11/6/25-11/19/25 Working on community engagement and visual design
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve adopted the Agile development methodology to keep my focused and maintain my productivity as I churn through all the tasks needed to launch a successful Kickstarter campaign and start my publishing journey.
A busy sprint! Since I’m now on paternity leave, I’m trying to figure out my new working habits but do have some more daytime availability during her naps. Because of that transition this sprint is more small items that were easy to tick off here and there.
- Meet with Cole to talk and commission remaining art. That’s right, I should have some amazing new art to share shortly for the remainder of my units! I’m super excited to have it all coming together. Also huge shout out to Cole Munro-Chitty if you’re looking for an awesome artist who is also an awesome person
- Host BMG Self-Publishing Q&A. I just started hosting a monthly self-publishing Q&A session to connect new self-publishers with those that have more experience. I love talking to people and learning new things and sharing what I’ve uncovered, so this is my way to try and give back to the community that has helped me a ton so far. If you’re interested, check it out here!
- Blog post “How do I market my game and get followers?”. From my self-publishing Q&A I found that was the main question that most people had. I wrote this article to give an overview of the concept and direct people where they can dig deeper. Read it, and other self-publishing blog posts, here!
- Manufacturing sample follow-up. Like I covered before, some issues to work through on the manufacturing files. Mostly on me to better understand how to export the files so the transparent elements like drop shadows are handled correctly (search rasterizing). I need to make sure files are set by the Chinese new year to ensure a speedy turnaround after my campaign.
- Sign up for Midwinter Gaming Convention. If you’re around Pewaukee, WI Jan 8th-11th you can come see Quickdraw in person! I’ll be a part of the Playtest Party as well as having other times to demo. Reach out if you’re interested! This will be my first convention bringing a game so figured it was best to start small and learn some strategies on how to approach cons. The con also times out really nicely since I’ll be launching at the end of January.
- Follow-up on my playthrough animation. Several sub bullets here, but mostly I wanted to get get the video out there to get feedback and also look into what other Kickstarter videos are like so I can adjust accordingly.
● Watch other KS videos. It seems these are mostly sizzle reel style, not deep playthroughs. My video probably works well but needs a better intro.
● Add intro to set up the animation (not published yet)
● Share the video for feedback. I’d really really appreciate you checking out the video and providing feedback. I think Quickdraw has super unique mechanics so I’d love to get your feedback if those come through via the video. Check it out here!
- Add animated how-to-play section to landing page. I got the feedback my landing page would be better if it got more into the mechanics, so I split my video into a series of gifs that I added additional explanation to. If you’re interested in checking it out and providing feedback you can check it out at www.ramgames.co
- Create new ad image. I took the board state image from last sprint and used it to create a new ad image that I hope gives a better idea of the game.
- Blind Playtest on Break My Game. Not only did I do a 3hr playtest session where I got really great feedback, I did it while feeding/watching a 4-month old. That was a real feeling of accomplishment haha.
- Rules update. From the blind playtest I found a few sections that could be better explained. Mostly the passive actions vs. abilities, and the round end vs reloading. If you’re interested in the rules I have them here!
- General social media engagement. Writing my marketing blog post and looking deeper at my own strategies, I realized I’ve been lacking on the organic marketing side. I spent a lot of time finding good communities to be engaged with, as well as doing my monthly subscriber email and standard Facebook/Instagram posts. And while not quite social media, I provided some rulebook feedback in the Break My Game Discord as a way to help people in that community and get a little more established.