Ink & Echo 📝🎭

Ink & Echo is a skeuomorphic, cooperative storytelling game for Android. Players pass the phone around, writing consecutive parts of a story while only seeing a small "echo" (the last few words) of what the previous writer contributed.

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📋 Table of Contents

• About the Project
• Features
• Prerequisites
• Getting Started & Installation
• Usage & Rules
• Configuration
• Contributing
• License

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📖 About the Project

Ink & Echo brings the classic parlor game of "Exquisite Corpse" (cadáver exquisito) to your Android device with a beautiful, tactile design. It features typewriter sounds, a dotted grid stationery aesthetic, and physical-like mechanical buttons that make writing feel authentic and satisfying.

✨ Features

• Turn-based gameplay: Support for 2 to 10 players on a single device.
• Adjustable Hint Length: Customize the number of words echoed to the next writer (1, 3, or 5 words).
• Tactile UI: Dotted paper grid backgrounds, skeuomorphic buttons, and physical feedback.
• Audio Feedback: Real typewriter key clicks and carriage return sound effects.
• Story Archive: Saves and formats all completed stories for reading.

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🛠️ Prerequisites

To build and run this project, you will need:

• Android Studio (Jellyfish or newer recommended)
• JDK 17 installed and configured
• Android SDK Platform 34 (targetSdk)
• An Android device or emulator running API 26 (Android 8.0) or higher

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🚀 Getting Started & Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/lagosproject/InkAndEcho.git
   cd InkAndEcho

2. Open the project in Android Studio:

   • Go to File -> Open and select the root directory of the project.
   • Wait for Gradle to finish syncing.

3. Build the Debug APK:

   ./gradlew assembleDebug

4. Run on device/emulator:

   • Click the Run button in Android Studio, or execute:

     ./gradlew installDebug

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🎮 Usage & Rules

1. Start the Game: Select the number of scribblers and preferred hint length.
2. First Prompt: Input a starting prompt (or use the default) to kickstart the story.
3. Pass the Phone: Once a writer seals their scroll, they hand the device to the next player. The next player will only see the "echo" of the last words typed.
4. Read the Masterpiece: When all turns are complete, the fully compiled story is added to the Archive where everyone can read it.

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⚙️ Configuration

Local configurations such as SDK paths should be specified in your local.properties file:

sdk.dir=/path/to/your/android/sdk

For release signing, create a keystore.properties file in the root directory (never commit this file to version control):

storePassword=<YOUR_STORE_PASSWORD>
keyPassword=<YOUR_KEY_PASSWORD>
keyAlias=<YOUR_KEY_ALIAS>
storeFile=<YOUR_KEYSTORE_FILE_NAME>.jks

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions make the open-source community an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md to learn how to propose changes, report bugs, or request features.

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📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.