A Role to Play - Build 1 (Patreon)

Hey everyone, over the past few years McSkinny (co-writer of Echo) has been working on a visual novel of his own. To help get the word out, we’ll be posting the first few builds here on the Echo Project patreon before McSkinny will move to his own Patreon account, though the project will remain affiliated with EP. Below is a link to the first build, which is publically available. Also, some words from McSkinny about his project:

>>Itchio Link<<

Howdy folks, McSkinny here. It's been a long time coming, but here's the first build of A Role to Play!

In ARtP, an armored fellow of varying names must escort a princess through a besieged kingdom to safety, accompanied by several colorful, non-human companions.

Of course, that's only half the story.

Our real protagonist, Danny, has spent the past year recovering from a life-threatening incident that left him severely injured. Nearing his 21st birthday, and with some pressuring from his father, he leaves the solitude of his home to meet up with a local group of tabletop gamers at his town's library. A newcomer to tabletop, Danny finds that his new friends are about as unusual as the characters they play in-game.

Ultimately, ARtP is a gay, branching visual novel about roleplay, identity, and escapism. There are three main "routes" for this story, with each route being associated with a certain character. Those familiar with other Echo Project titles (Echo, The Smoke Room, Arches) will be right at home with this framework.

The update schedule for ARtP is pretty much the same as the one I used for our previous visual novel Echo, with about 30-to-45 minutes worth of content added every month (6 to 9 hours of content per year). VN development is a blast, and having already finished one visual novel, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. That being said, I'm always open to feedback and ideas for improving the experience. Speaking of, there's already a bit of a "to-do list" for improvements in future updates. See below:

To-Do List:

- The current UI is just a modified version of Echo's (scaled for 1920 x 1080), so a new one designed for ARtP is warranted - including better nameplates.

- The Music Gallery app on the phone is expected to be expanded in the future with various contributing artists.

- Additional CG's (illustrated scenes) during the first couple hours could definitely make a better impression and adds visual value.

- I'm considering adding a "dimming" effect to characters who aren't speaking when multiple are on the screen - sort of what you see in JRPG's. I'm curious if this is warranted or not.

Thank, again everyone for your support, fanart, and critique notes thrown with bricks through my windows over the past half decade. I hope ya enjoy!