Progress Update

Well, work is underway on Chapter 2. I spent a lot of this week just planning. I have the overall layout fleshed out, and writing done for the first scene. I'm currently finishing up making sure I have everything mapped out, then I'll begin the storyboarding process. In the future I'd like to have most of the chapter finished before I really get to work on it, but for now I'm going to go bits at a time - so I'll work on getting a handful of scenes down, then work on all the renders/etc for those, then do another block - and so on. I don't want to have it all done from the start, because the entire thing is a little bit of a learning process as I get used to it, and since I know it'll be a little slower than normal at first, I didn't want to delay getting into the renders too much.

I have a lot of things planned for this chapter, some of which I'm kinda excited about. One major one is going to be a sort of scavenger hunt. Throughout the next couple chapters, the characters will be involved in a major scavenger hunt, (of course with a prize for the winner). Most of the school will be competing - though some tasks will require cooperation! I won't be giving too much else away on this - some characters will barely be passive participating, while others are determined to win at all costs. Winning (or losing!) may have consequences, which is something to keep in mind as you tick off tasks (or decide not to!). 

Some of the tasks will be finding certain things, or solving certain problems. Others may be performing certain tasks (and collecting evidence, of course). Some, everyone will be able to complete, but others might only be doable once. Each task has a point value attached to it, and the person with the highest score at the end wins! That's all on that, all the details and rules will be a part of Ch2, as well as the list of tasks you need to accomplish. In regards to that, Ch2 will see a very slight change to the way the phone works. In Ch1, the phone was *only* available during free roams. In Ch2 (and 3.. we'll see beyond that) the phone will be available at all times, but some functionality will be disabled outside of free roams. The main reason for this is the phone will have a new app with all the scavenger hunt items listed, and noted if you've completed them or not. While you'll have an opportunity to complete some during free roam events, others may present themselves during the course of the normal storyline, so I decided it would be helpful to have a reference sheet always available. 

A lot of Chapter 2 will also focus on getting to know some of the characters that may have been briefly introduced in Ch1 but you didn't really get to know or have any time with. Of course that doesn't mean the other characters take a backseat - it just means there will be a lot to do!

That's all for now. I'll continue working on finishing up the bulk of the writing and planning this weekend, and hopefully get started on the renders midway through next week. I'll have - as always - more info to share next week, along with the official release at the $5 tier. So until then, have a great week!