Before the Dark Crystal

Marion · Mon 10/07/2006 18:44:21

Hi everybody

I have just finished my new game.
It's very short, very easy (in fact, I think we can call it an interactive little cartoon, not really an adventure game ^^), but I hope you will enjoy it

BEFORE THE DARK CRYSTAL : it took place some years before the events told in the movie "Dark Crystal" by Jim Henson. You play a young Gelfing who must rescue her best friend.

You can download it here :
http://katurajdr.jexiste.fr/fichiers/jeux/before_the_dark_crystal.zip

There is an english translation (I hope it's not too bad !).

Thank you !

m0ds · Mon 10/07/2006 21:47:39

Wow, did you do all that yourself? This is an exceptional little game - I'm having great fun playing it even though I haven't finished it yet. The artwork, the sound, the gameplay itself is all great fun so far - well done!!! It isn't that hard up to the point I've played too - but it really doesn't need to be. I'm enjoying it at the level of difficulty you've produced

The translation is generally very good, too! Though I did spot "avec" in the GUI in the English translation, but I know what it means and isn't really a problem for me.

Great job so far, a superb little game

Those mushrooms... lol

Nikolas · Mon 10/07/2006 22:02:38

Haven't finshed it either, but mOds beat me to the first post

grrrrrr...

mOds: avec means with

marion: What a lovely little gem. Je croix que cette joix (

?) est magnifique!!!!!!

I beg you to tell me who wrote the music and where I can donate money for the composer! Honestly the music is amazing. Graphics are also great but I'm really touched with the music. Loevely! Lovely!

Marion · Mon 10/07/2006 22:07:14

Thank you very much

Sorry for the translation bugs, I can't fix them, I don't understand why it prints "avec". I have put "with" in the translation text file...

I have made it myself, except from the music : it's from the Dark Crystal soundtrack and it was made by Trevor Jones. I have the CD and I thought it should be great to put the music from the movie, instead of midi files

m0ds · Mon 10/07/2006 22:14:13

Yes Nik and you obviously didn't read my post because I said I knew what avec means!

The soundtrack is really good. There is SOME Midi in there Im sure and wherever that came from it works really well. Using Trevor Jones' score was a good idea! But the more important elements are the ones I think you did - the art, the story... All very, very nice

Nikolas · Mon 10/07/2006 22:24:40

ooops.

sorry mark...

I finished it. The music is indeed great and now I know why!
It was a beautiful night for me, marion! Thank you very much for this.

TassieDevil · Mon 10/07/2006 23:09:46

Very nice little game! Well done; I liked the music too - usually I don't have sound on.

I was startled on the first screen that I couldn't leave

Marion · Tue 11/07/2006 06:01:25

Thank you all

The Book · Tue 11/07/2006 10:22:21

The two things I usually take into accunt when evaluating an adventure game are the storyline and the design. Though the storyline here is a bit cliched, the setting compensates for it. The design, on the other hand, is outstanding, and - in my opinion - outshines the worthless little game I'm working on at the moment. I'm already afraid of how bad and unfavourable the reviews for "Sar" will be... But let's stay on topic.

I actually had CHANCE to watch the Henson's classic, as it was aired - if I'm not mistaken - two or three years ago on the public TV, but - haven't having heard of the movie before - I dismissed it. And it wasn't before two or three years that I realised I made a grave mistake. Anyway, congratulations for both the game and for actually having seen the movie - as, from what I know, it's very hard to get.

Marion · Tue 11/07/2006 11:27:48

Thank you, Book

In fact, I am a comic book drawer, so that may helps a bit (but using my graphic board is still hard for me...), and I have mostly reproduced Brian Froud works on the movie.

And concerning the movie, I find strange that you can hardly find it. In France, we have the DVD since some years, including interesting deleted scenes with the original language of the Skeksis

Alynn · Tue 11/07/2006 14:42:20

It depends on where you look, but the dark crystal isn't that hard to find.
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1181192&style=movie&cart=362574838 Both the dark crystal and Labrynth in one
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1180644&style=movie&cart=362574838&BAB=E Dark Crystal by itself..

Now these are region 1 DVD's so not sure if you can see them.

Here, I found it on Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=nb_ss_w_h_/026-5843107-0120440?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Dark+Crystal that is, if you are in the UK...

I found that Amazon usually has just about anything you could ever want when it comes to movies, even those odd ones that you haven't thought about in years and suddenly remember (For instance V both the series, miniseries, and movie) If you can view region 1 DVD's CD universe is good for tons of stuff too... and are usually cheaper.

On a side note, if you get the chance, watch Mirrormask, it's made by the Jim Henson company (I believe it was produced by his wife), it's different than the dark crystal, but the same sort of strange bordering on disturbing creatures.

The Ivy · Tue 11/07/2006 17:40:13

Very nice game! It complements/explains the story of The Dark Crystal very well, and it was interesting to see how you included some of the Skekses from the movie. Although the graphical style was simple, the details you included were very noticeable, namely the ornate outfits of the Skekses and the strange plants of the forest.

The music made me kind of nostalgic too...I watch it with my friends almost every time I go home.

I just thought I'd add that I played the game in French and found it really amusing...finally, my 9 years of study are paying off. :-,

Marion · Tue 11/07/2006 18:45:14

Thanks, Ivy

I tried to draw the creatures in a way they can be immediately identified by ones who saw the movie and know this universe a bit.

Rosie · Wed 12/07/2006 00:10:06

Wonderful Game.......Thank you so much.....Look forward to more from you...... and yes, I agree with so many others, good music, I too usually turn off the sound, but this time I didn't..........

Petra · Sat 15/07/2006 14:30:45

Thank's Marion for this excellent little game, I really liked it so much

Keep on doing the good job, I would like to see much more of your talents!

Marion · Sat 15/07/2006 19:28:14

Thank you very much

I've too much work now to made another game, but I will think about it and try to do better

Lordhoban · Sun 29/07/2007 08:21:34

I tried the links on the site and they didn't work. I grew up watching Dark Crystal (watched it a couple nights ago, infact), so I'd really like to get a chance to check this out. I was disappointed when the sequel went under, even with the possability of them getting that completely wrong... anyway, I hadn't checked AGS in quite some time... just recently, sparked interest.

Is there anyway to get a hold of this game?

Marion · Sun 29/07/2007 08:36:27

I just tried the link and it works well now

Lordhoban · Sun 29/07/2007 09:17:24

Wow, that was fast... thanks!

pslim · Mon 30/07/2007 00:08:44

Great game. I can't add a lot that other people haven't said, but it doesn't seem too easy to me. Some games are more puzzling than others, but this is one of those games where you want to find out what will happen, so moving along quickly isn't a problem.

Before the Dark Crystal

m0ds

m0ds