We finished out the month on a high note!

Aside from a banner sales month, I have heard back from a couple of freelancers and two new artists as well.

One of the Traveller projects checked in with some good things to look over, and another S.C.A.R.E. has been assigned.

I herad back from the artist I hired to add some last minute art for the S.C.A.R.E. Vol. 3 release.  Here is a preview of the Far Trader Merry Widow…

The four crew members he illustrated look great also.  Once they are cleaned up and the final artwork submitted S.C.A.R.E. Vol. 3 will hit the virtual shelves.

I also began laying out the big Fantasy Firearms project, but I’ll need to have some art done for that project as well.  Plenty to keep me busy.

More info soon.

So last night I was working on the Fantasy Firearms script which I had saved as a Google Document by chapters.  Well, Google was having some issues and would not save anything, so I copy/pasted the changes into Word and decided to take a break and do something else.  I went over to Lynda.com and wanted to bone up on some InDesign skills; especially regarding formatting text. (I’m a subscriber to their service.)

In no time I discovered a few simple things that made me realize I have pretty much been doing it wrong the whole time!  A few key-strokes and I fixed most of the formatting errors in the SCARE Vol. 3 layout.  If you will remember, the layout issues were one of the problems with SCARE Vol. 2 that cost me a star (along with some spelling to be fair) so I wanted to make an improvement.  Especially with some much larger page count projects coming up.

After that I was on to styles, which is a whole other topic.  While I didn’t get as much editing done last night as I wanted to, I have to say that I learned some important new things about the products I am using that will result in a better end product for my customers.  Sometimes training and learning isn’t as sexy or fun as doing a cool cover or coming up with a great concept, but in the end it will pay off with better production values and a more professional product.

If your using Adobe products, or a host of others that they cover, then do your self a favor and check out lynda.com; way cheaper than taking a college course.

Lots going on right now, some details…

I got back another S.C.A.R.E. script from the freelancer that did the soon-to-be-published vol. 3.  It looks good, just a couple of minor tweaks and I’ll hand it off to an artist for appropriate illustration.

I have a slew of other Traveller projects in the hands of various freelancers, waiting anxiously to hear back from them but it has only been a few weeks so I shouldn’t be too impatient.

Monday I sat down to edit the first chapter of the Fantasy Firearms script and wound up doing three chapters instead!  I added some text,tweaked a few stats, nudged here and there and was pleased with where the project is going.  I am finishing up the last two sections and its off to layout!  There was one section I read where I decided we would need more magical ammunition varieties, so last night I made notes on what types we might include.  I’ll either write them up or see if Chris Field wants to tackle it.  All in all the project is coming along well, and I hope to have a print-ready PDF created in February. If I follow that with one print project per month that will be three or four “on the shelves” in time for GenCon; which is the goal.

I have also been looking to expand the Adventurer Essentials line.  I spoke with Chris Field via email and we are working on a very cool concept that I think will be a ton of fun.  More information on that soon.  I jotted some notes down last night and will be emailing Chris about the direction of the project.

We’re winding down a huge sales month, which is quite nice.  Hopefully we can make a few more bucks this weekend and end on an even higher note.

There are plenty of projects in the pipeline for the next couple months as well; more S.C.A.R.E. releases, Adventurer’s Wanted, a Black Tokyo sequel and more!

On the Tech front the iPad was announced yesterday.  It should be for sale in 60 days, and I can already see some very interesting options for the paltform.  Others agree…

Jobs touted the iPad as a great tool for videogames, but there’s also a potential impact on old school RPG sales.  The PDF market for RPGs has been growing rapidly, and the iPad’s larger, color screen has the potential to take roleplaying from the laptop to a simpler portable device, which may accelerate the growth of the digital RPG business.  With the exception of a handful of key lines, RPGs in brick and mortar stores are a minor factor in the hobby game market already; the iPad and similar devices may offer ways to keep this form of game play more diverse and robust than would otherwise be the case.

I just purchased my ticket for Gen Con 2010!

Looking forward to it, and I plan to have a few “Dead Tree” products for sale at this years show!

There will be a slight delay on the next S.C.A.R.E. installment!  But don’t worry, that is the good news. I put out the call for some freelance art help and hired an artist to illustrate the Merry Widow Far Trader and four of her crew. So a quick S.C.A.R.E. release is getting a little more love and attention.  I may go ahead and do the deck plans for the modified Far Trader while I am at it.

Later today I’ll release the first Adventurer’s Wanted poster assuming the last Sketchbook is off the front page.  If it isn’t I’ll post-date the release so it shows up in a day or two.

I’m also knee deep in editing the Fantasy Firearms script.

I put a few products into the Haiti Bundle at RPGNow.  My inbox has been crammed full of “sales” notification emails.  That bundle has been selling like gangbusters!  I even purchased a copy for myself; I get to donate some money to Doctors Without Borders and get a ton of gaming stuff to boot!  If you have not purchased a copy, please head over to OBS and do so!

I worked on the layout for S.C.A.R.E. Vol. 3 last night.  Almost done!  I need to do a paragraph of sales text for the intro and back cover, plus add in the stats for the Far Trader Merry Widow owned by the NPC.  I hope to finish it up tonight.

I also got all the Sketchbooks posted, and even put them all in a Bundle.  I also tested out the feature that makes products go “live” on a future date with these.  Way back in the day I  did it and the OBS site placed your new release in the line-up from when it was created.  So entering in the product early only meant you had no “face time” on the front page!  Looks like they fixed that, so that makes me happy.  Now I can upload some products on a weekend, but stagger them so they come out every few days while I work on something else.

I’m still wading through some larger projects as well.  I need to get them spruced up right so that when Skortched Urf’ Studios starts selling dead tree books they are up to par.   All in all I have to say I have been putting in some serious time this month, but it is definitely paying off.  We have already had our best sales month ever, with the exception of the month Black Tokyo was released!  I chalk it up to three things; new products, better marketing and the Haiti Bundle bringing more eye-balls to RPGNow that I suspect has resulted in some ancillary sales.

New Sketchbook Stock Art coming soon!

This is gonna be interesting!

Check out the S.C.A.R.E. Vol. 3 cover…

S.C.A.R.E. Vol. 2 also got a four out of five star review over at RPGNow.  Check it out.

The reviewer said that he took one star off for some spelling and formatting issues, so I went in and corrected them.  Now he bumped his review to five stars!

Skortched Urf’ Studios is pleased to announce the release of our second volume in the S.C.A.R.E. line.

S.C.A.R.E. - Secrets, Contacts, Allies, Rivals and Enemies. They are part and parcel of the character generation process, and provide endless opportunities for adventure, intrigue and complication. The S.C.A.R.E. line gives you NPC’s designed to provide maximum flexibility as they can be used in several ways; either as a valuable Contact or Ally, or as a dangerous Rival or Enemy. Secrets can be exploited for profit, patriotism or career advancement; and each could lead to danger, wealth or fantastic new discoveries. Multiple plot hooks and adventure ideas are also presented in each release, allowing easy integration into your game.

This volume in the series details Viesca Melin Aella.

What do you get when you take a member of the Imperial family (in this case a grand-niece to the Emperor), add in the loyalty and training instilled by the Imperium’s finest organizations, the unlimited authority granted by Imperial Credentials, access to bleeding edge technology, the unlimited resources to create multiple, bulletproof cover identities, and the contacts, networks and intelligence gleaned from hundreds of Imperial and Corporate agencies ? You have a Shadow Agent with the authority to arrest an Inquisitor, kill with impunity or start a war! Only a select handful are trusted with such authority, but they are the most fearsome and effective weapon in the Imperial arsenal.

Viesca Melin Aella is one of these “Shadows”.

This PDF release includes information on Viesca including her background, personality, advanced training and how she treats her Allies, Contacts, Rivals or Enemies. There are also dozens of adventure hooks and ideas for using Viesca and her cover identities in your game.

Written by Mark Cathro.
Artwork by Anthony Cournoyer.

For sale now at OBS.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=78010

Don’t forget Vol. 1 in the line:

Look for more Volumes VERY SOON!