The Road Forward
about 3 years ago
– Thu, Feb 18, 2021 at 09:41:55 AM
Hey everyone,
Let me begin with an apology. When I agreed to take on this project, my life was headed in a direction that would have afforded me ample time and mental energy to invest in it. That didn’t happen, and I should have been self-aware enough to pass Hellywood to someone better positioned to deal with. A combination of pride and determination blinded me to the reality of my situation, and as a result, both you and Hellywood have suffered. You deserve better and now, arrangements have been made to make sure you get it. I am fully handing over project management to Alan, who brings a wealth of industry knowledge. While I will still be involved, all key dependencies will be shifted away from me.
I thought I was up to the task, and I was not. I tried on several occasions to get things back on track and failed. I am aware this apology will be insufficient for many of you. I know it is insufficient for me. I cannot undo things, all I can do is ensure Hellywood is in better hands than mine. Alan and I have discussed every aspect of the plan going forward and have taken the necessary, concrete steps to ensure he is supported in the delivery of this project.
Hellywood was a labor of love, and that love prevented me from knowing when I was out of my depth. It is my hope that the product we ultimately deliver is worthy of your patience and support.
Drew
The Path Forward
Hey everyone. I’m Alan Bahr from Gallant Knight Games. I’d ask that you read this project update in detail and thoroughly.
Going forward, I’ll be taking over communication and project management of Hellywood in order to get it (in some semblance) out the door to you.
For those of you who don’t know me, I was an Associate Publisher and Project Manager at Nocturnal Media for Stewart before his passing. After Stewart passed, I continued to work at Nocturnal Media to get Stewart’s committed projects out the door.
Today I own and operate Gallant Knight Games (which will become relevant shortly.)
In 2017 after Stewart passed, Hellywood was handed off to Hardboiled Games to complete and finish. I stayed to consult with the Hardboiled team as they required and provide continuity to ensure the project was completed as Hardboiled needed.
However, after speaking with Drew, we decided that simply consulting wasn’t going to be enough. I’ll be taking over and working as the primary project manager to get this out the door to you. Hardboiled remains the publisher and responsible for the final details and release, but as much as possible, I’ll be handling what we can to get it to you.
Here’s where things are with all the pieces of the project:
∙ The core rulebook has been translated. Editing is not complete.
∙ Justice of Angels was started, but not finished. We’re back in touch with the translator and they are working on getting it finished, after which we’ll move into the remaining items (stretch goal adventures and more.)
∙ Nocturnal completed the Path of Shadows for their Storypath Kickstarter. However, the Hellywood copies were going to be printed separately by Hardboiled Games (which we had communicated previously, though based on recent comments, that was communicated unclearly.)
∙ To the best of my research and knowledge, the Hellywood Poker deck was not completed. (I’m attempting to find out.)
∙ The two stretch goal adventures “Dead End” and “The Jade Serpent” exist in French, but not in English.
∙ We’re looking into the French editions of The Glass Prison, Road Kill, and Under Surveillance to provide to the translator.
∙ To the best of our research and knowledge, Leo Bruiser’s File translation was never started. Like the above adventures, we’re getting a copy to the translator.
∙ To the best of our research and knowledge, the English portraits for Hellywoodians were not completed, but the Spanish version has been released (though not translated).
∙ The dice, character pads, GM screen, and Map were never manufactured (nor translated in the applicable cases).
Steps We’re Taking
Here’s what we intend:
- Patricia Willenborg has agreed to donate her time as an editor to get the corebook layout ready. We have the full corebook text, and it just needs a through edit before layout begins. Patricia and I will be working to get this done.
- We’ve spoken with a layout designer who is prepared to take on the project and help us get it out the door.
- In a week or so, we’re going to send the dice to print. I’ve secured a printer (Gallant Knight Games has printed plenty of dice), and we’re just waiting to get the samples done to make sure they meet standards. We’ve elected to use a printer who is not in China in order to avoid any delays from Chinese new year. Any backers who got only dice (and only dice) will get theirs shipped as soon as they arrive. The rest will be held until the books are ready to send.
- Regarding the cards, we’re working on sourcing printers who won’t be impacted by Chinese New Year, so this is a bit in flux as we try to find folks to print the Path of Shadows and the poker deck. Like the dice, once they’re finished and delivered, we’ll ship cards to the backers who only got cards (as we said previously, splitting shipments would make the project fiscally unfeasible.)
- We’re in touch the previous translator regarding the remaining books, as well as find new translators to help us get the whatever remains of Justice of Angels, the adventures, Hellywoodians and Leo Bruiser’s File ready for translation and editing. We’ve already spoken to two translators so we can do this quickly and we’re working things out. At this time, nothing is official, but we’re working on it.
The first big goal: After meeting with Patricia, and going over what was outstanding, we believe we can get the PDF of the corebook to you by summer (though we’ll keep you updated.) Next update we’ll provide a detailed breakdown of the chapters (we’re still going through everything and taking deep notes and making action items.)
Our goal is to have translators working by February on untranslated projects, so we can keep a steady flow of work moving forward.
We’re going to try to post updates on a 2–3-week cycle (depending on the vital elements of information), as well as detailed action items (and answering any questions we can.)
Back in the Saddle
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Oct 02, 2019 at 02:15:58 AM
It’s been a bit, for which I apologize. It turns out that neglecting every non-work-related aspect of my life for a sustained period isn’t as easily resolved as I hoped, and my pen accumulated a little rust in the interim. Fortunately, it’s a bit like riding a bike, and I’ve managed to get back up around my previous average pace, which means a nice big chunk of text is slated to be shipped off to the editor by the end of the week.
As anticipated, the rules section is slow going, as even a single misstep could alter the original intent, which is not something we want. I am currently also prepping the section on adventures for attention by a copy editor, which should speed things up as we’ll be working in parallel. In addition to editing, I’ve had to re-baseline some of the budget, which actually turns out to be positive, as it frees up some money we didn’t think was going to be available. That, in turn, leads to some flexibility in approach which will hopefully translate into a quicker turn around time. I’m spending the weekend “triaging” some of the sections to discern what can be cranked out in short bursts and what needs prolonged attention. That means you’ll hear less about sections and more about word-count as updates progress. I’m hopeful that everyone will be satisfied with this measurement; it’s a bit abstract, but it’s also the best and fastest way for me to tackle this.
With any luck, I’ll have a nice Happy Hellyween announcement by the end of the month.
The Hardboilded Team
Back to Business
over 4 years ago
– Mon, Aug 19, 2019 at 08:27:55 PM
Where I’ve Been
A sad fact of the RPG industry is that very few authors, publishers, and other contributors make enough to be sustainable. Most of us have day jobs. The plus side of day jobs is they tend to be stable – a relatively predictable exchange of time for money. I work in a relatively obscure field, and, while it’s stressful, it isn’t something I expected to completely swallow my life in one bite. Sadly, that’s what happened. For a variety of reasons, some obvious and some quite subtle, my job went from obscure to the front page of the New York Times, and not in a particularly pleasant fashion. Without going further into detail, I found myself at the periphery of something huge, and, for about three months, was never really “off the clock.” I was fortunate in that I was able to propose to my (long suffering) girlfriend in peace, but that’s due in part to being out of the country and entirely unreachable.
What Happens Next
Things have finally, and abruptly, settled down, so it’s back to business with Hellywood. We’re behind, more so than usual, but there is a significant silver lining. All that work has afforded me some flexibility with capital which I did not previously have, as well as some flexibility at the office. Over the next week, I will be assessing timelines and looking at how best to leverage the available resources in order to get this thing done. I’ve already spoken with a freelance editor familiar with the product and I am hopeful we can reach an agreement shortly. I am also planning to take a week off to attend exclusively to Hellywood – precisely when that happens will have a bit to do with where the product is and when it will have the most effect.
You all have been exceedingly patient, and I know I’ve not exactly been as careful with that patience as I would have liked. It’s my hope that we will be able to deliver a product worth the wait and worthy of the trust you all have put in Hardboiled.
- Drew
