Tag: kickstarter

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First Social Goal Unlocked – Designing the Steam Highwayman!

Well, it’s been quite a day for the project.  After some excellent publicity and a growing worldwide interest, funding is standing at 113% and 86 backers!  We’ve got supporters from Sweden, Denmark, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the USA, Canada, Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

Not only that, but we reached our first social goal – 100 likes on the Facebook Page!  Facebook has proven to be a really important place to publicise the campaign, with around 30% of backing coming directly from the site – and I’m sure much more coming indirectly.  This means I can release a development log all about how Ben May designed the appearance of the Steam Highwayman.

Designing the Steam Highwayman

Thanks to everyone who has passed on the news of the project’s success: please help me to bring the campaign to as many future readers as we can to unlock more content and to fund even more of Ben’s fantastic art.

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Nearly there!

Steam Highwayman is 90% funded and new backers are still arriving every hour or so.  It’s been very exciting to watch and new opportunities are becoming available to share the project further afield.  For example, gamebooknews.com has run an article on their website, and shortly before the launch the Steampunk Journal also featured the project!  I’ve had several friends sharing the project online – so far Facebook has been the largest single source of backers – but a few influential backers have attracted their followers too.

Please keep sending your friends to the Facebook Page – I want those likes to unlock my development documents – and please let anyone you think would enjoy the adventure know.  Don’t forget to mention the free demo to download: DemoSH1.1!

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Steaming on towards Funding!

Well, my Steam Highwayman project is making great progress on Kickstarter (link here: campaign) and it has been a very exciting day.  I’ve had a lot of encouraging messages and been chatting with backers and gamebook fans all around the world.  We’ve passed 70% funding and I’m forcing myself to stop watching and go to bed.

That said, I’m still waiting to get much a of response from the steampunk community.  I might have been posting in the wrong places at the moment, so if anybody has any contacts to help get this exciting adventure into the hands of people who love mechanical computers, top hats, atmospheric clouds of steam and high drama, please let me know!

Thanks to everyone who’s already pledged.  It means a great deal to me.

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Steam Highwayman Live on Kickstarter

Steam Highwayman launched last night at 8pm and already, around 12 hrs later, it is nearly 50% funded! Great news. I’ve had some generous support from friends but also have managed to secure backing from gamebook fans and international backers.

My Facebook page for the project is also steaming ahead: another 26 likes and I get to publish my account of the design process for the character of the highwayman. Can’t wait!

I’ve had some great social media support from the gamebook community, so I’m still waiting to find out how far this will go. It’s going to be a great ride.

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Busy at the Highwayman’s Hideout

It’s been busy at #Highwayman’sHideout!  On Saturday I attended Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 in Ealing, where two hundred or so gamebook fans gathered to celebrate 35 years of the Fighting Fantasy series.  I took the opportunity to plug my kickstarter for all it was worth, passing out sample pages, flyers and wearing a sign around my neck.  I made several new friends, met other gamebook writers, put my project onto the radar of some of the genre’s influencers and even found some new backers.

Today I’ve been putting finishing touches to the Kickstarter video and campaign site.  A good friend and successful gamebook writer gave me some much-appreciated feedback on Saturday, so tweakings have turned into re-writings and the best part of a day’s work.

That means that tomorrow is given over for social marketing: I’ll be messaging everyone I can on every platform I can access to remind them of the Steam Highwayman Kickstarter Campaign Launch: 8:00pm London time.  Then roll on 8pm…  It feels very much like the ratcheting climb up an unfamiliar rollercoaster.  I’ve heard a lot about the ups and downs of running a kickstarter, but now I’m about to find out the only way that will really teach me!

Lord God, into your hands I commit the entire project.

Can I get an ‘Amen’?