Tortured Earth

  For those of you who write, this writer's block is the impenetrable, merciless wall requiring vast amounts of personal energy to overcome. For a game writer, it can be the undoing of a company. Especially if you are a small company. We must create rules, creatures, and adventures. We correspond with other game creators, artists, and supply companies. Interruptions in those lines of communication can quickly undo the best of organizations. At first, writing was a means to an end. Writing for the game required constant effort. After a while, it became just part of my day. Reflecting on it, it’s evident a routine was established. The trick has become just that, a routine. During the construction of our 2.0 version, I also decided to start a blog to journal the effort required to complete the project. The blog quickly became my free writing time in which I simply poured out my thoughts and feelings for the world to see. As we moved from actual writing to editing (still have cold

  In the initial 1.0 phase of Tortured Earth, we approached the project with an idea, enthusiasm, and a shoestring budget. One of my students was working on a comic book project with another friend and, as happens with so many first attempts, it flaked out. He was left with a large amount of artwork that really had no purpose. I was in desperate need of A LOT of artwork. I purchased the images from him and used them throughout the book. Even his concept art and doodles found a place in the book. To make up for the lack of art, we used colorful background images which alluded to the general theme of the core storyline. It was a graphics design tactic suggested to me by a friend who majored in the topic. When the book was released, we immediately underwent criticism for the boldness of the pages, color choices of the text blocking, and lack of illustration. There was no mercy from the critics for our lack of resources. There was no understanding that this was a first print or the fac

For those of you following the website, you may note we’ve picked up a new talent – Anthony Kallas. Like so many personalities we meet at conventions, Anthony was an avid gamer. Unlike many, he was also an established author. He expressed a keen interest in the Tortured Earth multiverse and was anxious to contribute to it. Surprisingly, he produced a module in short order. Kevin and I were able to reliably promise to have the module edited and ready for publication by the beginning of March. We put in the hours to edit the module and made sure it conformed the to Tortured Earth universe. I present this background to set the stage for the establishment of realistic expectations. The issue with publishing is this: the publisher. We use Ingram Spark as our printing agency. The company is reliable, produces quality products, and has print houses worldwide. The downside of the company is the process one must undergo to actually see their product in print. Modules and game guides are gra