Hello and welcome to the Weekly Scroll podcast.
My Name Is Ryan. And I'm a space cowboy, but
animated like I'm in Ghost in the Shell.
And and today we have a very special guest that is Camilla of
Crescent Chimera. How are you doing today, Camila?
Thank you. Really happy to be here.
Really excited to talk about the game.
Yeah. I mean, I think how do we even
start this? I mean, congratulations on being
extraordinarily funded and who, like from out of nowhere you
came in and I think the entire scene took notice very quickly
to how gorgeous and awesome this project looks.
So I guess before we get going, like who, who, Who The Who the
heck is Camilla? And how did you kind of come in
and just blow everything up like this?
Thank you. I I feel really interested in in
RPGs for a while and about two years ago or so I I knew I
wanted to do like my own thing. So I I started this idea of
making like a small sign for sign month, which was the
original idea for Astro Prisma, just like a sci-fi space
exploration game with like some faction elements, some story
elements included in there too. And yeah, it was supposed to
come out about one a year and a half ago or so, and it just kept
getting bigger and bigger. I kept doing more art.
I wanted to do more pages and yeah, over time I just decided
to push the project back and make it as good as they could.
And yeah, that's that's in the rest.
Yeah, and this is and this is your first like TTRPG project
ever. Right.
Yeah, yeah. This is my first RPG anything.
Yeah. And it's, I mean, again, that's
I I said it like 10 times before we got started here.
That just blows my mind because when you look at this and anyone
that's listening, please go to, you know, check out Asthma
Prazon, Kickstarter. Obviously that's why we're here.
But the layout is incredible. The art's incredible.
I mean, top to bottom, it looks absolutely fantastic.
I'm really excited to get it and see see how it plays.
We're going to talk about the gameplay here a little bit too,
but what I I think, and again I think I said this before the
show started, I don't know a lot of people in the space that can
do everything that you've done on here as far as the art, the
layout like you're talking about, even like learning
Blender for some of the graphics, like the maps, like
everything is incredible. So you said that you do like
graphic design on on the side. Is that what?
Yeah, on this side I actually, I I studied cinematography in
university. That was like what I was yeah,
getting like professional academic training for like
shooting movies, doing special effects, post production.
Yeah. And actually my my intention was
always to be like a game developer, like video game
developer. So my background like longer
term has been like pixel art, music and then just learning
coding and that sort of thing. And about I want to say 3-4
years ago I I found out about like in the RPGs, like the whole
scene I got, I fell in love with it immediately.
And yeah, from there I just got the idea to make my own.
Very cool. And what's your so like, What is
your background in like playing tabletop games?
Like what's your go to game and what games?
Do you play my go to game? I would say I really like
sci-fi. I think that's part of the
reason why I I found out about indie games, Steven, because
Daniels and Dragons is like, you know it's it's so big, but if
you like sci-fi, it doesn't really offer that.
So I feel like if you like science fiction games you like,
you have to go out and out of your way to like find in this
stuff that is like Mothership different space something
different. And yeah, and I would say I
would say Mothership is like my favorite.
It's like the one that really make me, made me fall in love
with it. The graphic design, especially
on the expansions like a pound of flesh, gradient descent, like
they're all amazing. And then then I got really into
solo games and I would say solo games that that I really like.
I would say my main one is miru. I mentioned that a lot in that's
like my favorite by far. And then I would say something
like I was sent Empty Light by Alfred Valles, another amazing
one. The soundtrack of that is is
really good. I do music, so playing that game
with the soundtrack by the side is like one of my favorite
experiences with RPGs ever. And yeah, I would say those two.
I also, I've been getting into like more journaling type games
lately. I used to like more like board
game type solo RPGs. And yeah, I also really like the
games from Mouse Hole Press. They're the people that do
Artifact Bucket of Polls, Corey Co.
They did recently. Yeah, those games are also
amazing too. Yeah, I mean that's that's
definitely a a high list to shoot for.
When you look at the the touchstones and in you know your
sub stack on the Kickstarter page, you know like you said
Miru Henakoto is does amazing stuff.
I'm so excited to finally get a box for all of it after the new
Kickstarter. Me too.
Yeah, Rue Notorious 1000 MC likes like you said.
I mean, Alfred Valley is an insanely amazing solo solo game
designer, So. Designer yeah.
Yeah, period. Yeah.
But the great inspirations to have for this and and and I
assume you know that you you fell in love with solo RP GS and
that's kind of why you made your first game a solo RPG.
That's. Is that a good assumption?
Yeah, the thing with like being into RPGs is that I feel like
you end up collecting so many without playing them, like going
on each going on trial. Yeah, like what you're talking
about. I just I don't know what do.
You mean? Yeah, like at any any month.
Like I can buy like 5 to 10 RPGs on each that I love like even a
small games. And I feel like with solo games
it's much easier to like establish a connection with them
because I I think I've played every single solo game that I
own. But with like multiplayer games
it's much harder. You have to find like the right
group and have the time for it. Even if you had like the best
group that is like super into all these in the games, like you
would need days and days to just go through all them.
See like the solo RPGs is just I feel like it's easier to connect
with people because you know they're going to be playing
them. At least for my first game, I
wanted to I I want to also do like traditional like
multiplayer games too. But for my first game, I thought
going solo, it was like a niche market that I could like, make
something really cool for. OK, so, so Astro Prisma, that's
that's why we're here. That's what we're talking about.
This is the solo RPG. So what is?
What is Astro Prisma? Astro Prisma is a just solo game
Is mostly focused on a space exploration.
I feel like that's the defining factor when when I was playing
like Mothership in Space, Cyborg, all these other sci-fi
games I had this age to like you know going on a spaceship and
explore different planets, different locations as that sort
of thing. And I feel like I didn't really
get them from those games. They're they're more like you
know you play on an adventure in like 1 specific location and
that's what jokes is in like a sci-fi setting.
But you don't actually go into an explorer like the unknown.
So I made a surpism very specifically trying to target
that and then I would say the other big element that defines
it and makes it different from other games is the function
element. It's very much instead of like a
linear story or like an adventure story that you go
through, it's different factions.
Each one has their own quests, their own storylines, and it's
sort of up to you as a player to like decide what you want to
side with, what you want to oppose and sort of build that on
your own. Gotcha.
So exploration is, you know, kind of the focus.
That's what you said what. So in the game, like what
encourages the exploration, like what is, what is in the game
that allows for that? When the game is sent, around
the core element is this hex scroll map, like a space system.
It's sort of like a hexagonal like 36 styles and at the center
of the star of the system and every single like ring of access
around it is like a different area different ring and sort of
your main goal is to explore the entire system to fill that map
to see what you you find in there.
And as the game progresses, it's going to transition more into
the function element of the game where like instead once you've
explored the whole thing, it's about OK, what faction do I want
to have control over these resources in this planet?
Or what faction don't want to side with in this battle that's
taking place in like the middle of space over here?
And you sort of rest your increase your like favour with
the factions and decide like the fate of of the system in that
way. Very cool.
The faction's really, really cool too.
I love. I loved Warg, you know, I just
loved the you. Know.
My cab like this is great. Yeah, I mean, yeah, let's talk
about the faction. So what what made you want to
have? Because I love factions.
Factions are absolutely fantastic.
So many adventures and so many settings.
When done well, factions add so much depth to to that.
What made you want to make the faction element such a central
kind of facet of the game? I would say because it's such a
like exploration centered game and it's like very open for the
player, like there's you don't need to do anything.
It's all up to you. Like if you want to go explore
that planet you can go. If you want to go and fight the
1st cargo ship you find you can also do that.
It's very open. In that sense.
My first thought is to sort of take inspirations from video
games that do similar things like games like Father New Vegas
I I I mentioned in the page for example that is also a game that
like you start the game and you can go wherever you want, do
whatever you want. Their exploration games at their
core and the way those games usually work is they have the
function to the function element to add the story, to add more
structure and like sort of overarching narratives to the
game while still remaining like fully open.
Like you can join, leave the function, do whatever you want.
See, it was more in that sense why I decided to add functions I
didn't want to like to like lower downs to the player or
like to like you have to go to this place and then this place
and like follow every path. No, Like I wanted the game to
be, like I said, very open but also very replayable.
If you wanna play one time and like join these two factions.
Next time you play you can join the the other factions and have
a different experience there. You go, yeah, I mean, like I
said, faction play, you know, especially Fallout, that's such
a great example cuz those are so important in those and
especially in like a game geared on solo exploration.
It like you said, having these overarching narratives and
overarching things. I mean when I think a lot of
faction play a game, that's not sci-fi at all.
I really loved Skyrim for the same kind of way where like you
can pick one and have whole storylines with it and when you
play the game you could pick the other one.
I mean, I always became an assassin and killed everybody
every time, but the option was there for other factions, you
know? So there are 5 factions, you
know what? What are?
What are those? Kind of just a quick rundown of
of those. Yeah, there's five of them.
I I wanted to do factions that were a little bit that sort of
cover every not every trope, but like every corner of sci-fi that
you want to experience in a game like this.
But it's sort of be a little different than, you know, like
the Star Wars thing of like the Empire.
It's like the faction and then the Rebels.
I wanted to do something a little bit different.
So I mean 5 factions. The first one is war like you
said, that is like sort of guerrilla faction, very like
very radical sort of eco terrorist sort of organization.
It's it's really good faction, but it's also going to put you
in like a very interesting sort of decisions that you're going
to have to take or like have your own ideas or your own
standing within the faction. Then there's there's Courser
Syndicate, which is like your bounty hunter action outlaw
faction that is going to give you like quests to like, you
know, bounty contracts to like go to this planet and kill this
person sort of thing. And if you're more an amoral
type of player, you can do those things too.
There's Medusa Sector, which is like a hacker faction.
If you really want to go into like that sort of character that
side of the game, get Hawks, increase your practice mind, get
a lot of cyber tech, that whole thing.
And then there's the, there's the Intersolar Federation which
is like a trade Federation. If you want that's for like if
you want to be like a space trucker, if you want to do cargo
missions like take these people or like these materials from
this factory planet into this space station and that sort of
thing. And then the final one is the
synth arch. It was just a little bit more
esoteric. It's like a it's a function of
androids, robots that like the whole idea is the world is the
post apocalyptic universe. So it's it's it's in space, it's
the universe, but it's post apocalyptic.
So the the galactic empires, the civilizations have perished
thousands of years ago or hundreds of years ago.
So a lot of the robots, a lot of technology is very old and the
AIS and these sort of things have like gone past their the
point where like they're self aware, they're trying to figure
out like religious questions, like esoteric spiritual things.
So it's like this really interesting idea for a faction
of, like its center around robotics and like cyborgs and
that sort of thing, but it's also almost like a religious
faction in a way. Yeah, so what's if you had to
pick your favorite faction of those, what's your favorite one
to play with? My favorite one to play.
That's a hard question because I I on purpose started to do every
single one very fun. And I have this thing where
like, I know my own like tendencies as a player.
If I play like something like Daniel Sandragos, I always try
to like make warlocks or sorcerers and I probably never
going to pick a warrior. So for this game because I know
that it's like my tendency, I want to make the warrior
character equivalent in this game extra fun.
So even someone like me that doesn't like warriors would have
a lot of fun playing a warrior character.
Mr. Personal, which is in this game is like echo Terrorist sort
of thing. So I would actually say Warrior
is my favorite one because I really went out of my way to
like make it really fun even for people that don't like combat
centered proactors. Very cool.
Yeah, very cool. I mean, I immediately gravitate
towards Corsair Syndicate and Synth Arch, but that surprises
nobody because you're right, we we, we know who we are as
players and I'm very well established as an Edge Lord
piece of shit. So, so the actual game play
mechanic, because there's all spread here, that's stunning.
That's like the combat spread. It's one of the first ones I saw
and I was like, again, completely blown away.
But you have the six archetypes for characters.
There is combat mechanics as far as the actual gameplay loop with
the characters and everything. How?
How does it actually run? The best way I can describe it,
this is the way to describe it. It's like it's very similar to a
game like Miru, where like you're moving through the map 1
hex tile every time you move in the game.
Like every time you move a hex it's called one cycle.
So the idea is that one day is 1 hex sort of thing.
So you move hex by hex, you roll on the tables, you generate what
you explore you, you get events, encounters, characters.
And yeah, you used to go exploring one tile at a time.
And depending on what you encounter, like sometimes you
encounter a ship and you can get into ship combat, you can talk
to the other ship, trade, do anything you want, but sometimes
encounter a planet and you can land on the planet, explore the
planet, maybe find someone from a faction, talk to him.
So it really depends on what you actually find while exploring.
Nice. Yeah.
I so, I I mean, I know you said you were getting more into solo
journaling games. I own a million.
But I it's I just can't find myself sitting down to be able
to do that. My ADHD and everything, just it
it really drives me nuts. I love the solo exploration kind
of games. Like I know you said Miro Bunch
Miro is such an amazing game from Hanukkoto.
So this is definitely scratching like I think the perfect itch
and the I think the goal you're going for is to have a game like
this and and get to play in that sci-fi setting.
Like actually get you know those mothership vibes and I just
can't tell you how sad I am that you know it is an adventure
game. There is there is combat.
So how does in in a solo game with with all of the rolling and
stuff like that, how does combat and the character stats and
everything come into play? Yeah, so for combat there's
actually two different systems. You have your character to
character combat, so like you know you get chased by a bounty
hunter and you have to like face them.
That is 1 system. And then there's another system
for ship to ship combat, like space combat.
Those sort of work differently and they try to go for different
styles. Character combat is is more
traditional, like similar to other RPGs because it's a solo
game. What you do is you roll on each
anime character has a different table and it's AT 10.
So you roll at 10 every turn for the enemy and it tells you what
they do. And on your turn you can choose
from, yeah, a big number of actions to do.
That you can also see in your character sheet.
As for As for space combat, it's a little bit different.
It's that is actually very inspired by the game FTL as the
other night the video game. Amazing game.
Yeah, so you see the layout of your ship that you can like
customize or you can also just buy like a pre made ship from
the book. You see the layout of your ship
and you have different modules and the way it works is that you
roll there's like a dice pool system.
So depending on energy that your ships reactor produces you get
more dice or less dice. So you say you roll like 3:00 to
6:00 and then you allocate those to 6 results to the different.
So for example you you put 2A5 and A6 on your weapons to the
damage and then if you put a three on your Shields so to
defend your ship from they name attacks and then on the the
enemy turn you're all designed on the table.
They they you do what what it says on the table and then again
it's your turn. So they're two different
systems. I try to make it varied so it
never gets boring. You're going from one to the
other and it it can make it fun for like longer playing
sessions. And yes, ship company strength
is more tactical, again more FTL centre, and the regular is more
traditional RPG combat. Give some great touchstones on
this, like I love FTLI, love ghosts in the shell, like we all
love Al Alfred Valley. Like this is like, I'm really
incredibly excited to get this in hand and play it.
So beyond the book, what other rewards come like as part of the
kicks are? I see there's a lot of other
stuff on here. Yeah, So when I wanted to do
like the expansions or Avengers for this game, I just kept
thinking about Mouse Reader because it's like my favorite
way of doing expansions where like, you can get this back of
like a bunch of small expansions that are like trifles and each
one is super unique. Super, It has its own aesthetic,
its own graphic design, its own setting almost.
So when I wanted to do an expansion for a Superisma,
instead of like just one sign that's like 30 pages.
I said I I want to do like 7 expansions that are like each
super unique, super different from each other.
And that's basically when you can get, you can get, there's a
pack, the expansion pack that you can get in the Deluxe
edition, which is 5 trifold expansions.
And then if you get the the Astromancer edition which is
like the everything bundle you get an an additional expansion
in there which is a little bit bigger.
It's it has like its own setting its own location sort of thing
and also because we hit a a stretch goal every single person
that box the Kickstarter now is going to get a free expansion.
So even if you back the just the book the the most basic physical
theory, you're going to get a free expansion that is written
by Jessa Vine, which is the author of Planet Fist and so
many other amazing games. And I'm super excited to like
see what she comes up with to do the graphics for that one.
Yeah, yeah. It's fantastic, yeah.
There is so much in this project.
Like not that it's like too much or anything.
It's just it's impressive how like filled in.
This is like all the way. I know we keep saying like, wow,
for your first project this is so impressive.
But like, also wow for your first project, this is really so
impressive. Yeah.
Well, I mean, there's also there's a there's the journal
that comes with it as well, right?
And then there's poster map, I think.
Did the stretch goal, have you had all the stretch goals?
Like, isn't there going to be a soundtrack now as well?
There's. Going to be a soundtrack.
There's going to be a online generator.
There's going to be other extras.
I got updated because we just hit 90K today and I I don't
think I've updated it since we hit 60 K So there's like a even
more things are going to come in down the pipeline.
So yeah, there's there's a bunch of stuff.
The next thing I'm looking forward with the stretch goals
is I'm trying to get it in like a VTT sort of software so you
can play the entire game, fully digital, fully integrated.
And yeah, especially for a solar experience like I I feel like
that's going to be so much fun. Yeah.
Do you have any thoughts on like are you thinking about doing a
VDT that already exists and just making a module for it or having
like your own like website for it?
Or yeah, the idea is to make a like A to integrate it in
Alchemy VDT if you're familiar with that one.
Oh yeah. Yeah, but I also like every
single thing that I make for the game.
I I wanted to be really accessible for people.
So even like if if you don't play in the VDT, if you just
want to play digitally, like all of the character sheets are
going to be like editable, like writable.
So you can edit them, change them.
The if you got the digital journal, not just the physical
one, but like if you you got the digital, that's also going to be
editable, so you can keep track of everything there, write them
up there, yeah. We're massive fan of like
digital tools and I love like form fillable character sheets
and it's cool that it's becoming more prominent.
But it always surprised me that it's not like everyone should
make when a lot of people are playing online now.
So it's really cool to hear that you were making them because I
play solo games on my like 2 screens where I have everything
designed and I'm like, so it's really nice to like oh cool, I
don't have to like open a Google Doc and just kind of like make
or like Google Sheets and like make my own.
I'm so very excited for that as well.
One of the well the soundtrack is.
I'm very, very excited for that. Are you?
So I know you said you do make music.
Are you also doing the soundtrack as well?
Yeah, I I mean music. I have like a synthesizer here.
Yeah. Like so far I've only, I mean
like once they four or five songs like the the one that you
hear on the trailer, that's the the only one that I've finished.
But yeah, like over the next month or two while I finish the
main game, I I just want to have the entire soundtrack ready.
And yeah, like ambient songs, like combat songs, every single
thing. So you can sort of seamlessly
put that alongside you when you play and like I I think it
really helps immersion. Absolutely.
It is so impressive how much stuff you do.
It's crazy. Like, yeah, I did all the art
and I wrote the game. I'm writing the soundtrack.
I'm like, Oh my God, I'm bad. I.
Did the layout, I did the promo, I did the yeah.
Oh yeah, I make music. I'll just add that too.
Is that it's insane. Is that a little mini MPK you
have over there though? Yeah, yeah.
That's a good. One PK Mini.
Yeah, it's a great one. But but I will say the one of
the stretch goals I was most excited for was the Co-op rules.
So how does that affect game play and and how are you
bringing Co-op into it? So the way I want to do it, I
want to, I want to have very comprehensive rules that like
fit different play styles because since it's a solo game
the game plays really well as like AGM less experience because
being a solo game, like essentially the game is like the
GM so you don't have to do anything.
So for like a two player, three player plus go up game, I think
it fits really, really well. And then outside of that I also
want to do really comprehensive rules for GMs. So if you want to
play the game like a very traditional way or like UGM the
game for like 3 players or so, I want to have like designer
notes, tips and hot around the game, examples of play, that
sort of thing and just like really help the player like
seamlessly adapt the game into their session.
Again, like being a solo game, like so much of it is super easy
to use even for other RPGs like if you want to use the like the
planet generators for any other Cypher RPG, it's like super easy
to adapt. But yeah, I, I I really want to
have like super comprehensive rules and everything is going to
be in the core book itself. So you it's going to be right in
the book when you got it. Yeah, again, it just just crazy
that your first project is one of the most like beautiful,
thorough projects that we've we've looked at in a very, very
long time. So that's that's amazing.
I know you said there's more stuff coming with the stretch
goals you already hit. You hit 90K today, 90, it's 100,
it's almost $100,000, but it's 90K EUR.
Do you? So I mean, hopefully we hit a
couple more stretch goals, but what's after this project is
done? Like what's the future for Astro
Prisma? You're already creating like 6
expansions for it. Are there?
Do you have thoughts on even more or is your you know when
you get there the next thought something completely different?
So a little bit of both. Like, I really want to keep
supporting the game over time. Like I want to do like every
year or two a big expansion for the game.
And I also want to do like bigger setting expansions, like
like bigger signs or like even a book for, I don't know, like 2
years from now, a year and a half from now.
But the next immediate project after this, hopefully like not
too long, it's going to be a completely different game.
It's going to be more like fantasy magic, like sort of
game. That one is going to be
multiplayer aside from solo player, but much more emphasis
on like making a traditional multiplayer game.
So that is sort of my long term goals.
It's just completely different game after this one.
Then after that I like to do the first big setting expansion for
the prison. Well, we look forward to your to
your fantasy heartbreaker, because everyone, everyone's got
to make their fantasy heartbreaker.
Yeah. Yeah, you have to so.
And you also said, you know, we talked about this before this
like you're so are you like is? Are you like a full time
designer now? Especially with the way the kick
starts going? Yeah, I I actually finished, I
finished university like 6 months ago or so.
So most of a surprise when I did when I was like finishing
university and then for like for like this past six months I've
just gone full time to finish the project.
And yeah like like my idea with this Kickstart is hopefully to
like support myself for to be a full time developer until the
next Kickstarter. And yeah, like, the response has
been so amazing. Like, it's like more than enough
to like, keep making games full time, which is such a dream job
to have. See, I'm, I'm really, really,
thankful. Really, really excited to like,
keep working on things. Yeah, I mean, you know we've
said it over and over and over again and I'll say it like two
more times. I mean this it top to bottom,
this is, this is amazing. And for this to be your the
first thing that you put out and for it to be this crazy and to
you're almost in six figures on Kickstarter for your first
project right after university is insane.
So yeah, please keep keep doing this, keep doing this for a long
time. Do you have any thoughts on, I
know you said your background, you know you you were gearing
towards more like video games and stuff like that.
Do you, Is that something that you're potentially still looking
forward to in the future or is TTRPG is kind of like the pivot?
Yeah, well I saw right now RPGs have like taken over my life.
I I'm definitely going to be doing this for like full time
for the foreseeable future. I also want to do board games.
I also love like Indigo board games, and over time, I want to
be able to transition into those, those that take a little
bit more effort and time because you're going to produce them,
you're going to make everything like components and things like
that. So maybe that takes a little bit
more time. But yeah, long term I want to
also do video games, I want to do soundtracks for games.
I want to keep doing pixel art, keep doing in the games.
We we we might know somebody that we talk to every month who
who also does TTRPGS and and is making board games.
So, board games, So. So we we'll definitely get you
in contact. But but yeah.
Do you I don't. Are you willing to say what what
that next stretch goal is now that you're at 90K?
Or are you going to wait for that to hit the Kickstarter
page? The the next big one is that
that Alchemy BTT like implementation, that's that's
the really, really big one that I've been working forward too.
And then after that I I just want to keep adding things to
the game, add more spaceships, add more encounters, add more
planets, like keep making content for the game.
I think that's a good decision. I feel like when people like
move on to like too many like other peripherals, it takes a
little longer, but to add content to what you've already
got established I think is really like wise decision.
I also don't want to make shipping like super expensive
because shipping things to the United States is from here in
Europe is very expensive, especially when you get into
higher weight. And I want to make fishing as
affordable as I can, like as as normal for US backers, which is
by far the biggest country that backs the game.
Yeah. So I don't want to add like
there's already like 7 expansions, posters, like Zine
journals, the the core hard book book.
So yeah, I I don't want to overdo it and like have to do
like €20 or $20.00 of shipping. I want to keep it like as
affordable and as as normal as I can.
Definitely. Because the Mothership bundle is
just like 30 something dollars for shipping for me.
So I'm like, yeah, dude, yeah. Well, I mean, the Mothership
bundle is also like, you know, yeah.
It's that's massive too 2. Pounds in about two years late,
but the question for possible future thing, Any thoughts in
the future of a box you know? I tried to get a box for this,
but again, it was really expensive to ship it.
I mean, I wasn't sure like when I when I negotiated the things
with the printing companies, I didn't know.
I thought it was going to print like 600 things.
I didn't know it was going to be like, so such a big Kickstarter
thing. So I I could I'm definitely
looking forward to make a box for the next game and maybe like
like again for the next expansion in like a year plus
two years from now. Maybe do like a re edition of
like everything in a box. But yeah, it just, I definitely
want to do it. Especially moving on to board
games is something that I want to do.
But doing it in Europe, it is really hard to find like a
manufacturers for everything sort of thing.
So in the future it's definitely, I definitely want to
do a lot of boxes for my games. Yeah, well, I mean, Miro took
all the way to Miro 3 before we got a box.
So I think we got plenty of time if if that's a touchdown.
And I mean it's only a little bit more than 600, it's 16145
backers right now. So just a couple more.
And with almost two weeks left to go, you could easily hit like
2000 backers on that. I mean you've obviously put in
an incredible amount of work, like to be like how does it feel
for this being your first project to to blow up this big
dev, this many people so excited about the project and to to
honestly raise this much money on Kickstarter, like right off
the bat, like what? Like what is that?
I mean, I I can't even imagine how that feels to to kind of
drop your first thing in it to be this big.
So. So how has that been?
It feels really strange. It feels very reassuring because
like working on two years for something on your own without
showing anyone, and then all of a sudden you get all these
people loving the game. That feels really good,
obviously after a point like it's almost like you stop
thinking about it. Like once I knew that I could
make like enough money to keep making games as my job, I I I
didn't really care if I did like twice as much or just that
amount of money. So yeah, it it just feels great.
It feels great to be able to do stretch goals to like give
backers like at the best product I can give and yeah, to to be
able to like subsidized shipping so you got it as as affordable
as you can and just yeah, just use the money to make a surprise
now the best game it can possibly be.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think that it's kind
of the fact that you like dead, keep it completely to yourself
is just so different than what so much of the NT scene does.
Like a lot of people will trip out little bits and, you know,
do kind of things. But you, like I said, just kind
of burst on the scene. Did you just kind of wait until
you felt like you were basically done and and have the character
ready to go to just kind of go everybody check this out?
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not like super.
I feel like I'm a very creative person.
I I like spending as much time as I can creating.
I I'm really like like handling social media, posting things
like doing marketing. So if I can like do like a big
marketing push before the project comes out and then doing
the project and then go back to making art, that's like the way
I want to do it. I I don't want to keep just
every day like a little bit sort of thing.
I. Think the, like, almost like the
mystique of anonymity and the quality of your art.
Like it did a lot of like, I because I remember on Twitter
you posting a couple of pages like fairly early on, like at
least when I first saw them and just everyone retweeting it,
including myself, and just being like, look at this, what is
this? I feel like that served you
really well. I think that was actually a
really good tactic. Or, you know, not drip feeding
the incomplete, but like, oh, here's the here's the finished
product. Yeah, I I I also feel like it's
something that I experience when like because first of all I'm
I'm I've been a fan of RPGs much longer than I'm being like a
designer. So when I see someone like make
a game that I really like and it's like, oh, this is just like
this this there, you got to wait an entire year till actually
comes out. You know, I want to like as soon
as this show, the first thing to be like a couple months before
you can get the whole thing available for people.
So yeah. So Speaking of that, what is,
what's the timeline for this? I mean it looks like with a lot
of the spreads and stuff you have so much done.
You know, you like you said you within a couple of months of
dropping the first spreads on Twitter, the Kickstarter is
already, you know, 12 days from being done.
When can we expect to actually have, you know, all of this in
our hands? Yeah, I think graphics on Leo is
like 99% done. Writing to the game, I feel like
the last thing I got to do is like all of the stretch goals.
So all of the, yeah, everything that's been part of the stretch
goals. And then send the game to
editing and proofreading and that sort of thing.
And as soon as that is done, I want to have the digital version
ready for Packers to play as soon as I can.
I I do want to post like some sort of like like timetable of
like this month if the game is coming out this month I'm
starting to bring in this month I'm going to it's going to
arrive to the Packers and so on. So people have like a very clear
idea, but yeah, the game in you can, you can probably get the
the game ready to play next month I would say.
Wow, really? OK.
Yeah. And the digital version, I mean
like the physical is going to take some time and the
expansions are also going to take a little bit more time.
But the the core book like fully feature complete.
That's yeah, next next month it should be all ready with all the
character sheets and all, all the maps and everything.
Can I ask who's doing your editing?
I've got like I I basically have like my team of friends that we
play T&D with. I send them around.
I have other people whose first language is English because it's
not my language. Some things that I write are a
little bit strange. So yeah, I just have like I
would say 6 summer people that I send the game to, proofread it,
make suggestions, yeah. Cool.
Yeah, very, very, very excited to get this, to get this
digitally especially, you know, with the Co-op options and stuff
like that. We don't really do.
We've been trying to think for a while how to do kind of solo
games here on the show and I don't think it would be a bad
idea to to try to get this one to be one of the early ones when
we eventually figure out how to do reviews and and plays with
solos on the game. But it's been, like I said it's
been a long time since I've been as excited for a solo game
outside of 12 years as you know since this one.
So this is again fantastic and the and the fact that you have
most of it done before you even get to the Kickstarter, I mean
you're you're making all the right moves and that's just
incredibly great to see. Yeah.
Yeah, we watch a lot of these projects and and you've taken a
lot of steps either purposely or just intuitively to be
successful. Yeah, I I just the way that I I
think about it is just I I try to do the things that I would
like if I was the backer, if I was like supporting the project,
just have it as you know because I've also been on the other side
of like, I pack a game on Kickstarter.
I think I gotta wait like a year before I can actually like read
it through and this sort of thing.
So yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean I I back a couple of Kickstarters a day it feels
like. But yeah, having having to wait
so long really it does kind of take the take the wind out of
your sails a little bit. It's it.
I don't know. A lot of the things you're doing
to me are really reminiscent of cloud in person.
What and the focus I. Was thinking that I.
Love that game. I love that game too.
TuneIn on Sunday but the focus on making a complete game and
all the little details but also on like you said, like being a
player, what would the player want and being a backer, what
would the backer want Like it's really nice to see that you know
there's I'm not going to say that it's nice to see people
really focused on the fact that like the backers are back in the
project so they can get in play it.
So like having them when you're making the project in mind is is
really nice to see and it's really cool.
Like I said that you have the player, the backer, everything
at the forefront of of your thoughts with all of it.
So yeah, again, just can't, can't wait for this project.
Super excited. Where can people find cuz I know
you don't do a lot of social media, but I I there is a
nature, it's the sub stacks. Where can people find all of
your stuff, all the links, so they can keep up to date with
everything that you're doing? Yeah, I've put all my links
underneath the Kickstarter so you scroll all the way down,
you're gonna find everything. Yeah, I have a Twitter at
Christon Camera. I have a sub stack also at
Christon Camera. I have H dot IO store that I'm
going to upload all of the detail contents when it releases
too. That's also Christon Camera.
And yeah, it's basically I am I'm also I also have a YouTube
channel that I haven't uploaded anything yet.
I want to also start doing tutorials for the game
playthroughs walkthroughs as soon as I get it closer to
release. Yeah, yeah.
Super excited for that. I wish more more people would do
that. Half the reason we do the show
and the reason we do like the APS and stuff is to show people
how to play. I wish more creators would like
show people how to play their games.
So it's really nice to again, just another you know, really
great step that you're taking to to help people go through.
Because if I get sit down, look at a game, and then actually
watch a creator tell me how to play it like that would be super
exciting, so. Yeah, Chris McDowell does, does
that with all of the, it's the odd and it's like so successful
and such a great way to like plug the mechanics of what
you're doing. Yeah, I look forward to that as
well. Yeah, I I I I feel like binge
watching all of his streams. He is like as I was making the
game. He's such an inspiration, such a
such a good designer. Yeah.
So, Camilla, I can't thank you enough for for coming on the
show. It's I I feel like I'm like
losing more words at the time because I'm just so amazed at
just like how well you've done everything, the steps you're
taking and just how beautiful this project is beginning to
end. And I just really appreciate you
being here and and coming on and talking to us about it.
Thank you. Thank you so much for letting me
come through and talk about the game.
Absolutely anytime. Hopefully again with your next
project. Yeah, please.
If you have anything, anything you want to want to talk about,
let us know. And we, we'd love to have you on
again and and be able to talk about it.
All right. So that is going to be us for
today. Again, thank you for being here.
Thank you everyone watching And this will be out.
It is 12 days left and we're, I don't even know what today is
April 5th. If you're doing this and it is
before April 18th, go back Astro Prisma, this is not one that you
are going to want to miss. So back it and that's it.
Yeah if it if it's I just wanted to add if it's after the end of
the Kickstarter I'm I I wanna leave pre-orders on backer kit
open for a month or so. So even if it it hasn't the
check on the Kickstarter because you might still be able to get
the game. Awesome.
Perfect. Yeah, Fantastic.
Definitely. Again, don't miss this one.
That's it, Rob. Have a good day.
Bye. Bye, bye, bye.