Thursday, April 8, 2010

Making me Crazy!

Not since having weird dreams about the Insect God behind the Insect Shrine (who up to that point I hadn't even thought about) have my dreams really driven me to do something like my dream last night.

On Wednesday I had received some prelim work from Cynthia Sheppard, including roughs and studies in addition to some work being done for the actual cover. I've shown these to only a few people so far.

But this is good. Really, really good. But still a work-in-progress. Keep that in mind.

But the better quality one aims for, the more that any flaw sticks out. So I'm nervous. I sent some notes yesterday about the work I saw, including some things that both didn't seem to matter for the subject at hand but would seem unrealistic if unaccounted for completely.

And You Are There ultra-realism is what I'm aiming for with the piece.

So I had a dream last night. About the box set and the artwork.

This dream had me at my vendor table at Ropecon with a big stack of LotFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing boxes for sale. Somebody pointed out, "Why aren't there any footprints in the snow?" And that was it. The gathering crowd went on and on ridiculing the product and that was basically it for my career as a role-playing publisher. Because there were no footprints in the snow in the cover art.

... now I could just say, "Let her finish the principal characters before worrying about piddly shit like that." But is that on her list of things to do on the picture later on? Would I remember to check on that later before OKing the finished piece?

I mean, my entire budding career is on the line, apparently. I can't risk it.

So this morning I send an email reminding her, after just seeing roughs and unfinished work, that at some point there needs to be footprints in the snow.

I'm convinced that this whole thing is just making me crazy. And in turn, I'm going to make everyone else crazy. I'm probably a nightmare client.

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. When are you releasing Insect Shrine? The way you have been hinting about it for so long yet holding it back makes me suspect you see it as your magnum opus, a module worthy of careful scrutiny, study and imitation. Am I reading too much into your hints?

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  3. I'm going to have a small project after the box is out, then after that will be Insect Shrine.

    It's big. A mini-campaign, really, more than just a module. We did, what, eight or nine sessions of playtest late last year and didn't get all of it in.

    I don't know how worthy it is of imitation, since it's essentially Keep on the Borderlands through the LotFP lens, but careful scrutiny and study? I hope it's worthy of that.

    But I think my best release so far is No Dignity in Death, and I think I'm the only one who thinks so, so maybe I'm not such a good judge of things. :)

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  4. Well you have a distinctive style and as you produce more material it may cast a revealing light on earlier works. I have to say I prefer campaigns to modules as they feel more personal and the author can include rules and more general and original concepts.

    Working full time on gaming may make you a little crazy at times but so can tedious obligations that continually keep someone away from gaming. ;)

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  5. At least it's better than the dream I had last night - my father running across the rooftops naked as a jaybird. Eek..

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  6. You are definitely a bad client, especially given the likely pay grade.

    Still, it is a reflection of love. Deep, burning, albeit weird, love.

    Scoping any proposal is my strength, albeit, for consulting engagements and not art.

    Good stuff man.

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