Critical Core

Covid-19 and Q&A
over 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 31, 2020 at 01:28:48 AM

Hello Everyone,

First, in regards to COVID-19 I hope that all of you are staying safe physically and mentally. I’m of the belief that it is together, as people, that we support and make it through experiences like this. It is our opportunity to be the best neighbors, friends, family, and humans that we can be.

With all of the concerns with COVID-19, Game to Grow shifted all of its services over to online groups instead of in-person.While this presented some initial challenges (and became our full-time work), we’re now fully online, and the groups are running smoothly. The kids and teens in our groups are otherwise exceptionally socially isolated right now. We’ve had great feedback from parents about the online groups, and we plan to explore providing online services for individuals who can’t make it to our in-person services after the pandemic is over..

While responding to COVID-19 caused some delays with our USA-based Critical Core team, our incredibly hard-working team member in Hong Kong has been working hard through quarantine and is pushing the project forward. Two adventure modules and all eight character sheets are now all set for Beta. We’re adjusting and cleaning up the Game Master’s Guide and the Facilitator’s Guide to have them ready very soon. I’m excited to share everything with you all!

Since we’re all working from home these days, and have set up our computers for video streaming, I thought it would be a good time to have a more personal check in and Q&A with all of you, the backers. We’ll be hosting a webinar where Adam Davis and myself will be on video answering questions, and I’ll prepare some of the finished Critical Core material to share with you on screen. The event will be Thursday, April 2nd, from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST

We’ll be sending a backer-only update soon with the link to the  backer-only webinar Q&A. You’ll be able to ask your questions in the chat, or just hang out with Adam and I over video. We’ll record it so if you can’t make it to the live chat you can check tune in later on. We want to do a better job connecting with all of you and sharing our progress, and we’re opening this up to start doing that in a more personal and face forward way.

Thank you for all of your support and patience. Stay safe, and wash your hands.

Warmly,

Adam Johns

Executive Director, Game to Grow

February Progress Update
over 4 years ago – Sat, Feb 22, 2020 at 01:38:39 AM

Digital Beta Status

I’m sure there is lots of curiosity about the delays for the beta. During testing we found a significant opportunity to improve the effectiveness of our 'Core Capacities', which has had a cascade effect on several other documents.

When using Critical Core as a therapeutic tool, facilitators will find that our adventure modules have been designed to help them reinforce and strengthen key skills for players. Skills that are helpful for all kids, but especially relevant to those on the spectrum. These skills, or 'Core Capacities' as we prefer to call them, are closely aligned with leading developmental models of autism intervention.

The initial four capacities were Regulation, Collaboration, Planning, and Perspective Taking, but through testing and review it became clear that another capacity was required.

The fifth capacity is Imaginative Play (capacity name tbd), an important element of development as well as engagement in the game. The moments when players speak in character, when the players and game master collaboratively build a world together, or when the player describes in great detail the look of the spell that they just cast are all moments of imaginative play. Story encounters and challenges in our adventure modules that encourage this capacity needed to be elevated and edited.

These changes triggered a series of reviews of both the content and the layout of our two modules, and some updates to our facilitator's guide. Essentially  we had to go back through everything and make the adjustments needed to include this new capacity. I’ll be writing a backer update soon about these, as I think all of you will find them very interesting.

In addition to the Capacity update we also put additional effort into visual design. We were originally going to release the digital beta with very little design work and save that for after the testing, but it became clear that some of the material required significant layout improvements to help both new players and Game Masters. Essentially we wanted to avoid the 'wall of text' adventure module writing that so many of us are familiar with.

So, we’re close. All of the characters are ready for Beta. The Town of Tusk and Festival of the Birds are both almost complete, and we’re doing some pre-beta editing on the Game Master’s Guide and the Facilitator’s Guide to have them ready so people can start diving in. The GM guide and Facilitator’s guide will likely still have a lot more graphical design put into them before the print release, but for those we felt the text would be readable enough to release for beta.

Manufacturing and Shipping

There are two main things that are preventing me from being able to provide a specific delivery and shipping date. The first is that we keep making adjustments to the material that continue to push things back. I am very sorry that it means that people will be getting their kits later than intended, but I am also very excited about the improvements and changes that we’re making to the material itself.

Some of those hold ups have forced us to have to delay artwork, which is one of the most time consuming and expensive parts of the kits. Part of the reason that we’ll be able to share so much of the text portions in the beta is because it won’t include a lot of the artwork. I want to be clear that this is a delay on our part, the game designers, and not on a part of the artists. Our artists have been nothing but amazing and cooperative. We’re seeing these delays because we continue to make changes to the modules and characters, which means that the artwork briefs then need to be adjusted to compensate. Once the changes are very minimal or when they are completely done, the artists can actually create the amazing visual images based on what we’ve described.

The second reason for uncertainty with dates has to do with things greatly outside of our control. I won’t go into details, but our original quote for the physical material is from a manufacturer based out of China. For many reasons, it may mean that the cost and timeline for manufacturing and shipping could be wildly different then what we originally estimated. We’re looking into alternatives for manufacturing, but until we can lock in with a manufacturer outside of China, it is difficult for us to provide a clear shipping deadline.

We understand the frustration and we hear you. You’re eager to have your Critical Core kit in hand and start playing, and want a clear idea of when you can expect it. We want to get you the best possible product as quickly as we can. As soon as I have a clear timeline, I will share it with you.

Thank you everyone for all of your support.

Warmly,

Adam Johns

Game to Grow Executive Director

Beta Materials Update
over 4 years ago – Thu, Jan 23, 2020 at 01:10:12 AM

Hello Everyone! 

So, obviously we didn't quite hit the deadline that we wanted for getting digital beta materials to all of the backers. However, I'm excited to tell you that we're getting very close. I want to give you an update for exactly where we're at with each piece of material being shared in the beta.

Game Master's Guide: Most of the important text is done. Some of the graphics still need to be updated once the character sheets and modules are completed (to reference them) and there are a couple of diagrams that may help make some things more clear. Some changes will need to be made after the Beta, as they are related to layout to improve readability.

Facilitator's Guide: Needs edits approved by the team. Text is almost completely written. 

Character Sheets: The general character sheet layout is finished. We're adjusting some specific abilities and spell descriptions for balance and clarity. We, also, need to repair an odd tech issue causing the character graphic to not show up when viewed on certain platforms. 

Little Town of Tusk Module: Much of the layout and design is finished and ready for beta. Some small adjustments are being made with text, but it is largely completed enough for the beta test. 

Festival of the Birds Module: Continuing to adjust final text so it can be put through layout and design. We're waiting on the last of the map artwork. This has the most work remaining of all of the pieces.

In general we wanted to push out the test before getting too much into layout and design, but it became pretty clear that the character sheets and modules would be much more usable with more of the layout finished.

As mentioned, we're getting very close, and I hope to have an update for you this week with a specific date for the Beta materials. 

Warmly,

Adam Johns

Game to Grow Executive Director 

Happy Holidays, From Us To You
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Dec 24, 2019 at 06:38:10 PM

We're working hard through the holidays on getting to the beta release. A lot of progress has been made in the last few days on editing material and getting the character sheets together.

In the meantime I wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. Your support with this project has meant the world to us, and will mean a lot to everyone who is helped by Critical Core when it releases. Thank you for backing, but more than anything thank you for believing, along with me, that games have a power to improve people's lives.

I hope that all of you get a chance to play lots of games with friends and family this holiday season.

Warm Wishes,

Adam Johns

Game to Grow Executive Director

Development Insight: Character Artwork
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 02:12:39 AM

Hello everyone,

We had shared some of the character art in previous posts, but I thought it would be fun to share all of them in one place while we're gathering the beta test materials together. 

A big thank you to Grant Griffin for his amazing talent and skill on this, as well as Tanya DePass for her consultation and helpful insights.

Top from left to right: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid

Bottom from left to right: Fighter, Monk, Rogue, Wizard

Still doing some editing on materials for the beta test and then we need to figure out some basic logistics for getting feedback from everyone. Should have an update on that later this week.

Warmly,

Adam Johns

Game to Grow Executive Director