Monday, August 2, 2010

Arkham Sanitarium Prop Package

The long development process that started back in late May is now heading into the home stretch.

First off, this is the revised Arkham Sanitarium logo in it's monochrome and color versions. You'll notice that it's not all that different from the previous iterations, but my stubborn ego finally accepted that those of you suggesting a more traditional shield shape were right. As always, your suggestions and comments are most appreciated. If I'd listened to you more in the first place this would have been done a month ago. Heh.





That brings us to the next part of the project- production. In the past I've gone ahead with ordering everything and then hoped for the best. That approach has worked thanks to your good graces, but it's also limited what I can do because of the significant up-front investment required.

For this project I'm going to be doing things a little bit differently by funding the project through Kickstarter. In case you're not familiar with them I'll quote from their FAQ:

What is Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors.

We believe that...

• A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.
• A large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.

Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.

All-or-nothing funding?

Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands.

Why?

1. It's less risk for everyone. If you need $5,000, it's tough having $2,000 and a bunch of people expecting you to complete a $5,000 project.

2. It allows people to test concepts (or conditionally sell stuff) without risk. If you don't receive the support you want, you're not compelled to follow through. This is huge!

3. It motivates. If people want to see a project come to life, they're going to spread the word.


In essence I'm going to be looking for pledges to fund the project to the tune of around $1250. That breaks down to 50 pledges of $25, which I think is more than doable based on past efforts. You can donate less or more than the targeted $25 amount, but everyone that donates at least $25 will be rewarded with one of the Arkham Sanitarium prop packages.

So what exactly will be included in the package? At a minimum there will be one Arkham Sanitarium embroidered uniform patch, one cloisonne lapel pin, two different vintage-style postcards, and a pocket notebook. As the project develops I'll be adding more items like patient file cards, photographs, and ward passes based on period examples.

Please keep in mind that those are just the items planned for the reward package. Straight paper props like patient admission records, treatment charts and the like will be part of the project, but they'll be released for free as PDFs under the usual Creative Commons license. Printing out documents on plain paper is easier and cheaper to do yourself. I want to concentrate on items that aren't easily reproducible at home.

So there you have it. I'm really excited about the possibilities this approach offers. If you have any thoughts or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.

15 comments:

  1. I'm in! Once you post the Kickstarter info, I'll be makin' a pledge.

    A pledge to the great god Cth-- Um. I mean, a pledge to your prop project.

    Ahem.

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  2. Yes! "Preorders" :-)

    Now I can reserve my place to assure I am one of the ones eaten first ;-)

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  3. Ditto - post the KS page and I'll pledge for one kit.

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  4. Definitely up for pledging!

    More than happy to finance such a brilliant project.

    I'll pledge as soon as you say where.

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  5. @ Doc Atomic

    Thank you for the kind words. Your continued support is most appreciated.

    @ Scott

    One of the reasons I wanted to try Kickstarter is because it does function somewhat like a pre-order, but without any risk. It also gives me a much more accurate way of determining how many items to order.

    @ James Floyd Kelly

    Thanks. I should have it up by Wednesday at the latest. I just have to get the conceptual artwork finished.

    @ Mortis

    You're very kind. I have very high hopes for this project.

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  6. Once theres a kickstarter page to pledge to, I'll be on it like a shoggoth on a albino penguin!

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  7. @ Alex Kaeda

    On the list of "disturbing metaphors that create a horrific mental picture" that has to rate pretty high. But I do appreciate the thought. Heh.

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  8. This is really cool. Unfortunately I can't make any pledges through Kickstarter (no CC). Is there any other way to make a donation for the project?

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  9. Sounds Groovy.
    My money and I will be there.

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  10. @ Marc

    Drop me an email once the project goes live and I'm sure we can work something out.

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  11. @ Marc

    If you have a PayPal account, this option is available: http://www.geardiary.com/2009/01/24/use-paypals-free-disposable-credit-card-number-to-manage-recurring-charges/

    If you don't have a PayPal account there is NetSpend ( https://www.netspend.com/ ) which can also be picked up at Speedway/SuperAmerica and other gas/convenience stores.

    I don't know if either is of interest, but they are options :-)

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  12. How about a Cap? When you have the stitch pattern already for the uniform patch a cap would be cool. Maybe as an optional add-on item?

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  13. Great idea, I'm in ! Please keep up with your great creations !

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