Audiobook Update
over 5 years ago
– Sun, Nov 08, 2020 at 01:23:49 PM
Hey, guys! The audiobook is officially out in the wild, but my last email contained some fuzzy information (or just plain wrong information in a couple of cases), so I wanted to give you a complete walkthrough of how to access the audiobooks.
First, the emails have gone out, but they didn't go out from Soundbooth as I had originally mentioned - they actually went out from us via Backerkit. (LOL!) So keep an eye out for a Backerkit email, and, if you don't see it, then log in to your Backerkit account and you should find the link in there under your Deep Madness digital downloads. Alternatively, you can just go to https://soundbooththeater.com/deep-madness-backer-reward/ to get to the audiobook.
Claiming Your Audiobooks
Having a hard time figuring out what to do once you're there? Here's a walkthrough for you.
First, when you click on the link you'll come to this landing page. I've highlighted a few different things to pay attention to. First, once you get past this screen you'll have to 1) create an account. Before you leave this screen, though, you should 2) copy the code KADATH. You'll need it when you check out. Then, 3), click "Get Your Free Audiobook".
Next, you'll come to the Deep Madness Shattered Seas page. You'll come back to this page in a second, but for now, 1) click up near the top of the page where it says "Login/Register".
Next, just fill out the registration form (BEING SURE TO USE YOUR BACKERKIT/KICKSTARTER EMAIL ADDRESS), and then click "Register". It's very important to use the email address associated with Backerkit and Kickstarter. The KADATH code is tied to this email address, and won't work with just any email address. (Also, this code will only work if you bought the Deep Madness core game through one of our two campaigns. If you bought it through a third-party, then email me at [email protected].)
Once you've registered, navigate back to the Shattered Seas page. (You can find it at https://soundbooththeater.com/shop/audiobooks/deep-madness-shattered-seas/, though it's also right on the main page and should be pretty easy to find.) First, 2) click on the Audiobook + Deep Dive option. (This is important, as the code doesn't work with just the Audiobook. Plus, you really want the Deep Dive, anyway.) Next, 3), click "Add to Cart". Then, 4) click "View Cart".
Next, 1) enter the code KADATH. This should give some indication that the coupon code has been applied. Once you've seen that confirmation, 2) click "Proceed to Checkout". IF THE CODE DOESN'T WORK, it is very likely that one of two things is wrong: either you're not using the correct email address for your account, or you selected "Audiobook" versus "Audiobook + Deep Dive" on the previous page. If it's still not working, it is probably because you didn't order a copy of the Deep Madness core game through our Kickstarter. If that's the case, email me at [email protected] and I'll try to get you in the system.
After this, Soundbooth will ask you for some basic information that you would normally input in a checkout (I didn't have to enter payment information, so I doubt you'll have to, either), and then you will officially own both the audiobook and the Deep Dive.
Downloading the Audiobooks
One question I've seen numerous times in the comments is wondering about how one would download the audiobooks. Well, you're not able to - at least not quite yet.
While Soundbooth Theater has been making audiobooks for a long time, they just launched their own platform this last Friday. In fact, Shattered Seas is one of their headlining books for their new platform. Because of this, there are some bugs, and not everything is quite ready yet. They planned to have an app up for the launch, but the verification process took longer than expected, which delayed its release. Having said that, the first step has been passed for the Google Play store, and it should hopefully be up maybe as soon as the end of this week. The Apple App store is taking much longer (no big surprise there), but in theory, it will be up soon, too.
Once the apps are launched, you will be able to download the audiobooks from inside the apps. So, hopefully, that will be an option very, very soon.
Why Soundbooth?
Sorry for the few initial hiccups with this thing, guys. But it's going to be worth it once you hear the actual recordings. I think some people might wonder why we chose Soundbooth Theater to make this instead of going with a more traditional audiobook company or narrator, where we could just hand you a file and be done with it, or put it on Audible like every other audiobook in existence. But the thing is, this isn't just a normal audiobook: this is something much bigger and much cooler. We could never have done on our own what Jeff and his crew have managed with this thing. This is much more than the initial little social stretch goal we ran in the reprint campaign, which probably would have ended up being me sitting in front of a subpar mic slogging my way through narration - an afterthought rather than an incredible event. This is a true experience.
Plus, Jeff and crew went all out for this recording. I really appreciate their drive to make the best product they can and to really take it to the next level for you guys. We will likely never make a cent off of this audiobook, but, honestly, it's anyone's guess if Jeff will ever make anything off of this, either - and Jeff and his team put a lot into this production. Whenever we talked, I felt like maybe we should pull back so that they didn't have so much on the line. But Jeff always wanted to go bigger, to deliver the ultimate experience for you guys. I really appreciate Jeff and his attitude, and he's the sort of scrappy underdog that I want to support. (And, being as you're supporting Kickstarters, I think Soundbooth is probably the kind of thing you want to support, too.) I personally plan to buy more of their stuff (they have a really great Deep Dive rendition of Dracula that's almost done which I'm going to pick up), and I encourage you guys to take a look at their other stuff besides just Deep Madness, too.
I hope we get the chance to do many other projects with Jeff and Soundbooth Theater in the future. So, even if you only jump on board for the free Deep Madness recordings, I have a feeling it's not the last time you'll log in to the Soundbooth website or app if you continue to support Diemension Games stuff.
A Message from Jeff at Soundbooth
I was emailing with Jeff today, and he asked me if I wouldn't mind publishing a note from him on here. So, here's a message from Jeff with Soundbooth Theater:
"Hey Deep Madness Backers!
I hope those of you who gained access to the Deep Dive of Shattered Seas have been enjoying it so far. If you finish it, please don't forget to leave a review to tell us how you felt about the experience. Feedback is important to us, as we're always looking to improve user experience and our production technique!
For those of you who haven't met me, I'm Jeff Hays. I narrated, produced, directed, did sound design and music composition of both the audiobook and the Deep Dive of Shattered Seas. I started Soundbooth Theater in 2017 as my reputation as a narrator afforded me the ability to hire other narrators and produce more audiobooks. Eventually, I started hiring musicians and engineers, and my company became more like a big band. We all love audio, we're all artists, and we love bringing stories to life.
In the past year, we decided we should start moving our operation away from Audible to make our own place on the internet that specifically caters to our productions - somewhere which could give us the freedom to produce what we want and speak more directly to those who enjoy our content the most, rather than a giant abyss of listeners who don't know the difference between one production company and the next. We officially launched our platform the day before you got your codes!
Our site and our market are a work in progress, and I know many of you have been frustrated that you don't have the option to download the Deep Dive, and I feel your pain. Launching with a streaming web player only was not ideal, and definitely our contingency in case of delay and not the plan. We have an app for both Android and iOS waiting to be approved by Apple and Google Play. This app will allow you to download Deep Madness - or anything else you find interesting in our catalog - directly to your phone, and you could then listen to our productions completely offline if you'd like. Though I can't speak to the slower moving iOS approval process, I've gotten notification from our developers TODAY that the first stage of approval has been passed by Google, and that the final approval is potentially forthcoming within the work week!
I hope this answers many of your questions and that, if you were frustrated with this initial experience, you will give us a chance to roll out more features, more content, and an overall better user experience. Deep Madness: Shattered Seas is by far our most elaborate, heavily produced, and refined production and we learned a whole lot from it. It's very dear to our hearts, and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. If you have any more questions about it, please torment Byron endlessly until he asks me so that he is compelled to communicate on a more regular basis, as we have more projects to work on together in the not-too-distant future!
To stay up to date with us (in particular, to find out when our app is ready for you to pick up from the Apple or Google Play stores) please sign up for our newsletter at soundbooththeater.com.
And to Byron and Diemension Games, thanks again for the opportunity to make this monstrosity for you, and to connect with your fans. I think I'm going to have NinjaOffDuty bring his copy of Deep Madness over again soon so we can play more of it.... with some home rules, of course, cause your game is too F@#$ing HARD!
Jeff Hays
Owner/Lead Narrator - Soundbooth Theater"
Okay, that's it for this update, guys! Talk to you later!
