Kickstarter

Dear backers, get ready for a novel.

Shipping update:

As some of you already know since you’ve gotten e-mails about your replacements, we are finally starting to send out replacement packages, yay! Now you may ask, "Well geez guys, why is it taking so long?" The reason why is because our budget was incredibly tight after Christmas, and didn’t loosen at all until about February, and since we ran out of the majority of the materials we sent out for the Kickstarter rewards, we had to order more. We couldn’t order more until we had our budget confirmed, and even though we had ordered some replacements, we still had to wait until the majority of them arrived before we could start sending them out.

For example, only about 15 of your requested just a replacement pin, mouse pad, or art book, and we had those on hand so we could send them as soon as we were given the go-ahead by our budget-master. But those of you who requested a replacement art book, and a DVD, unfortunately have to wait until the extra DVDs come in before we can send your package. In addition to more goodies being ordered, we are also ordering more shipping materials. This includes more protection for the replacement posters, because there wouldn’t really be a point in sending out a second poster on its own in a box that will probably get flattened in transit.

The good news? The materials and placements are ordered, so now we just have to wait for them to arrive, and we can send out the packages. As soon as any materials come in, we look at the replacement list and see who’s replacement requests match all the materials we have at the time, and if they match, we’ll send them right away. We are getting just as tired of waiting as you guys are, (seriously, trust me on that) so if we’ve got all the stuff to send your package, we will, right away, and you will get an e-mail from backers@bfgames.biz immediately once your package is sent out so you can know when it is on its way. As always if there are any issues, always e-mail backers@bfgames.biz and if for whatever reason you don’t get a reply, it’s because something went wrong, and alternatively you can just send a PM in the forums to BFGEm. Try and keep all concerns and questions out of the Reward Pics thread, and just send them directly to Emily, because that thread is just meant to be a place to post pictures, and you’ll get a faster response if you PM directly. We really appreciate your patience and we so sincerely apologize for the century-long wait you have had to endure, but we hope you understand and we will, as always, keep you updated.

Porting and retail release news: After making it to XBLA we took a few moments to celebrate with our company BBQ and live show, but we quickly got back on track and are now fully submerged in the PS3 port. We are still in the submission process with Sony but our release date is aimed for April, once that is finished, we will dive head-first into the Wii U port. If you want more information about the porting process, we made a mini-documentary with some of the team to explain what it's like. Check it out here.

The XBLA release has given us a pretty steady wave of new fans, especially in our online communities. Thanks to you guys we are even #2 in the top 10 German XBLA marketplace. Our retail PC version releases today, and is available for order on Amazon, and should be on the shelves any time now in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, France and US. There may be more countries in the future, but that of course is decided by our publisher.  

Live Show: We were so lucky and excited to have such a great live show, with Machinae Supremacy, The Gentleman Gamer, and 4 times as many viewers, including some members of the press here and there that got to take part in our goofy stream. We had a few raffle winners, lots of new footage and sneak peaks to show, including the new track for the DLC from MaSu. If you'd like to watch the show, go here. 

The next show will be April 4th, where we will announce the winners of our Fan Art Contest. Missing details on the contest? Click here!

Company Stuff: In Germany, Easter weekend means this Friday and Monday will be holidays, same goes for most of the EU but not for the US, who only gets Good Friday in most states. Just a heads up, our office will be closed from 7pm CET tonight to Tuesday morning, when normal office hours will occur. This means that you will get an out of office message when messaging the backer e-mail, but if there is some kind of backer emergency, you can always PM BFGEm on the forums to get an answer, because she has no life and always has time to solve backer problems.(She’s me.)

We hope you all have a great Easter Weekend, and that you’ll at least get a few moments of sunshine. Eat lots of chocolate, find lots of eggs, spend time with your families, and we’ll see you all on Tuesday.

Cheers,

Your BFG Team.

Let's Celebrate! 

We got through Microsoft's submission process and Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams has a final release date! You'll be able to buy it world-wide NEXT WEDNESDAY, March 20th, 2013 on XBOX LIVE ARCADE. The DVD-Edition will follow a week later and PSN in April. So tell us: how cool is that?

Just to clarify, the xbox version will not have a boxed version, and will be on XBLA for 1200 MSP. However the PC boxed version is available on Amazon, and can be pre-ordered!

Don't forget to celebrate with us the day after release, March 21st at 7pm CET on the BFG Live-Show. Tell us what you think so far of the game on x-box, hang out with the team, win some cool prizes, and join in an interview with the masters behind our metal soundtrack, Machinae Supremacy! More details at www.gianasisterstwisteddreams.com (just scroll past our release date announcement ;))

We know how excited that title makes you! Now times that by ten for how we feel!

Before we get down to the details, first we need to update you backers on your replacement shipments! This week we are finally starting to put together your replacement packages and send them out! We are still waiting on some materials to arrive (for anyone who got a note from Emily and Sarah) but we are no longer held back completely, and can get a move on with your replacements. For those of you who's packages were sent back, you are included in this! We are repackaging some of them that were damaged on their way back to us, then we will send them out. Every person who's item gets shipped will receive a confirmation e-mail from backers@bfgames.biz, and as always, if you have any issues or questions please e-mail us there.

Now for the celebrations!

We are celebrating Giana's First ever release on XBLA with two exciting events! On March 21st, 2013 at 7pm CET we will be hosting a very special Live Show in celebration of our first console release! It will be a show packed with fun extras including: 

 Official BFG Merch Raffle: Just join us in the Live Show chat and you are automatically entered! 

 Live Play-Through 

 Sneak Peek at our upcoming DLC 

 PLUS Live Skype Interview with Machinae Supremacy! 

Please send in your questions for us and for MaSu on FB, Twitter, Google+ or on the forums in our Bi-Weekly Live Show Planning Thread 

Fan Art Contest

We are looking for your BEST Giana Sisters fan art! Send us your most prized creative spin on Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams in a still image for a chance to WIN: 

 Top 10 Submissions: Official BFG T-Shirt 

 Top 3 Submissions: Official BFG T-shirt and Messenger Bag 

 WINNER: BFG T-shirt, Messenger bag, Promotion of your artwork website on our social media outlets AND 1 of 2 printed Canvases of your artwork, signed by the team, the other will hang in our office. 

 TO ENTER Step 1. Simply visit our facebook page by searching Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams or through the direct link at www.facebook.com/ProjectGiana, then select our competition app on the top of the page (next to likes).

 Step 2. YOUR VOTE determines the top ten! So even if you don't want to submit, head over to the voting gallery and pick your favorites! 

 Step 3. Tune in to our Bi-Weekly Live Show # 10 on April 4th, at 7pm when we will announce the winner! 

 Contest Rules:

 1. Submission DEADLINE: April 2nd, 2013 at 2pm CET 

 2. 1 submission per person 

 3. All artwork must be 100% original 

 4. Artwork must not contain nudity/offensive language 

 Help us decide by VOTING for your favorites in the voting gallery! The voting gallery tab will be in the competition app. Voting opens March 31st and ends April 4th at 12pm CET.

Click here for more details!

The PS3 version is still underway, while we don't have an official release scheduled yet it shouldn't be too much longer after the XBLA release!

See you on the 21st!

Hey all!

Before we get to the contest, just a quick reminder that if you haven't received your reward packages please e-mail us at backers@bfgames.biz so we can get you on the replacements list, so you will have a brand-new, completely-suffocated-in-bubble-wrap-package. Again, we are still waiting to be able to send out the packages do to severe budget restrictions and waiting on our replacement materials, but it shouldn't be too much longer now, and of course, as always you will be updated on the progress of your shipment, including a confirmation e-mail when your package has gone out. If you are having trouble getting ahold of us, we apologize, we would never ignore any of our backers and if for some reason you aren't getting a response to an e-mail, there is probably a technical reason, and we encourage you to post on our forums/facebook/twitter to make contact.

Some fun stuff!

We are always looking for ways to improve the quality of our live show. We love hanging out and talking to you guys live, and the last few discussions have gone really well, so we love to put as much effort as we can into the show despite the restrictions we have. Now that we have a license for the streaming application we are able to improve audio and video quality, and we'll be continuing all this week fiddling with the settings to try and improve it for the best possible viewing experience. One of the ways we want to improve the show is by adding an intro sequence! Since we love all the user created content that we get sent to us by you guys, we've decided to reach out to you to create our new live-show intro! Here is how it goes:

We provide you with the animated logo privately via e-mail, then you use it to create an intro sequence with the following requirements:

1. It must be maximum 15 seconds long 

2. Try really hard not to make it a supremely Giana-focused 

3. No copyrighted music or images (other than our own, that is, which you can get from MaSu's soundcloud)

Let us know on our Live Show Planning Thread  if you are interested, or if you don't want to be in on our forums then just let us know here in the comments, on facebook, or twitter. When we show the next intro sequence all depends on how many responses we get, we'd love to show it next show, but if we get a lot of responses we may just use the upcoming show as a 'voting' show, where we can show all the contenders and you guys can help us pick. Let's see how it goes, and stay tuned for updates! Have fun with it :)

Hey Backers!

Just a quick, tiny little update this week :)

Steam Update

 For those of you on Steam there has been a small update made, adding Russian to our languages and setting up the framework for a future alternative costume DLC. As we were testing and testing it suddenly became available to you guys, but this isn’t our latest patch, so don’t worry ;) A big patch is on its way! 

 Live Show 

We are back again on February 14th for our Live Show. Send us your questions and suggestions for discussion topics any way you can and tune in at 6:30pm CET at twitch.tv/blackforestgames. We’ll be testing out better streaming qualities and hopefully providing a much better viewing experience from then on.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely, BFG