About this project
The Gamers: Episode 1
$172,297
3,035
We're funding the 45-minute pilot episode of a comedy about tabletop roleplaying games, based on Matt Vancil's cult classic THE GAMERS. Watch Season 0 below!
The Gamers: Episode 1 is The Gamers project fans have been asking us for since Dorkness Rising.
In The Shadow Menace we’re going back to what people loved about The Gamers and The Gamers: Dorkness Rising. Tabletop RPG comedy. Gamers sitting around the table, playing a roleplaying game, controlling fantasy characters. Then we cut to those fantasy characters and see what our actions are like as if they actually happened.
And in this show, we’re throwing in a twist. The fantasy world… is our own world! A modern fantasy. Gaming in the world you know, and what it looks like when you deal with real world situations through gaming mechanics.
WHAT ABOUT GAMERS 4 AND HOW DOES THIS SHOW FIT IN?
Who remembers when Iron Man launched the Marvel cinematic universe? And then along came Thor. And Captain America. And slowly, we all began to realize that an AVENGERS movie might actually happen.
Gamers 4 is our Avengers. It's an epic team-up, assembled to conclude a story that began in 2002 with The Gamers, when we laid the seeds of a payoff that would bring everything full circle.
We laid more groundwork in Dorkness Rising.
Then we expanded the mythology with Hands of Fate and Humans & Households. We put huge spoilers right in the middle of the screen and nobody caught them.
Now we're continuing the story with The Gamers: The Series. We're putting the game pieces on the board and pushing them closer together. We're filling in the missing details, learning The Shadow's agenda, exposing the rules of the GAMERS universe. And of course, we're sitting a group of players down at a table, giving them a quest, and laughing hard at how their actions play out within the world of the game.
It's old-school meets new-school, with the gaming comedy that you crave, plus a heist-film twist, where we get to see how adventures set in our world would play out, especially with a savvy group of rules lawyers, munchkins, and story players.
This is the Gamers that fans have been asking for. And if we get to make this show, we get to pay off everything when Gamers 4 launches.
We've been doing this since we created the genre in 2002 with the original The Gamers. And we've been right there beside you, laughing with you the whole time. Now, geek is chic and there is a huge influx of fantasy and gaming films, shows, and even gaming themed episodes of existing shows. Some are great! But even now, with gaming in the mainstream, some make gamers the butt of the joke. We continue to love and respect gaming and gamers and want to make more stuff to laugh at *with* you for years to come.
SO WHEN IS GAMERS 4?
We need three episodes (135 minutes total) to bring us from here to the events of Gamers 4. However, thanks to our Patreon supporters, we should be able to complete even more episodes of this show while Gamers 4 is in development. We can't rush the timeline for writing and planning Gamers 4, but we can tell as much of this story as possible while we're getting there.
“I backstab him with a ballista.” – Nimble, the Thief
“Someone finally understands us.” – Gamers at every convention ever
At the end of THE GAMERS, fantasy stereotypes Rogar, Nimble, Newmoon, and Ambrose… sorry, “Magellan”… accidentally stepped through a portal into our world, where they defeated their own players. They’ve been stuck here ever since, without direction or purpose. Until now.
A new gaming group has uncovered the group’s old character sheets and the original GM’s campaign notes. Now, the new players will set out to finish the story of the original Gamers as our heroes...
- encounter minions of The Shadow who have infiltrated our world
- search for a portal back to Fartherall
- apply a dose of fantasy justice to evildoers across the multiverse
Cutting back and forth between the players at the table and the game, this first episode abuses line-of-sight rules, wrestles with grappling tables, and explores what happens when retro gaming meets sophisticated rules lawyers and when fantasy-world characters try to defeat modern villains.
Featuring the returning talents of Nathan Rice (Newmoon), Justin McGregor (Magellan), Phil M Price (Nimble), and Matt Shimkus (Rogar), we are also proud to introduce a new group of players:
- Megan – Anna Clausen, the gamemaster
- Zach – Jay Irwin, Rogar's player
- Charlie – Maggie Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Newmoon's player
- Jamie – Khanh Doan, Magellan's player
- Brad – Brandon Simmons, Nimble's player
Plus a special appearance from Russell Hodgkinson (Z-NATION) as The Professor.
And thanks to our monthly Patreon supporters, we have already completed a special Season 0 of the show to bridge the gap between the original film and now, which you can watch right here (Rogar Episode coming very soon. It's finishing up post production):
But this isn’t just a show about the original film, THE GAMERS. While this series can stand entirely on its own for new gamers and fans to enjoy, it is also the next part of the meta-story, a saga that we’ve been telling for fifteen years. This series runs concurrently with the events of THE GAMERS: HANDS OF FATE and leads directly into THE GAMERS 4, which will conclude the adventures of Joanna, Lodge, Cass, Gary, and Leo. But don’t take our word for it: just watch this.
If you’re a hardcore Gamers fan, this is where we lay the final pieces into place for the explosive GAMERS 4 finale. In this show we’ll uncover The Shadow’s mysterious agenda, explain the link between Fartherall and our world, and reveal secrets and connections that we set up in THE GAMERS and DORKNESS RISING. In other words, the pay-off begins!
Our primary goal for this campaign is to raise enough money for the 45-minute pilot episode of THE GAMERS: SEASON ONE. Any extra funds raised will help increase our production value for this episode and help subsidize the cost of future Patreon-funded episodes, including a ridiculous DEMON HUNTERS and GAMERS crossover Christmas Special.
If you love THE GAMERS and want to help full episodes release on a regular basis, when this campaign ends we also encourage you to become a supporter of our monthly Patreon campaign. Our big goal is to receive enough ongoing Patreon support to stay in constant production on this series, rather than having to run multiple large Kickstarters throughout the year. Patreon supporters receive special benefits, including early access to new episodes, big discounts for add-ons in BackerKit, and producer credits.
WHO ARE WE?
We are Dead Gentlemen Productions and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment.
Dead Gentlemen Productions began in 1999 with the production of DEMON HUNTERS. Based on that film’s success, we went on to shoot a sequel, DEAD CAMPER LAKE, and followed up with THE GAMERS, REVAMPING DOYLE, HOUSE RULEZ, DORKNESS RISING, DEMON HUNTERS: ORIENTATION VIDEO, two editions of the DEMON HUNTERS RPG, and a DEMON HUNTERS online comic.
Zombie Orpheus Entertainment was founded in 2010, producing three seasons of JOURNEYQUEST, THE GAMERS: HANDS OF FATE, HUMANS & HOUSEHOLDS, NATURAL ONE, DARK DUNGEONS, ATTACKING THE DARKNESS, STROWLERS, and annual performances of THE GAMERS LIVE at Gen Con Indy.
THE GAMERS "THE SHADOW MENACE" is our latest collaboration between the two companies.
This season is produced by Don Early and Lindy Bousteld, written by Ben Dobyns, and directed by L. Gabriel Gonda, based on Matt Vancil’s THE GAMERS.
The supplemental Pathfinder adventure is created by Rogue Genius Games, a small third-party publisher, supporting mostly Pathfinder and Mutants & Masterminds, but also ICONS, Savage Worlds, and Call of Cthulhu. Titles range from small one page products called "#1 with a Bullet Point" that list a few new themed items, feats, or spells, to Gingerbread Kaiju, an edible family board game.
- Owen K.C. Stephens: Managing Partner, Game designer, developer, and publisher, Owen has worked for Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Publishing, Steve Jackson Games, White Wolf, and now for both Paizo and Green Ronin. He’s worked on projects such as the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, the Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game, the Black Company, Song of Ice and Fire, and Thieves World, as well as various titles for the d20 Modern, EverQuest, Gamma World, and Golarion game worlds.
- Stan!: Consigliere, Stan! is the award-winning author of 2 novels, 15 short stories, more than 60 gaming products, and innumerable cartoons and comics. He is currently employed by Wizards of the Coast as an editor and project manager. In times past, he has been an Associate Art Director for West End Games, an Editor and Game Designer for TSR, Inc., a Senior Designer and Producer for Wizards of the Coast, and a Creative Content Manager for Upper Deck Entertainment. Stan! is a founding member of The Game Mechanics, Inc. and Rogue Genius Games. He has done freelance writing and design for companies ranging from Green Ronin and Malhavoc Press, to Viz Media and Harper Collins Children’s Books.
- Lj Stephens: Hobbit Sauron, Lj is the art director, graphic designer, layout artist, chief financial officer, webmaster, and Unquestioned Tyrant (and cook) of Rogue Genius Games. Her first professional RPG work was a serious of illustrations for the Diomin campaign setting in 2000, and she has done illustration and / or layout work for OtherWorld Creations, Rogue Genius Games, and Rite Publishing.
WHEN WILL IT SHOOT?
This 45-minute episode will shoot in the fall of 2016 after Z-Nation wraps. (Many of our crew and several of our cast members work full time through the summer on SyFy’s zombie epic.)
Every backer gets access to our Backerkit store after the campaign is over. See below under Backerkit for more details.
NOTE ABOUT SIGNED PRODUCTS: Signed products will NOT be available as add-ons in Backerkit. The ongoing nature of the surveys and the story makes it prohibitively difficult to get all the signatures. That said, all PDFs will be available as add-ons in Backerkit.
$25 – DIGITAL DOWNLOADS
The 1080p digital downloads will include
- Season 0: "Newmoon"," Nimble", "Magellan", "Rogar", and "The Incident" (a campaign/Patreon exclusive!) - 35 minutes
- Season 1 Episode 1 - 45 minutes
- Special Features (commentaries, subtitles, outtakes, etc) - length TBD
Our digital downloads are always DRM-free, which means you can play, edit, and share them anywhere. And we'll deliver them in the highest-possible quality.
$55 – DVD/BLU-RAY COMBO PACKAGE + PDF ADVENTURE
At the $55 level, you get the DVD and the BluRay in one package. Both discs will include all of Season 0 and the 45-minute Season 1 pilot episode funded by this campaign.
- Season 0: "Newmoon"," Nimble", "Magellan", "Rogar", and "The Incident" (a campaign/Patreon exclusive!) - 35 minutes
- Season 1 Episode 1 - 45 minutes
- Special Features (commentaries, subtitles, outtakes, etc) - length TBD
As a BONUS on the discs, we will also include the original 45min short film that started this all for us, The Gamers, plus the short The Gamers: To Be Continued, which unites The Gamers cast with the Dorkness Rising/Hands of Fate cast!
ALSO at the $55 you get the PDF of the The Pathfinder Adventure by Rogue Genius Games that's based on this series. They have some VERY cool stuff in store for us and we're really excited to be working with our friends there on this.
$100 – EXCLUSIVE SIGNED COVER + COLOR MODULE
You get the Kickstarter Exclusive cover for the 2-disc set, signed by the cast and crew, plus
- a color softcover of the Pathfinder Adventure module from Rogue Genius.
- the PDF annotated script by Ben Dobyns, the writer and showrunner for The Gamers: Season One.
- PDF Character Sheets: These are the old school first edition Fartherall character sheets for the characters of Nimble, Newmoon, Rogar and Magellan. They are signed, and you get them as a PDF at the $100 level.
- All prior rewards
THE $150 LEVELS
There are two different choices, the Bag of Holding, or the T-shirt. We listened to many of our fans and offered both. Now if you want both, just pledge to one of the $250 levels to get it all.
- Bag of Holding: This is a Kickstarter Exclusive 17" x 20" drawstring bag with a custom imprint on the bag. Should be handy to hold a game book, notebook, some dice and pencils, a pair of pants, another pair of pants... you get the idea. Available as an add-on in Backerkit. This level also includes a print version of the signed and annotated script, including selected & signed story boards by our director, L. Gabriel Gonda
- (or) T-shirt: Once again a Kickstarter Exclusive T-shirt that will include a memorable, totally wearable quote. You will want this in your collection. Available as an add-on in Backerkit. This level also includes the selected & signed story boards by our director, L. Gabriel Gonda. (It does NOT include the signed script from the Bag of Holding level)
Both $150 levels also physical replicas of the character sheets, signed by the actors, and all prior rewards.
You'll choose one of the following tiers, plus receive all prior rewards.
- Backer Party - We're throwing a party in your honor in the Greater Seattle area (meaning potentially Everett). You'll get to hang out with us, have photo opportunities, get stuff signed, and check out early footage of the show. You're responsible for your own transportation to Seattle and lodging, so plan ahead on this one!
- (or) Background Prop - Send us something unique that you'd love to have appear in the show. This is subject to prior approval. We will contact you after the campaign is over to work out what you're sending us. If we find whatever you send us to be deemed inappropriate (which won't happen if you follow our instructions... RIGHT???), we reserve the right to not use the prop. You pay for the shipping, including shipping and handling if you want it returned. We are not responsible for damage to your prop, or if its lost, stolen, etc
- (or) Virtual Rendezvous: Have a 60-minute VIRTUAL RENDEZVOUS ($80) with available creators or cast on Google Hangouts. You can choose from Matt Vancil, Don Early, Ben Dobyns, Gabriel Gonda, Matt Shimkus, Jay Irwin, Steve Wolbrecht, Anna Clausen, Justin McGregor, Nathan Rice, Maggie Ferguson-Wagstaffe, or even more cast as they become available. Do you like Coffee? Are you more of a Tea person? Or, perhaps a Spirit is more your poison. Well, whatever you choose, that's what you'll get with this reward level, a drinking companion for an hour. If it gets weird to the point it makes us feel uncomfortable, we reserve the right to terminate the call at any time.
- (or) Backstage Pass: You get access to 360 Degree videos that will put you virtually on set. You control where you want to look in this near VR experience. Watch the filmmaking process as it unfolds, and be your own guide on this virtual set tour.
- (or) The Shadow's Minion: NEW! You get to name one of The Shadow's minions and it becomes canon in the world of Fartherall. Additionally the name will appear on a list of The Shadow's minions in the episode. We will create an audio recording of The Shadow saying your minion's name in some kind of line for use on your smartphone or computer. We will publish and publicly recognize all the backer-created minions of The Shadow once the episode releases. This Reward is now included in the $750 level and above.
Choose two of the $250 rewards, plus all lower-level rewards, and send us a photo of yourself (we will work with you on what kind of photo works best), and we will create a credit for you in the style of the character credits in the beginning of the show.
$500 Reward - Red Card: NEW! Choose two of the $250 rewards, plus all lower-level rewards, AND you receive a much-coveted Red Card. This allows you to flag bad puns, off-color remarks, or other violations by our cast and crew, both from set and in-person at conventions. We'll send that person to time out, sub in somebody new, and film and upload the results for you. And now you can bring your Red Card with you, with a dual-color etched metal card (2.75 x 4.5 inch) that includes your name and backer number. This Reward is now included in the $750 level and above.
$750 REWARD LEVEL
Receive all prior rewards, plus a signed print of the Definitive Gamers Timeline. That's all of the things!
BENEFACTOR REWARD LEVELS
This is really important, so read carefully:
We will charge for all shipping after the campaign in BackerKit. In order for your rewards to ship, you will need to pay shipping fees at that time. Do NOT add shipping fees to your pledge now.
The Short Version—
- International Backers: expect to pay less than $9.00 in BackerKit for base shipping on the $55 reward.
- Domestic Backers: expect to pay less than $5.00 in BackerKit for base shipping on the $55 reward.
The Long Version, for people who like details—
- International Backers: we are working with a third-party agency to fulfill your orders from warehouses in Europe, Canada, and Australia. This should help cut your typical U.S. shipping costs by a huge margin. However, please be aware that you may still be responsible for import duties, and that we must comply with international law and cannot mark your reward as a gift or as a zero-value item. Duties will not be included in your shipping charge, with one exception...
- EU Backers: We will include VAT for EU members when we charge for shipping in BackerKit. That way your package should arrive with much less hassle and holdup. And a bit faster as well.
- Domestic Backers: we want to get the best-possible shipping and handling rate for you. Rather than over-estimating expenses now, we will charge actual rates when we are ready to ship.
- All Backers: by handling shipping this way, we reduce unknown costs now, which means we know exactly how much we can put into the production budget, and then we can use economy of scale to make specific shipping orders with exact details.
What will shipping cost, you ask?
- International orders will average $.99 handling per item, plus local shipping costs. This should still be much less than you have paid in the past. (For example, in 2013 our cost to ship a DVD internationally began at $8.59 and went up from there as the weight increased.) Unfortunately, we cannot calculate this more precisely until we know our volume and can negotiate for the best rate possible.
- Domestic orders will start at the current Media Mail rate for a five ounce parcel, plus a minimum of $.25 handling per item. You can estimate that shipping will begin around $3.99, plus more for larger or heavier packages that include more than a DVD. Again, we'll use our volume to negotiate for the best-possible quote.
ADD-ONS & BACKERKIT
What is BackerKit?
When the Kickstarter campaign is over, we will need to finalize the details of your rewards, your address, and that sort of thing. That happens in the form of a survey that we email out through BackerKit. When you fill that out, you will have an opportunity to purchase add-ons to your reward. You'll be charged shipping for the Kicsktarter reward, and for the additional items you pick up. So it's kind of like the checkout stand at the store.
When will the survey be sent out?
Not for at least 30 days after the Kickstarter ends. We're buggering off to Gen Con in Indianapolis after the campaign ends, and when we get back we will be gearing up for production... so super busy. Once the dust settles we should be able to get the survey out to you so you can pick up some tempting add-ons, which will help raise more money for the project. So make no mistake, we want to get this out the door asap.
Add-ons
In Backerkit you will find add-ons and exclusives, such as:
- Exclusive T-shirt(s)
- Digital Downloads
- Soundtracks
- Rewards available at higher levels that aren't limited or signed, such as the Bag of Holding
- The previous films like:
And more!!!
Risks and challenges
As with any film project, there's a ton of things that could go wrong that we just can't plan for. And with any Kickstarter, there may be delays, challenges, changes, and whatnot that may occur in trying to fulfill the rewards. This is not our first rodeo, thankfully. We've been through giant storms, generators catching fire, last minute casting changes, and toddlers helping to pack packages.
Between Zombie Orpheus Entertainment and Dead Gentlemen Productions, we have EXTENSIVE experience with this process. We know how to communicate when delays or the unexpected comes up. We're prompt in responding to backer inquiries, and we know how to deliver on our promises.
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Funding period
- (24 days)