New campaign set to launch in January 2016

Howdy Backers!

Thank you so much for backing Lineage. The name of the game has changed to Wu Wei: Journey of the Changing Path and the next campaign is set for January 2016. Please take a look at https://graywolfgames.com/wuwei to see all the new art and updated information. I’m still filling out out the ‘Game Play’ section so please bear with me.

A year and a half ago, Gray Wolf Games launched a campaign for LINEAGE: The Martial Arts Strategy Game. We were able to raise $24K of our $40K goal but Kickstarter requires campaign creators to reach their total funding goal in order to keep any of the funds. As heartbreaking as it was to leave that much money on the table, I still view the campaign as a success. The feedback I received from the community has been invaluable and the exposure created a tremendous opportunity for growth. Now I’m here to tell you that I’m gearing up for a second campaign! It’s been a crazy year full of production research, rule tweaks, new art, and amazing collaboration. I can’t wait to tell you all about it! Here we go!

I have changed the name of the game! I know. Parting is such sweet sorrow. After consulting a couple of trademark lawyers, it turns out “Lineage” the massive multiplayer online game from Korea is trademarked in the U.S. as an “action skill game” which is a broad term encompassing any and all gaming (in legalese) and it is incredibly difficult to contest. Even adding “The Martial Arts Strategy Game” to the end wouldn’t work because trademark takes word order into consideration. “Martial Arts Lineage” was another option but likely not unique enough to trademark. As a result, I have renamed the game “Wu Wei” and this first installment is called “Journey of the Changing Path”.

無爲 Wu Wei (woo-way) means “effortless action”

Google “wu wei” and you will find a concept from Taoism that literally means “non-doing” or “doing without doing”. I think this paradox is really a short hand for a greater concept centered around the idea of acting within the natural flow of the universe. As it pertains to the game, I’ve chosen to adopt the definition “effortless action”. In addition, I have filed for the trademark for “Wu Wei”. Every time I look at the registered trademark next to the logo I sort of laugh because it feels like trying to trademark a universal concept but it’s really just to protect the company and the future of the game.

The other thing you may have noticed is the beautiful artwork adorning the box. I have been working with my brother Matt Waggle to develop the look and feel of the game. I think you will agree that he has nailed it.

Shortly after the first campaign ended I took a position with Panda Game Manufacturing as a project manager. Believe me when I say that game manufacturing is a complex process with a lot of moving parts. Fortunately for me (and for Wu Wei), I have had the unique privilege and opportunity to work through the entire manufacturing process with the PandaGM team and our clients on several amazing titles. Like many other designers I started planning my first Kickstarter campaign with a quote from PandaGM. In fact, a good portion of the board game community comes to PandaGM to get an idea of how much their game will cost to produce. Sign up for an account at http://pandagm.com and use our new and improved quote system (I programmed it so fair warning ha ha!) if you are interested in making your own game. All that being said, I now have a clearer vision for how files need to be prepped, timelines, and production costs. All of this can only help the process of creating my own game.

Lastly, I live in North Hollywood and I happen to live down the street from the creators of an awesome game called CHAOSMOS. Joey Vigour and Matt Austin from Mirror Box Games (http://www.mirrorboxgames.com) have been extremely generous with their time and expertise. Thanks in part to their notes and professional courtesy I will have a brand new rule book that includes three different levels of play: student, master, and grandmaster levels! This lowers the barrier of entry to this game and has allowed me to lower the minimum age range. Now kids (and adults) 8 and up have a level to start from and can grow with the game into masters and eventually grandmasters. I will let you know as soon as I have a new PDF up for you to peruse.

Okay! That’s it for now. There will be more in the near future. I just wanted to reach out and share some of the good news. Thanks again for supporting the last campaign. I hope to see you on the next leg of this journey!

Sincerely,

Justin

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