Dev Build #84 (Patreon)

The first dev build for Day 9 is ready to go! As is typical for most initial builds, there isn't actually much to see yet since I spent most of this dev cycle finalizing the outline and finer details of the day--this build really just serves to get the ball rolling. That's particularly true this time around because I'm testing out a new approach to writing a day! 

Previously, I would slowly go through the day sequentially, fully writing each scene as they came up in the outline for the most part. For Day 9, I'm instead going to try out building the "skeleton" of the day first, and then go back to fill in all of the scenes that branch off of it. So I'll first be writing the "critical path" before anything else, meaning only unavoidable scenes and the default, less interesting options that take you to the end of the day the fastest. For example, in this build you can play all the way through lunch already and will encounter options to: Do something with Beli in the morning, go on the hunt after class, and sit with Sunny at lunch--but none of those scenes are written yet.

I think this has the potential to be more productive overall, but does of course have the drawback that it means the first couple builds for a day will end up being pretty lackluster. Day 9 was a good candidate for testing it out, however, because it has a pretty juicy scene right in the middle of the default route through the day--an Escapism lab where you get partnered with Alice. That should make it into the next build! 

At any rate, if you do poke around in this build, I hope you enjoy the tease of what the day has in store!

This is an unstable version of the game, so be aware that you may encounter bugs, dead ends, and unfinished scenes.  Remember not to export saves from dev builds! :

https://mega.nz/file/yfomCSDY#aJoN6o_suSRoFlAp9D1DL7xT957wgcgv4k1lkyr1bV4 

The next build will be posted on December 1st!

(Also, the header image for this is the secretary who works at the front desk from way back on the first day! She doesn't technically appear in this build but will play a role in Beli's scene that gets teased here so I figured it was time to finally give her a proper model)