It’s monthly update time. And despite the fact that last month ended with a sudden schedule changeup and a scramble to get stuff out by the end of the month, the extra time I spent outlining and planning even when I was laid up and prevented from publishing content paid off.
After months of struggling to get back on track following absolutely the worst year of my life, I now have everything I need to be on track once more. I can’t promise the Time of Troubles is over and I still have a lot of personal work to do to make myself whole once more, but I actually have a solid workflow and release schedule and enough of a buffer to stay on track.
I am no longer behind schedule and chasing the urgent. It does help that July has an extra Wednesday in it and I plan to take full advantage of that.
The point is, you’re going to see a lot more concrete dates, deadlines, and plans this month than you’ve seen in a long time.
Content Schedule
First, Wednesday is content release day. Every week, starting Wednesday, July 10th and continuing through Wednesday, July 31st, I’ll drop a new piece of content. And I’ll continue to cycle content through Early Release and then General Release every Wednesday. So, supporters will receive Early Access content on Wednesday and then everyone else will get to read that content the following Wednesday while supporters get a new piece of content.
Feature Articles
I’ve got three Features in varying states of outlineness and draftiness.
- True Campaign Managery: Scheduling and Attendance (Part I) is already in Early Access and will go into General Access on Wednesday, July 10th.
- True Campaign Managery: Scheduling and Attendance (Part II) will go into Early Access on Wednesday, July 10th and then into General Access a week later on the 17th.
- Stop Trying to Make Open Worlds will go into Early Access on Wednesday, July 17th and then into into General Access a week later on the 24th.
- True Scenario Designery: The Anatomy of a Game will go into Early Access on Wednesday, July 24th and then into General Access a week later on the 31st.
As for what happens on the 31st…
Angry Hacks
I have been trying to get the Angry Hacks series off the ground for a long time now. My goal is to release small, downloadable, supplemental rules and systems you can use in your home Dungeons & Dragons games in fancy, PDF format, starting with the final, definitive version of both the Tension Pool and its variant, the Time Pool, upon which I plan to build a number of other systems. And I plan to focus on the aspects of fantasy adventure games that need the most help, like town and wilderness exploration.
As of last month, I brought a contractor on to help me overcome some serious blocks in that project while I’ve been trying to get my own workflow on track. My target is to release the first one on July 31st and I am working toward that right now. But the truth is, I might come up short on that goal because the timing is a little tight.
So, Angry Hacks: The Tension and Time Pools will release on Wednesday, July 31st if it’s done. If it’s not, I’m going to push it to the last release in August and I will release a one-off Feature on the 31st. Most likely the requested article on sportsmanship.
Audio Content and Events
Supporters of this site get access to certain bits of audio bonus content. I normally invite folks to listen as I stream audio recordings on Discord and then post the recordings sometime later for supporters to download. This audio content includes Proofreadalouds, Supplemental Q&A, and Mostly Monthly Live Chats.
I’m making a few changes in this content this month. And here’s everything you need to know…
Discord Streaming Changes
Supporters used to listening live to Discord streams as I record this shit should note I’ve made some changes to how I stream on Discord. Whereas, before, I had several different voice channels for different kinds of events and made a text chat for each channel, there will now be just ONE channel on Discord for streaming audio recordings and events. That channel will only be visible during actual recording sessions and events.
The channel will be called #angry-games-studio and it will appear right below the #angry-games-newsfeed
15 minutes before an event or recording is scheduled, the channel will become available and it will be closed 15 minutes after the end of the recording or event.
There will no longer be a separate text channel for chattering and interacting with me during the event. Instead, I will be using Discord’s integrated voice channel chat feature. If you’re not sure how to access that chat channel, refer to Discord’s guidance on Text Channels & Text Chat In Voice Channels.
Note that Club Slapdash will continue to have it’s own channel for audio streaming and events. However, I will be making the same changes to that channel. I will be using it’s integrated chat during live events and I will be closing it down when it’s not in use.
Proofreadalouds
I will continue to record my out-loud proofreads as bonus content for site supporters and, at the request of those supporters, I will continue to record them live on Discord so anyone who wants to can listen in. Because I’m ahead of the game, though, I can do something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time: I can schedule these things in advance.
Hence, every Friday at 2:00 PM EDT/EST, starting on Friday, July 5th, will be Proofreadaloud Recording Time! However, note Angry Hacks and certain other articles will not receive Proofreadalouds. I will the cancellation of Proofreadalouds in the News and Announcement channel.
Recorded Proofreadalouds will be made available via the secret supporter podcast feed at the same time the article goes into Early Access on Wednesday.
However, I will not be recording Supplemental Q&A podcasts with the Proofreadalouds. And that’s because of…
Q and Angry
It became my habit when recording Proofreadalouds to let the live listeners on Discord fire questions at me about the article they’d just listened to me struggle through proofreading. And, as fun as that shit is, the quality was… variable to say the least. Meanwhile, I did end up putting a lot of good and useful information in those supplements, but only my supporters were hearing them. What few supporters actually listened to them.
I’m going to keep doing the Q&A thing, but I’m doing it differently from now on.
Every week, when I release a Feature into Early Access, I’m also going to open a thread in the supporter Discord #angry-article-discussion channel so people can submit BRIEF questions about the article which I’ll then use to record a follow-up podcast that will also include some of my own expansions, examples, and clarifications. I will then release that podcast, which I’m calling Q and Angry to everyone when that article goes into General Access.
As with the Proofreadalouds, I will invite folks to listen on Discord as I record each Q and Angry and, time permitting, I will take additional questions and comment from the Discord audience. And because, again, I have the luxury of now establishing my workflow in advance, I can say that, starting on Monday, July 15th, I will record Q and Angry episodes each Monday at 3:00 PM EDT/EST.
In addition to creating an RSS-type podcast feed for this shit and embedding the audio on this site, I’m also going to post Q and Angry episodes to the currently mostly unused Angry Games YouTube Channel.
The first couple Q and Angry episodes, including an introduction to the series, will be available on Wednesday, July 17th.
July 2024 Mostly Monthly Live Chat
I’ll be recording the Mostly Monthly Live Chat on Wednesday, July 17 at 7:30 PM EDT. The recording will be released via the usual channels a few days after.
Project Slapdash
It’s been a while since I put out an update about the Slapdash Fantasy Adventure Roleplaying Game Engine. But with my workflow now taking on some semblance of normality, it’s time to address that oliphant on the battlefield. I think the best way to do that is to host a check in and update live chat.
Thus, for those supporters eligible to participate in such things, I will be hosting a Slapchat on Wednesday, July 10 at 3:00 PM EDT in the #club-slapdash-studio. A recording will be made available to those in the know a few days later.
The July Calendar
And now, for your convenience, allow me to summarize all of the dates and times above.
Note that all times in are in EDT.
Friday, July 5
- 2:00 PM Proofreadaloud recording (Discord #angry-games-studio)
Wednesday, July 10
- Early Access Feature and Proofreadaloud True Campaign Managery: Scheduling and Attendance (Part II)
- General Access Feature True Campaign Managery: Scheduling and Attendance (Part I)
- 3:00 PM Slapchat recording (Discord, #club-slapdash-studio)
Friday, July 12
- 2:00 PM Proofreadaloud recording (Discord #angry-games-studio)
Monday, July 15
- 3:00 PM Q and Angry recording (Discord #angry-games-studio)
Wednesday, July 17
- Early Access Feature and Proofreadaloud Stop Trying to Make Open Worlds
- General Access Feature and Q and Angry True Campaign Managery: Scheduling and Attendance (Part II)
- 7:30 PM Mostly Monthly Live Chat recording (Discord, #club-slapdash-studio)
Friday, July 19
- 2:00 PM Proofreadaloud recording (Discord #angry-games-studio)
Monday, July 22
- 3:00 PM Q and Angry recording (Discord #angry-games-studio)
Wednesday, July 24
- Early Access Feature and Proofreadaloud True Scenario Designery: The Anatomy of a Game
- General Access Feature and Q and Angry Stop Trying to Make Open Worlds
Friday, July 26
- 2:00 PM Proofreadaloud recording (Discord #angry-games-studio) (TBD)
Monday, July 29
- 3:00 PM Q and Angry recording (Discord #angry-games-studio)
Wednesday, July 31
- Early Access Feature or Angry Hack (TBD)
- General Access Feature and Q and Angry True Scenario Designery: The Anatomy of a Game
Thank you for this substantial update! Your dedication and hard work in getting things back to where you want them to be despite a horrendous year is awe-some. I’ll be excitedly following along each week!
I’m really excited for the future of Angry Games, and your content (which was always thoughtful and well-reasoned) has become even more refined and professional in the last couple of years! I hope that even more people in the TTRPG community can be introduced to all the great work you are doing!
I second this!
I don’t think we are only a few listening to your Q&As! It was a great addition to go with your articles!!!
The emphasis on BRIEF matches the site formatting for hyperlinks with color and underline.
And it got you to notice it. So… mission accomplished.
Thank you for the update! And particularly thank you for summarizing the July calendar, with bullet points to boot. That is very convenient!
Excited to see questions come in from the general audience. Good to hear some other voices! And loving the release schedule. Always makes my week reading your articles.
Two suggestions:
1) Do the Q & Angry right before the PFA for the next article. This way readers have enough time to check the article and submit their questions, and you do both in one sitting.
2) Upload all the past Q&As on your YouTube channel. This way, when someone goes to watch one of those, they will have a nice healthy amount of other videos to check, thus keeping them on your channel and getting exposed to more genius wisdom.
I’d be especially interested in the 2nd one. What say you?
I already have a workflow, but thank you.
It is not feasible to do the second. I am sorry.
Excellent news! The schedule looks solid and from the fact that you’re committing to it openly, I conclude that you do feel like you’re have a good grip on it. Which is great, astounding work, sir!
Also excited for the new things to happen, especially as one of those audio-focused people. 🙂
you’re the man! Love it!
“The worst year of your life… so far…”
Still, I’m glad to hear you’re reasonably enduring and have been able to give us plebes some major game development advice in the mean-time.
Personally I’ve been unable to enjoy the hobby as much as I’d like, but your articles are always on the top of the list that I come back to whenever I need a bit of the hobby in my life.
Here’s to a much better year, and even more great game dev content in the future!
Glad to hear that things seem to be stabilizing for you. Best of luck going forward! Looking forward to all the content you’re creating.