Development Update and Artist Spotlight
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 16, 2021 at 02:23:18 AM

Hi Backers!

We just funded past $600,000 and that is ASTOUNDING. Cole and I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled we are to make and deliver our games at that scale. Clearly backers like you want to see more game like this! It is because of your direct support on this platform that we can make projects like this (and others in the future) with this same rigor we brought to Pax Pamir. Thanks for being here <3

Gah, I promised I wouldn’t gush until the end of the campaign, so here’s the rest of the update about development news and another artist spotlight in the meantime.

Development update

Unlike other Kickstarters you may have backed, this new edition of John Company is somehow both nearly design complete and also undergoing significant development during the crowdfunding period and in the months following. While the game's main systems are stable, Cole has been spending last several weeks balancing the game's advanced scenarios, especially the deregulated game. He's been looking forward to this stage of the process for a long time. Back when we first decided to do this project, balancing these scenarios was a top priority. But, of course, you can't work on the scenarios till the core engine is close to complete! 

A couple weeks before we launched the Kickstarter, Cole created a development branch of John Company that he's been pushing on since. The success of the KS has meant that Cole has been able to spend most of his Wehrlegig time working on the game rather than drumming up interest in the campaign. 

The coming weeks and months after the Kickstarter will be filled with adjustments to the core mechanics as well as graphic design/art updates to the development files. We'll continue to keep everyone updated as we have things ready for general access. Hopefully by the summer we’ll be ready to share final rules and art, but for now, we still have a lot of playtesting and tweaking ahead of us.

Of course, development hasn't fully swallowed Cole. He'll be sharing another designer diary in a few days about the negotiations in John Company and might be doing a second development AMA on Twitch before the campaign ends. 

Artist Spotlight

I’m thrilled to highlight another one of our amazing collaborators, Amita Pai, who has been a delightful partner on the project for contributions on the artistic direction of the India map and ganjifa event tiles.

Tell us about yourself and where you are based?

I'm Amita Pai and I am a commercial artist who loves painting, sculpturing & dancing. I am based out of the vibrant & cosmopolitan city of Mumbai.

Describe your work and what you did specifically for John Company!

The art that you see are all Ganjifa inspired. They have a lot of rawness along with vibrancy in them. I designed each keeping in mind the aesthetics, details & significance to each region. A lot of research has gone into their designs, as usually this art form is predominant with god stories & Persian influence, but for John Company, I had to get deep into the history so the pieces were more relevant to the period. I wanted to do to the cards justice as regional symbols for the game. It's a beautiful amalgamation of traditional art form & history!

How did you get your start in illustration?

I’m equally glad & honored that I have been able to get an opportunity like this. I’m very new to the world of board games and haven't played any modern board games yet! My cousin has been playtesting Cole’s games and believes in my passion for art.

As I am new to to the world of board games, I was hesitant in taking up the project, but I was filled with confidence from my cousin & Cole, and that did the magic. My 1st illustration was commissioned as a sample which turned out very well & then the journey began!

What’s your process when working?

If I have a clarity of thoughts, ideas, and concepts surrounding a project and the prerequisites of the project are also clear, it is much easier for my creative mind to get to work. I usually work on canvas, MDF board, paper variants, glass, clay etc. However, for this ganjifa art, I used 200gsm thick old card paper to achieve a right texture & thickness with acrylic paints to create rawness in them which makes them look vintage & royal.

Where can our backers see more of your art and follow your work?

You can view few of my art pieces on my IG the_little_artist89 or can connect with me on Twitter @amitapainayak

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Thanks again and as always, if you have any questions about your pledge or our campaign, you can reach out to us on email at [email protected] or drop a comment below on Kickstarter. 

Drew

Checking in + Shipping Rates + Artist Spotlight
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 09, 2021 at 06:43:13 AM

Hi everyone!

I will try my best to refrain from gushing about how grateful we are, and more so, how amazing our backers are. It is pretty incredible that we get to make games like John Company and Pax Pamir because of people like you directly supporting our work here on Kickstarter. I can’t say it enough--thank you!!

It’s been a few days since our last update and I wanted to share some news about the project. This update will cover international shipping rate changes, some notes from comments and emails I’ve been getting, plugging our upcoming streams, and lastly an artist spotlight with one of our collaborators!

Shipping changes

There have been a bunch of great questions about shipping rates over the last couple days, and though I can’t speak to everything right now, I can give some region specific updates.

UK BACKERS - You will not have to pay additional VAT in addition to your pledge. We are going to be working with Fulfillment Europe (and likely a UK specific shipping partner in addition to FE) to make sure that UK orders arrive safely without any additional customs fees. I’m also happy to share the news that we’ll be lowering the standard shipping fee for UK orders to $15. So no extra customs fees and lower shipping costs : )

AUSTRIA BACKERS - Rate updated from Rest of EU to Zone 2 ($12)

FINLAND / GREECE / HUNGARY / POLAND BACKERS - Rate updated from Rest of EU  to Zone 3 ($15)

ISRAEL + SOUTH AFRICA BACKERS - I have made the decision to lower shipping costs to these regions and use VFI Asia for delivery. Previously we were planning to fulfill these orders from our shipping hub in Germany via DHL, but we’re going to lower fees and ship them safely (but more slowly) with other Kickstarter projects bulk shipped from VFI to those regions.

BRAZIL BACKERS - I am hoping to have an update about lower shipping rates soon. Our hope is to work with a local Brazilian shipper to bring down costs dramatically for backers in Brazil and not have to have our BR backers worry about additional VAT fees. More on this to come next week I hope.

Livestream Coming down the pipe

Even during this Kickstarter campaign, we’re still actively working on the design for John Company! Development is continuing at an exciting pace, and we are so excited to share more about the gameplay changes. The design is meshing together really well and if you want to see the newest developments to the game, come check out our next live stream tomorrow on Twitch April 8, 8pm CDT. We’re going to be playing the 1758 scenario and hopefully we’ll get into some tense negotiations with private firms! We’ll have the VOD saved and available for a while after the stream on Twitch.

I’ve mentioned in comments that we are hoping to share more details about the John Company metal coin add-on soon! We really enjoyed bringing the Pax Pamir metal coins to life and we’ll be taking our time to make the John Company coins a delight to play with as well. Details about the size, designs, and denominations to come shortly.

Also, if you have sent a KS message or email and we have not gotten to it yet, we’re getting there! I’m still digging out of my inbox and doing my best to get back to folks. Email still remains the best way to contact us, so if you have a question or comment, shoot it over to us on [email protected] and we’ll talk there!

Artist Spotlight on Janek Lipinski

To round out this update, allow me to highlight one of our amazing collaborators! I reached out to one of our artists and asked them a few questions about their work so our Backers could have a better sense about their work! I’ll be sharing similar interviews from Amita and Ricky next week, but for now, enjoy this conversation with Janek Lipinski.

Tell us about yourself and where you are based?

I am an illustrator and designer from Poland. I live in Warsaw with my wife, son and a pug. My design work is focused mostly on brand identities, posters and books, but I design and code digital applications as well. I'm a huge fan of Middle Ages art and used to sing in a small early music choir, and surprisingly, I love board games!

Describe your work and what you did specifically for John Company!

I illustrated the portraits of the family members for John Company. They will be on cameo-like shaped wooden pieces, and replace standard cubes from the first edition. They play an important role in the game — seeing a person helps immerse players into the John Company storyline.

I made about twenty unique portraits which is great, but at the same time proved challenging to me. How to make them diversified, but stay in that time period? I did a lot of research just looking at fashion details and hair styles.

Another question was about their personalities. What makes them believable, but opened for players’ interpretations at the same time? How to add a character to them, but not going into caricatural style?

After drawing all portraits I started the last phase — checking visual coherence. I was looking at them side by side and tried to find out if there’s any inconsistency among them. For example head sizes (it’s tricky with such enormous wigs! ), amount of details or line strokes width.

How did you get your start in illustration and graphic design?

I wanted to draw for as long as remember, but like most of my peers I was choosing football instead. Things changed when I decided to study architecture and got to know that entrance exams are mostly based on drawing skills. I started making my childhood dreams come true and began to learn perspective and other drawing fundamentals. I fell in love with watercolors, summer vacations became plein-air workshops and local art shops had no secrets from me. I still work traditionally, but nowadays most of my works are done digitally, which is very convenient for me and my clients.

My first design gigs started at university. I was hired to prepare posters and infographics for my faculty. Hundreds of posters, logos and posters later, I got a job in a big IT company where I design and code websites and mobile applications. It is very interesting work because of constantly changing technology, animations, and new devices.

What’s your process when working?

Getting to know fundamentals about the work I am to do is crucial. I do extensive research at the beginning and usually after creating first sketches, I prepare mood boards and some kind of presentation for my client to open discussion what approach seems to be the best. To stay motivated, I watch people drawing and switch projects between projects often. It’s important to have breaks and have a fresh look on your work.

Where can people see more of your work?

Feel free to reach me on [email protected] and you can follow me on Twitter , Instagram , Facebook  or just checked my portfolio website.

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Thanks!

Drew

A little design chat and AMA
about 3 years ago – Mon, Apr 05, 2021 at 02:59:19 AM

Hello everyone,

I spent today pretty caught up in other designs and only had a chance to log onto the Kickstarter after work. My goodness. This campaign has exceeded every expectation. We're not even a week in and we've already passed Pax Pamir's reprint campaign. I'm speechless. 

When Drew and I launched this campaign, we were a little worried about the production because this game is expensive. But, with the response we've gotten so far, we aren't worried in the slightest. You've all given us space not only to produce the game we've dreamed of, you have also offered us the ability to make it even better in countless little ways that we will be detailing in the coming weeks and months. (Sadly we still probably won't have room for a tiny gavel in the box.)

I wanted to let you all know that Drew and I will be doing a little AMA over on Twitch tonight. You can find us here at 8CDT (that's in ~15 minutes or so). Come with your questions, and, if you don't have them, you can just hang out with me while I work on the game and give you all a sense of what it's like behind the scenes. 

Campaign News and John Company Stream!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 01, 2021 at 04:48:51 AM

Hey everyone!

Here's a short & sweet update about tonight's live stream and some general campaign news.

John Company Stream

Check out the game in action! We are going to be streaming our Tabletop Simulator version of John Company tonight over on the Wehrlegig Games Twitch Channel starting at 8 CDT! We will save the stream and you can watch it after the stream on Twitch or Youtube later this week. Remember this game is still being worked on, so tonight we will be will be playing the 3-player 1710 Scenario! As is our tradition, we'll be using the current development cut which includes a few adjusted numbers, but the game is pretty much the same thing that you all have. We hope you come join us! 

What's next?

Like Cole wrote in the last update, we are feeling so grateful for all the support folks shown to this campaign.  It is continually gratifying to know that there is interest out there for games like John Company that really wrestle with tricky topics. 

Over the next few weeks, Cole and I will be sharing more details about the design history and ideas that went into this new edition. This will start this Friday with an evening design AMA that Cole will be hosting on our Twitch channel. We'll also be highlighting some of the incredible work our collaborators for this project and show some exciting samples of the components along the way. You're here and we're thrilled you're along for the ride.

I'll be your main point of contact during this campaign, if you have any questions, check the FAQ and feel free to write a comment on this update or campaign page, or even just send an email to us at [email protected] so we can help! I'm still digging out my email so if you haven't heard from us yet, you will soon! 

See you on Twitch!

Drew

More Than Funded
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 01, 2021 at 04:07:02 AM

Dear Backers,

When Drew and I built the first Pamir Kickstarter a couple years ago, we truly had no idea what to expect. Like a lot of campaigns, the campaign had stretch goals. These goals weren't sales gimmicks. We truly didn't know what to expect. No matter the scenario, we wanted to make sure that we could deliver the game to our backers regardless if that meant sending a few hundred folks a more stripped down production or managing something far more elaborate.

That campaign blew us away and allowed us to make Pax Pamir without compromises.

Now, in the space of a single day, you have exceeded the performance of that entire first campaign. We are both filled with gratitude for your support and look forward to doing the work that will follow.

Before we get to that work, I wanted to say a few things about what the success of this campaign means to us. First and foremost, it means that there's a place in the world for campaigns like this. John Company is the very definition of a niche game, and we wanted to run a campaign that spoke earnestly to potential backers.  Though I think the game is urgent, I also recognize that it's not for everyone. It's important that potential players realize what they are getting into. At the same time, the game is built to be immensely accessible, and I think anyone with an interest in the subject won't have too much trouble getting the game to the table. The game has never been as easy to play as it is now.

But, more than that, the success of our first days shows that there is an abiding interest in historical games that treat their subjects and their players seriously. It shows, I hope, that it's possible to do games that grapple with difficult subjects and that it's possible to engage those subjects in ways that a lecture or book cannot.

All of that means a great deal to me both as a designer working in this space and as a player eager for games like this. Thank you.

It's worth saying, here in this first update, that our team is very small. Drew will be handling most of the campaign, and I'll do my best to answer questions before and after the workday and on weekends. This means we'll keep things simple. In the coming days, we'll be showing off the design in a variety of ways. Tomorrow, for instance, we'll be doing a three player play-through that will showcase the design at lower play counts and later this week I'll be doing a little design AMA on our Twitch channel and talk about some of the places in the design that we're still working on.

We've got some other things planned too. Like our other projects, we'll do our best to take you all along for the ride, updating you all on the game's continued development, showing you factory samples, and offering what little insight we have into the work of producing a game like this.

Once again, thank you all for your support. I cannot think of a kinder or more interesting group of folks to have behind us, and I cannot wait to finish this game with you all.