And the Winning Design is...
3 months ago
– Wed, Sep 11, 2024 at 09:07:38 AM
We've made it to day 23 of the campaign and passed $53,000 in pledges last night. Thank you all so much for the support. We only have a week left, so please keep sharing the campaign, and let's see how high we can get this thing.
We also have a bunch of updates for you today, so lets get on with the show.
Bag Design
Last week, we put up a poll for the design we will print on the bag.
After tallying up the votes here and across our social media, we have a winner! Drum roll, please, for the results...
Villager Symbol (C) - 41% of the votes
Spider (A) - 36% of the votes
Rabbit (B) - 23% of the votes
And here are the color treatments we are looking at, so again we ask for your opinions as we finalize the files for the game. Which of these five do you like better?
Jadaculla Rock Token
We also wanted to unveil the token design for the Jadaculla Rock story card. We've attempted to represent some of the more notable petroglyphs found on the actual stone.
And here are some pictures from a visit Will made to the actual rock in North Carolina.
Additional Stretch Goals
We are still looking at our options for final stretch goals, but the remaining things we'd like to do cost a bit, and we are trying to find the sweet spot for them to make sure we can afford to do them. Hopefully, we will be able to reveal something by the end of this week to push toward in the campaign's final days.
Absurdist Productions
Judacula Rock unlocked!
3 months ago
– Mon, Sep 09, 2024 at 08:15:11 AM
First, thanks to everyone who has voted on the previous update already. While we have not replied to any of them, we continue monitoring and tallying up those votes. We plan on announcing the winning design on Wednesday.
Next, we officially unlocked another stretch goal last night. Every copy of Winter Rabbit will come with the Judacula Rock story card and its token.
We know there aren't any other stretch goals showing yet. We are reviewing our numbers and will reveal the next batch of stretch goals on Wednesday. Until then, let's talk about another amazing member of our team.
Jonnie Ketcher
Jonnie is responsible for all the icons and layouts you see in Winter Rabbit and the beautiful designs for all the animals in the game, including the big ole Rabbit on the cover.
She also brought a number of great ideas to the design. Adding the footprints of the animals to the score trackers was all Jonnie's idea. And she came up with the icon for the back of all the villager Tokens.
She also came up with the idea for the hand symbols on the Task cards that are part of the cost and rewards of the cards. It's a simple thing, but it adds to the feel and theme of the game.
The close work between here and Kendra is why Winter Rabbit looks so unique and beautiful. We couldn't have made this game without the two of them bringing their talent and ideas.
Absurdist Productions
Options for the Bag Art!
3 months ago
– Fri, Sep 06, 2024 at 09:34:55 AM
When we unlocked the stretch goal adding art to the linen Villager bag, we mentioned showing off some options to all of you. So here they are. The final version will be two colors, so we will do some color treatments once we lock in a design.
Option A depicts Spider. According to legend, when the Thunders struck a small tree with lightning, it started the first fire. However, the tree was on a small island, and try as they might, none of the animals were able to both get to the island and safely carry back a flame. Spider, however, was able to swim to the island and then weave a basket with which to bring back a glowing ember, thus bringing fire to the animals.
Option B depicts cunning Rabbit, gloating over the confusion he has caused all the other animal villagers that are in the bag.
Option C is based on traditional Cherokee designs and is also featured on the back of each of the Villager tokens that players pull from the bag.
We want to hear which design you like best. Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
Absurdist Productions
Tahlequah Unlocked!
3 months ago
– Thu, Sep 05, 2024 at 07:55:20 AM
We have officially unlocked our first new story card, adding the Tahlequah card to the game.
Tahlequah is located in northern Oklahoma and is the capital of the modern Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians—two of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes. The third tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, remains in western North Carolina.
The city was founded in 1838 and has been a center for cultivating the history and culture of the Cherokee people ever since. This despite much of it being damaged during the Civil War and then again by fires in the 1890s.
You can see the card here. At the top, we have the story's title in English and Cherokee. The Cherokee versions of the story cards will leave off the English version. At the top of the banner, you can see the points; all stories are worth three. Then the cost of the story appears below that; it's any 3 resources. Next to the banner, you have the story text; in this case, it depicts one of the legends for how the town got its name. Then, you have the actual card effect at the bottom. This one is an instant effect, shown by the orange background of the card and the lightning bolt icon.
When you decide to tell this story, you would spend 3 resources and then choose 2 other players, and each of them would gain 2 resources from the supply of your choice.
In Winter Rabbit, stories represent wisdom being passed down through oral tradition. Stories are designed to help many players at once, either through instant effects like this, giving them resources, or by more permanent stories adding additional actions or bonuses to the game.
Absurdist Productions
Day 14, Lets talk about Stories!
3 months ago
– Mon, Sep 02, 2024 at 08:06:25 AM
For all our US backers, happy Labor Day. It's day 14 of the campaign, roughly halfway, and it's been an amazing ride. We managed to fund day 1, and we've managed to unlock eight stretch goals so far. We've improved the quality of the box and the cards. We've upgraded all the tokens from cardboard to heat-transfer printed wood. Now, we are working on adding new content to the game with additional story cards.
In Winter Rabbit, the Story Cards give a global benefit to all players. Some of the cards are instant effects, which will immediately give players bonuses, resources, or points. Others last until replaced by a new story and provide longer-term benefits such as bonus action types.
The first story is Tahlequah. The story card will immediately grant some bonus resources to two players. We set Winter Rabbit in pre-colonial times, and Tahlequah originates in the 1830s after the Indian Removal Act moved many of the Cherokee from the southwest to the Oklahoma Territory. While it may be a little anachronistic, it is still important, so we want to add it to the game.
The second story card we are working towards is Judacula Rock. This story has been part of Cherokee oral history for generations since pre-colonial times. This story adds a unique token to the game, which takes up a resource spot on the board for the remainder of the game.
Kindra Swafford
The amazing watercolor illustrations you see in Winter Rabbit are the work of Kindra Swafford. Who brought their fantastic talent and a great deal of additional knowledge of Cherokee culture to the project. Kindra did a ton of research to ensure the fabrics and tools in the art looked correct for the pre-colonial setting. They also brought a great sense of humor, as seen by the little easter eggs sprinkled on the main board.
Every illustration in the game was hand sketched and then painted in watercolor before being scanned. Kindra is planning on auctioning off most of the originals in December, with the proceeds going to the Salina Public School Art program.
Absurdist Productions
