Asylum Earth-- Aftermath: Manhattan Protocol

Asylum Earth's New Look

It's collaboration at its finest. When AI meets my imagination, anything goes, as you can see here. Yes, it's been a while since I posted any updates about my board game, Asylum Earth. Mainly, I haven't had the chance to make any progress with it until I had this brilliant idea. After mulling it over for some time, I finally decided to bring in AI to give me a helping hand, and the rest is history.

That's not to say there are no more challenges because AI produces challenges of its own as it develops your new vision, so in a way, AI is a double-edged sword, but in a good way. In this case, AI has helped me see a finish line that has evaded me for quite some time. 

Here's the new game board as proposed by AI. After some tweaking, it's manageable, and I like its aesthetics and everything that goes with it, e.g., Event Cards, tokens, game play, and so on. So I'm slowly chipping away at these new ideas and integrating them with all my artwork. So far, I've finished the box, top, and bottom, which have mostly stayed the same for the exception of a new sub-title.

So the main difference is the Event Cards and some of the tokens; otherwise, the original game and its characters remain the same. In fact, AI has integrated my artwork nicely. 

 

Asylum Earth - Manhattan Protocol - The Boardgame Lives

 

Final Draft Box

Happy New Year, folks. We made it, and we're on to newer and better things. There's simply no time to waste, so with a little help from AI, I've managed to reimagine and recast Asylum Earth, now also named Aftermath: Manhattan Protocol.

It's amazing how many iterations of this game I've come up with, but as I've always said, as long as it improves the game, anything goes. It's certainly a work in progress, and I love the outcome so far. I've got all new cards, tokens, rules, and a new rulebook. Let's face it, everything has changed except the theme, of course.

You just can't argue with improvements. It's a matter of time again to get everything in place and keep forging ahead to the finish line. 

I've got plenty of new images to post and even more to talk about, but I'll keep things brief since I've got quite a bit of work to do. I'd like to post this new cover and a bit of the new artwork.

I have plenty more to change here on the Blog, so I'll get to it.

Keep the faith, my friends. Remember that winners don't quit. If you believe in yourself and keep reaching for the finish line, you'll get there sooner or later. Nothing lasts forever. Not even hard times.

Semper Fi.

Asylum Earth Cyberpunk Board Game and Novel are Back

 What a difference a year makes

Not so long ago, I was down and out for the count. Today it feels like I'm on top of the world. In just a few short months, I met someone who lifted me out of the mire and into a much better world.

Dear gamers, this is not a rags-to-riches story, but it sure comes close, and it is absolutely true. If you recall or go back to my previous posts, I spent two weeks in a hospital battling COVID, a little over a year ago. I honestly didn't know what would become of me. Would I survive? And if I did, would I remain functional? God only knows, but I'm still here, and Asylum Earth is back on track, as you can see below, and I'm planning on taking this game to the Ancient City Con in September. That's in St. Augustine, Florida. I live about 45 minutes away. I'll be there for the weekend and I hope to present my game and novel and get to play Asylum Earth with several visitors. It's going to be a great time.

As you can see from the photo below, the covers have changed for the better. This is the same image I found on Etsy months ago, and so far it's working out nicely. Featuring the main character, Andrea Estrella, looking fierce. The official name for the game is Asylum Earth: Supreme Survivor. The novel is titled Asylum Earth: Age of the Apocalypse. The novel centers around the impending Apocalypse and what starts it in the year 2057. Sorry, Texans, but the Apocalypse kicks off in Austin, much like Dasha's little diddy. So what is it about Austin that everyone seems to pick on that poor city? Well, back in the day when I finished my military career, I washed up in Austin myself for some time, straight out of Fort Hood. Thanks for the great memories, Austin, but I'll try to be kind in my story.

I'm still finishing up the game. In fact, I'm play-testing again this weekend and hope to tie up a few loose ends, improve some of the artwork that printed too dark in the last prototype, and enlarge some of the text. Other than that, everything looks really good.

Here's a link for the convention in St. Augustine, Fl. I'll be attending the weekend of September 13-14. I hope to see you there. I'll be posting the location of my booth or the spot where you can find me later this month.

AncientCitycon.com

Here's artwork for This-Is-It T-shirts I'll be making for the convention. It's so good to be back. Stay on for the ride because this is about to get interesting and exciting in the following months.

Asylum Earth Update - A Post-Apocalyptic Board Game

Hey folks, Asylum Earth is still in the works and in the running for one of the most popular games in board game history. It is going to be when the time is right. Within 5 years or sooner, post-apocalyptic games will rule the world. Pun intended.  

As it stands, the design of Asylum Earth's game box continues evolving as you can see above. As much as I liked Andrea's rear-end shot and her robotic hand holding a gun, I recently got lucky and finally found an image, a face I'm excited about because as I've said before, the right expression hooks players into the game. An intriguing facial expression is always your best option. 

New Asylum Game Box

I found this image on Etsy, of all places, and I'm happy with it. So now I have my new Andrea and I'm working on replacing all the old images throughout the game. Yes, she's worth the trouble because the box cover design must do a lot of heavy lifting to intrigue potential buyers.  

Original Etsy Image

The box cover must tell a story. The original image had several drawbacks so with some Photoshop magic, now her expression comes to life. In short, Andrea is now the unequivocal star of Asylum Earth. Front and center with plenty to say and show her audience.

As you can see, the original image on the right has full-color saturation so I muted the colors to give it a more austere feel. I also raised her left eyebrow to give her a more determined look. I removed the blue streak of hair that appeared to be coming out of her nose. 

Lastly, I gave Andrea her closeup shot and she's ready for prime time with her one blue eye. (See the accompanying novel on Amazon, Edge of the Apocalypse. link) for the interesting story around this detail. 

Here's an interesting tidbit about the design and development of a product. From the beginning, I've been looking for the image you see on the box above. I searched high and low at all the best art venues and clip art sites galore and I did find good art but it was right for this box only when I stumbled on the right face on Etsy. Imagine that. It's been about 3 years since I've tried many different ideas and images that didn't work for me.

Digital Novel

The amazing thing is that once you find the right image, everything opens up and flows how it's meant to and you finally become unstuck and head towards the finish line. That's still at a distance but within reach so as time ticks on, I will cross that finish line but I'll also be faced with another goal called marketing. 

I know a thing or two about that so stay tuned for a crash course about marketing an unknown product from scratch. You'll be surprised at some obstacles to overcome and how to approach your marketing and jumpstart your sales.

Come on back for more of that. Meanwhile. if you like what you see, drop me a comment if you can.

Asylum Earth Supreme Survivor Board Game

 

Hey folks, here's the latest update on the Asylum Earth board game. After printing the last prototype, I thought the name needed enlarging so now it's larger with a black border so it stands out.

We'll be playing the game during the Christmas break to fine-tune it and get it closer to publication. As I've said before, I'm not rushing this process because the longer it incubates, the better it gets. So far I'm happy with the quality of the box and printing. 

It's actually quite impressive how Gamecrafter puts this together. My only reservation is how dark the colors are but that's on me and I'll be trying to find ways to revise the artwork so it's more legible and more visually appealing. Other than that, I'm excited to see it in person after so many changes.

I especially like the foil cards so I'll be printing more of those. This game is a work in progress and getting better every time so I can't wait to get to the point where I can post it online for sale and promote it so players can get a taste of its dynamics and how interesting it is and how much fun it is to play.

Here are samples of the contents and some of the foil cards. We'll see how the game feels once we play this latest version. 

Meanwhile, it's the holidays, after all, so enjoy a healthy Thanksgiving and Christmas season. See you on the other side.

Life After COVID 19: YES, The Asylum Earth Board Game Lives On

Covid 09/19/23

Okay, here we go, folks. One more entry for the books. The setback this time; was Covid, of course. It came out of nowhere and hit me like a ton of bricks and put me down overnight.

Luckily, after a dangerous bout of acute hypoxia, and a loaded dose of Remdesivir, I was up and about the next day. Miraculous. Twenty-four hours later they administered another dose and then three more rounds of this wonder drug and six days later I was discharged from HCA Hospital in Orange Park, Fl. and back to work the following day.

Piece of cake, right? Not exactly but that's more or less how it happened and I lived to tell the tale. Lucky me, I think but I'm back better than ever and ready to roll with this new prototype of the Asylum game in all its glory.

Yes, life sucks and we have to roll with the punches because that's all there is, people. You're all you've got and you must always make the best of a dire situation and resolve to come out on top stronger and better than before. That's the cycle. That's the discipline. That's life in the fast lane. Love it or leave it, all we can do is deal with it and get over it.

Okay, I'm finally over it and forging ahead as I plan the next phase of the most interesting board game you've played in a long while. Well, that's a matter of opinion but for me, it's exciting and relatable, and fun and I'm counting that other players will feel the same way once they give it a try. Don't knock it till you try it. Sure, I know it helps if I play it up and describe the entire game and its objectives and all that sort of thing. Check out the rest of the blog for all of that because I've told quite a bit about the game over the years but the best is yet to come.

For now, take a peek at one of the newest family members. It's the baby. 

Adopted Baby 7/23

How adorable is this little one? Cats here show up out of the blue and this tiny one came to us months ago as a tiny kitten but look at her now. She's very playful and took to the house right away and made herself at home instantly. Some of them come and go but she's here to stay and we're happy to have her. 

I call her Cinnamon because she reminds me of a cinnamon roll but we mostly call her Baby. Next time I'll post a video of her playing. She is a scratcher, though. But adorable as can be.

Okay, I know I should post only about the game but who can resist? I figure I've posted enough pictures of the box and its contents so why repeat that every time? 

Once we get the new box we'll have our work cut out for us to finish designing the game. It's all about details at this point because all the broad strokes have been laid out long ago. It's all about the theme and the story how we get to the heart of the matter and what we learn about ourselves and about the Earth along the way. None of this is rocket science, folks. It's just a game in the grand scheme of this so-called life of the planet but it's all the details that make up the good parts. That's what we're all about to find out.

Mind you, I'm not a cookie-cutter type by any means. So don't expect the usual board game with risks and challenges. Yes, there's plenty of that but like all good things, the best part is what we learn about each other and the wonderful world around us that intrigues us and keeps us engaged in meaningful ways.

We hope to nail down and get Asylum Earth to its next level over the holiday season so look for all the improvements in January and publication shortly thereafter. Once you understand product design and development and marketing, that frees you to take your time because you just can't rush a good thing.

After Covid 09/26/23

Asylum Earth Board Game Prototype

New Prototype Box for 2024

Here's the new prototype box I plan to print in September. As you know, anything goes as far as how this game will look for its big debut next year if all goes well. I'm taking the rest of this year to finish it and re-test it with the same group. 

As I've said before, the themes haven't changed at all and all the Avatars and books remain intact. What has changed a bit is the monochrome sepia tone, which I'm fond of and I've used it here to good effect. I'm not a fan of a lot of color, especially when it comes to the apocalypse so I think this works, even though the actual color is a bit more muted and not as warm as you see it here.

I also fixed Andrea's hand and found a much better android-looking hand so this cover is as close to the final image as I'll get for the next prototype. Yes, there are many changes and additional card decks but only because they have improved the playability of the game and enhanced its look and feel overall.

You just can't pass up something better if it comes along, you've got to go with it even if it sets you back several months. The game will always improve even after its publication, as all products do, but the goal is to release it at its best with as many improvements as you can. First impressions count.

The biggest change was the board itself. I'll never regret changing it because it not only simplify's the gameplay but I think it just works and looks more interesting. And it was a feature I already had in play from the beginning but starting the game in New York City makes more sense and focuses the game in a more engaging way. Originally, the game ended in NYC, but now it begins there because that's where everything important ultimately winds up and takes place.

I'm looking forward to printing this new and improved game, especially the box because it's going to have a cool effect with a matte finish with shiny text. And so the name and other key elements will really stand out.

Another good feature is the two QR Codes on the back of the box. That works nicely and takes you right to the Rulebook (PDF file) or the ebook on Amazon. I'll most likely include another code for the collectible hardcover book.

A lot going on, as usual, so I'll get back into it and forge ahead. Plenty to still do but it's getting there, slowly but surely.

Play on, folks.