Back in December 2019; Alex flew to North Carolina to meet up with an artist named Sarah to discuss the art concepts needed for Dogs BOND. We had a dream and some "ruff" ideas.
Fast forward to December 2020 - Dogs BOND was successfully funded and we're holding our Pre-Production Copy (PPC) in our hands!
A Pre-Production Copy (PPC) sends us as a proof of concept for our review prior to printing massive quantities. This is extremely important in the quality assurance process for small, independent, game publishers such as ourselves. We are able to review print quality of the paper, the finish on the cards themselves, the color values and warmth in the illustrations, and also how do the cards feel with the appropriate finishes.
Color correction: Even though Sarah and Kiki worked diligently and use universally understood color values in CMYK and the computer has the values; there can sometimes be issues with the color mixing and printing on paper when it's at a factory. Since this is such a vibrant and colorful game, it only made sense for us to focus our attention to detail here.
Paper finish: What's the difference between matte and glossy finishes? What about the difference between ivory, blue, or black core paper? Take a look at a common card game like Uno or a deck of cards. You'll notice a difference in that pulp weight and feel, but also do the cards shuffle nicely in between? That's something that we needed to physically feel to have confidence in the final project printing.
Sizing and printing safety: The team set very specific sizing margins for the cards and the boards to make sure things are well proportioned. It was critical for us to know that the actual cut of the cards and the tokens and the board would align to our standards as well.
Shipping a PPC from the factory: To minimize our guess work, we wanted to ensure that the factory that is printing the game gets true to our vision. You deserve nothing less.
What does all of this mean for you? Quality. Quality control at every step of the way. Your name is associated with us as one of our early supporters and we want you to share in the pride of accomplishment and the professional level of product. Quality also takes time. If anything, Alex is even more eager and excited than most of you to see this project printed and in your hands. But we're not cutting corners and we're not allowing any shortcuts. Thank you again for your support and your patience as we work on this final step of the process before printing and shipping.
Q: What did you feel when you got the PPC in your hands?
"I'm just excited to see this puppy so close to finished!" ~Alex
"It's scary to be so close to finished! The PPC quality was so high, so I'm excited for everyone to get their boxes - but mostly I was just anxious that we're so close to done!" ~ Sarah
Q: As artist/graphic designer; what are the things you're most proud to share with our audience about what's coming?
"There's a lot more warmth and highlight that the PPC printing is showing off better than our initial prototype. I'm most excited about the polished art - we got to use a lot of it in the campaign of course, but there's so many pieces nobody but us have seen yet, and they look great in print!" ~Sarah
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