Arkartia Site Kickstarter

Rallwedd

Hello Aeclectics

I just got up and saw that the Arkartia site I was given a sneak peek of last week is now live on Kickstarter so we can see what it's all about.

Even though I thought today was the "live" date it seems that theres been several pledges already snaffled. I think maybe they use Facebook a lot more, so I should have been on there I guess. Never mind!

It's Ciro Marcheti that is the artist, I have one of his decks but only as someone gifted it to me for a birthday, I'll go check it out again. My deck of choice is the Tarocco Egiziano which I've started to blog about, but I think I use it weirdly :)

What do you guys think now you can see the campaign?

I see where that whole "Rose Key" stuff for the last six years was about a bit more now - it seems they were seeding the symbol in LOTS of decks in preparation for 'augmented reality'.

Rhosyn.
 

gregory

Yes indeed. I remember when they started going on about roses and keys and then I assumed they'd forgotten about it ! There is a thread in advertisements about it.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=273775

Even though virtual reality is not my thing, it looks interesting. And it will look incredible, with Ciro doing the artwork.
 

Linfang

Just backed it - curiosity got the better of me, and seeing that the Tarot Decoratif will be used as a deck. What else to expect? No idea... Can be huge, but could turn out to be a disappointment as well. We will see.
 

Rallwedd

Rose Key in Tabula Mundi

Hello Aecletics

I found this article as well by someone who designed a deck called Tabula Mundi, on the Rose Key, Alchemy and Tarot. It is very interesting and yet another hidden Rose Key in Tarot.

http://www.tabulamundi.com/the-key-to-the-rosarium/

Rhosyn.
 

Shade

I think it's a fun approach to the Tarot and I love the idea of melding RPGs and augmented reality with Tarot.

Video game style projects are always ambitious and tend to take longer to fulfill than expected. That's not a sleight against the creators here - I've just backed a lot of games in that past that are still heading towards fruition.
 

cirom

I think it's a fun approach to the Tarot and I love the idea of melding RPGs and augmented reality with Tarot.

Video game style projects are always ambitious and tend to take longer to fulfill than expected. That's not a sleight against the creators here - I've just backed a lot of games in that past that are still heading towards fruition.

For clarification, based on my understanding, while its certainly intended to be entertaining, its not a game. There is no role playing involved, but there is "participation" with other members, for example sharing of readings, spreads interpretations etc etc.

The augmented reality will come into the experience in two ways. The idea is that publishers will over time make their decks (not just mine) "compatible" so that when you point your smart phone at a card it will trigger and link to additional information, i.e.text or video. similar to what i did with my Kipper project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeRcXQIMFdo

The other manner is that a participant can contribuite a reading, meaning or insights etc etc and have them virtually connected to an actual physical place. i.e a statue or a building. When other participants are within physical range they will be notified and can once again access the message that was left by pointing their phone at the trigger image. This might not have a wide usage if the location was remote, but it could be quite interesting if the selections were say tourist locations that you might visit in the future. The best way i can describe it is like the functionality behind the concept of Pokemon, with the world wide GPS based location of geo cashing. All within a themed tarot environment that provides information and entertainment. The tarot equivalent of Game of thrones, but without the violence and sex.

Certainly its an ambitious project and many of the extra bells and whistles will be introduced over time. As such it will never be completed, as fresh content will constantly be added.

With that said i have no clue how it all works, I'm just the decorator
 

Shade

I see that the campaign wasn't successful but that a new shorter campaign will soon go live. I was of course bummed that the first didn't make it and maybe there is a different strategy this next time around.

I think it sounds like a very, very ambitious project and maybe it's just a bit before its time. I also worry, without the real experience to be able to say what technology of this sort would cost to develop, that ‎£50,000 sounded too low to me. I'm not a software developer, I can't say that with any authority.
 

gregory

Goodness. It never occurred to me that they wouldn't make it. But what it SAYS is that funding was cancelled. And it was at 49% at the half way mark. They are starting over in a few days.
 

cirom

Hi Shade. Here is my take on it, and I hope it's seen as a honest one despite my personal involvment and connection with the project. Although I don't claim to understand all the technical nuances.
The campaign in its original format was rather ambitious, and required a corresponding funding. However much of those costs were related to the development charges of a third party and licensing fees connectd to the software system they would incorporate.

The alternative campaign that will be offered will now be based on more work being done in house. For example I have agreed to do a lot more graphics that I had originally signed up for ( I have a professional life beyond tarot). Unlike third party suppliers who would have required payment on completion and irrespective of the projects success or not, I will do this at my risk, because I would genuinely like to see this vision bear fruit. Is it ahead of its time? I don't think so, but the market forces of the tarot world are such that if it's not done now and by us, it never will, not because of the technology but because of the man hours involved that no other publisher or artist would be able or willing to match.

So while some of the slicker features will now not be included, at least not at the launch stage. But in terms of content, information, spreads, interactive locations it's almost the same, but at a significantly lower cost. It will even include augmented reality which once again was going to be done by the third party, but I will now be doing much of that also and while it's all relatively new, certainly to the tarot world, it's not ahead of its time. I already did it with my Kipper deck.

So in conclusion I hope this doesn't come across as a hard sell, it's an explanation of how I understand things to be. If the project gets launched and generates income over the years, I will eventually be compensated for my risk. But that isn't my principal motivation at this point. I would just like to see this vision realized.
https://youtu.be/U6I3t5_yqzM
https://youtu.be/nBhM0wacmSQ
 

Signy

I've been following Arkartia for a little while now. I wasn't able to back it the first time around because there was another project I was really interested in, but I plan on pledging once the kickstarter resumes.

What ultimately sold me (beyond my addiction to exploring the tarot in new ways and devouring well-composed lore) was the honesty and openness the developers have shown thus far. The people involved have really impressed me with their dedication. Passion projects can sometimes fall by the wayside, but I don't really see that happening with a team that's willing to admit they might have been a little too big and are willing to re-work their plans. That shows me that they have realistic goals along side their most hopeful ambitions.

Ciro's reply above me helped seal the deal for me.