Games by JimD Newsletter – ZESH, Vampires, New Game?

Welcome to my 51st newsletter!  Happy Holidays to all. I’m really enjoying my December. I actually started a brand-new D&D campaign with some friends, my health is going well, and I’ve been working at a great pace. Coronavirus is still very much a concern, but I’m keeping my distance from everyone. Thankfully I enjoy writing and gaming online when I have the chance, so being at home isn’t a big deal to me. My wife doesn’t like being cooped up inside. She has a bad case of cabin fever. But I’m hoping that things improve in the new year, as we all are.

In this newsletter, I will talk about ZE: Safe Haven, Vampire: The Masquerade - Out for Blood, and, dare I say, a possible new game?

Let’s get started.

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 3 & 4

I don’t need to give a word count on Part 3 anymore, since it is out the copyeditor. At last count, it was at 665,000 words. That will go up once I receive all of my files again and I can make some additions. Let’s talk about Part 4. It’s at 19,165 words so far. Not a bad start. This month I’ve already added over 16,000 words.

About the beta test – for now, I’m keeping up the current version of the Part 3 beta until January 1st. On that day, I will take it down but obviously leave up the beta for Part 4. The newest part will continue to be available for those eligible to test it. I will also be doing public betas closer to the end of each chapter. When I receive back the files from my copyeditor for Part 3, I will fix everything and make the necessary additions suggested by testers. I will then post that revised version one more time for further testing. When I turn in those final files to Hosted Games, I will take down the beta tests for Part 3 forever. It won’t really matter at that point, since that part will be close to being published.

I’m excited about Part 4. I’ve got so much planned and just added a really unique and interesting scene that I’m hoping people enjoy. Hint: it will remind you of the classic scene from the original Zombie Exodus where Carl confronts Jason. That’s all I’m going to say right now.

Vampire: The Masquerade — Out for Blood

I’ve mainly been working on ZE:SH this month, but I have continued working on the True Faith update for Out for Blood. I’ve also consulted with a few lore experts on how to make faith work in the game. I’m excited to show you what we’ve come up with. It’s looking like it will take me at least until mid-January to finish. We will then have to do testing and editing. This will be a free update and should add over 20,000 new words to the game.

New Game?

This new game is actually an old idea. It’s been under development for a very long time, but I just haven’t had the chance to work on it. If you’ve been following me for a while, you may remember about a concept that I nicknamed Zombie High. I realize there is an actual game of that name, but I couldn’t think of another one at the time. Now I actually have a name for the title, and it’s Deadbury Academy. You’ll understand why it’s called that when you read the story. For now you should know that it’s set in a boarding school for teens. While it may sound like a young adult story, it will have a number of adult themes including very fleshed out romantic parts. This story will not be a part of the Zombie Exodusseries. It’s a zombie apocalypse story set in its own universe in current day America.

I worked on this game concept with a fellow writer, Lys, who has written several scenes in ZE:SH. She will be primarily writing the story, and I will be coding it. So far, she has written close to 50,000 words. I’m not sure when I will have a beta test available, but I will let you know as early as next month on how that development process is going.

Before anyone gets upset about a new game taking away from my development time of ZE:SH, let me just say, development of a new game will not have much impact on Part 4. I have set very specific goals about my continued development of Part 4 and will not stray from that goal. I’m going to add 20,000 words at least every month for the next two years. That’s the timeline, and I’m not going to stray from that unless there’s some crazy health emergency or disaster. Let’s face it, people like longer games. Handing in anything less than half a million words will get you terrible reviews and no sales. At the pace of development, it will take two years to put out Part 4. That doesn’t even include editing and publishing times. I think that’s the most realistic timeline I can give.

That’s all for this month. Until next time, stay safe and thank you for all of your support!