It is a relief to draw Beethro without sword in hand. Really, it gets boring after a while, to always draw Beethro gripping that two-handed monster blade. Sort of like Michael Flatley, the arms and hands have been sentenced to confinement, limiting their ability to express. In the new cover art for
DROD: The City Beneath, he is standing in the middle of some Rooted Hold courtyard with his sword sheathed on his back. Finally I can use his arms to indicate a simple idea--he's lost.
"
There is no problem that can't be solved with a really big sword."
But in Rooted Hold there are many problems that can't be solved with a really big sword.
Quickies
You notice that the Illumination came excessively late, and that can only mean one thing: Erik is short on time again. So I will follow a model of ruthless efficiency here, and just give you the barest essentials--DROD announcements, advice on how to cope with your crippling narcissism, and a lengthy rant on the downfall of electronic communication.
You Are #1
NiroZ got severely tired of his contests finishing before I got around to promoting them. So, in a stroke of genius, he made the end date of his contest tied to the Illumination (this thing you are reading). His contest, which involves proving you are the biggest DROD fan, will end three days from now. I hear you making a bunch of whiny self-deprecating noises. "
Who me? I'm not the biggest DROD fan. Other people deserve it more than me."
Stop. Stop. I don't want hear it. Just stop.
Let me explain to you the three phases of self-promotion. It has been a painful process for me to go through them, and I would just like to save you some time.
1. Narcissism - You think you are fantastically great.
2. Disillusionment - You learn that you aren't fantastically great, and it's a big downer.
3. Opportunism - You notice that a bunch of jerks are being rewarded for saying they are fantastically great, and you want to get in on that action. It's not an ego thing--you just gotta represent yourself, or the world will pass you over.
So even if you don't feel like the #1 DROD fan, take a stab at pretending. Just try it!
contest info
By the way, never ever try to skip step 2 above and go straight to step 3. You gotta ground your opportunism on the deepest, darkest self-doubts. Otherwise, your soul will rot.
Shiny Discs
I'm not even going to try to sell them to you, because it's too late. The manufacturing order is in for Journey's End Smitemaster's Selection CDs. Unfortunately, I have to leave town for a business trip, and the CDs are likely to arrive while I'm in Europe. When I get back in April, I will ship out CDs to people who have already paid.
Fix Your Frigging Spam Settings Already
I am so tired of everybody not getting mail and being surprised about it. Let me tell you something I learned this year. It's a sad, sad truth that crept up on us all:
The Golden Age of Reliable E-Mail Is Gone
Because of spammers and anti-spammers, it is no longer possible to send an e-mail message from point A to point B and know that it will arrive. I don't think this situation will improve anytime soon--it will probably get unimaginably worse, until we reach a point where it is impossible to send an e-mail message without providing a DNA sample. If you want to receive e-mail from Caravel, please add us to your "
safelist"
, "
whitelist"
, "
accepted recipients list"
, "
happy addressbook"
, "
supertrusted cyberbuddies"
or whatever dumb inconsistent thing your e-mail provider calls it. The mails from the forum go out under "
no-reply@caravelgames.com"
. You might also add "
support@caravelgames.com"
, and "
orders@caravelgames.com"
, or if possible, a blanket permission for e-mails that end in "
@caravelgames.com"
.
For many people, the advice above is moot, because their mail setup doesn't provide a white list or filtering rule functionality. And sometimes the mail provider is blocking mail without giving you any opportunity to change it. (I hate you, verizon.net.) I don't know how to offer specific advice for the myriad configurations out there, unfortunately.
And I don't want to act like it's so frigging important for us to be able to contact you. These are the types of communications you might be involved with. I'll let you consider if any of it is worth fussing about:
* For CaravelNet members, initial setup instructions and new CaravelNet keys are sent through e-mail.
* For Smitemaster's Selection CD subscribers, notifications are sent prior to shipping to make sure you have the right shipping address on file.
* The Illumination mailing list, which includes contest announcements, special offers, the upcoming
DROD: The City Beneath release announcement, and at least one other thing, is sent through e-mail.
* Forum post notifications are sent through e-mail.
* Download links when you purchase products or use the download section on our site are sent through e-mail.
* Order and support information is sent through e-mail.
* Shoulder-tapping requests from the Caravel Team are sent through e-mail.
So if any of that stuff is relevant to you, then you might want to take a moment to figure out how e-mail from caravelgames.com can get to you semi-reliably. Sometimes it only takes an extra minute to add a rule in your e-mail settings. Other times, I admit, it is an enormous and unrewarding pain to figure out.
April 1st
I'm going to tell you what the title of the April 1st Illumination will be in advance.
"
Terrible Lies and Unexpected Truths"
Now I gotta go get ready to leave the country in an all-fracking hurry.
-Erik
____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals |
twitch stream |
youtube archive (NSFW)
[Last edited by mrimer at 03-25-2007 05:59 PM]
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