Needless to say, the biggest news around here in the Shoggoth pits is Call of Cthulhu 7th edition (if you haven’t checked out the Kickstarter for it yet, you can do so here). I’ve been putting together design elements and resources, gathering fonts, and tinkering with page design. After some early struggles with InDesign not bending to my will, i’ve managed to get the start of a framework going for the basic page layout. Right now, i’m getting really fussy with fonts, and still haven’t decided on the final font for the header. But other parts are coming together, and i’m (mostly) happy with the results so far.
Part of the thrill and terror of this sort of project is that i feel that in some ways, i need to pull out all the stops, and use every ounce of skill and technique that i’ve learned over the years to make this the best book it can be. It also means a) still trying new things, and b) making sure i stick to my function-over-form rule.
I’ve been seeing a lot of clamor lately about “FFG edition/Spanish edition/French edition looks so gorgeous! That’s what we want!” on the interwebs. It would be really easy to try to mimic those designs, and i understand that some gamers really want a pretty book. But as a Keeper myself, i know that the first thing i want out of a rulebook is for it to allow me to read it easily, and find the information i need quickly. I cannot in good conscience let the organization of a book suffer to make it look more attractive.
Since i’ve been doing book design, i’ve by and large trusted my gut, as to what looked and felt right. That’s what has gotten me to this point. I’m not about to change that now. So…i hope people will be able to trust my judgement.
In other news, i’ve finished off Grimscribe’s Puppets (though i need to send the files off to MRP), and i’m making a lot of headway with my first book for Montag Press. I’m also gearing up layout for Golden Goblin’s first book, really diving back into art deco styling.
