News and Gallery
about 3 years ago
– Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 03:07:19 PM
Salutations, backers!
This should be the very last monthly update before I have our initial set of 2000 (!) books, all stuffed into my house! The shipment will be arriving via train to my home within 3 or 4 weeks of this post. The one tricky aspect is getting Howard down here at the right time for the signing process; the Gamemaster is a busy man and has a lot of international commitments slated for the late Spring. But we're putting our heads together and figuring out the best way to get both of us and the books in the same place this coming month (we're looking into expediting the transport time of the cargo. That's what KS funds are for, after all). Thanks again for your continued patience.
Oh, look what I got:
Howard sent his business cards to my address! Quite cool seeing all this history in a handful of Ziploc bags, and as you can see, one of them makes a brief appearance in the book itself. If you backed at a tier to receive one (or more) of these bad boys, it will be arriving in the same package as your book(s).
Closing out, I'd like to showcase this new set of photos full of never-before-seen sections of the book...
Thanks to your submissions, the Player's Pulse section turned out great! These are just 2 pages of the 6 we feature in the book.
Each year's Wrap-Up features a spirited debate between the Gamemaster and myself, just to keep things spicy. For this particular chapter, Howard has gone to bat for the quirky action-adventure TMNT, while I prefer its beat-em-up sequel. I made sure to give a shout-out to the wonderful Conquest of the Crystal Palace in the Hidden Gems writeup as well.
The five submissions we got for Collector's Corner all turned out terrific! There are some incredible displays to showcase in this section.
GAMEMASTER CLASSIFIED opens with Nintendo B.C., a stroll through Nintendo's years leading up to the Famicom. The two-toned approach of this section goes through Nintendo history on the top in red, and (non-Nintendo) video game history on the bottom in teal. Technically, the Color TV-Game 6 was Nintendo's first home console, but there's definitely a clear divide between the company's pre-Famicom and post-Famicom days, so this early section digs into that.
Ever a fan of top (whatever) lists, I had to get Howard to choose his Top 30 NES games for the book. What could the #1 choice be...? Naturally, I have my own list as well, and as seen above, our opinions can differ pretty wildly. Once we finally meet in person, perhaps we'll have another spirited debate about the merits of the Turtles games and Dragon Warrior...!
-Matthew
Small progress update
about 3 years ago
– Tue, Feb 28, 2023 at 11:59:23 AM
Hi-ho backers! I'm intent on giving you guys monthly transparent updates to keep you informed, but today's is admittedly a little less exciting. According to my provider, the initial orders of 2,000 copies of GMC are roughly 95% done being printed/assembled and will soon take the journey to reach my home in Louisiana. The length of this process can vary but my estimation of you guys getting your books in the next week or two was perhaps too optimistic.
So hang tight; it'll be a few more weeks still before I'll be receiving them and packing them up. Apologies for the inconvenience but we're in the home stretch now. The single book here is something I've had a lot of fun reading and showing to various family members.
You should have received replies from me if you messaged me on Kickstarter, but don't hesitate to ask any further questions. Addresses are now locked so if there's still an issue with yours, check with me via Kickstarter message and I'm sure we can work something out.
Thanks for your patience!
-Matthew
I Have My Book! Locking Addresses Soon
about 3 years ago
– Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 06:06:14 PM
Behold--
The very first copy of GAMEMASTER CLASSIFIED has arrived! The rest will be freighted to me over the course of the next month or so. Once they're here, Howard and I will finally meet for the first time (!), sign about a thousand of the suckers, and start shipping them out. This means that addresses will be finalized and locked in by the end of the week. So if you still need to change your address from a recent move, now's the time to do so. You can adjust it via backerkit.com. If you're having trouble, please contact me and let me know.
The book is looking lovely and I'm excited for everyone to get their hands on it. It's roughly the same proportions (perhaps slightly bigger) as an issue of Nintendo Power, but at 242 pages, quite a bit thicker. I'll be perusing it closer in the coming weeks, but a couple quick flip-throughs had me happy with the results.
Thank you for your patience; my hope to have the book in your hands by February was perhaps a bit optimistic, but I really think March is going to be when everyone will be getting theirs. Your tiers will be fulfilled all at once, including Add-Ons, so anyone who got a Waluigi book from the store or backed for digital art in the Dark Tier will be getting that around the same time as their copy of GMC.
Thanks again for your support, and remember to change your address if you haven't yet!
-Matthew
Physical Proof!
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 09:45:09 PM
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
After the hustle and bustle that always seems to come this time of year, I hope you all are finding time to take it easy, or hang out with loved ones.
GAMEMASTER CLASSIFIED production is going well, with no snags to report! I received a physical “proof” a couple weeks back (which is basically an unbound copy of the book) and it’s looking good. Here it is sprawled across my living room!
(Keep in mind that this proof has a large white border on 3 of the 4 outer sides of each page that includes bleed; the real book will be cut shorter so that the art will go all the way to the edges of the page.)
I made a few minor edits, then sent them an updated version. So now the books are currently in the printing/drying process at the manufacturer and will be mailed out to me in bulk within a few weeks. My home will once again become a makeshift warehouse for a while…and Howard will be popping in to help me sign books! We’ll be sure to send pictures when that happens.
Getting very close now, so thanks for your patience and have a happy New Year!
-Matthew
Cards for remaining preorders will be charged tonight
over 3 years ago
– Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 06:48:16 AM
Hi everyone,
Just a quick heads-up today: we've got about 175 customers whose cards haven't been charged yet, and we'll be charging them tonight at 10 PM Central time.
If you're one of the 1,500 backers who've already paid for your tier, then you're all set! I just wanted to give a courtesy heads-up to anyone who still hasn't been charged yet so that they can be aware of it (in case of overdrafting, etc).
If you're not sure if you've been charged, you can check via your BackerKit survey, or simply message me through KS here, or leave a comment below. Again, this update won't apply to the vast majority of you, but I wanted those who haven't paid yet to not be taken off-guard, especially as we're entering the busy Christmas season.
That's all for now!
-Matthew
