Alright, so here's where we are as of this post...

• The full game script is finally finished - currently clocking in at 3002 dialogue lines with an estimated reading time of ~90 minutes for a standard playthrough(~122 if you unlock every bonus scene)!

• The character sprites have been done for a while, but they are being integrated into the script code as it is being debugged

• About a third of the planned CGs are done

• The first draft of the soundtrack is done

• And when all of these things get fully done, I still have to test run every part of it for errors and (accidental) black screens of course!

It's a little behind schedule due to life issues, but as I always say, slow motion is better than no motion! And in the meantime, you have the lovely demo that will take you through the first six choices of the game's story!

Now for the explanation/refresher:

The demo itself measures about half a gigabyte in size when converted to a web build for browser play. For a demo of a 1080p Ren'Py game, that's not bad (then again I should have remembered to double check for files that ended up being unused but not taken out - a mistake I shall not repeat)! On my end, my experience is telling me that consistently posting screenshots of the game along with info about its mechanics and graphics​ is the only effective way to help - apart from the demo itself. Due to the nature of the game being a "lorebook" for the entire EF Project​,​ it's hard to find many images that don't spoil something meant to be found through the game experience (I'm still digging and deciding a margin as I go through, however). The demo is quite literally the best promo I can muster for the game right now.

Unfortunately, the full game is already close to a gigabyte and isn't even done yet. The story is far longer (including secret scenes and choices)​, the cast of characters is much bigger(including secret ones, all drawn to fit a 1080p screen​), a soundtrack is involved, and there are more achievements and features than what the demo provides(including some customized UI elements)! I plan to compress every asset and compile the code into a small number of files and keep the greater half of the UI at default values in an effort to shrink it, but I want to include as much of the content I had originally planned as possible (especially the secret surprises)!

The first thing you would probably be thinking is "just use Steam"! It is true that Steam does allow uploading of big data games... Problem is, you have to be a Steam partner to upload games, which includes a $100 fee for each title you want to submit. Which leads to more problems:

• I don't have that kind of money to spare (which kinda necessitates this post - just to be clear, I'm NOT asking for money)

• Even if I did, I would only get it back if the game made $1K in revenue. Every game I make is meant to be free-to-play and thus NOT designed to make any revenue.

Another easy solution is just to shrink the game down to the bare minimum (maybe five pieces of music, no CGs, only a few emotions per character and backgrounds, no extra stuff). I've already done a game like that, actually - and it ended up about the same size as the demo. And while I love that baby of a game, it's because of the fact that it's only worth one playthrough to the average person that I just had to go bigger and better with this one. As for breaking the game into chapter-like chunks...its story is linear and comprehensive just like the project this game is for  and is best told in one piece (plus it allows for the usage of "scene systems" to differentiate the choices more).

That begs the question: why not just upload it as a downloadable package? Not only would you have to make gigabytes worth of space on your computer to play, but the game itself would also be at risk of vandalism and theft, which is unfortunately common for anything from more obscure fandoms (in this case, Angel's Friends). The game is meant to be the source of canonical information for a large and comprehensive transmedia project, so I would only do this as a last resort (which hopefully will not come to pass).

In order to (1)keep the game's best quality, (2)protect it, and (3)let it fulfill its dual purpose as a project introduction and "official lorebook", I have to retain a lot more data than I did for the last game as this one is coming with non-default features built into the Ren'Py framework. Both GameJolt and ItchIO, excellent hosting sites for browser games, normally allow up to 1 GB for game uploads. If any more space is needed, it has to be requested.

This is where the demo plays come in with a practical purpose:

I'm doing my best, but in the event that the full game's web build still exceeds 1GB in size after the measures are taken, I am going to make a request to the support teams of both GameJolt and ItchIO for the space needed to release it down the line. I believe that the case I plan to present in pursuit of this goal will have better ground as more people play the demo.

I plan to make this case on March 15th, as I plan to have the full game ready for release sometime between March 30th and April 10th. I will make do with however many plays I have when the time comes, but 20-50 plays on either site would be a good foot to stand on!

Having said all of this, I ask that you PLEASE play the demo version of the Return to Eternity Visual Novel game on either of these sites:

GameJolt: https://gamejolt.com/games/ef-prequel-return-to-eternity/1030272

ItchIO: https://e11ed0rad0.itch.io/eternal-frenemies-return-to-eternity-demo

Let's work together to try and make the origin story of the Eternal Frenemies Project free and available to all!