This is a follow-up to my original Google Docs Tips post from…gosh…4 years ago.

Our latest game, Bones Deep, is our first Itchfunding project. We made the book entirely with Google Docs (both the PDF and HTML versions).

UPDATE: We did end up launching a Kickstarter to fund a hardcover print run. There is a limit to what our Itchfunding project could do. But I still attribute our initial success to a successful itchfunding campaign!

This post will provide a brief overview of Itchfunding, then start a deep dive into making the most of Google Docs: navbars, sections, photos, HTML export, and other tips and tricks I learned along the way.

First, the obvious question:

Why not Kickstarter?

In the past, we’ve funded our big games using Kickstarter. Kickstarter can generate insane amounts of hype as well as some decent cash flow. But it comes with a price. This is how my last few Kickstarters have gone:

1. I finish my newest book. It’s fully written, playtested, and fun. I’m just missing art and layout. I spend 2 months preparing for a Kickstarter campaign; paying for teaser art, refining your pitches, prepping social media campaigns, newsletter updates, building anticipation, etc etc.
2. Then I launch. It’s a huge success! Tons of hype, money, etc. The campaign is exhausting and lasts a month.
3. Now it’s time to deliver. Wait on layout, artwork, prepare for shipping, backer rewards, collect shipping info, etc. This takes at least 3-4 months but can last up to a year for large projects.
4. It’s over. Finally. The book is out. The past 6 months of my life have been an exhausting whirlwind, but none of that time was spent actually writing or being creative. I’m burned out and tired. My blog is dead, all my social media has been marketing and hype, and my creativity was spent on re-phrasing the same pitch in 20 different ways.
5. I slowly get back into the groove and begin working on my next game.
6. My newest game is finished! I just need art and layout…

This is not a bad cycle by any means, but I’ve gone through it a few times by now and I’m ready for something different. Enter “Itchfunding”. Itch.io is a platform for indie video games. It’s exploded in popularity and become a haven for smaller creators who can’t get on the major storefronts. Recently a ton of tabletop RPG creators have started putting their games on Itch as well.

But what is Itchfunding?

Inspired by video games’ “Early Access” model, Itchfunding works the same way. Sell an unfinished version of your game on Itch for a reduced price. As the game sells more copies, you take that money and use it to improve the game: art, layout, writing, editing, etc. As the game gets better it sells even more copies, and so on.