When we at Celestial Horizons started this whole crazy idea of ours, we had no idea if anyone was even going to listen. We were blown away by the responses and participation that happened during Shattered Sleep. We grew more confident with every episode that maybe, just maybe, we might be able to eventually create what we really envisioned doing. After the success of Shattered Sleep, we created Dissonant Echoes with the following goals:
- Tell an engaging story larger in scope
- Release podcast episodes weekly instead of every other week.
- Simplify our production pipeline to reduce stress on our team
- Have deep, meaningful interaction for those that want to dive in
- Have interesting interaction with low levels of buy-in for those who don’t want to go all-in.
We tried accomplished these goals by prerecording batches of episodes, with intended connection points happening once a month. However, instead of improving upon the successes of Shattered Sleep, we found this plan in Dissonant Echoes diluted what made the original work well for much of our audience. Our interaction felt disconnected, and our story was ungrounded in the actions of the audience. The structure of Dissonant Echoes required more resources in time and personnel than we have if it is going to be successful.
After gathering lots of feedback, and after hours upon hours of meetings and discussions, we have settled upon a new plan that we really feel will take us back in the right direction. For the sake of our mental stability however, something of what we’re doing now has to give, and unfortunately that something is the Dissonant Echoes podcast. We have fallen in love with the story we have been telling with the current iteration of the podcast, so please understand how difficult of a decision this has been. We hope that eventually we will be able to come back and finish the story of these characters in some form or another, though the story of Hypatia in 2721 will continue in this next iteration.
The Council of Eberis, comprised of members of our Patreon page, will continue to be given briefings and will continue to manage the financial crisis they are facing as well as a new problem that will be revealed soon. They will begin to receive their briefings every two weeks rather than every month. The Council will have roughly one week to vote upon a course of action, as their actions will directly affect the modules and weekly installments of a new podcast.
On the weeks that we are not releasing a briefing for the Council, we will release episodes of the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style modules. They will continue to be available to everyone via YouTube. Each module will have multiple potential endings, as our first one did (Operation: Valent Edge.) You will be asked to share which ending you received– whichever one is reported most will become canon. That ending will impact both the weekly podcast episodes and will be the starting place for the next module.
Starting Wednesday October 27 for patreon supporters and Thursday, October 28 for general audiences, we will be releasing a brand-new podcast called “Midnight Sentry”. To make weekly production manageable, it will feature far fewer recurring characters and written right before we record it. It will follow an individual at the center of the conflict that our modules and council will be dealing with. Already we’re excited for all of the twists, action, and drama that will naturally come as we’re all telling this story together.
This is only possible because we have some fantastic people who are continuing to volunteer their time and talents to help us out. We are so incredibly grateful for them and everything they are doing for us. A big thanks to all of the actors, writers, and creators who have helped us get to this point.
This reprioritization of our production resources will allow us to generate more interactive content on a weekly basis. We will be taking what we learned from Shattered Sleep, Infinite Silence, and these first four episodes of Dissonant Echoes to make our best show yet!
Finally, we are also so incredibly grateful to you, our audience. Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to refine this crazy project of ours! As we constantly reflect on what will make for both the best possible experience for you and for the well-being of our crew, we look forward to showing you what we’ve been working on and to seeing what you’re going to do with it!
As you continue to brave the void, Good luck and Godspeed.