Pico is a tabletop roleplaying game where you play as tiny bugs going on small adventures in a big world.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
200% Funding, Incoming Crabs, and the Final Week!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Dec 04, 2024 at 11:39:52 AM
A short update this time around, but one full of good news!
CRABS!
Yesterday we hit the 70k stretch goal, adding playable crabs to the Picodex. Because after all, with hard shells, snapping claws, and wiggly eyes, who can really say that crabs aren't bugs?
I mean, this guy probably has an opinion about it.
Hitting the crab tier also means a hefty 200% of the original funding goal has been reached, which is pretty impressive for a game about weird little bugs! How much further will we go? I guess you'll have to stick around to find out!
The Final Week & New High-Tier Spaces!
So with seven days left, there are a few things that need doing. The first is to add a couple of spaces to the higher-level backer tiers, for creating your own bug and having your pet as a picotitan. These new spaces should go live this friday, and I'll send another small update to signal that they're available. Consider this notice - there may be a rush to grab these, there may not, but we've had them requested numerous times so if you're one of those folks, the starting gun is about to fire!
For this final week, any extra publicity that you as backers can grab us would be incredible. Tell your friends, tell your pets, broadcast the kickstarter text on a loop to the squirrels in the garden - I don't know if they have KS accounts, but it's worth a shot. As you're reading this I'll be adding another stretch goal to the page, and if we hit that there might even be a secret final one there too!
The Special Edition Cover
The other thing that needs revealing is the special edition cover - we're currently waiting on approval from the printers over a few aspects of it (thickness of gold leaf, from what I understand), so I won't be able to show the final version, but in the next update I'll hopefully have something that's pretty close to it in terms of art.
That's all from me - thank you for the support, piconauts, and you should hear from me again on friday!
Felix
Work, Work, Work In Progress! Rough Character Creation Release
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Nov 28, 2024 at 07:28:13 AM
Afternoon, Piconauts! I've got an update for you that's absolutely jam-packed with new stuff!
As the campaign progresses, work on PICO continues behind the scenes. One thing that has been asked about more than just about anything else is the character creation rules, and today marks their public release! You can find them here on my itch page, right where this handy link takes you (you can also pick up the Hogwild playtest packet there if you haven't got it already).
These rules are a work in progress - some of the pages feel finished, others are a bit... Well, I'll generously say 'scrappy' :P. When I first released the Wildsea, what seems like aeons ago now, everything was scrappy and I didn't feel bad about it at all. Now we live in a brighter, shinier future (in terms of me knowing how to put a book together), so I worry about releasing work-in-progress materials, but at the end of the day I just had to take the plunge and throw it out there.
Now with helpful boxes!
The character sheet is particularly basic at the moment, and everything needs an edit pass and a few updates (goodbye Defend skill, hello Shield skill being one of those things that haven't trickled down to players yet). We don't even have a page background yet, it's just white space at the moment! I'm sure you'll find a handful of errors too, and - as mentioned on the itch page - there will definitely be aspects and augments that reference Journey rules, something that hasn't been released yet. Ignore those bits, as best you can, and focus on the other 95%. It's enough to make some very cool bugs, and for a work in progress I'm pretty proud of how things are shaping up.
... And more is on the way, likely sooner than you think.
FEEDBACK
That also means that it's the best time for feedback! Any thoughts or suggestions you have, throw them at me in the comments to this update. We've already had some great feedback, and some playtest reports, that have really helped shape the game throughout recent development.
Keep them coming!
STRETCH GOALS, COVERS, & NEW ART
The art parade continues, with zkarab working on both additional bugs for the core book and the special edition cover (which, if all goes well, we'll be showing off with the next update). And, with crustaceans on an ever-closer horizon, I guess he's going to have even more work to do!
And I've really got to find somewhere to put this little bug, an extra sketch zkarab came up with for the Slime page that doesn't quite fit there, but that I can't bear not seeing in the finished book somewhere.
That's right, we're almost at $70k in funding and we still have just under half of the campaign left to go. Where will it stop? No idea, but the trajectory, and support, have both been wonderful.
... And I really hope we get the Nekopolis stretch goal unlocked!
GOODBYE AND CONGRATULATIONS - SLUGBLASTER
So that's time to sign off for me, but not without wishing heartfelt congratulations to Mikey Hamm, of Slublaster fame, for being featured as the winner of the first season of Quinns Quest! And given that he's a PICO guest writer, I'm doubly pleased :)
Having done conventions with the guy, and played the game, I'm not surprised it's a winner. Nice job, Mikey! And published by Mythworks too, no less!
So, until next time, people!
Felix out!
60k Raised, Stretch Goal Hit, and 1000 Backers - What A Day!
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Nov 23, 2024 at 08:16:12 AM
Welcome piconauts, and do I have a slew of good news for you!
We hit two major milestones recently, one last night and one early this morning. I'm not going to go on about them - they're up in the title, after all - but I'm blown away by the support. I say it a lot, but I'm going to say it again... thank you, everyone.
So if I'm doing a celebratory update anyway, I might as well throw some fun stuff your way as well!
THE NEWLY-UNLOCKED SKYGLASS DOME
I'll save the froglin bonus we just unlocked for later, but I will give you a few details of the now-funded Skyglass Dome. It is, as some had guessed, an abandoned and overgrown greenhouse/hothouse area. That means you're in for a bugly version of localized tropical weather, complete with intense heat and indoor sprinkler-storms, and an array of new vegetative hazards to suit the overly lush landscape. New factions too, and even a brand new local titan to run wailing from!
And for some bug, running and wailing is a specialty! Art by the ever-bugly zkarab
MORE STRETCH GOALS
Now that we've only got one of the original stretch goals left, it's time to add a couple more! You'll see these officially up on the page in a day or two, but I thought I'd reveal them here first...
That's right - if we get to 80k, you've got a new Realm for the core book (something decidedly more urban than the majority of PICO's wildernesses) AND an adventure for the Picodex, a pre-made starter scenario where your bugs are tasked with dealing with a rampaging, water-spewing 'dragon'.
... Those air quotes may be important, but likely not in the way you're thinking.
MORE PREMIUM SPACES
And hot on the heels of all that, we've had quite a few requests to increase the amount of slots for backer-based bugs and picotitan pets. We want to keep these low, as adding too many would unbalance the art in the book (and if you're a Wildsea fan, you know I take the art and presentation seriously for these projects).
BUT
I'm also willing to add a couple more spaces if people want to upgrade, and it seems very much like some do. I won't do it right now though - I'll give everyone a day or so of warning before they go up, and a schedule of when these new spaces will be live and ready to take. So keep your eyes on these updates and you'll get a bit of warning, if you're one of those that wants to see a little bit of themselves (or their pet!) on the page.
Next update - announcement of new premium space timeline!
... Oh, and character creation beta testing!
See you there!
Felix
150% Funded!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Nov 19, 2024 at 04:02:27 PM
Funding Update
Evening piconauts, a quick update before I sleep - we've not only hit our second stretch goal, we're already a quarter of the way to our third! This next stretch goal coming adds...
A new Realm to the core book, the Skyglass Dome, and...
The opportunity to play as a Froglin, with these new character options added to the picodex.
That, through happy happenstance, also means that we're 150% funded! Thank you all again, so much, for the support - somewhere in the mists of time, ten year old bug-obsessed me would be jumping for joy (as it, 37 year old me tries not to jump too much anymore - these old bones are creaking).
Mount Suggestions
There were some excellent mount suggestions in the comments of the previous update post, some of which will definitely find themselves represented in the core book. I'd like to call out hummingbirds in particular as an idea that really caught the imagination - the idea of a little bug warrior astride their trusty flitting steed is extremely cute, and very much fits the world of PICO.
But about that world, and those ideas... sometimes one thing sparks another. Tremble in fear, for the addition of mounts for player-created bugs also means the inclusion of a new, saddled-up hazard for you to face once the rubber hits the road. I won't spoil too much here - I want the core book to have as many little surprises as possible - but you're probably going to want to strap in and make sure you're wearing some protective padding before you go toe to toe with our new tiny danger.
I'll end this brief update with a shout-out for a game I think deserves more attention! Now in the last 48 hours of funding, Fox and Shadow is created by BlueTwoDays (a name that you might recognise from the pages of the Wildsea, as Blue was instrumental in the layout of that first project). An incredible artist, writer, and now video game producer, Blue has so many feathers in their cap they have to duck when they enter a room.
As for what the game is, I'll let it speak for itself...
"Fox and Shadow is a dual deckbuilding roguelike set in a scifiworld where people are isolated and only connect with the world through metalic shells.
Scavenge for resources in a broken city to maintain your crumbling bunker. Create a deck that combines your pilot's emitons and your drones logic to destroy defective robots for parts.
Did I really need a whole section to sign off? Probably not, but you've got one anyway!
Thanks again, new fans and old - PICO is going from strength to strength, and I can't wait for you to have the next playtest in hand. Which will be... Well, you'll have to wait for at least the next update for that kind of info.
Scuttle safe, people. You're all stars.
Felix
First Stretch Goal Hit, Tiny Mounts Coming To PICO (+ livestream catch-up)!
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Nov 16, 2024 at 02:57:12 AM
Morning Piconauts,
A short update with nothing but good news - after just four days of funding PICO has hit the first stretch goal, and tiny mounts have been added to the core book!
TINY MOUNTS
These tiny mounts aren't picotitans - those are huge (compared to a bug, anyway). Instead it represents things that are about the size of a mouse, the kind of thing you can saddle up and ride off into the sunset with if you feel so inclined.
Pictured: A bug riding a mouse, courtesy of PICO artist zkarab
Tiny mounts in PICO don't add a lot of complex additional rules, they work just like another aspect - you can take them and augment them as you like! What would be useful for me is any suggestions of what particular tiny mounts people would like to see - I've got a few essentials done, like mice, predatory plants, and little snakes, but if there's a particular small beast you'd really like your bugs to ride, now's the time to let me know!
PICO LIVESTREAM CATCH-UP!
And if you missed the livestream yesterday, the Pocket Dragon Pub ran an excellent game of PICO over on twitch. It's a good chance to see a group of new players take on PICO for the first time, and I'm really happy with how quickly they grasped the rules and how well they embodied the playtest characters. The recording is currently available for viewing on their twitch channel, which I'll link right here - if you want to see Ray Chou, of Mythworks fame, throw polite little cordychaps cultists against some unexpecting insectile travellers, you know what to do!
Lady Larket Colton, Janine, and Dunf - what a powerhouse of a team!
EXTRA SLOTS
Mythworks and I are also in conversation about adding a few new slots to the high-tier campaign rewards, for having your pet turned into a picotitan and for having your own bug on the pages of the book. We'll have more news about if and when these open up in the future, we don't want to take anybody by surprise - if anything, it's actually lovely to have had multiple people reach out and say 'let me give you more money, I really want to see Mittens there on the page'! Your response to PICO as a whole, backers, has been brilliant - thank you all so much.
Anyway, that's all from me for a bit, I've got mounts to make. I'll reach out again soon, piconauts - scamper safe!
