Every Hero Needs A Sidekick

Every Hero Needs A Sidekick

The last few blogs I have devoted to fan-generated content and staff interviews. Now it is time to take a look at the company side of things. And there’s a lot going on at Evil Genius Games; so much so that it may take several blogs to cover it all. 

On the traditional publishing side, there are, of course, the Legendary Bundle, the Armory, and Intergalactic Heroes coming out, with Everyday Arcana and Military Heroes on the horizon. 

On the digital front, we continue to pump some great content into our Patreon, such as Goober Ramsley’s GORGON and Holepunch, and the holiday special, Holiday Heroes and Lump of Coal from Sigfried Trent and Bryan CP Steele. 

In organized play, REDEMPTION Assignment 9, Stained Glass (with the best REDEMPTION cover ever) will soon be released, and REDEMPTION Operation Twin Fates, a time-travel scenario with Immortal friends and foes, is coming along as well.

Meanwhile, on the licensing front, there are some exciting developments with regard to IP licensing, as well as something else that I cannot reveal at this time, but that I’m dying to tell you about (and will, just as soon as I can).  

Suffice it to say that, on the publishing side, it has been a little busy.

There are major developments on the technology side too. We have made substantial improvements to Dispatch, and parts of Sidekick are now moving toward completion. Together, Dispatch and Sidekick will represent major milestones toward our goal of becoming “the ultimate, modern-day, gaming ecosystem.” And, just to be clear, all of these developments cohere with our Code of Ethics and none utilize future technologies that were discouraged by our community and our fans. 

For those of you who don’t know, Sidekick is our digital platform and it will eventually combine a digital library and marketplace with character creation and self-publishing tools. Even pencil-and-paper purists will find something to love about Sidekick. And, for up-and-coming players and GMS from more recent generations that have grown up with digital tools and expect them as the norm, Sidekick will be a welcome addition to the Everyday Heroes ecosystem.

The first element to come to fruition, the digital library and marketplace, will contain digital versions of all of our published and digital products. Your personal library will contain all the products that you have purchased, as well as additional free materials that support Everyday Heroes players and GMs. A paid subscription will unlock additional capabilities. 

In looking to the future of publishing, we feel that digital books offer many distinct advantages over PDFs for both companies and consumers. And, as digital books add new features that cannot be added to PDFs, these advantages will only grow over time. PDF files are costly to produce, difficult to change, cumbersome to store and access, and unsatisfying in print. This is not to say, however, that we plan to abandon traditional publishing of satisfying, high-quality physical books like the upcoming Armory and Intergalactic Heroes. But for digital publications, the limitations of the PDF format are quickly overwhelming their former advantages for both publishers and consumers. In contrast, on Sidekick, our digital books will be able to offer at the outset: 

• Shortcuts: Shortcuts and cross-referencing that make rules and mechanics easier to find, learn, and use.
• Accessibility: The ability to increase font size for improved accessibility without “zooming.” For someone like me, who has to squint to make sense of tiny print fonts, this is a huge plus. 
• Light and Dark modes: For better contrast and readability, depending on the environment. 
• Multiple Devices: Availability on mobile devices and tablets, and an export to eReaders, so that you can have your library on the devices that work for you wherever you go.  
• Offline use: So you do not have to be connected to use your library.

Besides these improvements in functionality, we think that there are some very exciting possibilities for digital books that Sidekick opens up for us, our customers, and our community. For us, the ability to make improvements and corrections on the fly is a huge plus, because it means not having to gather, maintain, and keep track of errata on a web page until we can reprint and re-publish a product (while customers continue to purchase products that we could improve if we were able). And for our customers, digital versions present many opportunities for us to improve the aesthetics, accessibility, and enjoyability of our products. Imagine, for example: 

• Animations: Scene illustrations and other art that come to life with a click of a mouse. 
• Video Support: Easy-to-understand video illustrations that are incorporated into products like Quickstart Guides, Starter Sets, and Dispatch.  
• Accessibility: Text-to-speech options for those with reading or sight challenges. 
• Lexical Aids: Definitions of terms or background lore that appear on hover.
• Pronunciation Embeds: Audio for unclear or hard-to-pronounce names and terms.
• Music & Sounds: Adventures that are enhanced with options for sound effects and background soundtracks, 
• Audio Drama Dialogue: Character actors–professional or from our community–performing the “read aloud” sections (fair warning: I have dibs on Walt DeWalt).

Suffice it to say that all of us at Evil Genius Games are working diligently on a wide range of exciting products and services to expand and improve Everyday Heroes in ways that, just three years ago, were unimagined or unimaginable. Whether you are enjoying Everyday Heroes with your friends around your gaming table at home, at your favorite game store, at a convention, or online with other Everyday Heroes fans from around the globe, we are dedicated to providing you with amazing adventures to inspire you, and quality, accessible tools that make enjoying fun, modern game experiences inclusive of all.

Don’t miss the call to adventure: get your own Sidekick and join us and the other Everyday Heroes on Discord, Facebook, Dispatch, and in the Evil Genius Organized-Play (E.G.O.) Program. 

Because the world needs more Everyday Heroes!