In order to be ready for the launch of the Kickstarter of Facing the Titan, I am leading several tasks at the same time: campaign planning, writing (and rewriting) rules, layout, translation (from french to english), communication, etc...
Today, I'm going to talk about layout. Or rather, I'll show you things.
My main objective is to provide the game in the form of a physical book. To do this, I will go through print-on-demand, via DrivethruRPG (which will also handle PDFs). There may be a Lulu version, but it will come later.
To be ready and not to work stupidly on an incompatible layout and software, I made a first test printing of the game, very incomplete, but with different layouts and different adjustments. I received this first proof, a soft cover booklet in 6 "x9" format (about 15x23cm), in black and white inside. Here is the result in pictures.
The text is in french as it's my language, and I work first in it (and it has special characters that are good to catch beforehand).
What can I say about this first test? Well, bleed is not an exact science! I need to improve my template to have more consistency on the edges of the pages, but this will be done without too much fuss. Similarly, on the cover (not definitive, I would probably leave on the name in white). The bottom is cut too close, I have to manage the margin better.
Otherwise, I could also notice the appearance of a strange symbol: "NO GLYPH". An unknown character that has slipped into the file. To be corrected and monitored.
Finally, the text is too close to the middle margin. I have to widen it a little bit for a better reading comfort. I also have some spacings that looked good on the screen, but need to be revised after the physical version has been in my hands.
In short, I was right to do this test proof. This allows me to fix my templates quickly, so I don't have to redo a lot of layout. And then I confirm a lot of things: font size, contrasts, software use (because I don't use the software recommended by DTRPG).
See you soon for more news!