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.