Work Begins - New Art & Kid Types!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Jun 14, 2022 at 04:45:56 PM

Hello all,

Welcome to the first proper post-campaign update. I'm looking forward to keeping everyone up to speed on how things are progressing. As mentioned before, the first big push is to make sure the digital game is ready for release by the end of July.

Following Along

For starters, I just want to direct everyone towards my Twitter and Newsletter for those who want to stay even more tuned in to Animon Story.

Twitter: @ZakBFree

(follow if you want small, frequent insights into the development. I also post about monster-taming, TTRPGs, and other personal topics).

Newsletter: www.animonstory.com, scroll to the bottom or click 'Follow Me' to sign up

(follow for occasional big news about the project, without relying on Kickstarter).

You may also be interested in following Metal Weave Games for updates about Animon, as well as the many other wonderful projects they support.

Incoming Illustrations

I can share with you the list of new illustrations that are currently in progress for the game!

Firstly, all 13 Kid Types are getting brand new artwork by Crowva which I'm unbelievably excited about. Currently, I have linework, and the final colour versions are being worked on at the moment. As well as seeing the Young Aristocrat, Wild Child, and Grown-Up illustrated for the first time, I love the new takes on the original 10 Types that Crowva has come up with. Here's a sneak preview:

Secondly, there are 6 new animon illustrations on the way from Meliiow mainly focusing on more evolved animon and Classifications that haven't received as much attention. Work starts soon on these, and as it stands the animon being illustrated have the following Stages, Classifications and Elements:

• BASIC Stage, Dragon Classification, Light Element
• SUPER Stage, Fairy Classification, Nature Element
• GIGA Stage, Celestial Classification, Light Element
• ULTRA Stage, Insect Classification, Mirage Element
• SUPER Stage, Nature Classification, Wind Element
• SUPER Stage, Infernal Classification, Mirage Element

Finally, a two-page spread 'feature' illustration is in the works from the incredible Aimee Cairns (Tokenin), whose work includes the recent special Switch edition cover for Slime Rancher. To say I'm excited would be an understatement! I'm hoping that this illustration will also be used on the slipcase for the Animon Master collection.

Kid Types

The first job that I myself am handling is the three new Kid Types. Writing these is quite a long and involved process, as I want to make sure the abilities (and suggested talents, flaws, desires etc.) perfectly represent the archetype. Yesterday I finished work on the Wild Child, which evolved from the original idea of a 'kid raised among animon,' into a more general 'nature-loving outdoorsy kid whose almost always muddy.' I think the way it turned out is a lot more flexible and accessible. It's immediately become one of my personal favourite types. Take a peek:

I'm now partway through writing the 'Grown-Up' Kid Type, which is strongly leaning into that early 20s experience of pretending like you know how to be an adult while on the inside still feeling like a lost child. I'm 28 now, and to be honest, maybe I'm projecting a little bit onto this Kid Type. It's coming together very nicely in any case! After that, I'll be finishing up with the 'Young Aristocrat,' for which I'm planning to really go fully whacky anime style. Watching Love is War recently has given me some good inspiration and I'm also drawing from goat-riding gentleman Sasahara of Nichijou, among other things.

Other Business

Finally, Andreas over at Metal Weave Games is currently at work putting together the Backerkit, so we have that ready in good time. I'm really looking forward to getting the digital game out there as soon as possible, so all attention can be turned onto the printing, and putting together the card deck!

One other thing I'm looking into at the moment is setting up a 3rd-party license for Animon Story, to support and encourage people looking to make their own content for the game. I'm really keen on the idea and would love to have that prepared alongside the digital release, but we'll see how it goes.

And that is it for now! I hope you've enjoyed the insight - it might be a little long-winded for some but I figured it's best to put everything out there for those who want to follow along, so everyone is up to speed on how things are progressing.

Once again, consider following me and/or the newsletter if you're interested.

Many thanks, and see you in the next one!

Zak B

An Incredible Finish!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Jun 09, 2022 at 06:40:18 PM

The last few days of the Animon Story Kickstarter have been a wild surge of new backers and a massive amount of support - thank you so much! We've finished the campaign with well over 1000 backers, $60,000, and a huge amount of excitement about the future of the game.

To say I'm blown away would be something of an understatement!

Along the way we've unlocked every stretch goal we could come up with, including the three new kid types and a deck of animon cards to go along with the book collection. Work begins very soon on prepping the digital rewards, with many edits and additions to be made before hopefully launching the digital game in July.

Perhaps one of the most exciting things for me is being able to fill the game with sparkly new artwork, some of which I will be able to share with you all very soon.

For tonight though, I'll be celebrating - and I welcome you to raise a glass to all the monster-tamers out there who helped make this happen. Once again, I am so very thankful to you all, and to Metal Weave Games, who have helped me bring my dream game into the real world.

See you soon!

Zak

New Stretch Goal added! Final 10 Days!
about 2 years ago – Mon, May 30, 2022 at 10:49:20 PM

Hello all,

The project has been soaring these past weeks, smashing all the stretch goals sooner than I ever imagined! Since then I've been thinking about the possibility of additional stretch goals. I very much wanted to avoid adding content that would extend production time to the point of causing delays.

After considering things, and chatting with Crowva, the artist who's currently hard at work on new Kid Type illustrations, I've decided that the final stretch goal will be a brand new Kid Type.

Walk on the wild side of the animon world with the 'Wild Child' Kid Type. I'll be sure to reveal more should we reach this final stretch goal.

I'm super excited for the final 10 days - make sure to share the project around, and we'll hit the final goal in no time!

Thanks so much,

Zak B

Final Stretch Goal Unlocked!
about 2 years ago – Wed, May 18, 2022 at 06:18:22 AM

It's been a week now since we launched Animon Story on Kickstarter and already we've funded enough to meet all of our planned stretch goals which is incredible!

Animon Card Deck

As mentioned previously the final stretch goal is the addition of the 'Animon Card Deck' to the 'Animon Master' backer tier. The card deck is also now available as an add-on for any tier of backer, so check that out! I can also now confirm that the deck will include no less than 50 illustrated cards each featuring a unique animon!

Optional Rules Suite

Since posting the last update, so many of you have responded with your ideas and suggestions of features that could be included in the optional rules suite, thank you! Of course, there are limits to what I can realistically put into the game, but I will be scouring the comments and assembling my own best ideas to build a nice list of optional rules modules, which will be included in a bonus chapter of the main rulebook. They will be very obviously separate from the core rules, so there'll be no worries for those who prefer to ignore them when you dive in for the first time.

Looking Ahead

I am currently discussing with Andreas over at Metal Weave Games potential further content we might be able to put together, but for right this moment I'd just like to send a massive thanks to all of you who've backed so far. Now, Animon Story will genuinely be able to reach its final and best form.

One final thing - Animon Story received a 'Project We Love' badge from Kickstarter earlier today, which is fantastic! I'm so pleased that this campaign has come across so well to fans of the genre, and folks looking for a fun and family-friendly cartoonish RPG experience.

I'll be back to update you with details on the rest of the campaign soon.

Until then!

Zak B

$20k Milestone - Animon Card Deck & Optional Rules revealed!
about 2 years ago – Sun, May 15, 2022 at 10:27:07 AM

There are so many new backers since the last update, so let me once again say thank you so much to all who have supported the campaign so far. Bringing Animon Story to so many people is a dream come true for me! Not only have we just reached another stretch goal, but the final two planned stretch goals have now been revealed.

More Art Unlocked

We have just hit $20,000 pledged, an incredible milestone that brings with it 'even more art' for the final book - as I mentioned last time, new artwork for all of the Kid Types is already in the works. This time, the animon will be a focus! Brand new animon designs will be spread throughout the book, and also used in another up-til-now secret project should be reach the final planned stretch goal (more on that below...)

Reveal: Optional Rules Suite

At $23k we will unlock the 'Optional Rules Suite,' something I've been considering for Animon Story for a long time, and would love to finally have a good excuse to work on. What better way to make it a game for all Mon fans than with a bunch of modular mechanical systems and optional rules! There are certainly things which never felt like a 'core' experience of Animon Story that neverless would be great additions for those who want a different flavour of campaign, things like mechanics for catching and building a team of animon. Should we reach this goal, I'll be refining a group of these rules modules to change the way the game works - these will of course be HIGHLY optional. Would you like to see mounted battles? Fusion Evolution? An in-universe trading card game? Let me know your top picks for optional rulesets!

Reveal: Animon Card Deck

Speaking of trading cards...

The biggest reveal for Animon Story so far, the Animon Card Deck! Should we reach $26k this will become an available add-on, as well as being added automatically to the rewards of all 'Animon Master' tier backers. A deck of illustrated cards containing the key in-game NPC stats needed for running battles, this will be a stylish and useful addition to any Animon Story campaign! This is also a very good reason to get even more animon artwork in the game.

Wrapping Up

For me this is the most exciting part of the project so far! I'd love to add these awesome elements to the game, and with how things have been going so far, I have hope. Please do continue to spread the word and let people know the sort of game Animon Story is - I hope that anyone who loves tabletop rpgs and 'mon' stores will have a lot to look forward to with this game.

Finally, there have been a couple of questions regarding shipping estimates, which are on the way. Metal Weave Games will be producing those as soon as possible, so everyone will have an idea of shipping to their location.

Many thanks once again,

Zak B