Labo[u]r Day Past, Summer Waning
Hard to tell, though, with the ongoing disruptions to society that are so unevenly present. Time and the passing of the seasons is muted. We need something to look forward to, something we can hang some anticipation of delight on, and fortunately for you, I’ve got just the thing to point you towards.
Lagies and Jenglefenz, I give you the next keepsake game from Shing Yin Khor:
Do you remember your childhood friend August? You met when she rode her bike into a ditch, right in front of you. Now, she’s lost in time.
Kickstarter in September 2021, live game in February 2022.
Follow to be notified on launch: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shing/remember-august
I will likely not be promoting this much, it’s a small and experimental live game that will land a story told in letters(by me and you, as you’ll write back) in your mailbox over the course of Feb 2022. You can buy that nice pen now, in order to save your friend August.
Done, and done. I believe my last fountain pen purchase was in anticipation of this moment¹. There’s preview images of Save August, and a description that should be landing hard in your brain if you’re anything like me:
the basic outline of it:
– you have to remember your friend, an agent of the Bureau of Time Disruption, to anchor her in present day.
– 8+ letters/misc. ephemera mailed to the player over a month.
– the USPS as a third character, a game about the rhythm of waiting. [emphasis mine]
Khor always comes up with unique mechanics for their games, and a game that is about patience is something that I’m going to get a lot of good from.
The Kickstart isn’t up yet, but the reward tiers have been announced:
I’m going to keep tiers very affordable. The backer tiers will be:
$10 – Live email game and game .pdf.
$20 – Live email game AND mailed game archive booklet
$50-60 – Mailed letters and archive booklet.Post live-game, digital files will be released for free/PWYW!
The reason I am releasing digital files for free is because I 100% encourage anyone to remount the live game for a friend, by printing/prepping/mailing the game letters to them.
You can get much fancier with this outline than I will be able to with my bulk mail limitations!
That’s Khor in a nutshell — whatever they come up with, however many of us pay them for it, they still want everybody to get the benefits of art and experience. The generosity of spirit is stunning and a big part of why I’m proud to call them a friend. Even when things like this happen.
Save August will be launching on Kickstarter soon; find a good pen and paper, gather some envelopes, decide what stamps you want to use, and practice your handwriting. Think I’ll give my new turquoise ink a go with this one. See you all at the mailbox come February.
Spam of the day:
The waterproof sandals that you will wear all summer long
You’re a bit late there, Champ. Try again in about six months?
_______________
¹ Note to self: get some decent stationery.
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