The Kickstarter! It's LIVE!

Click on the Kickstarter logo above: it will take you to the Kickstarter page for Ad-Man!, where you are encouraged to make a pledge today!

It's been a blast so far. Here's some videos!

Getting Ready for Gen Con!

Hello! I'm going to Gen Con soon (less than three weeks away!), and getting props and plotting finished for the Live-Action Role-Playing (LARP) games I'm running/helping run there. I'm running the Ghostbusters LARP there, and seeing as I can't easily construct proton packs, I made buttons. I'll be sure to post pics when it's done! (Me, circa 1989 or 1990)

Mild little update...

A major re-haul of my website has been completed. In fact, I hope your reading this post FROM the newly re-designed website! Using a template that I began, but my great friend Alison fixed, and I've continued to tweak with what I learned from days of scouring the internet, I've redone www.steverobbinsart.com, www.comicartiststeve.com, and updated www.steverobbinsgames.com.

The big motivator was vanity and clarity, as the site is more attractive, I think, and much easier to navigate. It also allows for me to link to the other sites more effectively without having a "links" page.

So this blog will now act as a sort of a regular update as to what I'm doing professionally and personally, though I'll try to keep it the former than the latter.

What am I doing professionally right this minute? I'm illustrating a singling picture for a short story. I can't display it now, but I'm pleased how it's looking right now...

Just Checking In

Not a huge post today/tonight. Just checking in, and testing out something. I learned (pocketed) some very useful CSS this evening, and I've been tweaking it to fit my needs. That's right, I'm retooling my website, using lessons learned during my kickstarter. Speaking of which, it didn't make it, and I know why, and am going to try again later this summer. More on that later! TTFN!

Ad-Man! Card Game!

So what have I been doing for about a year? I've been making a card game called Ad-Man! Ad-Man! is about advertising characters/mascots. Playing the role of an advertising executive, you use mascots to gain the product accounts from clients to sell things like soda pop, baseball teams, and fabric detergent. A round has cumulative turns, so players add more and more mascots into the mix with the hopes of getting a high number, which will win the product. There are a lot of opportunities for creative decision-making. It is my goal to raise (at least) $8,000 to print one thousand decks of this game. And then, to put forth a quality, entertaining product with lots of replay-ability and balance. The majority of the monies raised through Kickstarter will be used for the printing costs, with additional money being used for things like covering the cost of copyright registry, leasing a UPC, and buying a full year of hosting for this site, which will be used to sell decks and promote other gaming concepts. The winner has the most Product cards at the end of the game. Product cards have a symbol, and only mascots with that same symbol are of use in winning the account for that product. Mascot cards have three symbols, each with a value: they’re best for some products, but can be used for others, where that mascot has some appeal. Players take turns playing mascots with the appropriate symbol, until no more can be played in that round. Depending on choices made, players either refresh their hands by 1 or 2 cards at the end of the round. There are many opportunties for creative decision making, and an unexpected level of balance- it is difficult to run away with a crushing lead! There are also additional rules for playing with children, extremely large groups, alone, 2-player, and in a college setting. "What Can I Do To Help?" Great question! with an easy answer. When the Kickstarter is live from May 1st through May 31st, go to the site, find my project, and pledge as little as $20. You can back more money if you want, and there are premium incentives to do so. After you pledge at least $20, tell your friends! Tell anyone you think would either enjoy helping out an independent artist or enjoy independent games, or both! As I say in the video, "the goal is so do-able. Let's make this happen... together!" ... SO! That's what I've been working on. Now here's some mascots. More coming soon! TTYL!

Orange MAN!

This is one character that'll appear in my upcoming project, of which I hope to Kickstart very soon. I still need to get some prototypes printed, and of course protect what I've been working on for the better part of a year. But hopefully I'll be able to film the fundraising video soon, and get the ball rolling so I can start selling online without using my regular website.

Whew! It's been quite a fun little experience making this. A lot of great beta testers have helped me perfect this game, and I'm very grateful for their assistance!
Trust me, when this is ready to be unveiled, I'll be telling you so much more...