Community Newsletter Feature Request

Use the form below to submit a message about something fun, exciting, or interesting you'd like us to share in the Protospiel Community Newsletter.

If the timing of the feature’s release is important, we recommended submitting the form at least 1 month before your ideal announcement date.

We're looking to share news relevant to the community around the Protospiel network of playtesting conventions. This may include:

Milestones for game projects tested at any Protospiel convention (e.g. crowdfunding launch, retail release, glowing review from a favorite content creator, crowdfunding late pledge available, etc)
Design contests or awards won by games or designers who have playtested at a Protospiel convention
Protospiel community members featured in an interview or on a panel
Programs, products, and services aligned with our values that designers and/or playtesters in the Protospiel Online community would find useful

If your submission fits with the content we're looking to include in the newsletter, we'll share it with our subscribers.

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

This is where we'll reach out to you with any follow up questions we have about your feature.

Pronoun(s)(Required)

If we mention you by name in the feature, what pronoun(s) should we use to refer to you?

Company Name (Optional)

Feature Title(Required)

What should we call this feature spot when we talk to you and amongst our team while planning the content for it?

Is this feature request for an individual game title or other published work?(Required)

Yes

Was generative AI used to produce any portion of the final art or written material for the published work?(Required)

In keeping with our core value of transparency, those titles that include content created either fully or with assistance from generative AI will include an AI use disclosure in any newsletter segment covering the published work.

Yes

Protospiel Online's Stance on Generative AI

Since many of the leading generative AI providers have shown disregard for intellectual property rights, resulting in an uncertain legal future for some of these tools (see this open court case), as well as the unsustainable energy demands of humans using generative AI en masse, Protospiel Online uses generative AI sparingly in the creation of products and marketing materials, never using it to create image assets, and always reviewing its output with a critical eye.

In keeping with our core values of inclusivity, transparency, and collaboration, we respect each of our community members' right to choose their own level of participation when it comes to generative AI. Rather than spending our limited bandwidth trying to live by or enforce a 0% tolerance policy on its use, we encourage all creators to think about how and why they engage with this technology, stay aware of the possible consequences, and consider alternatives.

We recommend checking out the 2-episode Building the Game podcast series talking with an AI ethics expert (part 1 / part 2), this What Works podcast episode, and/or this Canadaland podcast episode to learn more.

Many individuals on our team and in our wider community have decided, to the best of their ability, not to use generative AI tools themselves or put their time or money towards supporting projects that have used it. Creators looking to share projects featuring AI generated materials in our newsletter or Discord server should include a disclosure statement explaining their decision-making process and boundaries around the use of these tools to help our AI-conscious readers see how the project dealt with their areas of highest concern.

In what way was generative AI used in the creation process for this publication? Please be as specific as possible.(Required)

Does the game's publisher have the consent of the owners of the original works included in the training dataset for the generative AI tool(s) used?(Required)

Yes

I'm not sure

How has the publisher received permission from the owners of the original works in the AI model's training dataset? Please share source links if you have them.(Required)

Have you created a coupon and/or referral code you want us to include?(Required)

Yes

Sellers can use coupon and/or referral codes though advanced settings in an online store they control. It is not possible for crowd sale campaigns.

Coupon and referral codes are displayed to the customer with instructions to enter them at checkout.

e.g. "Enter GIFT25PO at checkout to get 25% off." If the seller created the GIFT25PO code for Protospiel Online's exclusive use, it would serve as both a coupon and referral code.

Coupon and/or Referral Code(Required)

What are the key dates for this feature?(Required)

For example, crowdfunding opening and closing dates, dates of pricing changes, event dates, etc.

Although we'll do our best to send the feature to our subscribers timed around these key dates, we can't promise we'll have openings at the most ideal times. If you can share multiple types of key dates, this can help us find a release date that works for all of us.

Tell us about the feature in 2-3 sentences(Required)

Why will Protospiel Community Newsletter subscribers find this feature interesting or useful?(Required)

It's helpful to share the context of why we're featuring the content in our newsletter. For example, how are you or this feature connected to Protospiel?

Is there anything else you think it would be helpful for us to know while writing this feature? (Optional)

Things like quotes, testimonials, or stories related to this feature are all good types of info to share.

Website to link to in the feature(Required)

Is the link to the feature a tracking link?(Required)

Yes

Tracking Link: a URL that includes a tracking code specific to the location where the link is placed. This setup allows the seller to know which link locations generate the most traffic for their offering.

For the above to be a tracking link, you would be the seller who has set up a tracking system for your offering.

Some common ways to set up tracking links are Kickstarter custom referral tags, Google Analytics Campaigns, and Bit.ly.

Is Protospiel Online set up to create affiliate links for this feature?(Required)

Yes

Sellers can set up an affiliate program for an online store they control. It is not possible for crowd sale campaigns.

Affiliate Link: a URL that includes the ID or username of a seller's affiliate partner. This setup creates a record of traffic sent to the seller's website from the affiliate partner's links. The seller pays the affiliate an agreed upon commission for sales generated from traffic sent by these links.

For Protospiel Online to be set up to create affiliate links for this feature, you would be the seller who has set up an affiliate program. Protospiel Online would have already signed up as your affiliate by your invitation.

Would you like Protospiel Online to become an affiliate for you?(Required)

No thanks

Yes please!

Sellers can use affiliate programs though advanced settings in an online store they control. It is not possible for crowd sale campaigns.

If you don't already have an affiliate program set up, one or both of these how to articles for Wordpress or Shopify can give you an idea of what's involved.

Location for affiliate signup(Required)

This is most likely a website, but you may also share an email here if your affiliate setup is more of a manual process for you.

Promo Image (Optional)

A note on file size: The file size limit for all images is 1MB with both height and width under 2000px. If your image is 1MB-5MB, compress it with tinypng.com.

For files over 5MB, decrease your file size to the point you can use tinypng.com to compress it by decreasing your image dimensions. Either use an image editing tool like MS Paint, Photoshop, Gimp, or Affinity Photo to decrease the size, or open the image in a photo viewer on your desktop/laptop and take a screenshot of it no wider or taller than 1000px to create a smaller version.

Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, Max. file size: 1 MB.

This field is hidden when viewing the form

Square Logo (SLIM OLD)(Required)

For use in the thumbnail image for our public newsletter feed.
The file size limit is 1MB.
NOTE: If your image is 1MB-5MB, compress it with tinypng.com. For files over 5MB, compress with highcompress.com on the Super setting, then compress the file from highcompress.com with tinypng.com. Always use tinypng.com for your final compression pass. highcompress.com may give you a file labeled <1MB, but our system will throw an error whenever tinypng.com is not the final compression step.

Square Logo(Required)

Drop files here or

Accepted file types: png, jpg, jpeg, gif, Max. file size: 1 MB, Max. files: 1.

Press Kit PDF (Optional)

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 1 MB.

Link to Online Press Kit or Promo Partner Resource Repository (Optional)

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Sponsor logos for January 2025: The Game Crafter, Building the Game Podcast, Lunarpunk Games, Coo Games, Violet Daisy Games, Kickstarter, The Board Game Design Course, Pink Hawk Games, Cardboard Edison, TTGDA, GRUBS, Drentsoft Games, Panda Game Manufacturing, Looking Glass Workshop, Rakshasa Games, MILLRAT Studio, Chitra Games, Soucy Games, Knife Bunny, Mindgate Studios, Goosepoop Games, Boardssey