We said we would take a break this September, but here I am writing this post instead.
This year has been about growth, experiments, and asking hard questions. Despite all our strides forward, one of the biggest puzzles remains: what do we post each week?
For the past year, it has been the weekly hunting videos. We have seen them reach thousands of views, and we have seen them drop to a hundred. Comments, bookmarks, and likes come in. But despite this, we do not see a direct increase in hunters. And that makes sense. This is not an easy hobby. There is a skill ceiling.
Unlike other treasure hunt channels that hide coins or cash in plain sight, we keep things layered, puzzling, and strange.
We have debated whether we should simplify to reach more people. But the answer is always the same. That would water down what makes us different. We are not here to blow up on social media. Growth matters, yes. Building the Dragon Hunter Guild matters. But not at the cost of the magic.
The final month of this Dragon season was a real challenge. Over the past year, we have received repeated notifications from Meta that our videos show suspicious viewing patterns. (All of you watching them over and over again in the first hour for clues.) In August this escalated, and our account was banned or restricted five separate times.
That pushed us to consider moving the hunts away from social media, which comes with its own set of challenges. Those of you who joined the Flights will know it is possible for us to run hunts over email, and that seems likely to continue.
But then the question arises: what do we replace our weekly content with? The algorithm demands constant posting, and we do need to keep drawing new people into this world and showing them the hidden corners of Norwich and Norfolk.
The obvious answer might be videos about historical sites, revisiting old hunting grounds, and telling their stories. But we have never liked to do the obvious.
We wanted to create something that lets us share Norwich with a wider audience, while also opening the door to Hidden Dragons and the Beasts that inhabit it.
Enter Rust Scale.
A weekly, narrative adventure set in Norwich, where the audience chooses which direction the story takes. A chance to explore the city, discover new lore, and shape a tale together.
We learned from the Flights that you love to make hard choices. So prepare yourself for more of them as we explore Norwich through the eyes of a Dragon Hunter, uncover new Snaps, and begin to ask why dragons might rust.
- The Dragon Keepers