I am going to be brutally honest and I will attach a trigger warning for mental health discussuion. Nothing I've written is designed to be explicit or troubing.  And i am in myself well enough to share. 

The Dark After Dawn is a Tabletop Role-playing game; but more than that is the ultimate expression of my own Imagination.  While some enemies, scenarios, themes may seem familiar (vampires, zombies are two examples) They have been approached differently to reflect a specific form of expression.   

 The way in which we as people survive every day! A fact that is seemingly more difficult by the way in which War, Corruption, Systemic violence, institutional racism, Gender Inequality, and many others and have tarnished the world.   

 And yet here we are! Me typing and perhaps you are reading! It means we are still here and still fighting! 

 For me that struggle is Mental Health! 

 On the worst day of my life for at least ten years; I sat down to write as form of therapy, to try to unravel some of the deeper aspects of myself that needed freeing. For the sake of both learning and for recovery.  I wrote the beginning of a story which featured a character who on the night he tried to kill himself (in remarkably similar circumstances to my own near attempt in 2015) awakens to a world of mystical horror. Whose sheer trauma unlocks access to unimaginable power, to fight the personification of his emotion- one that is designed based on a hallucination during another such terrible) but is able find the strength to walk away! Which thankfully I did! For I am now married to my wonderful wife and have a beautiful ten-month-old Boy.

 When finally, I couldn’t write anymore. It was because I found myself stuck. “Why?”, I thought. I still have so much more to work on.

 And true I do! But I still have so many things I want to fight for and against. Which reminded me of the many hours I’ve spent dreaming of fighting bad guys, playing video games, and exploring the settings of TTRPGS.  Many of which had dark themes and explored contentious and incredibly important discourses through play.

 Thinking on that, When I began to write down what things I would fight if I had the ultimate power to do so! It didn’t take long before they like my hallucination from years before. Could be crafted and designed in such a way they could be both explored and fought literally! With Dice and Paper, that I could take them to a point where they did not have power but could inspire that same sense of Will that had gripped me as kid, to be a Jedi, a member of the Thundercat’s or a Rogue in the World of Dungeons and Dragons.

 This is when the Dark after Dawn was born! 

Finding mechanics I loved to use was fun; and soon and surely (as it still is), the base of a game began to devlop. Wow I could share this with the world? No surely not! Doubt creeped in and quite frankly the idea began to terrorfy me.  

Until i discovered this amazing community of itch and twitter and other social media platforms! Who have helped me understnd how to design, provided incredible Art (for even those inner horrors) and pushed this project to nearly 200 views and active crowdfunding.  

And honeslty? I'm already overwhelemed with the level of support and kindness that doing so has shown. I didn't think that you could come so close to fuffiling a dream of creating  a meaningful piece of fiction and finding the confidence to share it with others!  Which is why I am sharing this with you now.  

It is my aim to see this through to a high quality product and an expansive game line of other ideas and stories which can attach to the Dark After Dawn World! To show my Son that dreams can be achieved even under the most difficult of circumstances. 

But frankly i'm not the best Artist, or editor and i don't have the all the means and money to make it what I know it can be.  

Which is why if your reading this. I am asking for your help! 

On the front page and on a previous dev blog is information on itchfunding and preorders (including rewards, unlockables and communty copies for those who do), which through orders and various stretch goals which will appear periodically and making it possible for to aqquire the ability and rescources to make this a reality!   It already is forming at such a rate and I will explore specfics in further posts on twitter and in devlopment blogs but there is still much more work to be done. To take this into the startosphere. 

Which is why I ask and would be forever greatful for thhe opportunity to present you all with a complete copy of The Dark After Dawn: A game of realistic mystical horror and mind bending, life-changing  mayhem.  

Thank you