Hello everyone!

Update as of 3/17/2017: Sickening Queens released.
Update as of 2/2/2017: Patron tiers and description updated.

My name is Tobie and I have been gaming for almost all of my life. I am a Senior Game Designer for Indigo Entertainment, and when I'm not working on mobile games I submerge myself with various table top games. I have set up this Patreon as a means to get monthly support funding for all the gaming related projects and releases I create each month. These range from creating small and big projects that get released, to holding talks and rpg-related seminars that help more people get into the hobby or learn new things about it. Collectively, these are what I call TAG Thingies.

What are TAG Thingies?
In the past, any game ideas I came up with simply became blogposts. But as of February 2, 2016, I found the courage and earned up enough funds to release my first TAG Sessions release: Bad Timing. It was a Fiasco Romantic Comedy playset and while it didn't exactly gain a fandom, it found its gamers and made me realize I should go beyond just blogposts.

And so, TAG Sessions was born. The name started as an inside joke, about how people would brag about having had a "Tobie Abad gaming session!" But in the end, my partner helped me realize I should embrace that as a brand. Creating games costs money. Artists, layout and distribution can cost and sadly I wasn't really earning at a point that I could self-publish everything without hurting my savings. My partner told me there are always people willing to help out, and this account is giving people a chance to do so.

TAG Thingies is my Pateron term for stuff I create to celebrate gaming in all its forms - which range from games I've created and similar projects, to talks, slide-shows, and seminars on gaming that I can offer the community. I currently have been offering to give talks in various events, with the most recent one (as of this writing) being the Global Gaming Jam 2017 and the Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit. I keep the slides available online as well, at what I call the Garapata Repository, so others can make use of them if they want.

Since this Patreon began, the current list of slides for talks I've given include:
RPG101 - Introduction to Gumshoe
The Game of Love (On running romance and love stories in rpgs)
How to be a Better Player (Tips which have worked for me in the years I've been gaming)
Going GMless (Introducing a few GMless systems, and sharing how gmless games can work)
How to Host Horror (Building mood and using horror techniques in films for your rpgs)
Sharing the Fun (Tips on introducing rpgs to non-gamer friends and loved ones)
A Glimpse and a Taste (of Indie games that you may not have heard of)
Not Pathetic Caricatures (Suggestions on approaching NPCs to be more interesting)
Narrative Control (Breaking down the concept of it, and how it makes games better)
A Beautiful Lie (Mood building using light, sound, time, and more)

Also released thanks to the support of my Patrons are the following:
Bad Timing (a Fiasco playset for running romantic comedy games)
A Single Moment (a two-player dramatic samurai game, with loads of rpg tips)
Sunlight (a play via webcam game created for Game Chef 2016)
That Night Out (an official release of a survival horror GMless game I created for a contest)
Sickening Queens (a Fiasco playset for running Drag Queen inspired stories)

I have a number of other projects in the pipeline, and I plan to update this page every now and then to keep you updated in case you aren't sure yet about supporting me.

In the pipeline are the following Big Projects (games with at least 100 pages):
Dreamscrapers
Aimed at younger gamers, this game is my love letter to Adventure time and Steven Universe. This game will feature a fantastic world of possibilities and allow players to explore, transform and celebrate their creativity in the game.
(writing: 25% done, artwork: 20% done)

MEM:RE
In a world where you can remix your brain to tap into memories you need, where does identity and loyalty lie? The Mission must be accomplished before time runs out. And unlike most role-playing games, in MEM:RE games do unfold in real-time and your choices to survive might make you the very danger your allies face. The game will also have both player and GM learning new systems as they play, unlocking new rules when key milestones are hit, sort of like Pandemic: Legacy.
(writing: 40% done, considering a re-write, artwork: 5% done)

TAGSESSIONS: Ideas for the Dramatic Gamer : Volume One
Tips and essays on how to approach gaming in ways which might be different from what you are used to. This book will contain the following:
Ideas
Options
Story Fragments
Key Lines
Items
(writing: 75% done, artwork: 0% done)

Also in the pipeline are Small Projects such as:
A SECOND MOMENT
The companion book to A Single Moment, my two-player GMless Samurai game. The book adds a host of new systems to play the game, new playkits, and a bunch of essays on how to make your games more awesome.
(writing: 45% done, artwork: 5% done)

With your monthly help, I can get the resources and determination to finally finish and release these ideas and share them with the community. While I do plan to do them regardless, knowing I have Patrons who are backing me up and supporting me shall be the spark that keeps the determination to finish them burning.

Other Work I've Done
In case you're wondering about my ability to write, you can also look at the freelance writing work I've done. I've been fortunate enough to work on a few other projects, such as contribute to John Wick's Pirate Nations book for the second edition of 7th Sea, his upcoming Curse of the Yellow Sign: Fragments of the King, and other projects such as Sound of Water, Advanced Doll, Girls Elsewhere, Trust Me, Indie Mixtape: Volume 3, New Hotness. I also helped in some English translations of other projects, as well as helped proofread other work.

Still reading?
Thank you for not walking away. Become my patron and I promise you that it will not be a wasted investment in someone's creative dreams. Your commitment towards helping me shall be matched by my commitment to contributing more back to the gaming community and helping introduce more people to gaming. I shall work on releasing the listed projects, as well as continue to introducing gaming to more and more people.

Thank you for your time!

I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this very long introduction and I do hope you choose to become my patron. Gaming has in many ways made my life wonderful and fulfilling. I only hope to somehow share that experience with others and give back to the community in any way I can.