I hate that I can say I'm living testimony to my own advice. As mentioned yesterday, we often set milestones which may or may not be attainable. We have to continue working and plow through the material if we ever hope to finish whatever we start. In short: I couldn't finish the Magic chapter today.
I live in an area which does not have the modern convenience of stable internet. As a result, in the middle of my editing session, the signal became so terrible I had to call it a day. Once Kevin signed out, I continued to work on my own realizing I was going to miss a lot of errors. I did get a significant portion further and will end up editing with Kevin tomorrow.
Fortunately, my phone signal was workable. I managed to take care of social media replies and posts. I even got a little school work done.
The internet connectivity does bring up an issue with future projects. Eventually, we are hoping to launch a podcast featuring the Tortured Earth game. My plan is to write 1 hour story segments, play them out, and have them available for download on the website for one-shot adventures. The concern is if I can't find a workable solution to the internet issue, the project may have to sit on the backburner for some time.
Having a dedicated line run from the nearest junction to my house is simply out of the question. I priced it a few years back and the cost was $20,000. Even at that expense, the line would allow for other users to tap into the cable and eventually reduce my internet speed. So my options reduce down to:
1. Rent a place in town and establish a work site.
2. Drop the project.
3. Hope Skylink eventually offers services in my area. Yes, I applied. I'm on a waiting list.
Despite the internet issues, I own my own home and love the location. Making matters more complicated is the fact my home is on family property and my parents are elderly. Selling and relocating at this stage of the game would be unwise.
Giving up on the project is just not my style. Ideally, if I could find a friend who has a home and is willing to rent a room out I could move forward. City noise is a hassle and that friend would have to be understanding enough to put up with people moving in and out of the room. I can easily see that straining a friendship.
Rent on a private residence means a new electric bill, water bill, and internet service. Of course, I'd have yet another mancave to maintain. Not overly thrilled about that one.
A business rental is far more expensive. However, if I can pull together an actual business which pays for itself, it could be worth while. In all honest, this is actually a viable option. We've been looking at opening a game shop in North Louisiana. If it comes to fruition, it could solve a lot of the issues I'm currently facing. Naturally, the purpose of a business would not be to support my internet needs. The goals of a game shop would dove tail nicely with the goals of Tortured Earth and could lead to some interesting avenues.
If Tortured Earth is to reach a larger audience, it will eventually need to have either a podcast or vodcast to accompany the existing promotional strategies. Regardless of the option I eventually decide on, the internet issue will eventually have to be addressed. If not, Tortured Earth as a company could suffer for it.
Such is the woe of the independent creator.
Thanks for reading!
K. B. Kidder
If you are checking out this blog for the first time, you may access our website by clicking here: Tortured Earth
Character Species released for review: Allorn, Dwarf, Elf, Eoceph, and Goblin.
Combat Creatures released for review: Braunach, Faeda, Fetid Hound, Minotaur, and Wolf.
If you are interested in the creature development process, you may submit your own creatures by filling out the following form. We will review the forms before publishing the creatures to the website. Creature Creation Form
If you would like to see what Tortured Earth looks like, the GM portion of the rule book is available as a free download on the Tortured Earth Home Page. Tortured Earth Beta GM Guide
And finally, I have created a Tavern Generator and Loot Generator. Both are free downloads and can be adapted to a wide range of story settings. Both are written in Excel. If you are using a tablet, you can download a free version of Excel and operate it live at the game table.
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