Brave New Worlds: A Race for Discovery!

Let's talk about the Space Shuttle... (oh, and we broke $7k! Amazing!)
over 5 years ago – Thu, May 16, 2019 at 05:46:04 AM

Hi everyone,

So, I made this game with a few different goals in mind. First, I wanted to make something that was just plain fun, something that used some unique mechanics and looked really beautiful. That was my first priority. But second, I wanted to base this game in the *real* solar system, and use it as a vehicle for showcasing all the amazing worlds out there, and highlighting the crazy, exciting exploration mankind has already achieved. Every mechanism I've built into the game has at least some connection to the way real science works, because I want things to feel real, and I want players to be able to discover new worlds and mentally place themselves there.

Of course, sometimes it's a good idea to sacrifice a little bit of realism in order to make things just objectively *funner*. In the real solar system, it is highly unlikely that you'd ever find Saturn's moon Iapetus right next Jupiter... but in Brave New Worlds, you totally can, and that's part of the excitement! I also decided to represent the concept of human spaceflight with a Shuttle token, because I thought for most people the Space Shuttle is still the most iconic, durable symbol of a human presence in space.

But if you're a space nerd like me, you know that the Space Shuttle is actually kind of a weird choice for an interplanetary spacecraft - the real space shuttle could only every venture a few hundred miles above Earth's surface. It was an amazing machine capable of carting big, heavy things (like the Hubble Space Telescope) to low earth orbit... but the shuttle itself was big and heavy too, and wasn't capable of escaping Earth's gravity.

This might not bother you, but I've gotten feedback from some backers that this is actually a little distressing! For people who are really into the history of space exploration, seeing the space shuttle landing on Mars is jarring and weird. And if the very first thing you see about this game is something you know is actually wrong, you're that much more likely to lose faith in the rest of it.

So I'm leaning pretty strongly toward updating this spacecraft piece. I want potential backers' first impression of this game to be "oh wow, real science!" and not "hmmmm that doesn't strike me as very realistic." So after a few hours of 3D modeling, I've come up with this:

And I actually kind of love it. This is a slightly distorted, highly stylized representation of the lunar lander, a spacecraft which *really did* take humans to another world. And I had throw an (extremely oversized) astronaut in there, because I love little astronauts :D

So anyway, this is still a rough draft, but I like that this kind of human spaceflight token is both iconic and a little more realistic - it immediately signals that this is a serious science-based game. At least that's my hope. And I *do* love the space shuttle! Without it, we wouldn't have been able to fix the Hubble. But for a game about solar system exploration and journeying out to other worlds, I've come around to the idea that a shuttle piece representing landing people on worlds is just not quite right.

Anyway, it's really scary to alter components after my backers have already jumped on board and pledged their support (and by the way, thank you all! $7k already, we're on our way!), but I think this is the right move. I'm planning on starting to pitch really heavily to scientists, astronomers, schools, and space nerds this week, and if I can start with an image that signals this game is trying hard to get the science right, I think that can only help.

But I'd love to hear from you - what do you think about this new token design? Have any suggestions for making it better? Think this is all a bunch of fuss about nothing :) Seriously, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Anyway... that's it. It's been a great week so far, and I want to do everything I can to keep the train rolling. Thanks for backing, everyone - this game will be great.

- Mickey

We're past 25%! Let's keep the momentum going :)
over 5 years ago – Thu, May 16, 2019 at 05:45:37 AM

Okay, I don't want to start every update with "thank you all so much", but it still feels appropriate, so... thank you all so much!  This has been a great start to this campaign - it's only been 2 days and we've already raised 25% of our goal. That is amazing. I'm very happy :)

So, my goal as a creator now is to work as hard as I can to make sure that we hit our target, so that we can all benefit from creating an amazing game that's as beautiful as possible. The more people we get to support this project, the better the game will be. And I've had a lot of people asking me what they can do to help.  And I'd love all the help I can get!  So if you'd like to contribute, here are a few really easy things:

(1) Have you heard of BoardGameGeek? It's like the most important board game website on the internet, and the number one source of info for a lot of gamers out there. And Brave New Worlds actually has a page on BGG!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/271851/brave-new-worlds

If you hang out on BGG, you could try to find a way to mention Brave New Worlds in forums! Like, if someone asks "Does anyone know what happens if you place a robber on a desert tile next to three players in Catan" you could say "well I have no idea, but DID YOU KNOW THERE'S THIS GREAT BOARD GAME ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM??" Or... maybe find a way to be a little more discreet :)

On a more serious note, if you've played the print-and-play version, consider giving Brave New Worlds a rating!  And if you scroll through the pictures on BGG and find one you like, give it a thumbs up!  Even just liking a lot of pictures helps me generate a little buzz, because it will help Brave New Worlds rise in popularity on the site.

(2) I've already seen such a tremendous outpouring of support on Facebook... I'm so grateful for that, it's really wonderful to see.  If you haven't hopped on the sharing bandwagon yet, I *totally* encourage you to do so.  And to make it easy, I made this super-cool facebook photo frame!

You can click on the image above to put your face in orbit around Jupiter! I personally think that's pretty cool... but then, I'm also a hyper-nerd.

(3) Biggest one of all: in real life, if you think your school, or your kids' school, or a local astronomy club, or a local newspaper, or any other group might be interested in a space board game, let me know about them! I'll reach out directly and try to pitch it to them :)

But okay, that's enough work stuff. It's been an amazing few days and I'm so grateful to all of you. We're on track to fund this thing - looking forward to the month ahead!

- Mickey

Amazing! After 12 hours we've cruised past 5k - thank you everyone for your support!
over 5 years ago – Thu, May 16, 2019 at 05:41:34 AM

Guys... this is really wonderful to see. I want to thank everyone here from the bottom of my heart for supporting this project. Brave New Worlds has been my exclusive free-time obsession for the past 2 years, and in the back of my mind for a lot longer. After working on and obsessing about something for so long, it's a little surreal to finally press that launch button and put it out there for the world, and know that in just 30 days you'll know whether your hard work is going to be rewarded. But we're well on our way!

If you have any questions about the game or the book, or have suggestions for making it better, please reach out!  That's the exciting thing about getting in early on a project like this - I get to hear from you, and you get to be part of making this game and this book as great as they can be. And I love talking space and board games - I'll respond to your messages as soon as I see them.

Anyway... that's it for now. Just wanted to say that I'm excited, it's going to be a great month. Looking forward to the experience!

- Mickey

Another update about where we're going
over 5 years ago – Wed, May 15, 2019 at 07:41:00 PM

Hi everyone,

So we have just over 2 days remaining in this campaign, and we've raised nearly $14k from 187 backers who want to see Brave New Worlds become a reality. I think I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I have to say again that I'm so glad to have all of your support! I know how many of you are excited about this project, and it's soooo validating to see so many people thrilled to participate in this giant thing I've been working on.

That being said... we still have a long way to go.  A week ago I posted about the traditional funding curve that most kickstarters follow, showing a screenshot from BackerTracker predicting we'd come within a few percent of our target.  Qualitatively, that's still true - in the final few hours of this campaign I *do* expect that we'll get a lot more support!  But what I didn't realize at the time was that this tracker has built into it the reality that a lot of Kickstarter creators will choose to self-fund in the final hours in order to guarantee that they'll cross that threshold.  For me... I actually can't afford to do that. If we hit our target, it will have to be because we inspired a whole mix of people to chip in for their own copies of the game.

So to be blunt... the odds are against us. We have a long way to go. I've had some of my Kickstarter creator friends suggest that I might consider cancelling this project, to signal to my backers that I'm being proactive, recognizing what went wrong and promising to launch again. But after wrestling with this all weekend, I've decided that that's not the right way forward. We have almost 600 project followers for this campaign, people who've opted in to get reminders about the project but who haven't yet pledged. I want to give each of them, as well as anyone else who discovers this campaign in its final hours, a chance to join and show their support. Even if we don't hit our goal, I want to give everyone a chance to be a part of this first campaign for Brave New Worlds.

In a few days we'll know whether we crossed that $24k threshold! And if we haven't, I'll be reaching out to you again for your thoughts. I've learned so much during this first attempt at a Kickstarter campaign. If I can manage to launch this campaign again (and I think I'd be able to...), I'll have learned much that will help make it even more successful. But I'll also want your input about what you liked, what could be changed, and what might have kept you from pledging.

But! It's a little too early for that :) I'll be posting at least one more update after this campaign concludes, but in the meantime, let's see how many more people we can bring into the fold. We have a long way to go, but we have a great game and book that have captured a lot of imaginations. If there's a chance we can make this happen the first time around, let's take it. And if we don't end up getting there, we will lick our wounds, revise our strategy... and try again.

- Mickey