So sorry for the delay but we had some technical issues and ultimately lost EVERY single Truth & Trolls email. We’re working on the important stuff because recreating it all is impossible. First and foremost, we need to get your SWAG BAGS out the door to you. Fortunately I ordered the items when I had the sizes (see pic) but since then the emails disintegrated so I don’t know who gets what size or where to send each bag.
Please read on because Kenzie wants your advice on a few things but no matter what, please be sure to hit “Reply” above and answer these 3 questions so you can get your SWAG this week:
The plan is to do a Kickstarter update later today or tomorrow with a link to download the unencrypted game. Anyone without RPGMaker can play as usual, but for those interested that have RPGMaker, they can actually look under the hood and springboard off of what Kenzie started and go on to create their own vision or version of the game). Kenzie’s curious to know what others do with the characters and fairly certain she’ll learn more about making games if she does it this way rather than just releasing the encrypted game. I think she’s envisioning a community where people have fun and expand on the game she started. She’s ten and has pretty thick skin from her brother but she’s a little worried about her mom (i.e., me being vilified). I said I wasn’t scared because I knew the truth and I hope any negativity or meanness is at least funny and actually teaches us something in the process. Sarcasm and dry wit are fair game (and encouraged) but hopefully outright meanness will be shut down by the group. Either way, it’s going back to the power of the crowd.
So…the goal here is to give this group – our official beta team – a heads up and see if you had any advice or feedback before posting the Kickstarter Update and releasing the game to the public. The thinking is to open it up so anyone can download the game for free but we’re torn between charging a slight premium for the unencrypted game to non-Kickstarters so the funds can be used to further Kenzie’s passion project to get more kids coding and playing with technology. In addition to making her first video game, she’s decided she wants to be CEO of her own company, Kenzie & Company (a work in process), to create engaging play alternatives that ultimately introduce and teach younger kids about technology, programming and entrepreneurship. Today, most energy in this area is directed at high school kids but by then, those teenagers think they know it all and frankly it’s too late to really engage them. Kenzie actually wonders what she’d being doing now if she’d started learning about coding and technology earlier.
After meeting over 500 female CEOs, Kenzie decided that’s what she wanted to do next. Despite being ten (or precisely because she’s ten), she just assumes it’s doable. And I’m certainly not going to tell her it’s not. I’d love to hear what you all think? As always, honest and candid feedback as well as new ideas are both encouraged and appreciated because now more than ever, we realize we don’t know what we don’t know!
In addition to making some fun Android apps (including what she’s called Whack-a-Troll, Whack-a-Brother and Sarcastic Magic 8 Ball), Kenzie and her Dad have created a card game that mimics a bit of Magic the Gathering’s gameplay where you battle one another for victory but it’s far simpler and intended specifically for kids but is fun and quick enough for adults to play with them. The goal of the game is to gather together the cards needed to complete a computer system before your opponent. That’s a picture to the left of the cards Kenzie designed along with the instructions and game play details. She wants to do the next game as a battle to build a motherboard and then battles to create programs. So there’d be one game for creating a program with JavaScript and another for Scratch, Ruby, etc. She likes the overall name TechTitans with a sub-title for each game (e.g., TechTitans: Battle over Hardware). Yes? No? Maybe So?
I’m sure you’re incredibly busy so we truly appreciate your feedback and support AND LOOK FORWARD TO FINALLY GETTING YOU THESE KILLER SWAG BAGS KENZIE’S SO PROUD OF!
Thanks,
Susan (and Kenzie) Wilson
P.S. Don’t forget to at least reply with your shirt size and address. But I hope you’ll take a minute to share your feedback on the additional info. provided as Kenzie’s more likely to listen to you than me as she appears to enjoy doing THE EXACT OPPOSITE of whatever I say (which is why this has taken so long IMHO
& I apologize for that. But as this remains Kenzie’s project, it is what it is. Thanks again!
