button-kin-games

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So, I have a website now!

If you want to follow my work better than you can on tumblr, with my incredibly variable posting schedule, you can follow it here:

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Development Diary: Jude's World, Part 12

With the digital distro all done and dusted it’s been full steam ahead on the printing. I’m ecstatic to say that I’ve been working with Fistful of Ink on the zine version of the game and its companion workbook.

We’ve been through a few test prints, trying to find the right recycled or otherwise eco-friendly paper stocks to meet the quality I’m looking for in terms of both colours and durability. I think we’re very close.

Truly FoI have been so very, very helpful throughout this process. Above and beyond expectations. This experience is so much different from working with a larger company like. Imagine getting your books made affordably, to a high standard, on eco-friendly paper, while also being talked like a… what-cha-ma-call-it… a person? Instead of an order number? It’s hot, frankly.

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Little Wins, November 2024

Jude’s World digital! Digital fulfillment of Jude’s World is complete for my fabulous Kickstarter backers. This means that the game is now available on itch.io for those of you who missed the campaign window. Here you go, slow pokes: https://buttonkin.itch.io/judes-world

Manchester Geek Fayre! I had such a lovely time stalling at this brand new event in my adoptive home town. Good to see friends and meet new people, and to talk about games to real faces instead of type about them. To myself. On a screen. Like I’m doing right now. Sorry, got a bit dizzy there. There’s another one coming up 14th/15th December. I won’t be there because I’ll hopefully be elbow deep (ew?) in Jude’s World Kickstarter fulfillment. But if you’re in the NW of the UK and you like games and gaming gifts and you’d be a fool to miss it: https://dungeonsandflagons.co.uk/events-1/mcr-geek-fayre

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Development Diary: Jude's World, Part 11

So, where is the game up to now? Well, the Kickstarter was a modest success, so we have the funding to finish the game and do a print run. The text has been edited and proof-read. It’s time for layout.

I love this part of the process. Creating the visual theme to match a game’s content and atmosphere is my idea of play time. I also really like organising things and layout is very that: tetris-ing blocks of text together, filling gaps with the right image. So satisfying.

I’m going for a very 90s Funfax, tabbed-notebook theme with bright colour pops but simple, legible rules text. I have a few previews which are more fun than me explain-ifying. Let’s take a look…

Missed the campaign and still want a copy? No worries! Pre-orders for the game are now live on Kickstarter, and will be available until the end of this month. Go go go!

[button-kin-games]

Little Wins, October 2024

Oh hey! It’s been a minute. What’s new with you? Oh, me? Not much, just finished a Kickstarter campaign and then went off grid for a month to de-stress. Yeah, feeling much better thanks.

I did promise myself that this month I would write the post-Kickstarter wrap up - what worked, what didn’t, what’s next - but it doesn’t feel like time for that yet. Maybe once the books are out in the post and the campaign is really and truly over? Yeah. Let’s do it then. In the meantime I have a couple of updates.

Even more llamas! While I was away resting my brain post-Kickstarter I found time to write up and lay out a trio of one-shot session plans for Drama Llamas and chuck them out into the world. Each plan includes a unique show concept, plus all the locations, NPCs, and challenges you need to run a high hilarity session of my reality TV themed TTRPG. They’re available on my itch.io for just £1 each. Or if you’re around in Manchester this Saturday I’ll be selling physical copies on my stall at Manchester Geek Fayre. Come by, say hi!

Aegean! I think mentioned a while back that I’d landed my first writing job for not-my-own-game? Let’s say I did. I’m too lazy to actually go back and check. Well, that was a chapter for a Peloponnese-themed source book for Aegean, a marvellous TTRPG of ancient Greek heroism and politicking from We Evolve Publishing. If you, like me, can’t get enough of ancient civilisations and mythology, check out Aegean: The Isle of Pelops, coming soon to Kickstarter. You can also find the core rule books on We Evolve’s website now along with existing expansions, including campaigns set in ancient Crete or Troy.

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One more day to back Jude's World

We made it, folks. The final day of the Jude's World Kickstater game. We're funded, but this is your last chance to back! Go go go! If you like solo journaling games, messing about with tarot cards, romance, and hijinks, check it out:

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This Monday (September 9th) at 2pm EDT, I'm playing Jude's World by @button-kin-games! Jude's World is a solo TTRPG "in which a precocious preteen protagonist named Jude struggles to reunite their estranged parents." I'm a big fan of Yvris Burke's work: I streamed Drama Llamas back when it was crowdfunding, and I got to play a short Inspirisles campaign that she ran. I love how playful and specific her games are.

While listening to her interview on What Am I Rolling? I was immediately hooked as Burke talked about playing It Takes Two and thinking about how often in media divorce is painted as something awful that must be stopped, when in reality, divorces are necessary! They're a right that not everyone has, and that scummy people are increasingly vocal about taking away. I loved the simplicity in the game design of Jude being able to attempt to bring her parents back together, but at the cost of missing out on their own growth and development into a young adult.

I'm also a sucker for tarot-based games. I'm a self-described sceptic, but something about the ritual and meaning of tarot cards really speaks to me. I own a few decks and can't quite bring myself to use them as a divining tool in my real life, but I love to use them as a tool for storytelling. The deck I'll be using for Monday's stream is the Pastel Magic tarot deck, which is girly and almost emoji-like in it's simplicity. It's exactly the kind of deck I think my Jude would be interested in.

If you can't tell from the promo image, I'll be setting my game of Jude's World circa 2002 (the year I was 12 1/2). It's an interesting time to think back on, technologically speaking! My dad had a chunky cell phone that his work paid for that I borrowed all the time on long car rides to surf Xanga, but I wouldn't get my own flip phone until years later, when I was practically in college. My family had a huge collection of VHS and cassette tapes, but I also had a portable CD player I took with me on walks, even though it skipped incessantly. It feels like a very in-between time in the world, along with an in-between time in my personal life.

Jude's World is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, and it only has a few days left to hit it's funding goal! I think it's a very special game, and I would love to see it come to life. Back it while you can!

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22 questions inspired by Twists from Jude's World

Day 16, The Tower: Do you still visit your childhood home?

My answer: Not my first one, which I moved out of when I was 6. But my mum still lives in the one after that and I think she plans to stay there. It looks very different now though than when I was little. It’s lovely but quite small. I can’t believe 6 of us used to fit in there!

Just 9 left to back Jude’s World on Kickstarter. It’s a solo journaling game about growing up and realising your parents might just be people, actually? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buttonkin/judes-world

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#artists

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22 questions inspired by Twists from Jude's World

Day 15, Devil: Were you ever one of the bad kids?

My answer: I was good as gold until I was about 15, when I tried to rebel against my mum. She called my bluff. She gave me money to go out to bars and a 3am curfew. She paid for my first tattoo. I got to appear rebellious, she got to retain her authority. She’s a mum-fu master.

Less than two weeks left now to back Jude’s World on Kickstarter. It’s a solo journaling game about growing up and realising your parents might just be people, actually? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buttonkin/judes-world

[button-kin-games]

22 questions inspired by Twists from Jude's World

Day 14, Temperance: Have you ever failed a test?

My answer: My driving test. I think 4 times? I was 17 and got full marks on the theory but went to pieces in the practical. Classic nerd. My mother, in her eternal wisdom, said I should try again when I grew up a bit. I tried again last year and passed first time. Does she have to always be right?

Less than two weeks left now to back Jude’s World on Kickstarter. It’s a solo journaling game about growing up and realising your parents might just be people, actually? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buttonkin/judes-world

[button-kin-games]

22 questions inspired by Twists from Jude's World

Day 13, Death: What’s something you’ve lost that you miss?

My answer: My sense of smell. Stupid virus. It’s even weird because it’s not fully gone, but I can feel that it’s veiled or weakened. And it seems to be stronger than before for some smells like rotten things or drains. Not the super power I would have wished for!

Jude’s World is a solo journaling game about a preteen’s attempts to bring their parents back together. It’s about growing up, learning about love and the meaning of family. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buttonkin/judes-world

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22 questions inspired by Twists from Jude's World

Day 12, The Hanged Man: What’s something big that you’ve completely changed your mind about?

My answer: So many things. Biggest is probably veganism. I remember when I went veggie I reassured my concerned mother that would never be vegan and didn’t aspire to be. I may have even parroted some anti-vegan talking points I’d absorbed from the zeitgeist without thinking much about them. I’ve now been vegan for 9 years.

Jude’s World is a solo journaling game about a preteen’s attempts to bring their parents back together. It’s about growing up, learning about love and the meaning of family. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buttonkin/judes-world

[button-kin-games]

Thought a peek at what early on in process looks like! I find that ideas flow way more freely when I start with pen and paper, and then eventually start transferring it over to docs etc.

This is the early ideation phase of what some kind of morale check could look like for Stampede Wasteland (with the most interesting idea coming, unsurprisingly, at the end).

The left-hand page isn't super important, really just early noodling, but the right-page stuff is kind of interesting and I want to refine it further.

Rather than having morale checks use the test/save mechanics morale checks would be x/6 based (meaning, x in 6 chance, so roll a d6 and check the odds). Layered on top of that is a generalized "Morale Table" with different categories (in the rough example, the categories are Fools, Vermin, Beasts, Monsters, Zealots, etc) with different x/6 odds (i.e. Fools have a 5/6 chance of fleeing once they hit the threshold that requires a morale check).

The idea is that during conflict, the GM can look at the Morale Table and based on the vibes of the characters/hostiles involved in the conflict, pick a category and roll the morale check.

I dunno! Worth playing around with it more.

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22 questions inspired by Twists from Jude's World

Day 11, Justice: Have you ever broken the law?

My answer: not in a bad way, but...

Hey there! Jude’s World is funding on Kickstarter. We only need about 15 more backers for the campaign to succeed! Will you be one? Find out more: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buttonkin/judes-world

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22 questions inspired by Twists from Jude's World

Day 10, The Wheel of Fortune: What’s the most exciting thing you’ve ever won?

My answer: I won a vinyl signed by the lead singer of my favourite band when I was 14. I was so excited I felt like I was hallucinating. I couldn’t wrap my mind around someone I thought about so much having touched the same object. Wild.

Jude’s World is funding on Kickstarter. We only need about 15 more backers for the campaign to succeed! Will you be one? Find out more: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/buttonkin/judes-world