Magicka Mayhem: The Card Game of Elements, Spells & MAYHEM!

SNEAK PEAK: Spell Card Template is Nearing Completion!!!
over 8 years ago – Thu, May 19, 2016 at 10:33:36 PM

Quick update on the progress of Magicka Mayhem!

• Our artists are illustration-ating their hearts out!
• We have completed about 95% of the custom art pieces for the Spell Cards.
• We have completed about 70% of the Mayhem Card images for the Core Set (mix of custom and digitally altered stock images).
• We have completed about 70% of the custom illustrations for the Summoner Spree Add-on Pack.
• We just started work on the Element illustrations (which shouldn't take long since there are only a few).
• We also secured an artist to work on the Box Art AND the Boss Monster (looks like we might be doing something WAY cooler than a Dragon, too)!
• We will begin work soon on the Wizard Wearables Add-on Pack images (there are just TOO MANY fun choices for Robes and Staffs and Swords in Magicka: Wizard Wars to choose from!!!).
• We are a few days away from finished Spell, Mayhem and Element Card TEMPLATES. Once the templates are complete, we can start mashing the illustrations together with the template to create the FINISHED CARDS!

Here is what the Spell Card TEMPLATE looks like at the moment. Still needs a few more tweaks. Feel free to leave any feedback in the comment box below.

NOTE: The illustration is actually Fire Beam. It says Overpower Beam of Entropy to make sure the font size is right to accommodate the longest Spell names in the game. Also, not all the icons will be visible at once like they are here - only the Elements needed for that particular Spell will be visible.

REMEMBER what they used to look like?!?

Concept Art: Let's get this... ART-y... started!!!
over 8 years ago – Tue, May 03, 2016 at 08:51:07 PM

Get it? Art... Party... ART-y?

;-)

Team Mayhem has been hard at work finding artists to make the Magicka Mayhem cards MAGICALLY appear. We're pretty darn sure that you will be as THRILLED as we are with the early results!!!

Artists are funny about sharing their UNFINISHED work with the public so we are keeping these AMAZING ARTISTS a mystery until we are ready to debut their AWESOME completed work!

We would LOVE if you could offer up some feedback in the comment box below.

Here's a little TEASE of what's on the horizon:

 Yours in Massive Mayhem,

Ken, Ethan, Mystery Artist #1 and Mystery Artist #2

W-ictory!!! High-fives all 'round... Great, now BACK TO WORK!
over 8 years ago – Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 11:29:38 PM

Summary of this LONG update:

1) Big Love to All Our Beautiful Backers

2) Unleash the DRAGON Already.

3) Boring, BUT IMPORTANT Nuts and Bolts and Stuff 

Big Love to All Our Beautiful Backers

I don't think ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would have believed that Magicka Mayhem: The Card Game would have been propelled so high, so far and so fast.

LUCKILY, none of our Backers are 'in their right mind'. ;-) 'Cause you all saw the potential of the game out of the gate. And we are here today because every one of you SERIOUSLY poured your creativity and expertise and hard work into making this happen!

(Oh, and you probably lost some Facebook friends will all those annoying updates, but, hey, if they don't like Magicka Mayhem then you probably SHOULD NOT be friends with them anyway! You're welcome!)

;-)

We THANK YOU most profoundly from the bottom of ours hearts. Super fantastic, amazing job, EVERYONE!!!

Okay, now that the 'sappy' stuff is out of the way... HERE'S THE REAL SCOOP!!!

YOUR... WORK... IS... *NOT*... DONE!!!

In order to make this game FANTASTIMAZING, we will need every ounce (a 'bunch' of milligrams for our foreign Backers!) of your creativity, game acumen and super-geeky coolness to make that happen!

Pat yourself on the back, Backer (you deserve it!), rest up and recharge those Wizardly Batteries.. 'cause IT... IS... ON!!! 

You are now part of something SERIOUSLY awesome! We KNOW you are up for the CHALLENGE.

AND if you are NOT up for the challenge then - at the VERY least - the rest of us will pass the time pointing and laughing at you! Consider it a Wizardly win-win. ;-)

SERIOUSLY, your help has ALREADY been INVALUABLE to making this game more great-er. We are REALLY looking forward to your input - good, bad and indifferent. Of course, there will be times when we will need to make hard choices for the good of the vast majority of Backers, but we will do our darnedest to hear everyone out and incorporate what we can (and doesn't involve making Ethan work 80 hours a week - unless it's summertime, in which case the sky is the limit!). 

Your life - as you once knew it - is officially IN THE HANDS OF A MEGALOMANIAC 10 year-old!  

Welcome to MY world... ;-)

Unleash the DRAGON Already.

The Diva... err, I mean... 'Our Fearless Leader (AKA The BIG Boss)' REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wants to Unleash the DRAGON! I explained the economics of the situation, discussed the cost-benefit ratio and drew a chart of diminishing returns in the air with my finger (while driving to Cub Scouts last night).

His response: "The game will be way more fun-er with the DRAGON." (actually, he likes the Spider Boss Monster better!)

I CANNOT argue with that logic!

My response:

We ended at 98% of the way toward our next BIG Stretch Goal, Unleash the DRAGON!  

HOWEVER, when we made that Goal we were balancing the production cost of the co-op mode against the ratio of Rewards awarded up to that point ($1 vs. $25 vs. $95, etc.). In other words, the majority of the $25 Pledge goes STRAIGHT to printing and shipping, but only a small portion of the $95 Pledge goes to printing and shipping which leaves some money leftover for UPGRADING the game.

Well, guess what?

In the very last 48 HOURS our Beautiful Backers charged headlong into hitting this goal. SO MUCH SO, that an INSANE number of Backers UPGRADED their Pledges (many from $1 all to the way up to $95!) and a HUGE number of Backers came in at the last few hours at much-higher-than-usual Pledge amounts. That turn of events means that we MAY VERY WELL have the budget to Unleash the DRAGON! after all!!!

Or, at least, this is my way of 'justifying' the financial cost to myself since I REALLY WANT TO UNLEASH THE DRAGON, too!!!

IMPORTANT: Surveys, Timetables and Other Nuts and Bolts

1) If you have Backed a Kickstarter before then you know what to expect. If you have NOT Backed a Kickstarter before (First: thanks for taking the plunge with us!) then here is a quick rundown:

• Credit Card Charge: You will likely have already been charged for your Pledge (no going back now!!! Haha!). You see something like: Stripe*kickstarter Magi or somesuch. If you see this, it does not mean that you identity was stolen. It only means that you had a moment of weakness and decided to back a really silly game on Kickstarter that was created by a 10 year-old (I hope you learned your lesson). ;-)
• If Credit Card Doesn't Go Through: Many of you Backed this game over a month ago. Things can change with credit cards in that time. If your charge does not go though, you will receive an email from Kickstarter. IF THIS HAPPENS PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CREDIT CARD INFO WITH KICKSTARTER. Otherwise, you won't get the game. You will be sad. We will be sad for you.
• Kickstarter Survey (Reward + Shipping Address): You will receive a Survey FROM KICKSTARTER around the time we expect to ship out your Reward (July for $15 - $45 Rewards and September for $95+ and / or Add-ons). That survey will collect the Reward that you are expecting AND your shipping address. If we collect shipping addresses NOW then there is a good chance that a significant number of our Backers will MOVE RESIDENCES before we actually ship. This can lead to unhappy Wizards and unhappy Wizards like to BURN things!

2) ONLY the Basic Set (WITH NO ADD-ONS) will be shipped out by the end of July (barring any freak issues). In other words, if you Pledged $15, $25 or $45 (AND did NOT purchase any Add-ons) then you will likely receive your much-deserved Reward around the end of July. If you contributed ANY amount other than these three then there is a 99% chance that you will receive your much-deserved Reward closer to September.

IF you purchased Add-ons (1, 2 or 3 - doesn't matter) then your ENTIRE order will be shipped when the Add-ons are completed. We estimate this to be by the end of September. Of course, this would include Box Set Backers (since they have the add-ons included).

3) When we originally offered the PDF Print 'n Play version of Magicka Mayhem, our intention was for it to be ONLY THE BASIC CARDS. In that case we would get those PDFs to Backers sometime in July. 

HOWEVER, a sizable contingent of Backers said, "It would be so nice of you if you could include EVERY SINGLE ONE of the cards IN EVERY SIZE as part of the Printable PDF. How much more work can it be?"

And it's true - it IS very nice of us! ;-) The only issue is that we want to create ONE file with ALL the card. And that means that we will need to FINISH all the cards before we can compile the PDF.

In short: the PDF Print n' Play version of the game will likely be sent out sometime in September to give us time to create ALL the cards that will be going into it.

Wow. What a ride! AND it's only just beginning!

Thanks again!

Yours in Massive Mayhem,

Ken and Ethan

Stretch Goal ACHIEVED!!! Upgraded card quality!
over 8 years ago – Thu, Apr 14, 2016 at 10:01:55 PM

Way to go Magicka Peeps!

Yet... Another... Stretch Goal... CRUSHED with wanton abandon!

That's right!

Our Magicka Mayhem cards can NOW protect you from a direct Arcane Bolt! Super, crazy upgraded paper quality!

PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE!!! These paper cuts could cause SERIOUS Injury!

Next UP: Unleash the DRAGON!!!!!!!!!!!

We are SO very, Very, VERY!!! close to Unleashing the DRAGON!
over 8 years ago – Thu, Apr 14, 2016 at 09:43:44 PM

How close are we to Unlocking the Co-op RAID Deck with it's Kickstarter-EXCLUSIVE Epic Boss Card and Treasure Cards and Epic Boss Spell Cards?!?

SOOOO close that if EVERY one of our Backers increased their Pledge by less than $2 (or encouraged 2 friends to Back at the $1 level!) we would reach the Unleash the DRAGON! Stretch Goal with room to spare!

And REMEMBER: EVERY BACKER gets this one if and when we Unlock it!

AND if we DO NOT Unlock it (sad, sad, TRIPLE sad!!!) then we will likely make it a for-purchase add-on. We DO NOT want THAT to happen. We want EVERYONE to have it as a FREE BONUS for being SO AWESOME.

Start twisting some arms. Let's show 'em what Wizards can DO when FREE STUFF is on the line!!!

;-)

Soooo, if you've been thinking about taking the plunge from being a One Buck Backer to something MORE than a One Buck Backer... NOW is your chance!

If you've been thinking about picking up an add-on or two or three... NOW is your chance!

One more TEASE of ONE of the Epic Boss Monster Card...