ION Heart - A Lo-fi Solo Mech TTRPG

With only 4 days left to go we know what you're thinking. What's the mystery 120k stretch goal? Well you're gonna have to wait another day to find out as Ben is still working on that little reveal. But what we do have to show you, is our final stretch goal to bring the launch to a close. NEPHILIM.

That's right. If we hit £150k we'll be adding an expanded Nephilim section to the books. Although the hard won peace in the Astral Union was a result of the defeat of the Nephilim that doesn't mean they're completely gone. We'll be exploring the remnants of the Nephilim presence in the galaxy, adding some of them as enemies, and diving into some lore from the Nephilim war.

We're very excited to hopefully unlock this as part of the launch but we need your help to do it. With only a few days left make sure to share ION Heart with you friends. Also, if you've not got your copy there's very little time left to board the rocket ship. Pledge here now.



 

With only 6 days left until we return to orbit from ION Heart's launch we wanted to dig a bit further into some of our design inspiration. Specifically about one of our favourite pieces of sci-fi tech. HOLOGRAMS!

In particular there's one hologram representation that just hits different. Star Maps. Seeing the epic proportions of the galaxy laid out in miniature is surprisingly exciting and we wanted to recreate the feeling of opening up that holo map in ION Heart.

In particular we wanted to have the physical books we create have that sci-fi hologram feel in some part. As you can see from the pilot's logbook concepts the space hologram design was a key feature. Making it feel like you were opening up your mech's HUD to record your days adventures. The same is true for both the core ION Heart books which will feature similar designs.



Holograms will also feature in gameplay. Pilots might have some gear that helps them explore the world or their mech might have some holographic capabilities. Perhaps displaying a massive star map to decide where to go next.

We've not talked much yet about how mechs can represent themselves in ION Heart and this is something that we'll be adding to the full game. Do they speak in a classic robot voice, do they speak at all or merely rely on gestures? One option will be a holographic animal-like persona that your mech can project as its avatar. This will allow you to have your partner travel with you into places that might not allow mechs entry.

What plans do you have for your first mech? Perhaps they have an Otter hologram that will sit on your pilots shoulder as you gaze on a map of the stars?

That's all for today but we'll be back tomorrow with more updates. If you've not grabbed your copy of ION Heart yet make sure to pledge here now before time runs out.

ION Heart is entering the final week of its interstellar launch  🚀 I know space travel is fast but it's really blown by!

It's been our biggest release ever. Thank you to all those who have supported us in unlocking stretch goals, upgrades and bringing this chill mech TTRPG to life. We can't wait for you to join us amongst the stars with your robot best friend  🤖

Not got your copy yet? Pledge now to get it before time runs out. Click here to pledge now! 

When working on the concepts for what we wanted to create as part of the Backerkit launch for ION Heart we knew that there was going to be a secondary book alongside the main rules. This was because this would give us the extra space to really dive into the background of the Astral Union and tell some stories that expanded the galactic setting.

As you can see from the initial cover concept we had settled on the Rakaens as one of the core character groups in Remembrance. However, we hadn't landed on making the memory of the war and its effects the central premise.

The cracking of the moons was the big change we made to the cover as it nicely juxtaposes the difference in its content to the much more relaxed looking pilot's handbook cover (moons fully intact).

We also added an absolutely colossal mech on the horizon. You'll be able to explore these gargantuan creations and learn tonnes about the Astral Union and its past as you explore the story circuits, settlements and planets in ION Heart: Remembrance! Not picked up a copy yet? You can grab one as part of a pledge here, or you can add on both digital and physical copies here!

Unsurprisingly when we were working on ION Heart we spent a long time developing the art style and how we wanted the chilled feel of the Astral Union to be represented in the books. One of the most important things in development which usually comes after you've done the lion's share of the concept work is the front cover.

As you can see the sketch above was the base concept for what became the cover of the pilot's handbook. The other fun part of ION Heart's design was colour palette. We experimented with a number of different combinations before settling on the one you've seen on the Backerkit page. We thought it would be nice to share some of the other styles we didn't end up choosing.


This concept was one where we played with a softer lighting effect as if the characters are watching the moon above them at night time. This was a popular piece but we ended up not choosing it as it wasn't vibrant enough.

This version had our characters lit in the same way as in the finished version but with a much more blue heavy background. This again was a close call with the final version but we decided the golden-hour look of the pink sky in the final version below was the winner.

So there you have it. It probably won't surprise you that working on the cover is one of the longest and most painstaking processes of making a book as it's the first impression readers get of the world inside. If you've not got your copy of ION Heart yet you've only got about a week to go so make sure to pledge here.