The Philanthropist

[Ethan D]

The Mega rich.

No doubt some and perhaps even many of them obtained their millions through intelligence, hard work, and brilliant ideas but when Walton Braddrick inherits his father's empire after a suspicious death, Nathan Carter is sure that this man is not one of them.  Join Nathan and his recent acquaintance Mary Baker as they dispense a unique form of justice to a corrupt businessman who is beyond the reach of the law.

I am happy to present:

The Cast:
Nathan Carter:
A con-artist who targets only those who have caused some great harm and then used their vast resources and power to escape the consequences.  This robin-hood complex that Nathan possesses often brings him into more trouble than it is worth.  Not only is Nathan attempting to relocate Walton Braddrick's millions but as well he is working to infiltrate and take down from the inside a dangerous criminal organization responsible for dozens of deaths.

Mary Baker:
Mary is a criminal who is in the game of conning mainly for the challenge and thrill of it. (This is not to say that she dis-likes the money.)  While helping Nathan con Walton, she is approached by a corrupt politician who leads her down a road that spirals out of control, leading her to question her beliefs and practices along the way.

Screen Shots:


Nathan convincing Mary to help him with Walton.


Mary and Nathan confirming the guilt of Walton.


A conversation by moonlight.... while breaking into a house.

The Team:
Written and programmed by: Ethan Damschroder
Backgrounds by: Igor Donevski
Character sprites by: Shane Stevens (ProgZmax)
Character portraits by: Ian Schlaepfer (big brother)
Music by: Tony Franklin (Something13)
Poster Art: Karen Petrasko
Voice acting:  I don't know yet... Suggestions?

Features
-Two playable characters. (3 technically, but one is only for a single scene.)
-Action puzzles (It's not about reacting quickly, it's about thinking quickly.)
-Inventory/item puzzles to allow you to manipulate your environment to solve problems.
-The ability to add any item or character in the room to a list of clues to work out connections and special
 actions like crying or playing piano. (Note: 'Ceiling fan' plus 'Chair' does not equal 'Create flying chair')
-Three story lines at the same time with connections between them.
-Dialog puzzles to gather information and gain the trust of others

Rough estimate on release date:
Winter 2011/2012.  This is my first commercial project so I don't have a good estimate for how long it will take.  Here's hoping I can release it sooner!  

I don't have a website but feel free to follow me on Twitter for more updates on development @edamschroder

Just a side note:
This story has no relation at all to my first game "A Night to Remember."  I don't much like the story or construction of that game nowadays but I loved the character of Nathan Carter despite how abysmally I portrayed him so I brought him back for this.

[david]

 :o :o :o :o :o
look forward to this

you've got a pretty strong crew on board  

[ThreeOhFour]

Looks great, sounds interesting.

Consider yourself followed on twitter

[Sslaxx]

Commercial, eh? Hope this works out for you. For early(?) shots, these do look great. That first pic makes me think almost of Blackwell in its art style (not sure why though!). As for voice acting, why not talk to Dave Gilbert for ideas?

[Dave Gilbert]

Very impressive!

Was that poster done by Karen Petrasko?

Edit: And apparently I can't read.  Awesome!  Karen rocks.  And yeah, if you need help with VO stuff lemme know. 

[m0ds]

Nice stuff - interesting team, it's good to see BB in there also

Looks great. Not sure about the main characters in terms of where they're from, they don't seem American, nor does the setting, particularly - where is it set? Be sure to cameo Grundislav and Calin voices and you may just make a buck 99 off me

[Snarky]

This looks very cool. From the style, I would have guessed the backgrounds were by Nightfable, and I wouldn't have recognized ProgZ's sprites. Little bit of a departure in style, and I like it! (Though the Nathan sprite doesn't quite match the closeup and poster look. Not the final version, you say? All right, then!)

Anyway, while it certainly helps that it's pretty, the main thing that gets me excited is the list of features. Sounds like an excellent gameplay recipe. But why can't we make a flying chair?! I want a flying chair puzzle, dammit! 

The Mega rich.

No doubt some and perhaps even many of them obtained their millions through intelligence, hard work, and brilliant ideas but when Walton Braddrick inherits his father's empire after a suspicious death, Nathan Carter is sure that this man is not one of them.

No, sounds like he obtained his millions by inheriting them.  :

[Kweepa]

Looks interesting! I really like the Robin Hood storyline.

One note: each line of dialog in the screenshots (including the first in the animated shot) should be broken in two, replacing the comma with a full stop. As a side effect, the voice actors should give you a better read.

[Dave Gilbert]

My only comment about the poster is that it's almost TOO moody.  Based on the screenshots and description, the tone of the game seems to be a fun, breezy crime caper and the characters appear to be very upbeat and confident.  The poster, on the other hand, shows a moody late-night city street with the duo looking very brooding and thoughtful (Mary even looks slightly scared).  Unless I am misinterpreting the screenshots, the poster looks like it is advertising an entirely different game.

[CaptainD]

This looks really interesting - looking forward to seeing the finished game!

[Sslaxx]

My only comment about the poster is that it's almost TOO moody.  Based on the screenshots and description, the tone of the game seems to be a fun, breezy crime caper and the characters appear to be very upbeat and confident.  The poster, on the other hand, shows a moody late-night city street with the duo looking very brooding and thoughtful (Mary even looks slightly scared).  Unless I am misinterpreting the screenshots, the poster looks like it is advertising an entirely different game.

I'm taking the story as being more in tune with the tone of the poster here. So I'm thinking the in-game artwork may not be moody enough? The story as given doesn't say "fun, breezy crime caper" to me.

[Darth Mandarb]

Ethan D - if you want some feedback/critiques on the poster/screenshots please start a thread in the Critics Lounge for the poster v. screenshot debate before this gets out of hand..

Everybody else please refrain from CL type stuff... small comments turn to discussions, discussions turn to paint-overs, paint overs lead to the dark-side [in the GiP].  I think Yoda said that.

[Ethan D]

 :o :o :o :o
Loving the responses so far!


Thanks for all the comments and questions, I should probably not have posted directly before going to sleep and now I will attempt to reply to all questions!

(Though the Nathan sprite doesn't quite match the closeup and poster look. Not the final version, you say? All right, then!)

The sprites are the final version.  What's the inconsistency you're worried about? (If you could reply through PM to keep the topic from shifting to another debate, I'd appreciate it.  )

Consider yourself followed on twitter

Thanks Ben!

Looks great. Not sure about the main characters in terms of where they're from, they don't seem American, nor does the setting, particularly - where is it set? Be sure to cameo Grundislav and Calin voices and you may just make a buck 99 off me

I didn't want to specifically name a city because I name a time period and there are corrupt politicians and I didn't want to accidentally look like I was accusing some particular city's government of corruption. 

Suffice it to say that it takes place in the Archetype of an American city.  You know, like New York or Chicago. 

I'd love to get Grundislav and Calin as Cameos. Not sure what part they could play though.  If you guys are interested let me know! 

Looks interesting! I really like the Robin Hood storyline.

One note: each line of dialog in the screenshots (including the first in the animated shot) should be broken in two, replacing the comma with a full stop. As a side effect, the voice actors should give you a better read.

Thanks Kweepa!  In the actual game these are split into two separate lines but I thought for the sake of screen shots I would put it into one so I could fit a bit more information without including too many .gifs

My only comment about the poster is that it's almost TOO moody.  Based on the screenshots and description, the tone of the game seems to be a fun, breezy crime caper and the characters appear to be very upbeat and confident.  The poster, on the other hand, shows a moody late-night city street with the duo looking very brooding and thoughtful (Mary even looks slightly scared).  Unless I am misinterpreting the screenshots, the poster looks like it is advertising an entirely different game.

The storyline that is shared between Nathan and Mary is pretty much a fun crime caper and their dynamic during these times is very much like characters in movies like Ocean's 11.  (Sarcastic with each other and confident in their abilities.)

Like most of us, Nathan and Mary are different people depending on whether they are around other people or are by themselves.  They each bring out certain traits in the other but when by themselves the story becomes a bit darker and philosophical. 

It would be a bit tough to make 'taking down a dangerous criminal organization' into a fun crime caper.  Similarly, Mary's self-doubt is something that isn't characteristic of things not-so-serious, and I wanted to keep that element separate of the shared storyline as possible.  I think their individual stories contribute more to the overall feel of the game than the shared story so I wanted the poster to reflect that.

I would say this game is a balance between the two typical types of crime stories.  It is both serious and relaxed at the same time depending on what exactly you are doing.

Ethan D - if you want some feedback/critiques on the poster/screenshots please start a thread in the Critics Lounge for the poster v. screenshot debate before this gets out of hand..

Thanks Darth,

Sorry I've taken so long to respond, I posted originally a few hours before getting to sleep and I've finally gotten time to take a look at all the responses.  I think my answers may have satisfied the questions people have been posing but if people are still concerned I'll open up a topic in the critics lounge.


Thanks for all the comments so far everyone!!!

[Dualnames]

Poster sold this to me. I expect this to be at least ULTRA GOOD.

[Snake]

Poster sold this to me. I expect this to be at least ULTRA GOOD.

Ethan had told me a small bit about this game in the past, and if this game is half as good as it sounded then, it's a guaranteed "ULTRA GOOD".

Good luck with this, Ethan.

[arj0n]

Ethan, out of curiosity, are your 2 projects A New Danger (Sequel to A Night to Remember) & The Johnson Report: Prologue just frozen for the time being or are they abandoned/dead?

Goof luck with this project b.t.w., looks like my cup of tea 

[Ethan D]

Ethan, out of curiosity, are your 2 projects A New Danger (Sequel to A Night to Remember) & The Johnson Report: Prologue just frozen for the time being or are they abandoned/dead?

Both A New Danger and The Johnson Report are dead, but for different reasons.  The Johnson Report was canceled mainly because I couldn't find an artist and while I tried for several hours a day, I couldn't make progress attempting to animate the sprites, and to be honest I didn't enjoy it.  A New Danger was canceled because it got caught up in a swarm of projects that I started for myself.  I had realized I always had too many projects and so I canceled A New Danger and about 10 other projects.  Now I've only got this and a job to occupy my time. (At least until fall rolls around and college starts up again.)  Don't worry about this being canceled, I love the story and characters far too much to not finish it.

Ethan had told me a small bit about this game in the past, and if this game is half as good as it sounded then, it's a guaranteed "ULTRA GOOD".

Thanks Snake, hope I can live up to expectations. 

[Digital Mosaic Games]

Think i'ts the same artist like from Gemini Rue. I really enjoy his work!

[Snarky]

Uh, the character portraits are by the guy who did the portraits for Gemini Rue (Ian Schlaepfer aka bigbrother), but otherwise none of the artists are the same.

[Dave Gilbert]

Well, Karen Petrasko also did the poster art for Gemini Rue (and Blackwell Deception), so there's a crossover there as well!