My apology for not being my chatty self the past month or two.
I think we’ve all been so buried with work and battling deadlines that we don't have the energy to reach out much lately. Sorry about that. I'll try to change that. Maybe just post short little bits every few days like I had been doing for several years now. All of us have been on a “work till you drop” schedule and we’ve been dealing with lots and lots of stuff. I'm so tired, it's not funny. We all are. Even with the help of some freelancers, it has been long hours of work and battles with deadlines. Thank goodness I work with some of the most amazing and giving people in the gaming industry.
The good news is almost all of these demands are wonderful opportunities for Palladium Books, and all of it is working toward making the company stronger in the long run. After struggling for so long, it is awesome to have things seem to be going our way and to have so many new opportunities appearing on several different fronts.
The Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Kickstarter was a big success and we are thrilled about it. However, our work didn’t end with getting all those pledges. We need to deliver. We need to collate all the data, send out a survey to 5,000+ people, and set up a store for them. All of that is time consuming in and of itself. AND we still have to get the product finished and to the manufacturer. That has meant a lot of emails, telephone calls, notes and discussion within Palladium Books and with the gents at Ninja Division and Harmony Gold to get everything done, get it all done right, get it approved and make whatever adjustments and changes necessary. That has resulted in looooong hours of work, including final editing and rewriting of text for the rule book. Not to mention planning financials, planning SKUs, talking with distributors, and many other business related elements. Btw, the sculpts of the game pieces, art and packaging all look FANTASTIC. The rules . . . they sure capture Robotech®. I think gamers everywhere will really enjoy this game. We're all very proud of the work we've done.
On top of that, a number of exciting opportunities have come our way this past month.[/b]
One was several different advertising venues we couldn’t pass up. Which has also led to making contact with several influential and cool people.
Another is the gaming opportunity at Detroit Fanfare (in Dearborn, Michigan, October 24-27, 2013). Detroit Fanfare is a growing comics, game and media convention that attracts 8,000+ attendees and is offering Palladium Books the chance to run a vast number of games (more publicity and advertising) if we can find the volunteers to help us make that happen. Heck, I even see this as a way to possibly turn this into an annual Palladium Open House type gaming event within the Detroit Fanfare convention. That would certainly address our concerns about space for gaming and parking at the Palladium office/warehouse, so I sure hope we can pull this off and do something big for the Detroit Fanfare. I’m waiting to hear from volunteer G.M.s and Megaversal Ambassadors to contact us at Palladium (734-721-2903).
There have been a few other things, but it is too soon to talk about them.
And that’s all in addition to trying to prep for Gen Con (always a lot of work) and handling the usual day-to-day demands of Palladium Books.
In between all of the above (and some additional behind the scenes stuff), we have been trying to get several much awaited and long delayed RPG titles finished and to the printer! I’ve brought in a few freelancers to help on a number of fronts, but there is still much for us to do.
I wanted Rifts® Northern Gun™ One and Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two, out a month ago! But that didn’t happen. Well, I want them both out before we leave for Gen Con, along with The Rifter® #63. And I want Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames out as quick as possible after that. The first Robotech® UEEF Marine Sourcebook should follow it, and several other titles before the end of the year, which is coming up fast!
We’ve also had to get a few important titles together for reprinting, including Rifts® Ultimate Edition.
So that's why you haven’t heard much from me, because I have been buried alive in work. I barely remember what a personal life is these days, and that needs to change as well. Too much work and no play or relaxation is not good.
Please don’t think you are forgotten. Far from it. Our customers and getting books out are just about all I can think about. It is so frustrating to have books so delayed, especially when we know how incredible they are.
So keep the faith and your imaginations burning bright. I expect to be able to devote 90% of my creative time working on the two Rifts® Northern Gun™ titles and other books in the weeks leading up to Gen Con.
Palladium’s immediate future hasn’t looked this promising in years. Exciting as all get out, but so much work. I’ll try to post more often. Game on!
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer and Game Designer
© Copyright June 24, 2013 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited™, RPG Tactics™, Beyond the Supernatural, Northern Gun, Dead Reign, Warpath, Shemarrian Nation, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.