Tortured Earth

  One of the persistent requests made of us has been the development of instructional videos detailing the finer points of the game system. Our ability to produces these has been dependent on funds to outsource the project as neither Kevin nor I have any real experience in the process.  Fortunately, we live in an age where tools are being developed that will give independent developers a chance at producing quality videos. Understand, I'm not calling my work quality as of yet. However, with the development of AI voiceovers, we are hoping to transform the videos into something more presentable.  I recognize the fact I can write and visually design the production. However, my accent and annunciation of the English language has room for improvement. We are hoping to get a series of these videos out there with the intent of turning their production over to AI voiceovers. With any luck, we'll be able to modify the videos and improve the sound quality. As far as content, I feel...

  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...

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...

I guess I should begin with an explanation as to why I’ve been so silent lately. In short, we’ve been VERY busy. Tortured Earth moved from roughly 25 conventions per year to 38 per year. The past two years have been madness, to say the least.   In all of this, I was involved in a project to open a new school. Tortured Earth’s convention presence skyrocketed. I reached a threshold at which I was able to completely retire from education and move forward with the game’s development. We managed to pick up a new writer, started writing a whole lot more ourselves, and are releasing new modules this year.   I hired a full-time employee, had to let him go, and learned a lot in the process. (This will be discussed in a later blog post.)   So many things have changed in the industry. We’ve seen the emergence of AI for nearly all aspects of creation. (Again, discussed in a later post.) Fortunately, between Kevin and myself, we’ve got enough nightmares running around in o...

I have to begin this article with an apology. It's been a rough few months since my last entry. To begin with, the books are published. We've turned out the next three books in the series: Tortured Earth Core Rule Book, The Travel Journal of Mica Greer (Supplement), and The Unofficial Account of Gavin Harris (Supplement). In addition, we've produced a line of modules designed to get people playing the game. Each is a one-shot ending with a transition into another reality. In all, we've managed to produce four mini-modules with a fifth in editing at this point. Kevin is currently working on his first module and I'm outlining more creatures for the next two supplements. On top of all the writing, we've decided to take a leap of faith and make our works available in PDF format. As of now, we have the GM guide and both supplements on DriveThruRPG.com. We've even made a few sales.  The main hesitation with releasing PDFs has been security. After speaking with oth...

Over the past few weeks, Kevin and I have been working to add stories to the Tortured Earth collection. At the moment, we are converting some of the convention modules into boxed sets - each set containing a Rules Lite GM Guide, Rules Lite Player's Guide, Story booklet, Fold-out maps, Character sheets for 10 people, and two sets of dice.  The current design of the Rules Lite set allows players to run the boxed scenario but also opens the doors for a broader storyboard if a GM is creative and wants to get a little extra mileage out of the set. Each boxed set is designed to serve as a story starter for a larger campaign and can be used by GMs as a means of introducing players to more advanced game mechanics. With all that said, allow me to inform you of the reality of a small game company producing said boxed sets. Due to the uncertainty of customer interest in the boxed set, we have been producing the sets ourselves. This means we have a spiral binding machine and assemble the sets ...

Rogers, Arkansas is an amazing place for gaming. The community is supportive, the convention was well attended, and the scenery was really nice. Overall, the convention was a huge success. The convention team is looking forward to attending next year's show and seeing how it grows! Getting to Rogers is another matter. Traveling as much as I do, I've become rather dependent on Google! Maps. The problem with Google Maps is the complete lack of road-hazard awareness. Google! faithfully calculates the shortest distance between two points and plots a course from where you are to where you are going. It doesn't matter to Google! if the roads are broad, expansive highways or stretched like noodles on the edges of ridges that pitch at impossible angles as you are barreling down the highway at 65 mph at 11 PM. The path we were directed on meandered between Oklahoma and Arkansas, giving us the most challenging roads both states had to offer. At one point, the road seemed to simply dr...

Since June of 2020, we've been refining Tortured Earth 2.0. The process hasn't been easy: making sure the document is clear and concise while maintaining a degree of interest. Rules must be checked in play tests, written, rewritten, examples created, and checked for compatibility with all other rules in the system.  The editing process alone has taken fifteen months to complete. Once the document is prepared, the fun job of finding a publishing house begins. For those not familiar with this little joy in the process, allow me to enlighten: each publishing house has its own set of standards and terminology. Aside from the standard publication jargon, setting margins, spine width, page counts, and all the other components required to produce a professional copy must be learned and sorted through.  Novelists reading this will recognize some of the heartaches. The main difference between the struggles of a novelist and a game developer falls in the degree of art associated with th...

The issue with having a convention in a tourist town is the abundance of amazing alternatives to participate in. Shops, museums, local attractions, and restaurants all compete for the the traveler's attention. In short, the show which should stand out simply blends in to the scenery.  For Tortured Earth, the convention is a bust. The traffic was light both days, spending was conservative, and attendee interest was mild. The observation seems shared among several vendors - evident by the abundance of free time and ability to roam without customers at their booth. We did meet some amazing creators and picked up a potential artist. However, attending conventions for contacts would be far more beneficial and economical as attendees and not vendors.  We are looking for venues in the area. The region is amazing and the community does support conventions. The power of other events simply overshadows the allure of any event held in the city proper. More than one attendee commented tha...

This week finds us in Gatlinburg, TN. We are attending Smoky Mountain Fan Fest. Tomorrow, I'll be sure to have images of the convention floor before everyone gets there. It has been years since I was last in Gatlinburg. The last time I passed through this area was in the late 1980's. The town situated along a two lane road with a few campy shopping areas on either side of the lane. Now, it's a bustling tourist center with all the trappings of a typical tourist town: Hard Rock Cafes', Ripley's Museums, and Bubba Gump's Shrimp.  As my convention team often complains, I am a bit of a tight wad when it comes to purchasing hotels. I pick the cheapest lodgings within an acceptable driving distance. Rarely will I book something above $125 a night and have been been known to book a few $40 dives from time to time.  For this stay, I book a place called Deer Ridge Mountain Resort. Hotels in Gatlinburg were out of my price range, largely due to tourist season. Fair enough....

Over the past two years, I've been purchasing green masters of various creatures found in our universe. Yesterday, I mailed sixteen of these masters off to have molds made and begin the casting process. For the average RPG player, this might seem like a natural progression for a company to make.  As the person organizing and managing Tortured Earth, it's a terrifying step into the unknown. Each figure is unique to our universe. The sculptor we've picked up, Dejan Pavlovic you are amazing, has patiently sculpted each of our figures in his spare time. With the COVID 19 restrictions locking down conventions, our revenue stream has been meager, at best. The collection of figures has been a slow process, but ongoing. For fear of damaging the figures, I've stored each in an insulated container in a room kept at 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Yesterday, I packaged all 16 in a box and shipped it through the US Postal service to our caster to be incinerated during the mold making proces...

Oklahoma is a strange place. I know that sounds bad. That's not my intention. I've worked the convention circuit promoting Tortured Earth since the summer of 2014. In that time, I've traveled largely through the southeastern US, cycling among the coastal states. Convention attendees and vendors alike easily identify the culture of the convention and adapt accordingly. Typically, the spending habits are predicted based on the interest of the convention, the makeup of the community, etc. This simply doesn't exist in Oklahoma City. For nine hours on the return and each night at the hotel, we debated what the focus of the group could be, what items they would most likely be interested in, specialty items we could use to draw customers to our booth, etc. We just couldn't figure it out. The people are incredibly friendly, the attendees are very generous in their purchases when they do purchase, the organizers are super friendly and accomodating to both vendors and attende...

A big part of promoting your own game is finding venues and outlets to promote the product. This week, we are in Midwest City, Oklahoma at Twisted Lords Gaming Convention. Compared to other shows on our circuit, it's a smaller show solely focused on tabletop gaming.  These shows are rarely huge money makers for independent developers. Rather, these are networking and promotional events used to showcase new developments. Scattered among these tables are games ranging from quick board game-style gamest historical reaction games to epic roleplay scenarios. One fellow developer, Patrick Keith with Bombshell Miniatures , produces a wide range of science fiction figures. His system is definitely one we will be play testing later during the convention. His miniatures have incredible definition and are adaptable to a wide range of settings. Naturally, our interest in his line is for applications in our own game. However, his system seems robust and diverse. Another interesting sight at the...