Sirens: Battle of the Bards Update
6 months ago
– Mon, Nov 06, 2023 at 04:38:34 PM
Hope you have had a great summer! Before the fall/winter takes us over, we wanted to send out an update to let you all know where we are with things.
1: Still working on a way to ship the merch separately from the books, even if that means shipping items in waves.
2: Playtest 1A is done, and we were hoping to cram everything (editing & more playtests) into the fall, but we hit burnout. we never thought we would/could reach burnout, but we have. We’re learning boundaries and how to care for our mental health. And so, while we have to find second jobs and move into a new home in December, we are going to take a break from editing. In the Christmas and New Year snowy coziness, we plan on cuddling up with Queen Arpeegee and hop back into editing and focusing on the book. Until then, we must focus on self-care or the book will take even longer to finish.
Prior to last year, we were able to work triple shifts and get so much done in a short amount of time. Now we are learning our limits. Two people are doing the work of 28 people, and it just takes much longer than we expected. This book is in progress, It is just taking way more time than we ever thought to get it out into the world. This is where we are with it today.
Thank you for your kindness and patience while we slowly progress towards the finish of this project. The original date we wanted to get this out to you was Dec 2021. It got pushed to the summer of 2022… and then pushed again to 2023. Yes, it has been 2 years since we planned on completing this beautiful project. We understand your frustration for not having the merch or books in your hands yet. We will continue to work and progress and will let you know when the Beta playtest is ready. We have learned a series of incredible lessons on this project, and even if it takes us the next couple of years, we aim to make it right to each and every one of you. We are dedicated, and time will prove this true.
Have a wonderful holiday season, and be kind to one another.
Satine and Jamison
Sirens Update
11 months ago
– Fri, Jun 16, 2023 at 09:58:20 AM
Hi everyone. Satine here. I apologize to everyone for misjudging how long it would take to finish what I thought was 10% of Sirens: Battle of the Bards. Jamison told me it would take longer than I thought, and I didn't take his advice. I thought I understood what needed to be done, but I was wrong in ways I didn't know then.
When we started this project, we had 20+ writers and a number of employees who worked on various aspects of the physical book, digital assets, and office management. With this beautiful orchestra of creatives, I lacked the expertise and business acumen to put together an essential aspect of the project: The Project Management system. This oversight and lack of tracking cost thousands of dollars in overpayments to contractors and cost us far too much time.
To our dedicated backers, I take full responsibility for the lack of professionalism I have exhibited in this way. As a result, I have prolonged the delivery of Sirens: Battle of the Bards.
I've spent the last year educating myself to fix this weakness, as it has affected many parts of my life. I come to you today having worked diligently on the skills needed to be a CEO and leader. I have always aimed to be skilled in this way, but now I understand the need for proper training to succeed in this field. So, I write you today with a clear path forward. I've learned a tough lesson and have come out the other side with structure and focus. Once crafted into life with the assistance of over 30 writers and artists, Sirens: Battle of the Bards is being finished by Jamison and me. What would have taken the crew mere months to complete, Jamison and I are taking the long road, making sure every part is carefully and methodically crafted to reduce errors. Checklists and timelines are set for every aspect. I am grateful to have learned what I lacked in my professional life so I could spend the time to improve and evolve as a person, partner, and leader.
Merchandise
It's taken six months, but I am now in direct contact and onboarded with the shipping company that warehouses our merchandise. Our logistics partners continue to inform us that to stay within budget, we must ship all merch and books at once, as per our original plan. However, we will continue to try to find a creative workaround to ship merch out separately and post updates as we receive them.
Playtesting
Chapter 1 - 6 Beta Playtest Starts on July 15 and ends on August 30:
The Alpha Playtest for Chapters 1 - 6 went swimmingly well. We found out that even with the massive amounts of edits, the game is twice as long, play-timewise, as we expected. The timeline below lists the Beta Playtest for Chapters 6 - 9 and Chapter 10.
Several GMs are lined up to run Sirens: Battle of the Bards Chapters 1 - 6 Beta Playtest. If you would like to play in or GM this playtest, please message us at <[email protected]> with the Subject: I'd like to participate in your Chapter 1 - 6 Beta Playtest. Once received, and if approved, I will provide additional information.
GMs, I will email you and your group the playtest material on July 10th, 2023.
For the GM: This packet will include the Setting, NPCs, How to run the adventure, and Session Zero.
For the Players: this will include the Bard Subclass, Backgrounds, Character Sheet (Playtest version), and Group Expression Cards.
GMs: Please read the Player material, as it will aid in GMing this particular class and allow you to understand players' choices better.
As the project management portion of my letter is a bit lengthy, I'll end my dialog here: I have spent the last year listening to you all, hearing your concerns, and never stopping working on Sirens. I know I have been more silent than many would like, but as a good game master knows, it is more important to take the time to listen than to respond out of reaction. Some weeks progress slower than others, but I've not stopped working. I continue, dedicated to finishing this beautiful project. I take personal responsibility for the delay of Sirens and am working on the aspects of myself and my professionalism that cost us all so much wasted time, money, and energy. In time, my actions and follow-through will bring to life the campaign that we all came here to celebrate. Thank you to those who have been understanding and patient through this last year. Thank you to the playtesters who believe in the wonder and excitement this adventure embodies. I will continue to see this project through to the end.
Project Management
Sirens: Battle of the Bards book 20-week overview.
20 weeks is not the end of the project, just the next 20 weeks of development. The following 15 weeks will be planned out at week 16 so we can reassess our next steps to wrap up editing the book and calculate the amount of time it will take to do the layout for the book, GM screen, Character Sheets, and the Expression Cards. Once the following 12 weeks wrap, we will take inventory of what is left to do and update everyone at that time with those details. We will continue to give you one update on the project per month.
Week 1 - (June 4 - June 10)
- Edit Chapter 1
- Grammar check Chapter 1
- Edit Chapter 2
- Grammar check Chapter 2
- Edit Chapter 3
- Grammar check Chapter 3
Week 2 - (June 11 - June 17)
- Edit Chapter 4
- Grammar check Chapter 4
- Edit Chapter 5
- Grammar check Chapter 5
- Edit Chapter 6
- Grammar check Chapter 6
Week 3 - (June 18 - June 24)
- Edit GM How to run this adventure.
- Grammar check how to run this adventure
- Edit Session Zero
- Grammar check Session Zero
Week 4 - (June 25 - July 1)
- Edit Player Guide
- Grammar check player guide
Week 5 - (July 2 - July 8)
- Edit (SPOILER) Section
- Gather Playtest Material
- Character sheet (Playtest version)
- Expression Sheet (Playtest version)
- Create Playtest document: How to run this Playtest
- Create Playtest response form: GMs
- Create Playtest response form: Players
Week 6 - (July 9 - July 15)
- Satine delivers playtest Material for Chapters 1 -6 via email on July 10, 2023.
- Begin Beta Playtest of Chapters 1 - 6: July 15 - Aug 30.
Week 7 - (July 16 - July 22)
- Begin Alpha Playtest of Chapters 6 - 9: July 16 - Aug 12
Week 8 - (July 23 - July 29)
- Continue Playtest Alpha Chapter 6 - 9
Week 9 - (July 30 - August 5)
- Continue Playtest Alpha Chapter 6 - 9
Week 10 - (August 6 - August 12)
- Wrap Alpha playtest chapters 6 - 9 by August 12
Week 11 - (August 13 - August 19)
- Review Returned playtest Alpha Chapters 6 - 9 responses
- Edit Playtest Alpha Chapters 6 - 9
Week 12 - (August 20 - August 26)
- Grammar Check Chapters 6 - 9
Week 13 - (August 27 - September 2)
- Playtest Beta Chapter 1 - 6 Ends Aug 30
- Satine delivers playtest Material for Beta Chapters 6 - 9 via email on August 25, 2023.
Week 14 (September 3 - September 9)
- Review Returned Playtest Chapters 1 - 6 responses
- Start Beta Playtest Chapters 6 - 9. Sept 1, Ends Sept 18.
- Write Chapter 10 based on Playtest Chapters 1 - 9 feedback
Week 15 (September 10 - September 16)
- Final edit Beta Chapters 1 - 6 based on responses
- Edit Chapter 10.
- Grammar Check Chapter 10.
- Calculate the next 15 weeks based on current information
Week 16 (September 17 - September 23)
- Grammar Check Beta Chapters 1 - 6
- Beta Playtest Chapt 6-9 Ends Sept 18.
- Alpha Playtest Chapter 10 Sept 19 - 23
Week 17 (September 24 - September 30)
- Review Returned Playtest Chapt 6 - 9 responses
- Edit and Prepare Chapter 10 for Beta Playtest
- Satine delivers playtest Material for Chapter 10 via email on September 26, 2023.
Week 18 (October 1 - October 7)
- Edit Beta Chapter 6 - 9
- Chapter 10 Beta Playtest (Oct 1 - October 15)
Week 19 (October 8 - October 14)
- Grammar Check Beta Chapter 6 - 9
Week 20 (October 15 - October 21)
- Review Returnend Playtest Chapter 10 responses
- Edit Chapter 10
- Grammar Check Chapter 10
Next 15 weeks:
2-week overall cohesive review of book.
1-week final edits
Final Design for Print
Final Design for PDF
- GM Screen
- Character Sheet (Salvatan Bards)
- Expression Cards
- Book Layout
- Section 0
- Section 1 - Player Guide
- Section 2 - Setting: Salvata
- Section 3 - Quest Master Materials
- Section 4 - Campaign - Sirens: Battle of the Bards
- Section 5 - Appendix (Maps, Items, NPC/Monster Stats, etc.)
Playtest A Wrapped!
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Apr 26, 2023 at 09:31:46 AM
Incredible! Playtest A is wrapped! That is chapters 1-6. It took us about four months of playing almost every Saturday to get through, and the feedback from the players was that it would be great to slow the game down a little and spend more time in each district. Initially, the game was to be played like 24, but after playtesting these first six chapters with six different groups, the players are right. Which, when calculated, comes to about 6-8 hours per chapter instead of the original 2-4 hours. This is what I’m so excited about! Numbers! That is ten main chapters and ten side quests chapters calculated with an average of 6 hours per chapter, which comes to a total average of (20 chapters x 6 hours) 120 hours of gameplay.
Another thing I’ve learned from these playtests is patience. Much of the book needs editing down in some parts and elaborating of elements in other parts. Without the patience of playtesting, I wouldn’t have understood the value of test, test, edit, test, edit, test. I was so eager to get the book out the door that I forgot how many edits and passes standard books go through before hitting the shelves. I firmly believe that Campaign books should go through more passes than novels. Not only does it need general proofreading, but It also needs playtesting through different groups of players with diverse backgrounds and play styles.
Games are an art; part of art is to communicate clearly, not have the audience interpret and hope they understand what we are trying to deliver. Game design curates the experience for the game master so they don’t have to put all of the work into designing a game for their players. Too simplified, and they have to do more work. Over complicated, and the details are hard to track. With the new edits, I believe there will be content for game masters who like to play in simplicity and content for gamers who like their games intricate and crunchy.
Through May and June, I’m editing the Game Master information sections, Districts, Chapters 1-6, Fiends & The Herald. Session Zero is gorgeous and doesn’t need editing; however, I’m adding a group questionnaire. Currently, the 15-minute session zero helps the Game Master understand the players. With the added questionnaire for the players to answer to each other, they will better understand each other’s abilities, personalities, and how they can work together because that is what this game is about Cooperation. Comrodarie. Creativity.
Playtesting will start again in July. So if you are a Game Master and want to run chapters 1-6 for your group starting in July, send us a message, and we will coordinate.
The process is much slower than we would have liked initially, but every weekend is spent working on Sirens so we can hit the realistic deadline of December with only two people finishing the book.
I appreciate your patience.
Satine Phoenix
P.S. Here is our official soundtrack song number #5, entitled "Wraith." Enjoy!
