Testing, testing

I have all the art for Camp Nightmare ready to go and uploaded to TheGameCrafter.com.  Last night I was sitting at my computer, work completed, staring at the Confirm Order button.  All I have to do to get 100 copies of the game to launch towards my place is hit the button, pay ~$3200, and wait.  It is a nerve wracking sort of situation.

Thing is, there are two real options.  Option one is to just hit the button and hope.  I *think* I have everything done correctly, uploaded the way it should be, and all the stuff should fit.  But if 100 copies arrive and I made some silly error in the UI I could have 100 copies of junk.  I have a lot of confidence in my abilities, but there are so many things that could go wrong.  The first box I wanted to order would never have worked because it has a divided in it that makes adding in instructions infeasible.  Only way to find that out is to get screwed by it, or randomly get advice to that effect.  I dodged that bullet... but what other bullets are speeding towards me that I don't know about?

The other option is to just order a single copy and if it arrives and all is well then I can order the whole shebang.  This is the sensible choice, but it means that I won't be able to get all the copies in time for Back To The Lounge #15 which is happening in about four weeks.  I don't have to have the copies for then, I suppose, but I have been slugging away at this for so long it would feel absurd to show up at my annual gaming extravaganza without my game in tow.  Somehow it feels like defeat to have a single copy show up, examine it to see it is all well, and then go back and do the thing I should have done in the first place.

Suprisingly my money demon wasn't even able to convince me to take option 2 and be safe.  I want it done, I want the stuff here, and I sat on the fence, torn between confidence and doubt, money and desire.

Wendy, on the other hand, thought ordering all of the games at once and just hoping that all was well was a silly proposition.  There will be more years, time isn't running out, and throwing away that kind of money on a mistake is foolish, or so she says.

She is right, most certainly.

Then I found out that TheGameCrafter will only send you one test copy for your first order anyway.  They (quite sensibly!) don't want people ordering huge stacks of games and then freaking out and trying to cancel their credit card payments when a tiny error in uploading means the game is completely ruined.

So my dilemma solved itself.  No copies of Camp Nightmare to sell at Back To The Lounge... but when I do get them they will be done right.

Also if you want to play games all day with a bunch of middle aged former mathies in Waterloo this Easter Friday, then hit up that Back To The Lounge thing.