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Hopjockey

Created by Matt Vancil

Sandy has a problem—aside from the cancer. No one on campus believes he saw the ghost building. And why would they? It's a stupid legend—no one really believes the Old Admin building vanished in the 70s—and what Sandy saw was right after he restarted chemo. Clearly he was hallucinating. That would explain it. What it doesn't explain is the postcard Sandy found in his dorm room the night the building appeared—or why the girl on the postcard appears to be the barista down at the Hub. You know, the girl he's in love with. Turns out she's a hopjockey—a cross-world troublemaker—and she's been looking for him. Or rather, she's been looking for who she thinks he is. She's mistaken him for Garrett—Sandy's genius roommate, likely this generation's Einstein—and needs his help reading a map beyond all comprehension. Weighing his heart against the truth, and not wanting to miss what may be his only real chance for adventure, Sandy does what anyone might have done in that situation: he lies. And as a result, triggers a series of events that will destroy the campus (and the rest of the universe).

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Halfway Through, Two-Thirds There
about 7 years ago – Sat, Apr 01, 2017 at 07:33:46 AM

Midpoint Update

We’ve reached the midpoint of the campaign, and thanks to your support and generosity, with just under two weeks to go, the project is two-thirds funded! A huge thank you! to everyone who's pledged, shared, and liked the project. While we’re not there yet, our momentum is strong, and our course promising. Here’s hoping we cross the finish line soon so I can quit quaffing Pepto. Seriously, I'm starting to sweat pink.

More Clues, More Connections

For today's midpoint post, I had planned to share some more clues as to how Hopjockey connects with the rest of the ZOE/DG universe. Turns out I won’t be the only one contributing today—several backers, working together, have identified and collected more connections and posted them in the campaign's comments. I’m happy to confirm they are all accurate—well done, gang! I'm seriously impressed.

If you're curious, you can check out what they've uncovered in the comments, or below:

To Seth Davis, Moritz Schubert, Phil Nicholls, Jason Haithcock, Kris Leeke, Emil Heide, and anyone I might've missed: nice work!

And here’s what I brought to share today: more story seeds planted in projects past. Many thanks to ZOE and DG for assisting with the years of setup that went into these.

from The Shadow's Dungeon, by Sean K. Reynolds
from The Shadow's Dungeon, by Sean K. Reynolds

 

from the Romance of the Nine Empires rulebook, by AEG
from the Romance of the Nine Empires rulebook, by AEG

 

from this book, by this guy
from this book, by this guy

Two weeks to go! Please share, like, and—if you haven't already—pledge! Let’s bring this baby home.

—Matt

Halfway there!
about 7 years ago – Sun, Mar 19, 2017 at 10:24:42 PM

I woke up this morning to the cat yowling for food (I fed her), the baby mourning her fallen binky (I returned it), and the “you’re halfway there!” email from Kickstarter (I cheered). (But not too loud.) (The baby was sleeping.)

A quiet but hearty hooray! After only three days, we are fifty percent funded! Thank you one and all to everyone who’s pledged, and everyone who’s considering pledging. We’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re well on our way to making Hopjockey a reality. Thank you!

—Matt

20% funded in 24 hours!
about 7 years ago – Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 09:34:02 PM

Thanks for such an amazing start, everyone! We're well on our way to making this project a reality. Think we can hit 30% by the end of the day? I certainly hope so.

I'll be sharing and tweeting and bookfacing to help keep up the momentum. If you're so inclined, please share the project and help keep the wheels turning!

—Matt