Dear backers, I haven't issued an "official" Kickstarter update for a while, so I thought I'd send one out to let you know where things stand, in a question-and-answer format.

Where are you?

I am currently in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where I have been for the last couple of weeks since crossing over from Vietnam via fast boat from Chau Doc. I ended up getting rather sick after crossing over, so I spent my first week here in bed, part of the time at a hotel, and two days in a hospital on IV because my throat was swollen enough that I couldn't eat or (more importantly) drink. Inconvenient, but not serious, and my travel insurance should cover the hospitalization (fingers crossed). 

Since recovering Marisa and I have been exploring Phnom Penh, reading Cambodian history (astounding), and I've also been taking some time to program. Speaking of which...

When is your next game coming out?

Hopefully soon. I've started a couple of games about Vietnam (and had a couple of false starts), as well as one about Cambodia. I'll be sending out the beta links as soon as I can.

Where do the finances stand?

In total I spent $343 in Vietnam (with per diem spending of $9.76), which means the game trekking fund stands at $2,843, and my original travel plan is essentially on track. Complete budget info can be found at http://www.gametrekking.com/open-budget .

I guess that's about it! I recently posted a reflection of our time in Vietnam which you can read at: http://www.gametrekking.com/blog/vietnam-yin-and-yang . That post also contains links to my favorite photos taken there.

Thanks always for your support! If you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to email me at jm.magnuson@gmail.com .

Jordan

Dear backers, just a quick note to say that I have released my second Game Trekking game, another game about Taiwan, called The Kindness of Strangers. Much thanks to all of you who provided feedback on the beta builds!

You can play the final game in your browser at:

http://www.gametrekking.com/the-games/taiwan/the-kindness-of-strangers/play-now

I've also posted a reflection on the game making process at gametrekking.com, which you can read if you're interested, at:

http://www.gametrekking.com/blog/the-first-game-trekking-games

I hope you enjoy the game!

Jordan

Dear backers,

Just wanted to let you know that I've released my first game from "the road": a small, abstract offering about Taiwan, called... Taiwan. You can play the game at the following url:

http://www.gametrekking.com/the-games/taiwan/taiwan/play-now

If you experience any difficulties, or find any bugs, it would be great if you could let me know. Just send an email to jordan@gametrekking.com .

Much thanks to those of you who provided feedback on the game: you can find yourselves credited in the source code's readme file at https://github.com/JordanMagnuson/Status-Quo . If I left anyone out, please let me know!

Background

This game is a highly abstract offering, which came to be as I thought about trying to convey Taiwan's most central concern(s) as a nation in purely mechanistic form. Taiwan's political struggle with China may be the "obvious" theme for a game about the country, but it is also the theme that I couldn't run away from: just about every book and article I read while there, and many of the conversations I had with Taiwanese, kept coming back to that concern: it is the defining concern that has hung over Taiwan every day for the last many years. I hope the resulting game doesn't feel too cliché.

Part of me also hopes that it doesn't feel too abstract, but of course that hope is in vain, because the game is wholly abstract by intention. My second game about Taiwan, which will be forthcoming shortly (some of you have seen the betas), is an attempt to correct for my abstract bias, and create something textured by and based in the day-to-day experiences we had while trekking.

Thank you for your support!

--Jordan

I meant to include this in the update, but forgot. I thought as my backers you'd probably be interested to know where the finances stand for this project, after Taiwan, so here's a short report.

Days spent in Taiwan: 41
Total transportation expenses: $84
Total per diem expenses (food + lodging + misc): $548
Average per diem expenses: $13.37

Funds before Taiwan: $3,839
Remaining funds after Taiwan: $3,207

Seeing as average prices are higher in Taiwan than they are in most of Southeast Asia, I'm hoping to bring the per diem spending down a bit for this part of the world. In any case, there are enough funds left to cover $20 a day including transportation for over five more months, so things are essentially on track.

All of this, plus future spending will be logged at http://www.gametrekking.com/open-budget .

Thanks again!

Jordan