My print proof of the second bonus subscriber book has just arrived from Blurb, and I’ve gotta say it looks phenomenal. Except the cover, which I didn’t have ready until yesterday; on the proof, it’s basically a big, blank nothing. So there’s no point in showing it off. But the interiors are fantastic. Downright classy. Not sure how people are going to feel about the content itself, but at least it will look great. Basically, I finally got the hang of InDesign.
Said content, incidentally, is divided into two parts: “Guild Woes: An Etrian Odyssey Tale” (30 pp.) and “ToastyFrog in: Metroidvania!” (possibly part one of many, 8 pp.). The latter is a short story, and the former is a videogame critique, sort of.
I should have the book’s text proofread by tomorrow, at which point I can pretty much place the order for the final prints right away. Assuming all goes according to keikaku, I’ll have the books in the mail to their loyal recipients the weekend after next. And I am now fielding requests for content for the third bonus book! These things are created very specifically for you guys, with a print run of well less than 100 copies, so I might as well create work that you want to read.
I’m intrigued. How does one get there hands on one of these ‘bonus books’?
*newcomer*
They’re for people who subscribe to the site with the button in the right sidebar, to cover the ever-rising cost of GameSpite server fees. I send out a bonus every 6-9 months — nothing much in the grand scheme of things (a 40-page book and maybe some other random goodie), but I try to keep production values high. The book is slim, but it’s produced through the same service that prints the quarterly magazine.
At this point it’s a little late to get in on this edition, but I will post a notification if I have any extras after sending copies to subscribers and people to whom I still owe certain unfulfilled obligations.
Incidentally, I found Etrian Odyssey II used in an EB the other day and jumped on. Not having a manual is making it a little intimidating, but so far I’m loving it a lot! Thanks for constantly singing the praises of these games Parish!
Holy cow would I like to read a 30 page treatise on EO. I hate to sound like one of ‘those people’ (i.e. the ones who want to have their cake, and eat it without paying for it), but any chance this will end up online?
Yeah, the EO article will show up online in a few months. It was actually written as a piece for GameSpite Quarterly 4 but was too lengthy and too unconventional to fit comfortably with the rest of the issue’s content, so I quarantined it here.
what would i like to see in a bonus book? prog rock articles. cereal articles. all that crazy off the wall stuff you used to write about, three or four iterations ago.
I’ll second the prog articles although part of me is curious what newer stuff you might recommend (maybe some kind of one-off music ramble?). Aside from that, hmm… maybe “extended versions” of certain reviews/articles you trimmed for time, or stuff you held back on in professional contexts? I kind of like the “deleted scene” idea.