By Joey Barranco

Imagine applying for college at the age of 29. Imagine already owning a house, being happily married, and adopting a dog. Imagine working in a respectable field for nearly a decade. Imagine what it feels like to have security.

Imagine drop-kicking that security to the curb. Intentionally.

I've read somewhere that most people experience a career change later in life, but what is "later?" I'm only just hitting thirty but feel 20-something. I still play hours and hours of games, I order pizza at least four times a month, and my laundry haphazardly makes it into the hamper. Sometimes.

So why make my wife a nervous wreck, dive face-first into tens of thousands of dollars worth of student debt and prepare to exit the exciting, challenging world of paramedicine?

Because I was always taught to, "follow your dreams."

My journey into the game developing world truly, professionally, began as an editor on a RPG book. It was my first real taste in being part of a successful Kickstarter project that others could not only read, but tangibly experience. I needed to do more, I wanted to create and design games with memorable stories, not just edit them.

This passion, this absolute desire to create was nearly halted by the choking cloud of self-doubt and dozens of internship rejections. How was I to obtain firsthand, real-world experience in a field I so desired to be part of? That crushing feeling of doubt, defeat, and despair resulted in a final hail mary post on Facebook that inevitably lead me to Ash Maczko, creator of the hit comic series, Squarriors.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about Squarriors .

Take everything you know about the Redwall series, cram it down a dark, damp hole, and stab it a thousand times until there's nothing but a pile of entrail soup and fur. Seriously. These little squirrel warriors are savage, raw, and like nothing you've ever read or seen before. Ashley Witter is the brilliant illustrator behind the Squarriors cast, and both Ashley and Ash have this natural affinity for precision and detail in their stories that leave you wanting more, and more, and more! More gore! More treachery! More squirrels!

Needless to say, I was a fan of the comic and Team Ash. They run a pop-culture convention, Count-i-Con , showcasing their work and the work of other local artists and creators that I've attended nearly every year since its inception. It's so amazing to see the talent from your own community and have a genuine opportunity to support them.

Ash and Ashley offer so much to the comic community that their drive and enthusiasm overflowed into the gaming one.

Cold War, Inc . is the indie company they developed, and it's the company I am now proudly interning for. Ash took a chance in welcoming me onto his team and from there, I've been surrounded by some of the most fervent, most intelligent, and most creative people I'll ever meet.

To tell you about Squarriors: The Card Game is to tell you about a card game that is different from the stereotypical TCGs currently on the market. My personal experience with TCGs is limited; I'm, admittedly, not a big fan of them, but STCG offers something unique, and it's that uniqueness that should make you consider backing the project on Kickstarter.

The game is relatively easy to learn and yet, it is complex enough to appeal to card gamers far more skilled than I. There's no need to purchase dozens of booster packs, since all the cards you and an opponent need are in one deck. There's also no more relying on RNGesus to bless your shuffled deck since every card you use is either in your hand or on the table in play. Additionally, characters from the comic that are in the card game are unique, you may only have one Eli, King, or Meo in your deck! This encourages you to choose your characters wisely, and, if you're a roleplayer like me, protect the characters you love at all cost (seriously, I would rather lose the game than see Meo meet his end at the hands of an enemy)!

Learning from such a driven, visionary team transformed me from a fan into a professional. I've learned about the nail-biting anxiety that comes from publishing your product on Kickstarter and the hours of playtesting it takes to perfect game mechanics and the physical labor of cutting out every single card by hand and sleeving them… It's eye-opening. At the very least, I've learned to appreciate the pure love and courage it takes for creators to put their hard work in the hands of public funding on.

Ashley Witter, Ash Maczko, and the rest of the Cold War, Inc. team are offering you an inventive, fun, competitive game based on their already brilliant and compelling comic book series. You do not want to pass up Squarriors: The Card Game . The game already funded in its first 12 hours! There's still plenty of time to support the project and help unlock stretch goals!

As an intern, of course I'm going to tell you to back Squarriors, but as strictly as a fan? OMGPLZ-back-this-project-so-we-can-unlock-the-seriously-epic-art-variant-cards-by-Ashley-Witter *_____* Plus foil cards! FOIL CARDS! Who doesn't like foils?!

There's still plenty of time to support Squarriors: The Card Game, so get in on the Kickstarter action here !





