Mud is a zine and solo roleplaying game about life as a golem.
We are also taking pre-orders for the first-ever print editions of our experimental roleplaying games Enter the Orb and You, an Astronaut.
Our nano games have been updated and redesigned for a special print run.
Thank you for being here!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Finalizing Mud update
almost 3 years ago
– Thu, May 06, 2021 at 09:04:36 PM
Miniature art-only draft version of Mud, printed so we can mark pages with notes.
Hey everyone!
We wanted to update with the status of Mud as we round the corner to finishing the zine. We’re currently doing the final pass on the art, cleaning up some of the early example illustrations from the zine, after which we’ll do a final proofreading and “playtesting” round to see how the story flows. Mud is a light-touch solo roleplaying game. It incorporates gentle activities and choose-your-own-adventure elements to support the golem’s journey. At this point, we’re working to make sure the story we want to tell flows from page to page in a way that feels satisfying and easy to read.
We’d mentioned the expanded game’s art in the last backer update. We leaned into a graphic novel style for the zine, and we’re really pleased with the look and feel. It’s added time to the project, and we appreciate your patience! We hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how it’s turned out :)
We’re still a few weeks away from finishing the final art and proofing pass, but we’ll share an update in the next few weeks when we’re ready to send the book to the printer.
March Mud update
about 3 years ago
– Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 11:13:30 AM
Hey everyone,
A quick update on our Mud progress!
First, a reminder to fill out your Backerkit survey if you haven’t already. Even if you’re not getting any add-ons, we’ll need your completed survey to ship your Mud rewards. If you didn’t get an email with a survey link, you can use the survey recovery link here:
We’re running a little behind on finalizing our work on the game, but we feel good about our progress. As Mud has taken shape over the past few months, we opted for a graphic novel style for many of the pages, especially in the early parts of the story as the golem encounters itself, other people, and language for the first time. We really like the shape the book has taken, but those panel-heavy pages have taken longer to complete. Thanks for your patience while we do our best work on Mud!
The golem leaving the sculptor's cottage to set out down the village path.
We’ll have another update in a few weeks as we get closer to printing and shipping. In the meantime, we’ll leave surveys open so folks can add or change shipping addresses or browse add-ons. If you’re looking for inspiration, our most popular add-on is Enter the Orb, a 20-30 minute 2-player game about early ‘90s computer animation.
See you soon, and happy spring!
Hannah & Evan
(Turtlebun)
Mud Backerkit now open
about 3 years ago
– Thu, Mar 11, 2021 at 11:14:04 AM
Hello! We wanted to let you know that the Mud Backerkit is now open. Through the Backerkit you can confirm your address so we can ship out your rewards when they’re ready, add additional copies of Mud if you’re so inclined, and pick up copies of our other roleplaying games, nano games, and zines.
You should receive an email shortly with a personalized link to fill out your survey. Keep an eye on whatever email you have connected to your Kickstarter account. If you don't receive an email, you can enter your email address to retrieve your survey here.
We will keep the Backerkit open for at least a few weeks while we finalize Mud and prepare to go to print. This is also an opportunity for folks who missed the campaign to order Mud and other add-ons through our pre-order store. We’d be very grateful if you shared the link to the pre-order store so it can reach as many eyes as possible!
Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you again for helping us bring this zine to life!
Best,
Hannah and Evan
(Turtlebun)
February Update - Backerkit prep and first illustrations!
about 3 years ago
– Tue, Feb 16, 2021 at 05:52:57 AM
Hello, we’re here with a quick February Mud update!
This month, we’re completing and proofing the zine from cover to cover, and preparing to launch the Mud Backerkit next week. The Backerkit will offer optional add-ons such as our other roleplaying games and T-shirts, and will allow you to adjust up your pledge to the nano game bundle if you’re so inclined.
We’ll have more information about how to fill out the Backerkit when it launches. In the meantime, check out some of the first illustrations of the zine! The golem awakens to find itself alone in a cottage. It doesn’t know who it is, what it is, or why it was created.
From here, the story introduces some light gameplay elements as you fill out your character sheet and begin a search for purpose.
We are still on track to print the game in March, with shipping planned for late March.
Wishing you all the best,
Hannah and Evan
The gameplay of Mud
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Jan 09, 2021 at 01:26:14 AM
From the beginning, the Mud zine has been part miniature graphic novel, part folktale, and part game. This month, we’ve focused our efforts on the pieces that make Mud a game.
As we design Mud, the size limitations of the zine-length format have encouraged us to unify and simplify the story we want to tell. The light-touch “game” elements have changed a lot over the drafting process. This week, we made some mock-ups of the zine to test our various ideas.
Doodle of Mud character sheet, which changes over time.
Mud will center around creating, consulting, and modifying a character sheet as you get to know yourself. We’re asking ourselves, what should the character sheet look like for a newly born creature? How do the lessons the golem learns in its travels imprint on the character sheet? What elements of that sheet and the self can be unwritten and erased, and what elements persist over time?
We’ll be answering those questions this month, taking February to complete and proof the zine’s art and writing, and are still on track to print and ship the game to you in March.
Thank you for coming on the journey with us! And, by the way, big kudos today to all of the organizers who helped with the Georgia election!
