Update #19/20: Meet the Artist: Gene Luen Yang, Poll: ROOS and TROO Bits

Note: This is a copy of Update #19 & 20 from my Kickstarter campaign. Due to an error, the first part got posted but not the second, and Kickstarter doesn't allow you to edit updates after half an hour has passed. So the second part got posted as Update #20.

Meet the Artist: Gene Luen Yang

Gene Luen Yang is a writer and cartoonist whose comic books often (but not always) deal with Asian American identity. He's won a couple of Eisner Awards and has both illustrated his own comics and written comics illustrated by other artists. Later this year he's publishing a two-part work called Boxers & Saints which looks at the Boxer Rebellion from both sides: the protagonists in one book end up being the antagonists in the other. I thought that was a fascinating way to tell a story, one that offers multiple perspectives and interpretations of a common experience.

Gene's illustrations are more stylized and the bold lines and graphic qualities are almost iconic, which makes them great for a board game. Gene also has fun putting his own spin on iconic characters, as you can see from these Chinese opera versions of Captain American and Iron Man.

One comic that Gene wrote (but didn't illustrate) that really struck a chord with me was The Eternal Smile, a collection of three interconnected stories illustrated by Derek Kirk Kim. The third one, "Urgent Request," is about a young woman named Janet who strikes up a romance with a Nigerian prince over the internet. While it seems at first that it's going to be some sort of cautionary tale about internet scams. Gene manages to make into something so much more, a hearfelt story about the power of make believe.

For more about Gene, you can visit his website GeneYang.com.

Poll: ROOS and TROO Bits

Hi, we're getting closer to our "Double Your Fun" stretch goal where we double the number of most of the components (not the boards, for instance) in each game. One backer made a good point: he would like to try Emperor's New Clothes with a wide range of players and asked if, when the components are doubled, if he could get one set of ROOS bits and one set of Typical Regulated Operator Optical (TROO), conventionally colored bits.

I checked in with Game Salute, and it would be tricky to have a bunch of different options if we hit that Double level, if some people wanted all ROOS bits and some wanted TROO bits and some wanted half and half. The easiest solution would be for everyone to get half and half: in fact, that would mean that you get exactly what you're pledging for right now, plus a free set of the other type of bits at no extra cost. But I'm wondering if there are a lot of backers who would prefer to have all of their bits either conventionally colored or ROOS. If it seems like a majority of people want all of one type, then we'd go with just those two options at the end, without a half-and-half option.
The disadvantage to having half-and-half, of course, is that you still run into the same issues of running out of resource cubes and having to make do with other markers, or else mixing up your ROOS and TROO bits. (In which case you'll probably need to rely on a non-gamer to help you sort those apart.)

We are also considering offering extra packs of Bits as an add-on, so you can just increase your pledge and throw in either ROOS or TROO bits along with the PennyGems and T-shirts. Game Salute will provide more details about this before the final funding is complete, but that way even if we don't hit the Double Your Fun goal you'll still be able to get both types of bits without having to pledge for two copies of the game.

Speaking of which, if you are interested in getting multiple copies of the game, this works the same was as the add-ons. Simply hit the "Manage Your Pledge" button and increase your pledge amount by whichever version of the game you'd like to add. For instance, if you're currently backing at THE EMPEROR early bird level for $70 but you'd like to add on a copy of the compact version, increase your pledge to $95 ($70 for the deluxe, $25 for the compact) and leave your reward level selection at THE EMPEROR. If you've already pledged for at least one copy of the game, we'll honor the early bird prices for the add-ons even if those early bird slots fill up.

So, which would you prefer in your box: all the same type of bits, or half and half? Let us know in the comments!