I Have My Book! Locking Addresses Soon
almost 2 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!
almost 2 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
about 2 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
Printing is underway!
about 2 years ago
– Sat, Nov 19, 2022 at 10:37:50 PM
Gobble gobble--I'm certainly feeling thankful this month for the patience and support of you backers, and for the fact that Howard and I have sent off the finished book to be printed!
Due to the last-minute snags, the book won't quite be ready in time for Christmas like I'd hoped, but you should be expecting your own copy of GAMEMASTER CLASSIFIED in early 2023.
We do want to sell this book in online stores, brick-and-mortar, etc. But before all else, Howard insisted we get the backers covered first and foremost. So our initial shipment will be for all preorders (plus a moderate number of extras to sell directly through our website), and then we'll try getting the ball rolling elsewhere. Incidentally, if you're a merchant and interested, feel free to message me directly via KS.
You want stats? I got 'em right here:
- Finished size: 8.268 x 10.709 inches
- Extended: 240pp + cover
- Cover: 80# gloss book mounted on 3mm paperboard, 4/0 + gloss lamination
- Inside: 80# gloss book, 4/4
- End sheets: 70# uncoated cover, 1/0 pms
- Binding: case bound on 10.709 inch side, smyth sewn, square back, matching head/foot bands
In short, GMC is going to be the same level of sturdy quality (and roughly the same size) as the Brawl in the Family and TOO BAD. WALUIGI TIME books.
Let's take another peek at the book--as usual, please excuse the slight fuzziness that is a side-effect of image uploading in these updates:
Lost in Translation was one of our Stretch Goals, so we stretched out the book to squeeze in this 6-page spread featuring several of the Famicom's lost Nintendo-published titles. In each entry, Howard muses on NOA's reasonings for not localizing each game and his own personal thoughts on them, while I share a modern perspective on if/when they eventually saw stateside release (and my own thoughts, of course). Each entry also features an original piece of art relevant to the game.
Famicom Wars and Mysterious Murasame Castle feature above, while Shin Onigashima and Famicom Detective Club share a page as well. Cult favorites Fire Emblem and Mother each get a page apiece dedicated to them, and plenty of other localization stories are covered elsewhere throughout the book (the Dragon Warrior saga being one of the most contentious)!
The end is in sight! Naturally, I'm going to still update this KS periodically (at least once a month) until the book is in your hands, so I'll regularly let you know how the manufacturing is going.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Matthew
Major Milestone, Minor Setback
about 2 years ago
– Thu, Nov 03, 2022 at 06:33:30 AM
Happy Halloween!
The bad news is that as Murphy’s Law would have it, the publisher program I’m using is struggling to contain this book. As the project grew larger, some of the files started getting corrupted, one by one. However, as I now know from past mishaps to back everything up regularly, this issue thankfully isn’t disastrous, but it did push back our planned release a bit further. I expect that I should be finished taking care of it within a week or so.
I apologize for the issues, but rest assured I’m spending every weekday working on this book to get it done. As the video below mentions, it has a huge amount of Howard info and Matthew art crammed into it and we’re excited for the final product.
And now, a quick look and a message from myself!
-By Matthew
