For Dirs+ Jan 2022 Board Report

I know many don't regularly check the monthly reports but as this one affects our most generous supporters, I didn't want you to miss it and so will cross-post here.  Please provide any feedback here:  

https://www.selectacorp.com/forum/the-members-only-club/senior-management/current-board-meeting/32326-january-2022-board-meeting-kinda-important 

January 2022 Board Meeting (kinda important)

Did I actually not post a report for December? Apologies-- I must have been crazed with the CMan release!

In any case, I'm pleased that we made our deadline and the 'Susan" release is now out there. It's been dropped to Managers level and I'll cascade to the Exec level this coming weekend. We've been please with the general response. The game seems to be shaping up as potentially the best ever. The game seems to shine on the Unity platform and seems to justify the decision to make the move over to a more stable and sustainable platform. Thrawn's in-game editor makes the creative process relatively painless and Esclavage has even agreed to join Thrawn and myself to help hone the game, which has been facilitated by connecting E to the github and game file.

Right now, I'd say about half the content has been uploaded. I've been getting content ready on a daily basis. My plan is to upload all the content and then begin to build out the various interactions and NPC plotting-- which you really can't do until the chessboard is all filed up. I'm almost there and should have all the remaining NPC files uploaded by early next week. At that point, I'll dive back in and begin plotting all the various paths to victory. Thrawn's taking the month off, as we await feedback. When he's back in the saddle in February, he'll be working on alternative dialogue trees so you can take different paths within the same interaction, multiplying different player options and increasingly the range of actions.

At this stage, I'm thinking Deborah version will be ready by May (?). That said, the game and universe is flexible enough to allow for more content to be added, so Deborah prolly won't be the 'final' release. Depending on player requests, ideas, suggestions and feedback, I see loads more that could be added to enlarge the game and enhance the player experience. That's not even considering options like adding a soundtrack, SFX, NPC voice overs etc.

Two more points before moving on to the last kinda important topic I wanted to introduce. First, Thrawn is quite keen to use the new template on the next game. I think it makes sense, so we're looking at a re-imaging of SOTU using the new CMan template. Any thoughts on this? ALSO, I have NOT abandoned Strange Bedfellows novelisation! I promise I will squeeze out a new chapter before end of the month!

OK, on to the 'kinda important' thing. I have recognised for a long time that the Directors+ supporters have not received sufficient rewards for support and certainly not our C Suite and Board level supporters. The release of what I believe may be our best game yet is the time to redress this situation. I'm thinking of two ways to reward these heroes.

First, is the game content itself. With the caveat that whatever is added needs to work with the thematics of the game, I'd like to add in-game event cycles/NPCs inspired by the top supporters. Second, I can rename game locations, NPCs, etc. I'm also happy to have top level supporters in the game itself, playing a variety of roles. Would any of this be of interest?

Second-- MERCH! I've been thinking of simple items that would relate to the game itself. Ideas include: an Artemis Corporate Entry pass, a Selectacorp keychain, Artemis chastity belt keys engraved with NPC names, Metropolitan Club tie pin or enamel button, etc. These items would be sent to supporters at no charge, as well as to new members. I haven't worked out the costs or logistics but it seemed to be that holding a tangible theme related item might enhance gameplay and the general experience. I do NOT envision setting up a merch store. These rewards would be related totally to supporters and not a way to generate additional income (except insofar as it might spur interest in supporting at a higher level). I'm open to any thoughts you may have here. I have not come with a fleshed out plan as I'm more interested in determining if there's any interest in this or not. I do see a hierarchy of merch, starting with Board level down to our Managers, which seems like a reasonable cut-off.

OK-- let me know what you think! If there's any interest in the above, let's discuss a path forward.