Update: Amazon, DVD's, Posters, and Tonisborg!
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, May 16, 2020 at 12:32:07 AM
We have a lot going on on our end, although it may not seem like it on your end.
We're now on three movie platforms for online streaming (thanks to your support!). All the DVDs and T-shirts got shipped. Posters are on their way, and much more are packed up and ready to go. We're hoping we get more reviews on all the platforms and that you go out and talk to other gamers who have yet to hear about the film. To many, movies seem like these things that magically appear in little boxes. Many of you waited for a long time to see this one. And once you've seen it, well, you've seen it. It may even seem a bit short now that you've had a chance to watch it. We're still shaking our heads in amazement over being the first to make a documentary about D&D history.
That is the real clincher of it all. How come the tiny crew with the tiny budget is the first team to complete a D&D film? If you look through Kickstarter, there are many D&D movies. Several got nearly four-times the funding we did. It even goes back to Dave Arneson's never-completed documentary "Dragons in the Basement" from the early 2000s. And then there's also "D&D, the Documentary," "The Great Kingdom," & "The Dreams In Gary's Basement." Who knows what other films are out there? All of those films began production before we did. We know the people involved with the other movies. Many of them are highly-experienced documentary filmmakers. We don't want to direct any personal criticism because they're all good people, we like them, and we understand the struggle in making a film happen. Yet the burning question needs to be answered: How did the odd couple team of Chris and Griff do it first? The answer is simple: We're too stupid to know any better.
This is the only answer we've been able to come up with. That's it! It took a long time, and we got a movie finished because we're goofballs who had no clue what we were getting into. The film began as an accident. In the beginning, Chris would say, "how long do you think before we have a movie?" I would reply, "oh, it'll be done in a year." Then it was three years. Then after five years, it was, "oh maybe another six months?" You've seen us make these proclamations in our Kickstarter updates, "you'll get the thing in (put dream scenario timeline here)." Then as always, we'd blow our deadline, and you had to wait longer. The thing is, we always come through and deliver the goods. We're sorry you have had to wait. We have no excuses. The same can be said for the last item on the list, "Tonisborg." The book got way behind schedule because we bit off more than we should have. Yet, the book is still being worked on, and it's inching closer to completion. As with everyone, we got sucked into all the real-life issues of COVID -19. Not having published a book before, we've made a lot of ridiculous promises about delivery dates.
All we can say is: We've blown all of our delivery date predictions - just as with the movie, so as with the book - we're the goofballs that just keep on going until the job is done! We're working on it. The extra production time is making it a better book.
The real-world facts are as follows:
-Dan and Griff are nearly done combing through the draft for errors
-There were a lot of errors
-We have all the artwork for it
-We're very close to doing the layout
-We have no idea what kind of delays will occur to get the books printed.
Any estimate for delivery is just a guess. Many have asked for PDFs. We will not be doing PDFs any time soon. Once PDFs are created, they end up on torrent sites, and every kid in the world then adds the book to their collection of PDFs, killing sales of physical copies. Anything you see published in PDF form has likely run its course on actual book sales.
Also, did you check your email? All of the Tonisborg Kickstarter supporters should have received an email directing you to join the Blackmoor Forum on "The Comeback Inn" website. There is a hidden members only forum there for Tonisborg Referees. You can even chat with Greg Svenson, the original Tonisborg designer, who is already posting there.
Many Thanks,
Chris and Griff