Hi Everyone,
I'm a new entry in the Forum.
Our first game made with AGS 3.2 is called "Donald Dowell and the Ghost of Barker Manor". English version it's not yet complete.
Months ago we made a Short Demo (we call it "MINI-DEMO") to present the game ... and we are proud to present it to you!
[imgzoom]http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/0000a_main.gif[/imgzoom]
Description:
Donald Dowell is a nice old man in his eighties, retired for many years. Donald s life, except for his "intolerable" wife, is quiet. But Donald feels empty. He has the socalled retiree's syndrome : he s bored to death! The only way to cure his boredom is TO GO BACK TO WORK. After many hours spent in his city, trying to get hired for various jobs, he finally finds his calling: to be a GHOSTBUSTER!
Donald will try to become Bob Delano s assistant (the most famous occult detective in Ireland), be involved in the investigation of Barker Manor and, hopefully, solve the mystery.
2D old-fashioned, hand-drawn graphics
Third-person
Interaction with multiple characters
Multiple-choice dialogues
Languages: Italian / English
Overall Progress of the game: 100% (Italian Version) 100% (English Localization)
Some Screen Shots:
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN01.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN02.jpg)
Others ScreenShot here: http://apemarina.altervista.org/donald-dowell.html
Hey! Love the look of this and it sounds like a fun game! Good luck with it :)
Love your graphics style. And the game sounds brilliant. :grin:
The old man's office looks wonderfully creepy, with the bat, skeleton, and gargoyle etc. Even the painting of Dracula on the wall. :grin:
EDIT: Just played the demo - love it! :grin:
If you need testers, I volunteer. :wink:
Played your demo and loved it! :grin:
Can't wait for it to be released
(http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/120328/p5bopkwu.gif)
Please don't let me wait too long â€" time's running :wink:
Edit:
I have been so facinated about the game that I forgot
(http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/welcome~0.gif)
to the AGS-forum!
Thank you all for your appreciation!
The game will be finished in 2013; it takes time to draw backgrounds (they are handmade) and to color them.
@Frodo and any other who want to help us: yes we will need testers... of course you can test only english version ... We are going on with italian version and then we will transalte in english. The most difficult thing for us is to find Translator who can work for free.
If there is someone who knows italian and who can help us in translating, we will be grateful.
Love the art style!
Another game for my "games to watch" list.
Hi everyone again.
We are going on with the game.
We finished writing the story and puzzles' concept and we created new rooms.
At the moment the game contains about 40 rooms. We expect that the complete game (that we exitemated will be finished in the middle of 2013) will contain about 120 rooms (more or less).
Here's some new screenshots (just to know what do you think about graphics):
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN08.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN09.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN10.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN11.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN12.jpg)
This looks really nice, loving your cartoony illustration style. I'll be keeping my eye on this one for sure.
Actually, the more I see of this game, the more I like it;)
Your background artist definitely deserves praise!;) Keep up the good work!;)
yeah ane stuff.
If your walkcycles keep up with all the cool bgs I'm so sold :D
Thank u everyone.
The graphic is totally (more or less) hand-made; I made drawings on paper and then I developed them with computer. I scanned them (black and white gifs) and coulored with a pixel-art software. This way has made making animations and cycles a bit difficult, but I managed it some how :)
The game is almost done ... In a couple of month we'll be probably ready for Italian Language Release.
We hope we'll be able to translate it in english in a little time.
Here's some new screenshots:
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN13_NEW.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN14_NEW.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN15_NEW.jpg)
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/SCREEN16_NEW.jpg)
Looks fantastic. I love your art style. :grin:
Can't wait for the English translation :smiley:
Beautiful visual style and a nice setup storywise. Pretty unusual to set the game in Ireland, and I like that as well. :)
looking forward to giving this game a try!
Just tried the demo and I loved it...great story and I'm anxious to get inside that mansion and explore! Looking forward to playing it! I liked the Santa Clause looking secretary...;)
Sarah
Quote from: SarahLiz on Sat 16/02/2013 22:21:28
Just tried the demo and I loved it...great story and I'm anxious to get inside that mansion and explore! Looking forward to playing it! I liked the Santa Clause looking secretary...;)
Sarah
Sarah:
If I'm not mistaken, that secretary was Karl Marx, based on his name, age, face and some of the things he says (mentioning capitalism/proletarianism)
SHADOW
Yes. it's Karl Marx.
The game will be full of quotes from movies, tv-show, comics, books, etc.
That's a quote form a famous italian comics: Dylan Dog (a paranormal investigator) with his assistant Groucho Marx. Here there are: Bob Delano and his secretary Karl Marx.
This one looks great. I'm digging the art style. I'm gonna download the demo later today. All the best bringing this one to fruition :-)
Quote from: Shadow1000 on Sun 17/02/2013 04:18:17
Quote from: SarahLiz on Sat 16/02/2013 22:21:28
Just tried the demo and I loved it...great story and I'm anxious to get inside that mansion and explore! Looking forward to playing it! I liked the Santa Clause looking secretary...;)
Sarah
Sarah:
If I'm not mistaken, that secretary was Karl Marx, based on his name, age, face and some of the things he says (mentioning capitalism/proletarianism)
SHADOW
Whoops! Haha, my mistake...well I never said he ACTED like Santa Claus...;)
But seriously, enjoyed playing the demo & was disappointed when it ended. I don't usually go for the cartoony-like graphic style but in this game it seems appropriate and it's really done quite beautifully, imho.
Sarah :)
Quote from: SarahLiz on Sun 17/02/2013 16:08:37
Whoops! Haha, my mistake...well I never said he ACTED like Santa Claus...;)
LOL...this is true. I think it takes remarkable talent to cartoonize a face and make it recognizable. Compare Karl in the game with the original picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Karl_Marx_001.jpg
Quote from: SarahLiz
But seriously, enjoyed playing the demo & was disappointed when it ended. I don't usually go for the cartoony-like graphic style but in this game it seems appropriate and it's really done quite beautifully, imho.
I completely agree. I think that the graphics and animation are very smooth and polished and provide a perfect atmosphere. I'm very impressed with the detail and consistency of the backgrounds and the light-hearted environment is executed superbly. The demo only has a bit of background story intro and two simple (and identical) puzzles so it's hard to tell at this point how the game will develop but it certainly looks promising!
Buona fortuna to the authors!
SHADOW
Thank you (grazie!).
The Demo is not properly a "demo game"; it's a "presentation", just to understand what we are talking about.
The game will have a big play time and it will be full of puzzles; The Demo is short 'cause I don't want to ruin the future game-play :)
I hope I will find a good translator; at the moment there are nearly 25.000 words.
Hi everyone.
Good News: The game is finished!!!! ... but, unfortunately, only in italian language; the Italian version will be published on may 9th on our website (http://www.apemarina.altervista.org/)
For the English version we need time to translate ... I hope to find a good translator that could manage it in few months!
good thing I speak Italian then!
looking forward to play this, I really like the screenshots.
… By the way, it looks like the Mario Brothers changed profession?! :)
Congrats on finishing it. If only I spoke italian. Can't wait for the English release :)
Congrats on finishing it. Loved the demo. :grin:
Thank you guys; hope we'll be ready as soon as possible with english vrsion.
Quote from: san.daniele on Sun 05/05/2013 19:10:03
good thing I speak Italian then!
looking forward to play this, I really like the screenshots.
… By the way, it looks like the Mario Brothers changed profession?! :)
Hi San.daniele,
so you can speak Italian ... can you help us with translations?
I'll contact you by pm...
Karl Marx + Groucho Marx = absolute win!
Hi Folks, good news from Italy!
The game is having a good success in Italy and it is currently being localized to english !!!
Full game will be localized by the translation team Rum Corp(se) Localisation Pro (http://rumcorpse.wix.com/rum-corpse-localisation/apps/blog/donald-dowell-and-the-ghost-of-barker), composed of the talented Italian girls Claudia Mucavero e Marialuisa Ruggiero, authors of the excellent Italian localization of game "The Marionette" (made with AGS - http://www.teameffigy.com/).
Full english version will be ready before the end of the year.
(http://apemarina.altervista.org/alterpages/link_dd.gif#gallery)
Great news. Thanks AprilSkies :wink:
(http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/joy.gif)
Wonderful news!
I really enjoyed the first one and I am eager to get my hands on this one. (nod)
Thank you so much guys!
Hi everyone,
Graet news: we finished the localization to english!!
We're sooo happy for that!!
... but we need your help: can someone help us in proofreading and/or in testing english version??
We need to check if there are grammatical errors, but most of all we need to understand how it sounds to an English native speaker.
If someone is interested, contact me here or via P.M.
I thank you all in advance, for your help, for your encouragement... and for all ...
I hope the game will be released soon!
Great news!
This is great news ;-D. Looking forward to play!
Quote from: AprilSkies on Thu 10/10/2013 11:05:43
can someone help us in proofreading and/or in testing english version??
We need to check if there are grammatical errors, but most of all we need to understand how it sounds to an English native speaker.
If someone is interested, contact me here or via P.M.
I want to help out.
I find the game's look and the main character absolutely charming.
I happen to be an English teacher and a real stickler concerning grammar and the overall nuance of sentence structure.
Stephen King (in his instructional book for writers: "On Writing") had an excellent tip which I always remember when editing writing, be it my own or that of others:
"Take out all the signs that say 'Horse'."
By which he meant:
Let's say you walk into an art gallery and see a picture of a horse hanging on the wall, and then you look down and see a sign under it which says "Horse"...
This is an obvious redundancy which needs to be removed or this particular art gallery is going to get more guffaws than serious art appreciation from its viewers.
I consider myself pretty decent at removing the signs that say "Horse" from descriptions and dialog, and above average at finding inconsistencies in grammar.
If interested, please PM me the details of how I can get started on this project.
:)
Thank you Mandle. i sent you a PM.
You are really kind!
Quote from: AprilSkies on Sat 12/10/2013 18:48:07
Thank you Mandle. i sent you a PM.
You are really kind!
;)
A long journey is always the most satisfying...
We are so close to finish the game!
And that has been possible only with the help of Mandle and RumCorpse Localization Pro!!!
so.... coming very very soon...
Quote from: AprilSkies on Thu 05/12/2013 08:29:18
We are so close to finish the game!
And what an amazing game it is!
I'm proud to have been able to help in bringing this unforgettable game out into the larger English speaking community!
As I told AprilSkies during our long and winding path to final release:
I came to AGS in the hope of finding games to match the fun I had back in the day with such games as "Day of the Tentacle", "Sam and Max", and "The Dig"...(to name but a few)
And I have found some games here that came close.
But I would have to point out "Donald Dowell and the Ghost of Barker Manor" as the one that came the closest to those heavenly experiences.
Even after the 25,000 word proofread of the original script during mid-October I still had no idea of the experience awaiting me upon the first playtest of this game.
Constant work on the behalf of AprilSkies and the incredibly patient Rum Corpse team (for bearing with me through all my nit-picking about issues) is finally about to bring this work of art to fruition.
I know I have personally logged over 100 work hours on this project which means Rum Corpse did at least three times that if not much more, and AprilSkies did in the many thousands. (He is just the author and all though...(laugh))
I cannot express how excited I am about the upcoming release, and also how envious I already am of all of you who are going to get to experience this game for the first time.
Of course, Thank you Mandle, for your precious help....
... and Yaaayyy!
We got it!
The game is finally complete!
I'll update the thread and of course create a new one on Complete games announcements ...
and I thank all of you guys!