The Long, Slow Slog to the Finish

I've said several times that the Horizon Wars: Infinite Dark beta will be up for patrons by the end of the month and this is definitely going to happen.

But this is the phase in development where the dice go down, the minis go away, the fun stops and it's a long, slow slog of formatting, error checking and lay-out planning.

I've been studying the rulebooks of other games and publishers, taking careful note of what works and what doesn't.  I've been trying to understand what makes a great rulebook - not in terms of its content, but in terms of its presentation.  I've been looking at font sizes, line spacing, column widths, the spacing around images and the balance of fluff and crunch.

I've been experimenting like hell and I think I've managed to create a layout that is easy on the eye and brain, whilst capturing what's great about reading a science fiction rulebook.

I've gone much heavier on the fluff that I have in previous games, really fleshing out the setting of the human civilization after the Great Expansion and tying it back to earlier eras.  And so, alongside the rules, I'm also telling two other stories: one is the "big picture" narrative of the setting that seeks to prompt the imagination and give people ideas for the kinds of fleets they could assemble; the other is the "focused" narrative of Klayr Ngana, poached from a career in sports drone racing to the officer corps of her world's system defence force.

But, other than the absence of art and photography, I'm trying to make the beta as close to the final appearance of the book as possible, so I can get feedback on the layout and formatting as well as on the rules.

There will be extra content this month.  I've got some bits and pieces I'll be sharing with you as we go along.  But don't expect to see much if any new Infinite Dark content, because it's all formatting, all the time.