Final stretch! Less than 48 hours left! Full Music Video!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 29, 2021 at 07:11:08 PM

Hi Everyone!

Yes, we've been a bit quiet these past several days since our last update... Life (vaccination, wedding anniversary, taxes) demanded a bunch of recent mindshare this past week, as well as getting all of these awesome items ready for immediate print. Usually, we have a week or two after the campaign to get files to the printer, but because there are still pandemic-related issues plaguing our pipeline, we want to get things delivered early to avoid any back-end delay to you fine folks. Not sure if anyone really pays attention to these sort of things, but there's a growing global paper shortage and massive congestion at shipping ports worldwide, especially here in the US, due to the exponential increase in home-delivery demand that far exceeds previous capacity. Boats are taking 2-3 weeks just to unload goods at customs which then means shipping containers aren't being emptied for re-use, which slows things down even further... So many "invisible" effects of this pandemic that we all feel without knowing what's going on behind the curtains... (If anyone's curious, here's a good article about some of it:  https://www.joc.com/port-news/port-productivity/us-port-congestion-solutions-bump-third-rail-labor_20210413.html)

But, we're doing everything we can to compensate for those issues to keep things on schedule and invisible to you!

FINAL 48 HOURS! (Well, 32 hours...)

Things have slowed down quite a bit this past week (likely due to some of that personal stuff that kept us distracted the past several days), but we're hoping to push through to unlock the mini-posters! The lapel pin seems quite a bit away, but who knows! We're blasting out news to our full press list and social media groups all day today and tomorrow, so we're ready for a final surge! And remember: the referral program is a real thing! Only a couple of folks have taken advantage of it so far, but those freebies are for real, and so is the Backerkit credit (which is almost as good as cash)! See Update #11 for full details.

FULL-LENGTH MUSIC VIDEO!

In addition to all of the stuff mentioned above, we've also been working on the soundtrack, and wanted to whip up a "Music video" (more like a bg music visualizer) for the full-length theme track used in the trailer. Check it out!

The other four tracks are in various stages of sketches, but we think it's all sounding pretty dope. ;)

BONUS PRIZE for anyone who can identify what anime is sampled in the middle of the track! :D

Keep spreading the word (and get those referral bonuses)! It all comes down to the wire tomorrow!

Postcards unlocked! Final two stretch goals revealed! Plus: REFERRAL BONUSES!
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 25, 2021 at 04:45:16 PM

Hi everyone!

This is it -- we're turning the corner into the final week, and pulling back the curtain on the final set of incentives that we think will be really cool. Thanks to everyone who has jumped on board these last few days, we unlocked the set of four postcards that will now be added to all physical tiers FOR FREE!

Each of these cards features a pretty piece of character art by Toru Terada!

So since time is growing short, we're going to go ahead and reveal not only what's next on the stretch goal list, but the goal beyond that, too --

If we can hit $60k before next Friday, all physical tiers will receive an 11x17" two-sided mini-poster for FREE!

And if we can push past that to break $70k before the final bell rings at 6pm CST next Friday, all physical tiers will get a swanky gold metal lapel pin for FREE!

That sounds like quite a bit of ground to cover in the next 7 days, but we've seen it done!

But how can you help if you're already on board?

Well, you can add stuff to your pledge or hop to a higher tier, but we know you're already signed up and for that we're appreciative. So the next most logical way to help is to...

Tell your friends to join us before it's over!

Word of mouth is priceless, so to help encourage you towards that outbound endorsement, we're going to try something new -- an actual REFERRAL PROGRAM!

We were looking for automated ways to do this up until now, but as this is the final week, we're just going to brute force a plan and track things by hand. 

Here's how it will work:

• Share your excitement for this campaign with your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers... anyone you think would dig it. Verbally over beers, online in chatrooms, secret notes slipped under their doors... up to you. Just tell them to tell us that you sent them. Specifically, tell them to message us once they've pledged with either your backer number or backer ID.

If one of your referrals backs the campaign (and stays backed until closing) then: 

A) they will get a full set of all 3 limited weekly prints, plus the Pre-reg print and Day-1 print, for FREE, and 

B) YOU will get all of those prints (even if you joined late) PLUS $1 in Backerkit credit for every referral you brought on board when the campaign is over! If you pull five friends over, you'll get $5 in Backerkit credit! Pull in 20 friends, you'll get $20 in Backerkit credit! It can add up nicely to save on shipping or any add-ons you'd like to grab later on! Plus, all of those new backers will help us unlock those last two stretch goals!

The only stipulation is that the new backer MUST message us with your backer number or backer ID so that we know to credit you. So be sure to let them know to message us once they've joined. It doesn't need to be a full-on conversation, just a simple "I was referred by XXX" will do.

And of course, once they're on board, the same referral offer extends to them -- they can start earning Backerkit credit for every new backer they bring on board!

This may require a bit of extra clerical work on our side to track this manually, but we're up for it, and we think it's worth it to give folks a shot at grabbing all of the limited, expired prints even if they joined late. This is admittedly a bit of an experiment for us, but we know you cool people know other cool people and we want to make it worth your time to proselytize on our behalf.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Preview pages now available on Webtoons AND Tapas! (or on our site - your choice!)
about 3 years ago – Sat, Apr 24, 2021 at 04:12:03 AM

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update to let you all know that we have not only added new "episodes" (pages) to our series preview on Webtoons, but we've also added the same series of episodes on Tapas! Both platforms work the same way (vertical scrolling on a mobile device), so you have options which one you prefer. They're both great, and both feature some other interesting series, but we just want to offer you options.

If you'd prefer to just surf on over to our preview site, we've included all of those pages there already, in their full-page (uncensored) glory. (Yes, the Tapas and Webtoon episodes have been sanitized to cover up some swears and fairy nudity...) You can head over there for the best sneak peek.

I know we mentioned a whole slew of update content coming soon... and it is! Just working out a few kinks and details, but we'll have more exciting stuff to show and share by Monday! 

So stay tuned and keep spreading the word!

Big update: Interview/gallery, Week-3 print reveal, and new VINYL ADD-ON GOAL!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 06:47:59 PM

Hey everyone!

We've mentioned having some cool things being lined up for future updates, and we're here we are with a bushel of them! Take that, Monday! 

First up is a new interview with JD Morvan and Toru Terada talking about their careers and SMALL WORLD.  We included a gallery of some of Toru's other personal work. You can check it out on the Magnetic Press website here!

Okay, so we may have spoiled the surprise in the subject line, but we're super-excited to announce this new stretch goal...

7" VINYL SINGLE ADD-ON UNLOCKED AT EITHER 750 BACKERS OR $50k!

We know it's kind of a late announcement seeing as how we're less than 4 backers and $600 away from hitting either goal, but better late than never! This is going to be AWESOME -- once we hit one of those goals, we will add a brand new ADD-ON to the Kickstarter setup: A genuine translucent vinyl 7" single from the soundtrack being produced right now. It will feature two tracks (one being the title piece used in the trailer video, the other to be revealed) and will be packed with a 2-sided, 4-panel mini-poster. The sleeve itself will be designed as if this artifact were found on the streets of Small World (after a pirate raid destroyed the club). THESE WILL ONLY BE PRODUCED TO WHATEVER QUANTITY ARE ORDERED HERE! 

So if only two of you order copies, we're only making two. If 100 of you order, we're only making 100. These will be hand-numbered, too!

A few of you were fortunate to get one of the limited vinyl singles produced for our ASTER OF PAN campaign, so you know that these are super-cool, heavy thick vinyl that sounds FANTASTIC on a good turntable. And the cool Peach/Toru poster will dress up any wall space.

These will be made available for $40 each. That may sound pricey for a 7" single (in an age of free streaming radio), but the exclusivity and cool- factor of this SMALL WORLD artifact cannot be denied. I can't stress that enough.

We're kicking off the third week at midnight, so it's time to reveal...

THE WEEK-3 BONUS PRINT!

As a reminder, we're giving a new, bonus limited-edition linen cardstock print each week -- if you've been on board for a while, you've already collected a bunch of them just by joining early. 

This week's print is of Lyz Underwater!

We know that many of you would love to have a shot at rewinding the clock or time-traveling to an earlier date... and we're working on a way to do just that (while still keeping them exclusive and rewarding!)...

STAY TUNED! MORE TO COME TOMORROW!

Vinyl Add-on unlocked! New preview pages on Webtoon and Tapas!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 06:47:27 PM

Hi everyone!

Well, last night's little push got us over the $50k / 750 backer line, so we're super-pumped to make the Limited 7" vinyl singles now available as Add-ons!

You should be able to add one to your current pledge by selecting "manage my pledge" at the top of the Kickstarter page. That will then let you "change your pledge" -- click that button, and it will let you adjust your pledge amount or choose a different tier. To keep your same tier, just select it again and you will be taken to the Add-ons list. You should find the new 7" Vinyl Single Add-on there.

New Backers will see it in the Add-ons list during initial checkout confirmation.

To answer a couple of questions:

- The tracks will be unique remixes of two tracks on the 5-track digital EP that everyone will get, primarily to account for vinyl-level audio mixing, but also to suit the 5 min runtime limit of a 45 RPM record (which sounds better than a 33 RPM record).

- We will only order as many copies as demanded by this campaign plus 10 copies. Because these can take up to 3 months to make (since they are individually etched), we will be placing the order very shortly after the campaign ends. Therefore, there will only be a handful of copies offered as Add-ons in Backerkit. So if you want one, you really should grab one here during the campaign. Once this Kickstarter is up, the odds of getting one afterward drop significantly.

Now let's get another $2500 in the can to unlock the Bonus Postcard Set! Think we can get there before the weekend? Let's see!

NEW EPISODES UP ON WEBTOON and TAPAS!

As a reminder, we're adding preview pages as continuing episodes on both Webtoon and Tapas mobile platforms -- ep04 dropped this morning on both!

We're also asking for your help -- 

if you are a Tapas user, please subscribe! Once we hit 25 subscribers, they will start to share it with the rest of their readers! We're admittedly new to these platforms, but have lots of plans to offer more stuff soon!