The demo is functionally complete and will be entering beta testing in anticipation for the 11/11 release.
The demo is functionally complete and will be entering beta testing in anticipation for the 11/11 release.
SOON.
Also some hopefully exciting announcements about the way this game is gonna unfold. Think less “demo” and more “Telltale Games.”
I keep wondering if we should’ve called the game Jake English Adventures, as in plural, but oh well.
like really soon dang
We have poured an absolutely tremendous amount of work and love and months into this project. This episode of the adventure will offer you several paths and two separate endings that we intend to build upon as the project continues. Enjoy stepping into the worn hiking boots and comfy shorts of Jake English, heir of tech empire SKAIANET as he returns home from one of his many trips aboard. There are treacherous social conundrums to navigate and new mysteries to solve. And god knows this gentleman needs all the help he can get!
Please let us know if you enjoy our first outing into this story! For a limited time, we will have the ask box turned on. You are also encouraged to comment on itch.io or here at the good ol’ AO3. We also have a Kofi if anyone would like to supply us with the stimulants we need going forward.
Good luck and tally ho!
- @callmearcturus and @cityinthesea
(and a super special thanks to @landofsomethingsomething, @mimsiical, @treeprince, @purplepurpleunicornsparkle, @stratalibra and @stormsbourne for their endless help in beta testing!)
… YEAH. DANGIT.
Arc here. I do not own a mac and thus couldn’t verify that file. City is the mac-daddy so they are building the distro. Check again in like ten minutes and it’ll be fixed.
Sorry. Something had to hiccup, didn’t it?
EDIT: The file should be fixed now, please re-download it for the right version! This was mostly my bad, sorry about the inconvenience, but please enjoy the game once you are able to redownload~! -city
That would be because there is no BGM yet actually. For Episode One, Team Honey Lamp was uuuuh two people. If the reception for Ep1 is good, we have plans to ask some musical folks to come in and contribute.
No, we do not. In my (arc’s) personal opinion, the hardest part of the game building is done thanks to Episode One. We have most of our sprites and assets and things like the GUI built, and I have a p solid plan for the narrative in episode two that I am super psyched about.
But the amount of time the team will be able to devote to the game will depend much on the reaction to episode one. So, we shall see.
I’ve seen a few people who are having trouble with the endings, so here is some guidance. This is gonna spoil stuff so please only click if you need help!
There are two endings and a cliffhanger in Episode One.
Fancy Gala Ending: Call Jane at least two times when you are given the option (so the first option set on day one and then call her again when Jake is scared of the noises during the night). On the final day, Jane will call Jake. Pick any of the first three options, then follow the story to the ending.
Missed Connection Ending: Either avoid calling Jane more than once or take the fourth option when she invites you to the gala. Follow the story to the ending.
Missed Connection unlocks the cliffhanger that sets up the “gimmick” of the game going into Episode Two. Restart the game, and choose the new call option on the first day to reach the true end of the episode.
Also, just for fun, try never calling Jane until the final day.
it’s only been a week, which is a little wild in my opinion. it feels like much longer, but nope! JEA ep 1 released a week ago! holy crap.
city and I will take some time to respond to feedback soon. sorry we waited this long, but we got some amazing comments and messages, and I can only say thank you so much for that.
keep watching this space for news. /fingerguns and a wonk
-arc
I had no idea Ren’py games worked with screenreaders! That is excellent and I am glad. Maybe I will look into seeing if it can do alt text for the images, and add little descriptors? I will keep this in mind for episode two! -Arc
Hello, adventurers. Arc here. How are you I’m good thanks. Here’s a fast update on the state of the project!
After the Episode One release, City and I pretty much took an extended break, partly to recuperate, partly to give me time to survive Black Friday Hell, and to figure out the scope of Episode Two and what we will need to make that happen.
So, a few things:
I’m the loosely acting Project Lead over here, mostly because I have marginally more time than City and I’m faaaairly confident I can prooobably do this. City’s still acting Art Director Guy, but we’ll likely be looking into expanding that portion of the team to lessen their workload.
But that’s honestly later. Right now, I am working on the Dense Outline for Episode Two, which we will build the script from. Currently, the plan is for Episode Two to have four unique paths added.
A lot of assistance nailing down appropriately Cute And Funny options was facilitated by @purplepurpleunicornsparkle, who is joining the team as a much much needed co-writer. I’m both pleased as dickens to have a writer of Rosa’s caliber and also tremendously relieved to have back up. This is a text-heavy game!
Once we have the full outline complete, we’ll nail down what additional assets we’re going to need and expand in that direction. But one thing at a time.
Anyway, thank you for the awesome response to Episode One. I can promise Episode Two will be much larger and will have much more satisfying endings than the very sequel-hooky endings of Ep 1. The game grows in complexity as we move further in.
Later, gators!
I can technically export to Android/iOS but I have literally no idea how this would work. I will look into it and see how well if functions? -Arc
Yes, it’s Calliope. 8) -Arc
Jake’s not mean but– okay yeah he’s kind of mean, but in a very specific way that awards him as much plausible deniability as possible. I genuinely love that aspect of his character and what a mess he makes of things.
There is a very interesting dynamic between Jake and Jane, in my opinion. The core of Jake’s character to me is his desire for a path of least resistance to make his life easier, and how that sometimes results in him stepping on people’s emotions (and then pretending he doesn’t notice).
It clashes remarkably with Jane, where a central part of her character is how she harbors a grudge towards anyone who does not intuit the things she wants from them, and will silently stew and build up resentment like a shaken bottle of soda until she explodes.
So it’s super fun and I love the Alphas a lot.
- Arc