This comic was created as part of a “Secret Santa” comics exchange on Reddit. These characters are Tiff and Eve, and this strip was written by Fran Sundblad, the author of the comic Tiff 🏳️⚧️ & Eve, and rendered in Wondermark style by me.
My game Bolted! has under 48 hours left on Kickstarter, and I’ve written a “Designer Diary” about some of the game’s development process — parts of which which longtime readers may recognize!
I like sharing this kind of stuff, even though it might spotlight some of my more doofus choices and missteps, because I trust that some people will find the process interesting, and take heart at how a polished outcome can be the result of a long, winding, and setback-filled process.
Does that mean that the final result is definitionally awesome? Well, yes, of course.
This is mainly written for an audience new to the game and new to my work generally. I submitted it to BoardGameGeek for their blog of designer diaries (which will reach an audience that mostly has never heard of me).
I don’t actually know if they’ll publish it, but I wanted to make sure it was published SOMEWHERE, so while I wait to hear back from them, here it is!
Bolted! A Game of Creative Necromancy
When you combine different things, sometimes the result is a chemical reaction. Other times, it’s a surprising creative breakthrough.
I’m the author of the comic strip Wondermark, which is created collage-style out of vintage illustrations. So I’ve long been a champion of “creative re-combination.”
Making comics from collage has both freedoms and limitations. I get to hitch a ride on beautiful artwork from ages past, but I’m also constrained in storytelling (to a degree) by the images I can find.
It means the artwork itself is a creative collaborator. The gestures, expressions, and style of the artwork inform the stories that I tell with them…
There are 11 days left. I’m so excited to get this game into your hands soon!
One of the special tiers I’m offering is a custom collage made out of the prototype game cards. Since that’s a bit hard to visualize, I made a little video demonstrating the process:
Each collage will be unique — assembled from whatever frame and cards I have on hand. I think they’ll turn out pretty cool!
Bonus Cards
I also want to share a little about the 3bonus cards that are available to backers.
While the game will presumably be available in my online store* next year, these bonus cards won’t be — they’re exclusive to the launch (and subsequent pledge manager).
These are all “Patron” cards, meaning, they’re objectives you can meet in the game to earn points. Each Patron has a “pattern” they’re looking for, and they’ll pay you if you can fulfill their request with the creature you’re building.
The Gax card is a bit of a tricky one to claim because there are only 12 blank parts in the entire game (blank parts are customizable parts that can become heads, hands, feet, etc.). For this reason, I downgraded the requirement from 4 parts to 3 after the last round of playtesting.
But Gax, as longtime readers know, is a shapeshifter — so it seems appropriate that he’s most interested in parts that can change their form and type.
The Gax card was a free bonus for the very earliest backers of the first campaign! For everyone else, it’s available à la carte (as an add-on) for a nominal fee.
The Piranhamoose card is the only card that actually changes the shape of your creature when you claim it — because the Piranhamoose actually eats the parts! (As it is well-known to do.)
The Piranhamoose card is a free bonus for all repeat backers — i.e., you’ve backed any of my previous projects on Kickstarter or BackerKit. Just DM me on Kickstarter and say “Hey, it’s me again!” and I’ll add it to your order! (OG repeat backers who backed the spring campaign are already logged.)
If you aren’t a repeat backer, no worries, this card is also available as an add-on. (And you’ll be a repeat backer on the next project!)
The Norbert card also has some unique qualities. Norbert, of course, is from the classic “sick elephant” saga.
As you know if you’ve read that storyline, Norbert is not obscenely wealthy. So his reward can be as little as 1 single point. He also does not carry one of the Royal Keys that bring you closer to the end of the game.
But he allows for big bonuses because his condition has no upper limit. You can bankrupt that elephant!
The Norbert card is available free to everyone on any paid Patreon tier. You still have to DM me (either Kickstarter or Patreon works) to claim it. This card is not available as an add-on — only via Patreon. Whether you backed the game on BackerKit or now on Kickstarter, if you’re also on Patreon, I’d like to send you this free card!
Note: This card is also available to people on Patreon who don’t even back the game. Why would you want just one card but no game? That is a question for you to contemplate on your own.
Once this game project is done, I’m anticipating a big refocus on new comics and more Patreon bonuses next year, so consider this a nudge to join at any paid tier! (Patreon members already get to see every new comic early.)
One of the MOST fun things I’ve been doing with this game is streaming the game live with my friends! Such as this session with Sara McHenry, Tom McHenry, Jess Fink, and Eric Colossal:
Here is an updated schedule of more upcoming streams:
Tue Dec 9 • 6pm Pacific • Audio Heroes Block 🪕 Molly Lewis (Mollylele) 🎹 Seth Boyer (Skulltenders) 🎤 Jordan Morris (Jordan Jesse Go, Youth Group)
Wed Dec 10 • 1:15pm Pacific • Atlantic Coast Block 🤖 Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content) 🦒 Colleen AF Venable (Kiss Number 8, Katie the Catsitter) 🐐 Jon Rosenberg (Goats, Scenes From a Multiverse)
Thu Dec 11 • 12:15pm Pacific • Super Stylish Block 👑 Dylan Meconis (Queen of the Sea) 👻 Kaylee Rowena (Haunts) 🏞️ Kendra P. (Fairmeadow)
Fri Dec 12 • 1:15pm Pacific • Rad Artists Block 🤼 Scott C. (Great Showdowns, Cabin Head and Tree Head) 🪓 Shing Yin Khor (The Legend of Auntie Po) 🐻 Cat Farris (My Boyfriend is a Bear)
Sun Dec 14 • 4:15pm Pacific • Autodidact Block 🥣 Zach Weinersmith (SMBC) 🦾 Senna Diaz (Dresden Codak) 🦜 Kevin McShane (Kevin Comics, Buzzfeed)
Tue Dec 16 • 1pm Pacific • Creator Plays Solo Mode 🎩 David Malki ! (The creator of this game) Assisted & observed by 🐾 Sam Logan (Sam & Fuzzy)
I spent a ton of time on the promo video and I had a lot of fun! I hope you like it.
A couple of things worth highlighting:
Want this to be a holiday gift? The game won’t ship to backers until the spring, but all backers WILL get a downloadable certificate that you can wrap as a present, if you like!
I’ll be doing livestreams all month long, playing the game with some of my creative friends! The first one already happened – with Ryan North, Gillian Goerz, and Pat Race – and you can watch it here:
Upcoming scheduled livestreams include:
Wed Nov 26 • 5:15pm Pacific • Good As Hell BlockAlready happened! 🐈⬛ Sara McHenry (Your McHenries, Hey Pais) 🐎 Tom McHenry (Your McHenries, Horse Master) ⚙️ Jess Fink (Chester 5000 XYV) 🍄 Eric Colossal (Rutabega the Adventure Chef) ↪ Watch the replay!
Mon Dec 1 • 12:15pm Pacific • Sickos BlockAlready happened! 🐶 KC Green (Gunshow, Greatures) ✒️Mattie Lubchansky (Boys Weekend, Simplicity) 💧Tom Harrison (Anime Sickos)
Fri Dec 5 • 10:15am Pacific (NEW TIME) • Webcomics Weekly Block 🐤 Dave Kellett (Sheldon, Drive) 😈 Brad Guigar (Evil Inc, The Webcomics Handbook) 📺 Kris Straub (Chainsawsuit, Local58)
UPDATED TO ADD:
Mon Dec 8 • 3:15pm Pacific • Very Rude Block 🥷 Christopher Hastings (Rude Tales of Magic, Dr. McNinja) 🎨 Carly Monardo (Rude Tales of Magic, Birdgirl) 🦢 Branson Reese (Rude Tales of Magic, Swan Boy)
Tue Dec 9 • 6pm Pacific • Audio Heroes Block 🪕 Molly Lewis (Mollylele) 🎹 Seth Boyer (Skulltenders) 🎤 Jordan Morris (Jordan Jesse Go, Youth Group)
Wed Dec 10 • 1:15pm Pacific • Atlantic Coast Block 🤖 Jeph Jacques (Questsionable Content) 🦒 Colleen AF Venable (Kiss Number 8, Katie the Catsitter) 🐐 Jon Rosenberg (Goats, Scenes From a Multiverse)
Thu Dec 11 • 12:15pm Pacific • Super Stylish Block 👑 Dylan Meconis (Queen of the Sea) 👻 Kaylee Rowena (Haunts) 🏞️ Kendra P. (Fairmeadow)
Fri Dec 12 • 1:15pm Pacific • Rad Artists Block 🤼 Scott C. (Great Showdowns, Cabin Head and Tree Head) 🪓 Shing Yin Khor (The Legend of Auntie Po) 🐻 Cat Farris (My Boyfriend is a Bear)
My (silly but ambitious) goal in this prelaunch period is to gather the same number of “followers” on the prelaunch page, as we had total backers in the original campaign (436). That seems doable, right??
The plan is to launch mid-next week! That’s pretty soon!!
I’m assuming at least some of you reading this are OG Boltheads who jumped on the train early and have been patiently waiting for me to wrap it all up. I’m super grateful for your initial support!
And now that the manufacturing part of it all is in motion, I’m super pleased that the timing will allow for another chance to get it in front of folks for pre-orders.
Since I’m only likely to print this game once, I want to make sure anyone who’s interested will have a chance to grab a copy. So I’ll be talking much more about this in the days to come!!
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