When Ed told me he was adding more detail to Era: Survival I was not surprised. Not in the least. Each of the games we’ve made have gone through incredible growth up to and even past their initial production! Survival is a deeply intense game and I think Ed felt there was more room to…
Today I’d like to take a minute and talk about Era: Survival. By now you probably know that it’s not like anything else currently on our roster. I’m not just talking about the dark landscape and gritty story. This game is going to have some unique elements that we haven’t given to any other game….
Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I did my last development blog entry – I have been crazy busy with several things recently – but here we are now! Today, I’m going to talk artwork – why is artwork important in games? Does it make any difference? Before I make the obvious reply to that…
The first convention of 2016 is almost upon us! We have so many fabulous games to show you and loads of fun stuff to bring along that Ed’s probably going to rent a car to haul it all. Set your watch to meet us at AnimeCon in London on February 5th. Anyone who’s seen us…
Ed told me something just recently. He said that he wants Era: Survival to be ready for MCM in May. I don’t know about you but I think he’s raving mad. Don’t get me wrong, our team is great and we’ve pulled off tight schedules before but this is going to be a race to…
Let it not be said that I don’t keep my word. As promised, here is a brand new image from Era: Survival. Ed’s given us a dark and brooding scene; exactly what you’d expect from this intense game. Things look pretty dire for our character here. I wouldn’t want to be on the catching end…
Hi everyone! This has been a busy week! The launch of our first ever expansion Kickstarter, Era: The Consortium – The Secret War has consumed much of my time, as I’m sure you might imagine. The campaign is going pretty well so far – we are funded for the first print run and on our…
Well, we all made it successfully into the new year! I hope 2016 is treating you right and that you’ve got plenty of fantastic things to look forward to. After a brief pause to celebrate the earth turning one more year older, we here at Shades of Vengeance are moving right along. Era: Survival is…
This is it people, we’ve made it to the final day of 2015! Remember when everyone thought that 12/12/2012 would be the end of the world? Yeah… we’re so much smarter in 2015. Thank you to Ed for holding down the fort while I was away and I hope everyone had a truly lovely holiday….
Hi everyone!I thought it might be a good idea to do a sort of “What have we done this year?” post. So I started looking over everything we have done, and my instant reaction was “Wow, that is a lot!” Well, here goes: This time last year, we had a lot of commitments – Era:…
After hours of deliberation and hard work, Ed and our artist have finalized the logo for Era: Survival. It’s sleek, it’s straightforward… it’s convincing me this game is going to be intense. I think they did a great job capturing the right feel, what do you think? I’m going to let you ruminate on this…
Now that Ed’s gotten a few Era: Survival playtests under his belt and worked out some kinks, this game is taking off. The stories that are coming in are fabulous, in a terrifying sort of way of course, as are the pieces of artwork. Ed says the whole game is looking amazing and that it’s…
It’s no secret that Survival will be our first ever Era game to utilize cards. I know I’ve talked about them before but perhaps you still don’t have a great idea of how they work. These cards are going to be an integral part of the game, so let me explain. In Survival, these cards…
Hi everyone, So I am, instead of my normal weekly post, going to write an entry in my development blog today. I might do this a bit more often – I seem to be echoing the words of the Oracle all too often lately! I had a very interesting conversation with one of my playtesters…
The second playtest for Era: Survival was a big hit. Ed tells me that during the game they were getting a real feel for some of the less straightforward rules. They took some time to work on filling in those areas throughout the session which led to a new rule involving the trading of cards….
Hi everyone! For a while now, I’ve been offering help to people who want to create their own games – pretty much ever since I realised how difficult it can actually be, how much money can be wasted, and how underrated most of the really reliable artists are. I have thought a lot about why I actually…
Hi everyone! Just a brief note today – I’m really busy with Era: Survival items for the playtest on Saturday. Keith and I have been doing some design lately, and I wanted to share that we have created some really cracking designs for the game’s cards! I’ll be hoping to show you shortly, but I…
It was a difficult journey, but Ed tells me that everyone who got in on the first Alpha playtest group of Era: Survival made it out alive. Of course, not without some damage! Freddie, the co-creator with Ed, was a great GM and even though the session wasn’t particularly loaded with enemies, the team was…
Hi everyone! It’s been yet another very busy week for us all here at Shades of Vengeance. One day, I won’t say that and you’ll be surprised… (Yeah, I’m waiting for that day too!) So what’s going on? A lot! We’re looking at several things, mostly focused on 2016 activity now. I’m doing EraWriMo, as you…
I hope that none of you ever have to come face to face with one of the Infected. But let’s be honest, that’s kind of a long shot. So, when the time comes there are a few things you need to know if you want to keep from joining the ranks of the deadly masses….
Hi everyone! I’ve been super busy with writing a minimum of 1000 words per day every day of November! Amy talked a little about it in a recent news post. I’ve also been working on a couple of things for The Secret War – the logo, the book itself and, if I can get them…
The team here at Shades of Vengeance are gearing up for the last event of 2015. In just a few short weeks we will be arriving at Dragonmeet for a one day convention. You can listen to me talk all day long about how fabulous these games are but you really need to sit down…
Now that our artist is complete with the landscapes, area-based artwork, we’re going to get started with more personal images. The Infected images. Know your enemy, I always say, and there’s nothing like a full color in-depth glossy picture to really bring out those hidden details. How do you like your post-apocalyptic zombie Infected? A…
Have you seen the new images!? Our Survival website has recently been filled out with some great location images. We’ve got dark, brooding, and desolate places to help you set the stage for your last stand. Now that these images are getting settled with the feel of the universe, we’re going to get working on…
Hi everyone! Obviously, last weekend I was at MCM Comicon. I have to be honest, this week I’ve not done a lot. I’ve been working on a few stories for Era: The Empowered – I’ve done 3 this week. Keith has done some awesome artwork of several of the characters in the game and it’s…
MCM Comicon is over and we had a great time running games, talking RPG creation, and just generally hanging out with all our fans and friends. Thank you to everyone who showed up and got to know us and our games a little better. Also, thanks to everyone who participated in the online competition or…
Surviving day to day is dangerous and unpredictable. You’ve got have something to guide you to safety which is why Era: Survival is so important. When the coming Infected apocalypse drops down on us you want to be the one who knows what to do. Someone out there knows how important this game is, or…
There is a place, not too far from here, where people go to die. They don’t plan on dying, it just ends up that way. The Pylon is a marker, a goal post, a flag at the top of the castle. Raiders come from all around for a chance to secure it. The overlook with…
Hi everyone! I feel like Shades of Vengeance games are grouping into “Generations” as I look both forward and back over our achievements – not based on evolutions in the Rule Set, just in terms of the teams that work on them and what they do. I thought that, today, I’d share my thoughts on…
Have I told you how huge Era: The Empowered is going to be? Ed has been busy laying out the full story arc which he’s got down to just the final piece and it looks like we’re going to have around 180 short stories! That’s even more than we had in The Consortium. We want…