Next Monday is St. Patrick’s Day. People celebrate it in the U.S. by eating corned beef and cabbage, wearing something green, drinking green beer, and singing Irish songs. We celebrate by eating; Lori added Irish soda bread this year. We are also singing, but then we do that whenever we can. (We don’t actually drink beer, sorry.)
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption has a touch of the green as well. Shawn O’Conner has an Irish name, and that’s an important part of his back-story. We set both Quest for Glory and Hero-U in worlds based on Earth geography, sort of a parallel planet to our own. In the game, you can help Shawn learn more about his forgotten childhood and family heritage.
Irish You Were BeerCorey and Lori on IGN’s Up at Noon with Greg Miller
Last month Lori and I visited the IGN offices in San Francisco to talk about Hero-U on the Up at Noon webcast. Check out the results at http://www.ign.com/videos/
Also in February, we managed to mail out all of the collectibles reward packages to backers except for posters and paintings. If you backed at the $125 tier or higher (except the $175 all-digital tier), you should now have your toy meep. If you backed at $200 or higher, we also sent you a t-shirt or baseball cap. We plan to send out the posters and canvas art later this year, and the boxed games when they are ready (probably late 2014).
Web Site Update
Lori and I took some time away from game writing to improve the Hero-U web site (www.hero-u.net). The new site includes in-progress art and music, the long-awaited Backers Page, and two new store pages.
By the way, if you do *not* want to be listed on the Backers page, please say that in a note to support@hero-u.net. Everyone is there currently because you are all part of our community and inspiration for making the Hero-U games.
The Hero-U Pre-Order Page
At http://www.hero-u.net/hero_u_
- $22 buys Basic Admission – The downloadable game when it is ready
- $38 buys Audio-Visual Extras – The game, digital art book, and sound track
- $60 buys Premium Course Materials – All of the above, plus access to Beta versions as they come out, and the digital Yearbook with additional game information, illustrations, and an introduction to many of the other students at Hero-U.
Limited Edition Collectibles Page
The new Limited Edition Hero-U Collectibles page (http://www.hero-u.net/hero_u_
- $35 for a blue Meep plush toy
- $30/$35 for a t-shirt with the Scott Flanders “Rogue’s Last Stand” design
- $30 for a red embroidered Hero-U baseball cap designed by Lori
- $10 for a “Team Meep” key ring and tag designed by Lori with the Eriq Chang Hero-U logo
The first two items are limited to stock on hand (about 350 Meeps and 50 t-shirts, mostly size L and XL). I plan to order more key tags, and possibly caps, if we have demand for them.
Please tell your friends about the game and the new www.hero-u.net site. Every purchase and pre-order helps us finish Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption.
Marching On
We are making a lot of forward progress on Hero-U. Our artists have created most of the game scenes and props. They have painted customized images for everyone with a yearbook picture, in-game painting, or “school spirit”. The programmers have put together many of the scenes and are working on the combat interface and simulation. Lori and I still have a lot of writing to do as we gradually build up the game, in between directing the team and handling the many details (such as filing tax reports, answering email, and posting here and on www.hero-u.net) involved in running a small business.
Next up for our “insider backers” ($175 and up) will be a sneak peek at the combat system. Jonathan has been working on the interface and I am developing a simulator to help us balance stats, tactics, and special abilities.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding as we work to get every detail right in Hero-U. This game will have a different feel than anything else out there, and that is only possible thanks to your support.
The Magic Classroom (In-Game Screenshot)