Between Clouds - A Roleplaying Game of Flying Beasts

Between Clouds is released!! 🥳
12 months ago – Sat, Jun 03, 2023 at 01:04:35 PM

Greetings Symbiotes,

I'm pleased to announce that digital copies have been sent out and that Between Clouds is officially released!! It has been a very long journey since I started concepting for the game nearly 2 years ago, and I couldn't be more pleased with how the final product has turned out :) Play it, enjoy it, and share it with your friends! 

• If you backed the Kickstarter or pre-ordered a digital copy and have not received it yet please reach out to me! DM me here on Kickstarter or any of my other socials or send me an email. 
• If you find any typos or errors within the book, please report them to me using any of the methods listed above or through the discord server. Printing has not begun yet and it would be a huge help for me! 
• If you would like to pick up a digital copy of Between Clouds, click here! 

Now that the digital copies are released, printing will soon begin. I'm going to wait about a week from today for people to submit their questions, edits, and feedback, which I will then use to tweak the book and create a more comprehensive product! I know that things have been pushed back from our original fulfillment timeline, but I swear it will be worth the wait (I've been working very hard to perfect the book, and I think it will turn out being gorgeous). Turnaround is about 10 weeks, so I would realistically expect books to arrive in September (but potentially late August). 

There is a second digital product, Behind-the-Scenes of Between Clouds, which I will release sometime next week! It's nearly done, and I'm really quite proud of what I put together. It should be a great resource for people who want to see more of Empyrea and for aspiring game designers alike. 

Anyways, I'm so excited to see and hear all of the stories that you tell with this game. If you play the game, please come share your experience on the discord server, I would absolutely love to hear about your session and what you did with it. In the meantime, come find me on twitter, instagram, or tiktok!

Smooth sailing,

Andi <3 

May - The Time Got Away...
about 1 year ago – Wed, May 03, 2023 at 09:04:12 PM

Greetings Symbiotes,

How is everyone doing? April was a fabulous month for me, but it was also far too busy, and not just with work on Between Clouds. I'm currently in school as a full-time student and recently began working at Heart of the Deernicorn, a marvelous indie game manufacturer and distributor in downtown Olympia, WA. Between all of that and a (tenuous) social life, my schedule has been positively swamped. 

Despite the hustle, I have been making great progress on Between Clouds. I'm doing my final edit now and being meticulous with each page. I know that at least one typo will evade me, but I'm committed to catching as many as I can. Combing through the book in this way, front to back, has also given me a broader perspective on the project. It's such a treat to see how each chapter interacts with the others, and following the web of page numbers and interrelated components makes the game feel like a cohesive experience. Along with grammatical errors and muddled mechanics, a few pieces of artwork have needed attention as well. In one particular piece of chapter art I had neglected to color a character's shoes and legs entirely. Whoops! 

Before starting on my closing edits, I spent much of April finalizing backer contributions like landmarks, Kirin, and Symbiotes. You can see some of the artwork created above and below! I really enjoyed pushing the bestial features of these two Symbiotes in particular. That's about it for now. We're still on the same timeline as before, just about a month behind. With any luck (and maybe a few grueling days of nonstop shipping) the books will arrive in people's hands before autumn. Digital copies may still be ready by the 15th, depending on how much homework I have ;) Until then you can find me on twitter and instagram, tiktok or on the Between Clouds discord server. 

Smooth sailing,

Andi <3 

April - Locking Orders and Ordering Books!
about 1 year ago – Mon, Apr 03, 2023 at 12:15:53 PM

Greetings Symbiotes! 

How is everyone doing? I myself am wrapping up an enjoyable spring break and preparing to return to class. Incidentally, I've also been wrapping up my work on Between Clouds! Over the last month I've had some illuminating playtests and last minute innovations, and now I finally feel ready to let the game fly free and spread its wings. 

With the development phase reaching its conclusion, let's talk about timelines: 

• On Monday, April 10th I will be locking orders on BackerKit. After this point you will be unable to order add-ons or extra copies (until the online store is up and running later this year) and your current order will be set in place.
• On Monday, April 17th I will be charging cards on BackerKit. Make sure your card information is correct, especially if you have add-ons, or I will be unable to deliver your goods! If you did not purchase any extras from BackerKit this step is less important. 
• On Monday, May 1st I will be locking shipping addresses. If you've recently moved to a new location, make sure to update your address before then or you will be unable to receive your goods!
• On Monday, May 15th digital copies of Between Clouds will be made available to backers! Woot woot! I'm giving myself a little buffer period with this date so that the game can be properly hosted in online stores like DriveThruRPG and others. Print-on-demand copies should also be available to order on this date, but may require slightly more time.
• From July onwards people will begin receiving their physical goods. A July delivery date is slightly further out than I had initially hoped for or expected, but the process of offset printing can be time intensive (and I'm a sucker for details who requires proofs of her products.) Trust me though, the extra wait is worth it and will result in a beautiful, high-quality rulebook! Of course, I will keep people updated as we begin sending out packages and my line is always open for people who have shipping and delivery questions. 

There are still a handful of people with certain creative tiers (like Wayfinder, Ruler of the Skies, etc.) that I have not yet heard back from. They'll reach out eventually, but for now I will be going forward with their landmarks, Symbiotes, and Kirin to the best of my ability!

As a final note, people with the obsolete Premium Color Printing add-on will now be receiving a super cool custom carrying bag instead! It has a saddle map scrawled on its side and is the perfect size to carry a rulebook, dice, pencils, notebook, character sheets and snacks in one place. So, you'll be getting books with premium color and something extra too!

Anyways, that's all for now. Please reach out to me at any time with questions (of which there will be many in the following months.) I am SO EXCITED to get these rulebooks in your hands and see what kinds of adventures you create :) Find me on twitter, instagram or the discord and come say hi. Cheers! <3 

Smooth sailing,

Andi 

March - Printing Plans and Time to Cram!
about 1 year ago – Wed, Mar 08, 2023 at 09:23:14 PM

Greetings Symbiotes! 

How is everyone doing? Me, I'm a little frazzled. This March is shaping up to be incredibly busy month. In addition to Between Clouds I'm navigating finals, class registration, scholarships, taxes as a freelancer, health insurance, a birthday and more. Nonetheless, we persevere! 

So, how far away are we from Between Clouds going into print? Well, there are still a handful of backers with creative tiers (Wayfinder, Friend of Beasts, Ruler of the Skies) that I am waiting to hear from. If you're one of them and I do not hear from you by the end of the month I will complete your entry without you. It might not be the landmark or Symbiote that you envisioned, but you can't say I didn't try. The show must go on! Once April begins the book can be finalized. Soon after it'll be sent to the printers. Then I'll wait to receive a sample copy, finalize printing, and have distribution begin sometime in May. If that feels like a long ways out, trust me, I want the physical book in hand too! :P 

On the printing front I'm actually feeling quite optimistic! The offset printing service that I am using does in fact have a cost-effective way to produce special edition covers, so anyone with the Kirin tier and above will be getting the special edition hardcover as promised! For the sake of diversity, backers receiving two rulebooks will now be getting one of each. This seemed to be a common request among backers with two books, so I figured I would make it the default. If you would still like to receive two limited edition hardcovers instead, message me and I'll make a note. 

Thanks to offset printing, the Between Clouds rulebooks (softcover and hardcover both) will now have a higher ink and paper quality than expected. Because of this, backers who purchased the Premium Color Printing add-on will be getting an extra reward instead! I have a few ideas floating around, but it will likely be something screen-printed and hand-crafted.

As for development of the game itself, things are going good! I'm still doing late-stage playtesting and very much enjoying my time with the game. A few changes that I'm considering for the final release.

• All Conditions now provide a general -1 penalty to dice rolls (so players immediately feel the effect of marked Conditions and can choose them based on flavor rather than Attribute) 
• Unity Points are capped at an amount equal to the number of players present (to encourage their use and prevent hoarding) 

That's all for now. I love receiving feedback in any form (it helps me make a better game) so feel free to share your experiences, comments or critiques at any time! If anyone has questions about printing and what delivery will look like going forward I'm always available to talk. Find me on twitter, instagram or tiktok and join the discord if you haven't yet. Love you all, cheers! :)

Smooth sailing,

Andi <3 

January in Review - Artwork, Backer Session & Back to School!
over 1 year ago – Sun, Feb 05, 2023 at 02:17:35 PM

Greetings Symbiotes! 

How is everyone doing? It's been a minute since we chatted. You might ask why we're talking about January now, at the beginning of February, and it's because I can only cover the month's events once it's finished! So, this will be our format for now on, but I will use these updates to keep everyone apprised of ongoing and future events as well. 

First, the big stuff. We're getting close to the month of March, which was the expected delivery time during the Kickstarter's funding. There are still a few loose ends getting wrapped up, notably, backer artwork (for the Friend of Beasts and Ruler of the Skies tiers) and backer sessions (from the Found Family tier). I'm giving the backers that haven't responded a little extra time to get their content in the book and then I'll move forward with production. My plan is as follows: 

•  Early March is when I will lock orders on BackerKit. Make sure your address is updated and that your card info is correct (if you purchased add-ons)!
•  April is when printing and production will begin. I've made some great industry connections over the last year, and printing will look slightly different than expected. The books will likely be made using offset printing (for both quality and scale) through an independent printer, rather than by using DriveThruRPG's print-on-demand services. These high-quality books be sent to anyone who ordered a physical copy (NOT the PoD coupon). Print-on-demand books WILL still be available from DriveThruRPG for those who purchased PoD coupons, nothing is changing there. Everyone's rewards will be fulfilled as expected, except for the Limited Edition copies of Between Clouds. Backers who would receive Limited Edition copies will receive an additional physical gift instead (which we will discuss later at great length), as well as their hardcover books.
•  June is when I'm expecting people's pledges to start arriving! It could very well be earlier than that, but I'm using a new distributor and want to allow for some extra time. People with PoD coupons for DtRPG may even receive their books sooner depending on when they order them (slated to be available in April).

Anyways, that's a lot for everyone to take in, but it is my plan as things currently stand! I'll be going into more detail on the production changes in the future, especially as we get closer to late March and early April. The notable change is that backers with Limited Edition books will be getting the same hardcover books as everyone else in addition to something extra (I have a super cool screen-printed canvas carrying bag planned for now, but we'll explore some options later). 

Beyond all of that, what's new? January has been busy (and chaotic) for myself and Between Clouds both, but in general I've been:

•  Playtesting Between Clouds with friends and backers (aka new friends) alike! The game has a familiar tone and rhythm to me know. I know what kind of shenanigans to expect and what type of chaos will ensue. The mechanics are feeling harmonious. It's so good!
•  Making art, but moreso for fun rather than business. It's such a treat! There are still images that I'm updating in Between Clouds, but the book is so packed with illustrations that I could hardly add more if I wanted to. You can see some new chapter art pictured at the top and bottom of this update.
•  Taking classes for music production (my other passion) on the side. I just started back up at school in the winter and it's quite a treat! The work load isn't too heavy either, so I'm able to maintain two lives (and maybe even have time for a social life). 
•  Very sickly with both COVID and strep throat. Lot's of time inside and lots of soup. I'm excited to be healthy again at some point. My throat is quite displeased. 

Alrighty, that's all for now! I'm always here for questions, even if I take a little while to respond. Don't be afraid to nudge me when I'm being spacey (sometimes I just need a reminder). You can reach me on the Discord server or my Twitter or Instagram, or of course Kickstarter too. You can also go check out my TikTok and Spotify if you're interested! Cheers! :)

Smooth sailing,

Andi <3