The Battletech Kickstarter --- High and Low

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/description 

The last thirty hours have been both a high and a low for me. The Kickstarter for Battletech is underway and I am both happy and sad about it.

I've been watching Harebrain's kickstarter for their Battletech game with interest for about a month, then when it started at 1 p.m. yesterday, I was there. I watched it for most of the day as it reached the minimum of $250,000 in less than an hour, and $1,000,000 in less than twenty-five hours. As I write this, the total is nearly $1.1 million, with over 16,000 backers, and a number of "Backer Missions" already completed, enough to get two novellas from BT's best-known author, Michael Stackpole, play against the ELH in the now- reached solo campaign, and a Twitch sessions with the people behind the Kickstarter. It has already been a success, and there's still 34 days to go.

I can't wait for this game. The concept art looks fantastic and the people behind it are no strangers to the Battletech Universe --- in fact one of them, Jordan Weisman, created Battletech! I am glad enough people still love this game to put their own money into it --- two people actually pledged $10,000 to the project! I look at the perks and I see so much stuff I would like to have -- the $275 level would be the sweet spot for me. This will be a great game and I have been doing all I can to forward this kickstarter.

Everything except back it myself. And that's where the low comes in.

The reason is simple; my finances will not withstand the contribution. Not at the moment, at least. I still have 34 days to find some money and maybe contribute at a modest level, so it isn't impossible. I would need more than a few breaks to go my way though for that sweet spot I mentioned above. Note that this isn't an appeal for funds; this isn't something (as much as I hate saying this) that is necessary for life to continue. If I can get the funds together, I can contribute enough to get a copy of the game, and that will be enough. We'll see.

But for now, I will do everything that I can to make this kickstarter successful, and hopefully, the table top game will benefit from the computer game's coat-tails. Near the end, my fiances should be enough to kick in a few bucks, and hopefully, we'll have a good game in a year or so.

Later!

Craig

Quiet time....

It's been quiet here at Casa Reed the last week or so. The non-BT novel I was writing has been turned over to my co-author, and I'm waiting for him to finish up his part of the writing. I'm looking at an original novel, and a few other non-BT irons in the fire.

A few may have notice that my contribution to the HONOR BOUND anthology was published. A Warrior's Fear was actually easier to write than most of my stories. It happens sometimes that the plot, characters and action falls into place without the use of a hammer. Other times, I've resorted to a hammer. sledgehammer and more than once, high explosives, in order to get the story and characters into line. But A Warrior's Fear, once I had the time and place, fell into place with no problems.

I did get some good news though -- but until Jason announces it, I'm going to stay quiet. But it's about part of an ambition I've had for several years.

I'll add another question from the thread here: "Ask a Battletech Writer --- Round 2"   I'm always open to new questions!




The Question is in light blue, the answers are in orange;

Avarice wrote:
As a print reader, I'm wondering if you guys will keep publishing anthologies and hopefully larger arcs. Something about flipping pages never gets old; that analog feel is just... right? I feel detached reading from a screen, even on a TV, and I don't need a tablet in my life (smartphone suits me just fine).

As a teen, I dove into the novels and enjoyed the pulp feel that the setting had -and saw the writing mature along the way as more authors became involved and a changing of the guard transpired. Things became a little grim for me during Dark Age, and it felt like the Jihad arc was a puzzle I had to piece through but a novel in its own way -treating half the entries of the news/snippets as unreliable narrators in perspective.

Are there going to be novels that flesh out the Jihad and the Republic Period, especially the bit where Fortress Republic cracks open and Devlin Stone emerges on a Death Ride?

So much potential out there, from the ELH/Goliath Scorpion Exodus, how the Taurians reconciled, or the sundered FWL.

Loved how Reunification War, LoT, and Klondike were fleshed out and I guess the Succession Wars are on the table next, but a Historical on the Fall of the Republic would be awesome too if you guys had the rights to the Dark Age stuff(?) The NAIS Atlas volumes and Historical: Brush Wars were my favorite books till Total Chaos came about to give things a tactical feel and sum up the Jihad period.

P.S. Thanks for the memories. I was angry at a lot of the developments as I first read long (reader attachment), but accept that heroism cannot exist without equivalent or greater evil/challenges and that empires, good or bad, rise and fall. Can't be a good story without tragedy and setbacks.

My Answer:

Thank you for your words...

Most of what you mention above is above my level of involvement. I want novels and long-form fiction, but that has to be decided at the company level, where I have no knowledge or input. While I don't know any details, I think there are roadblocks to novels happening, but as to what those roadblocks are and how long to overcome them, I have no clue.

If it was up to me (and it isn't), I would publish a series of Jihad novels, a novel series covering the Amaris Civil War, and a few set during the the Successor wars. What happens after 3145 I have no idea, nor do I know how the fiction for that is going to run. As of right now, we can write up to 3145, but no farther.

Novellas are a possibility, but Jason Schmitzer will only chose the best. And as hard as he is with short stories, novellas have to be flawless for him to buy it. Still if a story is good enough, he will buy it, regardless of what era it is in.

Hope that helps,

Another Q and A session -- Part 1

I've been busy with a couple of non-BT projects, but they are done for now, so I though a brief post with some of the Questions that people have asked me in this thread here: "Ask a Battletech Writer --- Round 2"   I'm always open to new questions!