a box sleeve for the book box that will mirror the art on the base game box. This way, if you want to display your box with the original base game design, you simply display it in its sleeve. Want to display the book box? Take the sleeve off!
In hindsight, it’s so obvious, but I'm really happy we arrived here and am hopeful this will make the Deluxe Bundle all the more exciting to receive next year! As we get updates from our manufacturer, I will be sure to post pictures in future updates!
So to set expectations, I'm hoping to have those BackerKit pledge manager surveys out in the next 7-10 days. If you have any questions in the meantime, please post them here.
Now to end on a fun note, here is a picture of Vee and I celebrating the end of the campaign when they came to visit me Halloween weekend! Also, as a bonus, here is Gabby and me at Repticon a week ago!
Y'all rock—have a great start to your week!
With endless gratitude,
Dick Durden
Game Designer
THANK YOU!!! 🐍 + Announcing your 6th* Guild Leader!
about 1 month ago
– Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 07:48:28 AM
Vee and I can’t thank you enough for all the amazing support that has allowed Quest Snakes to not only be successfully funded but to blow WAY past our original goal!
And thanks to you, we unlocked all of our stretch goals, including our FINAL $140,000 stretch goal...
A free Sticker Sheet with all base and deluxe copies of Quest Snakes!
The sticker sheet option got so many votes in the previous stretch goals that we decided we really wanted to do right by the countless backers who were excited about them. Rest assured, Vee and I are committed to the continuous development of Quest Snakes. Ideas that were thrown out as stretch goals, such as a solo mode, physical golden mice, additional expansions, etc. are in the works. We decided we ultimately wanted to hold on to those for 2025. Simply put, we are just at the beginning of our journey together.
So in lieu of a vote, I want to try something different. I'd love if you took the time to comment one of the following on this update:
A: Your favorite memory from the Quest Snakes Kickstarter
B: What you're looking forward to most with Quest Snakes
C: Your favorite snake in Scaledonia
If you're feeling extra spicy, you can comment your response to all three!
We’re beyond pumped to dive into production and get your copy of Quest Snakes out to you as soon as possible. It’s time to make this dream a reality!
What to Expect Next 📝
In the coming weeks, you’ll receive a survey from BackerKit. This will let you…
- Confirm the choices you made when backing the campaign
- Choose any extras and add-ons you’d like
- Confirm your shipping information
To keep us on track with production and shipping, it’s super important that you complete these surveys promptly. We want to get Quest Snakes into your hands without any delays! Keep an eye out for me to post an Update here on Kickstarter as we get close to sending that out.
Once again, THANK YOU for being part of this incredible journey. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here for you!
Oh... right... there is that whole matter of announcing a winner for the 6th guild leader. For those who are new to the party and unaware, 10 pet snakes were selected as finalists to represent the 6th guild leader in Quest Snakes.
So I suppose we should announce our winner! Wait... wh-what's that Slippy? Vee said what? Vee said we can have three winners from the finalists?
Well then, let's announce the three winners from our 10 finalists!
Major congrats to Haku, Cookie, and Sir Julus Hisstopher Hoggington who all won over the hearts of the backers and the Quest Snakes team alike! We can't wait to see what you all do as distinguished guild leaders!
For our other 7 finalists, don't fret! I know that there were some serious fan favorites out there. As I mentioned earlier, Vee and I are committed to the continuous development of Quest Snakes. I plan to reach out to the other finalists to find ways we can ensure this isn't the last time their snakes venture into Scaledonia.
Okay, I think that's just about a wrap. I'll be in contact with you all in the next week or so to give an update on how the pledge manager is coming along. But I promise to send less emails now that the campaign is wrapped. 😅
With endless gratitude,
Dick Durden
Game Designer
🎉 Announcing our 6th stretch goal!
about 1 month ago
– Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 12:00:43 PM
Voting for our 6th stretch goal has concluded, and I'm excited to share... this was our closest vote yet!
All three options received at least 50 votes each, and the top two were incredibly close.
With that said, our sixth stretch goal unlock is...
Both the Premium Recovery Mat add-on AND a holographic Slippy card!
That’s right—the vote was so close we decided to double down on stretch goal #6.
Holographic Slippy Card
As a reminder, the holographic Slippy will be added to ALL copies of both the base game and deluxe bundle. This will be in addition to the regular Slippy card—perfect if you’re like me and prefer to keep your foils separate from your playing deck.
Premium Recovery Mats
This will be a new add-on available for $30, including all six mats. The mats will be made with 2.0mm thick neoprene rubber with stitched edging.
Note: These mats will not be included in any current reward bundle—you’ll need to purchase them separately as add-ons.
For those who voted for the sticker sheet—don't fret! We are inching closer and closer to our final stretch goal. In addition, we've made a commitment to the Quest Snakes community to offer sticker sheets down the line, even if we don't hit the final stretch goal in our Kickstarter campaign!
We are SO grateful to have reached this point with all of you.
If you haven’t cast your vote for our 6th guild leader yet, check out the 10 finalists here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/realfakegames/quest-snakes/posts/4236780
Want to read the full stories that each handler wrote about their snake? You can find them on the homepage of our website:
https://realfakegames.com/
And since I’m already on a link-sharing spree, come hang out with the Quest Snakes community on Discord:
https://discord.gg/ztRpTnDHjM
After the campaign concludes, I plan to host some fun events on Discord—so you definitely don’t want to miss out!
Okay, I’ll stop yapping. This is way too much talking for a Tuesday. Y'all rock!
Dick Durden
Game Designer
🐍 Announcing our finalists for the 6th guild leader! Cast your vote now!!
about 1 month ago
– Mon, Oct 28, 2024 at 05:13:28 PM
First and foremost, I want to apologize for posting two updates in one day! I'm always mindful of not spamming anyone’s inbox. That said, we're in the final stretch of the campaign, and there is a lot of exciting news to share—so I hope you all can forgive me!
I am SO excited to bring you the 10 finalists from our "Nominate Your Snake" competition. If you're unfamiliar, backers have been sharing epic stories in the Kickstarter comments section about why their pet snake would make the perfect 6th guild leader in Quest Snakes. Guild leaders are extra-special snakes in Scaledonia, represented as characters on the game’s six Recovery Mats.
Vee and I loved reading through everyone’s posts. Before announcing the finalists, I want to thank you all SO much for taking the time to write such beautiful pieces about your boopable noodles and for sharing your passion and excitement for Quest Snakes. If your snake was not selected, please don’t take it personally.
Here’s how we made our selections: Vee and I scored each entry, added them to a picker wheel based on their score, and rolled the wheel ten times. Every story was touching, funny, or thoughtful—so much so that we gave nearly every entry the highest score possible and left the final choice to chance. I’m sharing this just so you know how difficult the selection process was and that, if your snake didn’t make it, it’s certainly not a reflection of the quality of your entry.
This competition, along with the "Immortalize Your Snake" pledge tier, was so popular that Vee and I are certain we’ll create more opportunities to feature your pet snakes in future Quest Snakes projects! Keep an eye out for that.
Okay, enough of me rambling. Time to introduce your finalists! Drumroll, please…
Congratulations to all of our finalists!
Now, it’s up to you—the backers.
Please vote for a single snake you'd like to see become the 6th guild leader in Quest Snakes. Cast your vote by commenting their name in the comments section of this update. Don’t worry about typos—unless they’re extreme, we’ll be able to figure out what you meant!
Voting will remain open until the campaign closes on Thursday morning.
Best of luck to all our amazing finalists, and as always, thank you so much for your continued love and support!
Dick Durden
Game Designer
