The Ultimate Juggling Act [Preaching To The Choir]

The Realities of Product Development

Knock, Knock

Let's face it, this is not exactly what's going on in my life but you get the idea. I'm juggling a lot of projects at once and when you spread yourself too thin, very little gets done.

Who's There?

When life happens to you, such as having a large family with many problems, your personal life ends. Actually, I like to say that there's only one problem: the lack of funds. Money can surely solve 99.9 percent of our problems.

Okay, so that's the goal. Do what you love and generate the income you need to survive and thrive. Easier said than done but that's still the master plan. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking and the decades fly by. God knew what he was doing when he designed our limited lifespan. That's why we must use our time wisely. There needs to be more room for error.

Throw into the mix several health issues and it's pretty much a disaster in the making. Okay, boohoo, cry me a river. Nobody cares about any of that. Here's the good news.

Persevering Through The Storm

Asylum Earth® is alive and well and improving every time. I'll never give up on it because I'm obsessed with it along with four other games in the works. I'll have to work on these games for several more years until they're all finished and ready for marketing and sales. 

Monetize Your Hobby

It's a great hobby right now but when all is said and done it'll be time to sell about 8 different products. Five board games and a handful of new books. None of the products are time-sensitive so they will all establish their own trends and find an audience in due time.

At this point, I'll have to move the release dates up for most of these products including Asylum Earth.® The years go by fast so I've got my work cut out once I have fewer distractions and surprise setbacks to deal with. I can't wait to get there and I hope you'll join me.

Set Clear Goals

Life without goals is a certain death sentence. Over the years, these projects have kept me busy, kept me learning, and they have helped me escape the mundane moments we all experience in life. Without them, I would have checked out a long time ago because they give my life meaning and purpose. I am very ambitious and determined to get to the finish line soon enough.

Watch me get there.

I'd love to hear from you so now is a good time to get in touch if you have any questions. I'll see you back here soon.

Play on, folks.

Sign up for updates or email me with questions at: arios316@gmail.com

New Post Apocalyptic Trilogy - The Edge of Time by A.R. Arias

Book 1 is now available. Books two and three are due in 2020

Good news for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, because Book 1, Edge of The Apocalypse is now available on Amazon in paperback and eBook editions. https://tinyurl.com/y89w5rwg

I titled the new series, The Edge of Time and it includes two other books, Epic Apocalypse, Book 2, and Beyond The Apocalypse for Book 3, which will include time-travel events.

I'm very excited about this new series and although I never set out to write about the apocalypse, it turns out that this is topic I really enjoy writing. I got the idea several years ago while developing the Millennium board game (Andrea's Journal) and one thing has led to another and here I am, writing my second book in the series.

So, as if I didn't have enough on my plate already, I've set out to finish two more books. Funny thing is that as daunting as that sounds, I find it very satisfying and a lot of fun to do, so it's not a chore, but a joy for me to accomplish, hopefully in a year or so.

The board game is all but finished and I hope to launch it this September 11 without a hitch. I can't wait for that because Millennium has evolved in amazing ways that I had never thought of when I started designing it back in 2016. It pays to be patient and to sleep on ideas until they are ready to be shared.

These new books are part of the evolution of the board game and writing them is the only option for me. I must write these books and hopefully many more in this genre, not only because the time is right, but because right now this is where my heart and soul is and I'm seizing the moment.

It's going to be a whole new world of exploration in this genre, both post apocalyptic fiction as well as the YA and millennial category of readers.

Lots to learn and a lot to do as things move along towards the year 2020. Here's the link to the new blog, The Edge of Time series of books. I'll also be talking about the book cover designs for all the new books and anything related to the genre.

As an aside, I started watching the post-apocalyptic thriller, Bird Box, a Netflix favorite. I bailed out of it after 20 minutes or so, but I plan to give it another chance this weekend. I didn't get the blindfolding idea. Seemed like a gimmick to me but I'm open to anything so let's see if I can finish watching it this time around.

I did enjoy the opening scenes with Sandra Bullock and her sister, played by Sarah Paulson. Nice tension and dialog.

The movie is actually based on the debut novel Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Rotten Tomatoes has given it a mixed 3-star review and also says that the film lacks tension but has solid performances.

Too early to tell, but we'll see how it ends. That's the true test for any story and I'll post my review and rating in my next post. Stay tuned for much more!

Awesome Book Cover Design Tips [Apocalyptic with Photos]

 

New cover

Here are several tips to help you improve your book cover layouts. For this cover, I wanted to show the apocalypse in a different, more sophisticated way as opposed to the usual burning buildings and explosions, that are so typical of this event.

The ominous sky and its warm/cool colors are reminiscent of a lunar eclipse. The skyline is not on fire, but you can see evidence of a blast blowing across.

In the foreground, the main figures (Andrea and Apollo) stand and watch the event as if protected from the blast and superior to its effects.

The actual story starts off with a blast in Austin, Texas, but of course, New York City is the center of 9/11 and so I felt it was more important to feature that city on the cover. Besides, Andrea and Maria eventually wind up there.

This composition needs a bit of work because the main image is competing with the background (Freedom Tower) so I'll have to take more time to tweak it. Chances are that I'll have to reduce the size of the tower and that should fix the problem, but we'll see.

I also added Andrea's trusty pooch, Apollo, to the cover because they are inseparable. The main reason for adding these two images was so that the book cover resonates with the game box cover. I'm still debating if I'll match the gray colors of the box with the book. (A compromise would be desaturating the colors in the book cover.)

As it was before with only the skyline, there was no point of reference to the board game. Besides, I think this image of Andrea tells a deeper story overall. If you look closely, she's carrying a gun for protection and you can see that her hand is mechanical (as in cyborg).

Revised version

Notice the subtle but very important differences in these two covers.
Let's start at the top with the hook.

•  I added the word and with an ellipsis so it flows better.

• I moved my name under the title so I could unclutter the main image.

• I also reduced the size of the background tower a bit so it doesn't compete with the main image.

• I'll have to figure out what to do with the color band running across the bottom, now that I moved the name up. Most likely I'll remove it when I fix the artwork (missing feet). Right now I'm not sure of the trim on the bottom so that's still a bit of trial and error.

So far, I think this works and hopefully, I can keep it this way up to the date of publication unless I find another way to improve it. But as a group, the freedom tower, Andrea, and Apollo make a nice diagonal line for a much more pleasing composition. I might either blur or take down the saturation of the tower just a bit to see how that looks, but the Freedom Tower is an important part of this story and that's why I'm thinking of leaving it alone.

Current Box

So the whole point is that you should always show your main image at its best. In this case, the juxtaposition of the main image grouped with the background is symbolic of the events in this story so it's okay to visually group them as one.

You want to tie-in the main image with anything that will tell a deeper story at a glance.

The real trick for me with this unusual array of products is to prioritize the purpose of each product. My main goal is to promote the board game with the book. But at the same time, the board game should also promote the book. It's a balance of design and writing that works discreetly with subtlety, although, it's really all about the board game.

For those of you following the evolution of this game, I'll be posting updated photos of the new game board and several new card decks soon.

I'm getting really close to locking down all the elements and mechanical aspects of the game and synchronizing the artwork as a whole. The most important development to the game has been the addition of the Manifesto Card Deck, which sets off the game in a grand way.

Nothing else changes as far as skills and rescue goals. Everything remains as it was, but the Manifesto serves as an "inciting incident" (novel speak) of sorts. This was the big thing I'd been missing and finally found a way to include it and present it without too much additional cost.

Final Revision

Here's the final version (subject to change) with a pier to ground the figures. A small portion might be trimmed when printed so I'll have to make adjustments after the first proof.

Overall I think it works so we'll see how the actual printed version looks.

More about that in my next post.

Until then, keep on gaming!

Your questions or comments are welcome.

Check out the new
LinkedIn Home Page for more about the game.

Colonizing Mars: Can We Escape The Apocalypse? Buzz Aldrin's Startling Answers [Interview Photos]

Visions of permanent human settlements on Mars all include methods by which inhabitants can grow plants and produce food. Picture: Bryan Versteeg/Spacehabs.comSource:Supplied

It's Mars or bust, says Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 hero and space explorer extraordinaire in an interview with News Corp.

“I don’t think we really understand how much we can take of that, [radiation] or from how much we can be protected in efficient ways..."

While in Australia, Buzz Aldrin spoke to News Corp. about his passion for a human outpost on Mars. The promo is part of National Geographic’s series of talks, Mars: The Live Experience.

Would Buzz take such a risk?

Buzz Aldrin Speaks

“Well, it may hurt! But to have a very challenging life from age 40 when you get to Mars, and returning at 60, may be worth it having sacrificed for your country, or for humanity ... This is a concept that I don’t think very many people have come to grips with yet.”

Traveling to Mars is much more difficult than flying to the Moon in every way.

“Then we didn’t know,” Aldrin said.

There launch window is narrow. The trajectory and thrust have to be very exact. About half of the Mars missions have succeeded so far.

Buzz Aldrin Mars Promo

“You have to get it 100 percent: 95 percent, you don’t get to Mars. You don’t come back,” he says.

“No free return and no backup system, no alternate. I’m disturbed about that.”

Aldrin says that independent, short missions are doomed to fail.

“Probably the third time we get there, Congress or somebody will say ‘here, we know how to do that — lets spend that money over here ...’ And that will be it for Mars.”

Aldrin believes that high risks can be managed by sending mission components separately.

“You can have a year-and-a half tour of duty, a five year tour of duty, a seven-and-a-half ... and come back,” he says. “You’re sending as many as you’re bringing back.

"Are you disappointed you never got to fly to Mars?"

“No. See, we’d already flown,” he says.

MARS Series for Nat Geo

“The three of us (from Apollo 11) felt that being so fortunate to have come out with the mission and end up the first landing that we didn’t feel like flying another mission was fair to other guys. We’d be taking a potential mission away from them."

Aldrin hopes NASA accepts his "master plan" which is already working on the spacecraft and the rockets to launch astronauts to Mars by 2030. And he expects a Mars settlement by 2040, around the 70th anniversary of his Apollo 11 moon landing.

Aldrin also envisions using Mars moons, Deimos and Phobos, as stepping stones for astronauts. He doesn't like the label "one-way" and he imagines tours of duty, lasting up to 10 years.

See related article here:

Do you think we should colonize Mars?

We welcome all comments or questions.

*****************************************************************

A.R. Arias, a Mars enthusiast, is the designer/developer for Terra Nova Board Games. His debut game, Millennium-Glory Beyond The Ages, and its companion short story, Girl With A Broken Heart, launches 9.11.2019.

Learn more at The Game Crafter Website