Making a Physical Copy of My Game: Sticking a USB Drive in a Cassette Tape (with extra steps)
Or: How to Make Your Game into a Zette (Zine in a Cassette Case)
(crossposted from Draconic Alchemy's main blog, originally made when i first made these zettes in 2024)
inspired by @giwake on cohost i made my game real :>
[[ I currently offer services to help you produce physical indie game copies here! ]]
Tiny Con was coming up so i worked really hard to get some physical copies of my game made in time, and i’m really pleased with the final results!
they’re up in my art studio’s store now if you’d like to check it out 💜
i can’t decide if i want to do a write up of my process or a tutorial of how to do this yourself, so i’m gonna split the difference and do a little bit of both!!
Templates:
Game Cover Templates by NeoRame
Cassette U-Card Template by duplication.ca
USB Holder Zette Printable Templates by me, Xenon :>
Materials i used (necessary):
Empty cassette cases from eBay (i got 22 used ones for $11.91)
duplication.ca also has some really cute colored cassette cases for ~0.99 USD each after US shipping…..
20 USB drives, also eBay (20 in 4GB size for $47.18)
Paper
Materials i used because i wanted to be Extra:
Shrink plastic (printable) from Daiso (6 Hagaki sized sheets for $3.78, makes 5 charms/sheet or 30 total charms)
Cell phone straps (i had leftovers from my clay charm sculpting days)
Epson Matte Premium Presentation Paper (50 sheets for $10.99)
for the cover, flap cards, and tab cards. but you can use regular paper if you prefer
LD Glossy Printable Sticker Paper (100 sheets for$17.99)
for the sticker inclusions, USB drive labels, and envelope seals
Avery Laminate adhesive sheets (50 sheets for $18.99)
to make the zine covers glossy and protect he USB drive labels
Holographic laminate (36 sheets for $9.99)
for a fancier sticker
Dark blue colored paper
for the envelopes
Dot stickers for keeping finished cases closed
Tools used (necessary):
Scissors
(Color) printer
Ruler/straight edge
(Masking) tape
Tools used (Extra):
Silhouette Cameo cutting machine
Bone folder
Permanent crafter’s tape/glue stick
Box Art
first step i did was make some box art!
luckily i had a bunch of assets ready from when i made CCS’s steam page, so i rearranged all the elements to fit the template for a U-card i found on duplication.ca, and added some elements from Wii cases using this lovely game cover template mega pack from NeoRame, as well as some box art blurbs
my used cassette cases had varying widths of back panel, so when designing the cover, i made sure to leave lots of room to cut through it different ways – you can see this in the space between the top of “Game Pak Includes:” and the blue background area, as well as the space on either side of the included items text for the trapezoid shape on some of them.
Prototyping the Insides
at first i wasn’t sure if i was going to have time to add in much else in the zette besides the USB of the game and maybe a sticker, but i’ll be damned if i wasn’t going to try.
my vision was to include a holographic sticker; a strap charm, since the USB sticks had a little loop perfect for it; a one-page zine artbook/game manual; and a slip of paper with an itch.io redemption key on it, and i wanted that tucked in a tiny little envelope.
i already got the stickers printed and cut, so i could measure how they’d fit in the case with the protoype bits. i ended up having to trim the first sticker batch juuust a lil cuz i wanted them to be as big as could fit and was too stubborn to downsized ’em enough haha.
i used some scrap paper and got everything seated in the case how i wanted. the tabs i cut on the backing board to make room for the pegs ended up being a perfect dual purpose way to wrap around and secure the USB drive to the inside! score. after the prototype was all set up how i wanted, i took measurements of everything
and then measured everything out in photoshop so i could get my cutting machine and printer to do most of the hard work for me!
Stickers & Shrink Charms
this is the sticker i designed! i have a repository of pictures of creatures people have made for just such a project. i covered them with holographic laminate before cutting. sparklyyyy
i found this shrink paper at daiso while gathering supplies for tiny con! i managed to print 5 of these lil paw cursors per shrink paper sheet. i did some failed experiments trying to print both sides (other side too shiny, ink wouldn’t take) and drawing the other side by hand with a sharpie (too much effort)
i cut the shinks by hand and punched the holes with a standard hole punch. i love my giant spring scissors; i actually used some smaller scissors at first, but it turns out the big spring one was way easier to control and get around corners despite the size.
once right out of the oven they got a flattening treatment, and then on to straps they went!
Tiny Envelopes!!!!
—> Tiny envelope template can be found here
i just used some colored paper for these. didn’t want anything too thick or it wouldn’t have folded easily. i had a hard enough time as it was folding these at such a small scale. a bone folder really helped with this
here’s how to fold the envelopes:
fold the sides in, then fold the bottom up to about halfway up the uncovered top flap
fold the bottom triangle again with the point aligned with the crease you made. then fold in two little trapezoids along the bottom edges like this
glue along those trapezoid flaps to secure, and then press firmly
fold down the top flap in a way that doesn’t have the tip overhang on the bottom. and it’s done!
USB Drive Labels & itch Key Slips
USB label size: about 3 cm by 1.5 cm per side
Key slip paper: 7 cm wide by 2.5 cm tall
the usb drives i got had free space on each side, which was a good canvas for tiny label stickers!
the itch.io keys i printed on the slightly thicker epson paper, folded twice in half. they fit in the envelopes perfectly snug
i finally remade my Xenon Fossil Games logo from a t-rex skull into a lenvow skull; on the other side went the CCS acronym. i used the floor pattern and UI panel border from my game for the itch.io key slips
i also made a tinytiny sticker to seal up the envelope :3c and drew a little kitty face on all of the key slips. they look real cute peekin’ outta there
One-Page Zine as a Game Manual/Mini Artbook
—> “One-page zine that will fit in a cassette case” template can be found here
my prototype case could fit one page of letter paper folded into a zine in there after a bit of trimming! so it was go time.
the sketch of the zine!
i tried to not be too precious about the formatting of this one – it’s still a zine after all! embrace the messyness! but i did have a lot of fun making it look like a little game manual too.
here’s how to fold a one-page zine! a bone folder and guillotine cutter help a lot with getting everything aligned nicely
i ended up using the crafters tape to keep the pages together where needed. it helped with keeping the pages together while flipping trough it.
i laminated the covers on most of them too! cuz i wanted that ~glossy~ game manual feel
Flaps & Tabs
—> Flap card & USB holder tab card template can be found here
i used the floor pattern from my game again on both sides of some of my epson paper since it was a nice thickness, so i figured it would work well for the flap card and usb holding tabs card.
i folded the curved part of the flaps twice to hold the thick stack of the zine and sticker together.
Loading up the data
i made sure to get all the major-ish bugs worked out before loading up the drives. i included an autorun.bat file that would set the icon of the drive, as well as a little readme file with a link back to the itch page for updates, and named each drive “CCS” !
i ended up making 15 zettes for Tiny Con. i’m really glad i have a 7-slot USB hub!
Final Assembly!
time to get ’em together baby. i used a liberal amount of crafter’s tape and masking tape for this.
first we got the u-cards into there, each trimmed according to the shape of each case. the trimmed part had to be adhered to the outside back, since even if it was a completely clear case, the pegs would be in the way if i attached the back panel to the inside.
i used a bit of crafter’s tape on the front u-card to keep it flat against the plastic. just a tiny bit, still can be removed and cleaned if someone wants to disassemble and use the case for something else
[image limit reached: view rest of images on the DrAlc blog]
then the flap cards. i adhered them a bit lower instead of centered so you could read the words “Mini Artbook” when the zine was in there
then the tab cards! this was just a ton of masking tape lol. i tried to make sure the usb drive was wrapped with the tabs securly but not too tight, so you could slide it up and out. and then did more masking tape attaching of the charm and envelope, and finally the whole kit into the case.
aaaand it’s ready!!!! WAHOOO
of course, i love to make signage, so i had to do that for these as well. i ended up sealing the finished ones with a little sticker dot, since it was little though for some of them to stay securely closed; the pegs pushed against the zine and flap card a bit too much. so i only had this sample one open at the con.
i sold 6 of these at TinyCon! i woulda probably sold more but i was helping to run the con too, and wasn’t at my table hawkin’ ’em enough, aaand also they were a bit hidden under the monitor for the game itself and behind my sticker set display.
but i’ve sold one online already, and they’ll get a new chance to shine at TFF this year in the artist alley so :3c wheeeee
if you’re interested, they’re up for sale here!!!
please make sure you show me if you make your own!!!! i’d love to see!!
I find myself in a weird position where I know I want to sew but I don't know what kind of doll to sew for. I have too many dolls? No, I don't have too many dolls, there is no such thing as too many dolls. Dolls I have been liking recently include:
- Tonner dolls, mainly Antoinettes because I prefer that more "realistic" body to the very stylised Tyler shape. The size makes for a different sewing experience, with some things becoming easier at the slightly larger scale and some things needing more detail/work. Hemming ballgowns by hand is bad enough at 1/6, you know? The downside is the posability, which isn't great though the expressiveness of the faces makes up for that a bit.
- Ellowynes, which are technically not Tonner dolls somehow? These are probably the largest dolls I sew for, and I prefer the ones with inset eyes. I now have a Lizette as well, which is something I craved for actual years before I finally got one.
- Makie dolls may be no more in terms of manufacturing but I still enjoy sewing for them and dressing them in cute little outfits. Very expressive dolls and I have I think 7 and of those I designed 5 of the faces myself (the miserable ones, mainly). They might just be my favourite kind of doll, though obviously there aren't too many of them out there and they're no longer in production.
- Made-to-Move Barbies are also a favourite, for the stellar articulation. I have yet to get one of the Curvy ones, but I've seen one IRL and they look really good. The main thing stopping me is that would be yet ANOTHER size/shape of doll to sew for and I am already a bit paralysed by choice on that front. Very good for rebodying old heads, I have rebodied "Manuella" my favourite Barbie and shoved a couple of So-In-Style heads onto MtM bodies. Love the posability.
- I got my Tangkou dolls out last night and had a look at them, though the body shape is a bit funny and the articulation somewhat lacking. Good bobblehead dolls, though, with stronger features than Pullip and less hipsterness than Blythe. (I only like custom Blythes, in terms of looking at pictures of dolls. The stock ones are... kind of dull?)
Do you associate styles/fashion trends with specific kinds of dolls? My Ellowynes tend to end up either EGL or super-casual, as a for instance. I do want to expand their lolita wardrobe a bit, but I sometimes shy away from how much more fabric they need compared to Makies and Barbies.
challenge: #HauntedShelf (my TBR, book recs, and signup info)
It’s been a while since I was last part of a bookish challenge, and (somehow), I managed to find this one before the closing deadline. Actually, I should check out my Litsy account more often. I know there are bookish events happening throughout the year (but i’m usually too busy doomscrolling #rip)
+25pts: Share an October TBR
As for the books I’d like to read…I’m going to be ambitious!
I haven’t seen that the titles that we choose for October have to be spooky, but I want to get in the mood. Besides, I’m also hoping to do a bit of writing and reading something “Halloween” might give me more ideas.
- Right now I’m reading Tougen Anki, a manga about demons who fight the “Momotarou”, so I’d like to continue it during October. I was going to keep reading it now but I’ll hold off, haha.
