Category: John Howrith Bryan

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Gnomes, the game

Saluting Gnome.At the end of 2023 we started a plan to release an expandable skirmish game with future releases planned. The game had to be fun and tongue in cheek. We laid out ideas, but something was missing. A setting. When we settled on Gnomes we didn’t want to create the foot tall garden Gnomes that we see all the time. The game idea was for a 1:1 scale skirmish game and the Gnomes universe fit this idea perfectly. With this “life size” scale being the target our Gnomes now came in at just over an inch in height.

We wanted Gnomes to be playable on any surface. In the house. Outside. The location would be up to the players imagination. With the lore for the world of Gnomes being a constantly evolving the skies the limit! Want to play in a Gnomish settlement? Build it and bring it to life.

Making Gnomes

Playtesting Gnomes with cardboard meeple.
Playtesting Gnomes with cardboard meeple.

As all of the miniature production is in-house we were able to speed up the production and reduce costs. Similarly the artwork, a sketch-style art decided upon specifically due to time constraints, created by the games creator. Now everything could be iterated quickly and artwork colourised once the final sketches were locked in. During the initial play testing we used cardboard meeples with the initial troupe sketches printed on them. We would also print out the stats, rules and note down changes to the final rules.

Finally, on February 1st 2024, Gnomes the skirmish game was released and available to purchase through the www.gydran.studio web store. We are continuing to work on expansions and lore for the ever growing rich world of “Gnome Hold Sagas” and the skirmish game. With multiple new Gnomes already underway and artwork being created all the time. You can join in the journey as we bring more of Gnome Hold Sagas to life via our Patreon page or or social media pages.

 

Learn more

You can also find out more by visiting the official Gnome Hold Sagas page. You can also join the conversation over on the Facebook page too where people can upload pictures of their painted miniatures and ask questions from myself an other people who follow and play the game. There is also an official Gnome Hold Sagas website where you can visit to download printable materials, find out news about the project and find out the answers to frequently asked questions.

You can find some galleries below.
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Corridor – Animation

Corridor is an animated short set in the world of Breaching the Rift, a long standing personal project of mine and the basis for the science fiction miniature range that has been created since the  inception of Gydran Studio. The story is set after the events of the book, Shadow Raid,  and follow a completely new crew as they fumble about in the vastness of space.

STORYBOARDS

A storyboard to demonstrate the current state of the animatic.
A Pugwanian character struggles against an alien menace. Storyboard 52 from the readthrough.

Currently the story is in the planning phase, and at the time of writing this post I am creating storyboards to put against the readthrough of the script to check the stories pacing. As I am doing this alongside my full-time job I have had to set realistic deadlines and all storyboards should be finished by December 3rd 2023.

I am currently running regular updates on my Patreon page and I’m ahead of schedule at the moment (as of 02-11-2023). So, as long as I keep up the pace I should have this phase complete before the deadline.

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Breaching the Rift

Breaching the Rift is a turn based, Skirmish, table top wargame based in a science fiction universe were two or more teams battle it out to achieve their objectives. It has been in development since 2016 and has seen two iterations prior to its current status. The current rules are still being finalised and are due to be released either at the end of 2022 or within the first quarter of 2023.

The game has been demoed at many shows up and down the country with a lot of support and positive feedback. This feedback from people who have played it as well as playtesters have been taken into consideration and used to help develop the current version of the game.

You can find more information about the project over at https://www.breachingtherift.com/

 

 

Demos Gallery