Dread Mac Farlane (english translation available !)

Marion · Tue 29/04/2008 07:47:20

Hi !

I have just finished my last game. For the first time since I make games with AGS, I have drawn everything myself... hard work !

Here is the game : it's the adaptation of my french comic book (5 published books) called "Dread Mac Farlane", the story of a young girl from the XVIIth century Caribbean who grows up in Neverland with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, who wants to become pirate like her father she never knew.

It's, of course, a point&click adventure made with AGS. I'm sorry but there's no english translation yet. I hope you will enjoy it anyway.

Left click to look at, right click to use/take/talk. Move the mouse cursor at the top of the screen to see the inventory box and the save/restore/quit menu.

Click here to download the game ! Zip file, 62 Mo

Mr.T · Tue 29/04/2008 09:14:54

Gorgeous graphics! Downloading

Captain Lexington · Wed 30/04/2008 06:23:26

Looks great! A game with writing worthy of publication in another medium sounds pretty bloody promising.

Anyway, downloading now and playing soon.

EDIT: Following the rules is good, particularly when you aren't sure if you're breaking a rule or not.

EDIT2: "With a writing"? I think not.

Marion · Wed 30/04/2008 08:21:47

I'll add it in the AGS games page soon.

Zufub · Thu 01/05/2008 08:45:46

<cry> Looks great and a story is nice... Here in Poland are not many comic-books, and that already exist, are in half stupid or... just for kids without deeper story... nevermind.Why I'm cry? Cause there is no english or polish translation

And France language is just black magic for me. But if you will make an English version, please send me a private message. Ah... and title - if you painted it ALONE... Congratulations! Not only title of course... the graphic is so... fantastic? I think it is good word for you hard work. Oh sorry, I found the minus for graphic in this game: there is no shadding! Only a bit.... You need to work more about shadding, but current shadding is OK... And something to sea from the ship: OMG horizontal line is black!? Pleeeeaaase! This color in horizontal line is bad move!

miguel · Thu 01/05/2008 11:10:36

Amazing graphics! Downloading now. I'll Edit this post to tell you what I think.
Congratulations

Edit: Played the playable intro ( nice way to get into the mood ) and started chapter 1.
So far it looks and feels great, really, it feels LUCASARTS all the way.
I'll edit more when I finish it.
Ah, I like the interface, it's simple and efective.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Thu 01/05/2008 13:32:14

Wow, what a far cry from the somewhat-insipid James in Neverland!

Great graphics, a very interesting and original introduction, I'm not very far along but I am LOVING it. Congratulations! This is MUCH more interesting, and much BETTER, than your previous attempt, I am amazed at the sudden rise in quality!

Word of warning, though - if you DO translate it to English, please get a proof-reader. JiN was plagued by bad english, and if that were to happen to this game, it'd diminish it, and this one doesn't deserve diminishing.

EDIT - One important issue - in normal gameplay, RIGHT-CLICK USES and LEFT-CLICK LOOKS, while in the inventory RIGHT-CLICK LOOKS and LEFT CLICK USES. That's very counter-intuitive, and doesn't make for a good experience, you should switch one of these around.

EDIT 2 - Also, note that pressing F5 and F7, standard common shortcuts for SAVing and LOADing, brings up the default save- and load-game GUIs, instead of your own custom one.

EDIT 3 - The music is great, and you have left DEBUG MODE ON.

Marion · Thu 01/05/2008 19:09:25

Thank you all for you messages. I'm happy you like my game. I will try to correct the points you told me about for a future version of the game - including, I hope, new original musics and an english translation.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Thu 01/05/2008 19:39:58

Future version of the game? Heck, we want MORE adventures like this!

I'm currently stumped at the word puzzle, but this game has made my day! It's very good! And the storytelling in particular, the non-linear presentation, the characters' lines, heck - the characters' CLOSE-UPs... this is great stuff, and revamp it if you must, but what we really want is MORE games!

Marion · Fri 02/05/2008 06:40:38

Thank you very much

I intended to make 5 games (one game / book), but it's hard work and I don't have many time for this. But I'll try to make the others soon

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Sat 03/05/2008 11:47:06

Finally finished it. I have *no* idea why that was the word on the skulls - it's not even a french word, is it?

I can't stress this enough, it's a GREAT game, I loved every minute, right from the introduction! Please, do make a translation so that other people can enjoy it! (and do have it made by someone better at it than whoever translated James in Neverland

)

EDIT - BTW, are you aware that your comics are available for download on eMule? On one hand I don't think you'll like this information, but hey, on the other hand, it's a sure sign of their popularity.

riseryn · Sat 03/05/2008 14:27:36

QuoteI have *no* idea why that was the word on the skulls - it's not even a french word, is it?

in fact it s

Spoiler

The name of the famous pirate blackbeard

[close]

CosmoQueen · Sat 03/05/2008 16:31:20

Oh my!! This looks incredible! I hope there's an English version eventually.

Marion · Sat 03/05/2008 17:52:04

Riseryn is right about the word, if you read the books you understand it

I knew my comics were available on Emule, but I can't do many things to prevent this... and reading on a computer screen will never be the same that having a real book in your hands, isn't it ?

I hope there will be a good english translation soon ^^

riseryn · Sat 03/05/2008 21:10:18

Where are we going if professional cartoonist makes games

(just kidding

)

sthomannch · Sun 04/05/2008 15:36:50

I enjoyed this game a lot! Nice graphics and good story line.

Joneleth · Mon 05/05/2008 13:39:13

Great game, I should really read the DMF comics, but they're hard to find compared to the Naheulbeuk ones.

Marion · Mon 05/05/2008 14:52:11

Indeed, but there are some online book shops who still have some

SuperDre · Tue 06/05/2008 14:45:06

Quote from: Marion on Thu 01/05/2008 19:09:25
Thank you all for you messages. I'm happy you like my game. I will try to correct the points you told me about for a future version of the game - including, I hope, new original musics and an english translation.

Looking at the screenshots I'm very interested in the game, but due to it being in the french language I'm not able to play it.. In regard to an english translation, make sure someone who know the english language well proofreads it first (I've seen enough great adventure games ruined because of lousy translation)..

Matti · Tue 06/05/2008 20:33:39

I like the graphics (except some little things like the waves) and the comic style in general. I tried it out but my french isn't good enough especially for the speeches are speedy and skipping automatically. So I stopped playing when getting on the ship.

Really looking forward to play the english version.

I have to quote Rui here:

This is MUCH more interesting, and much BETTER, than your previous attempt, I am amazed at the sudden rise in quality!

m0ds · Wed 07/05/2008 00:46:14

Looks good! The title graphic suggests nudity also

What exactly is the puzzle with the captain?

Marion · Wed 07/05/2008 06:50:36

Ok, I will make a good english translation as soon as possible

There is no surprise with the "sudden rise of quality". I have made James in Neverland because I like Reiner's graphics and I wanted to make a game with them, but I didn't really have a good story to use with. But I wrote the story of Dread Mac Farlane many years ago and worked a lot on it for the comics books. And as many people asked me to make a game with all graphics made by my own hand, because I am a comic book drawer, I decided to adapt my book "Dread Mac Farlane".

That's all

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Wed 07/05/2008 08:16:51

That's cool info that only you, as the game maker, needs to know. If you had just released James as a comic book, also because "you wanted to use those graphics, never really mind the story", we would also have spotted a huge difference between James and MacFarlane. The audience doesn't get to see that side of the story, and for all we knew, James in Neverland was a good example of the best you could do.

And know we see Dread Mac Farlane. Do realize, please, how much you'd potentially injured your image because you just "wanted to make a game with those graphics" - all we know is there's a huge difference between those games, and without that extra info which only you need to know, people just assume it's because you got a hell of a lot better.

Marion · Wed 07/05/2008 11:59:19

Er, sorry.... I just wanted to explain why there are so many differences between those two games.
Personnaly, I like James In Neverland a lot too. The problem is that I don't have much time to draw my own graphics for my games, so I try to find graphics I like to make them.

riseryn · Wed 07/05/2008 14:34:50

Making games is a kind of relaxation when working on her comics i assume.
Marion is also the soul of the french ags forum and pitifully a day have only 24H and she s just able to work 19h a day

(You know home caring, childs, drawing and all that kind of stuff

)

Marion · Thu 08/05/2008 07:20:49

Thank you Riseryn

paolo · Fri 09/05/2008 12:55:12

Marion,

What beautifully drawn graphics - excellent job. Well done.

I've found a typo...

Spoiler

When you give the flagon of rum to La Teigne, he says "Il faut chaud" - I think that should be "Il fait chaud"

[close]

Marion · Fri 09/05/2008 18:44:15

You're right ! Sorry !

Jared · Sun 11/05/2008 08:56:07

I'd like to volunteer my services as a proofreader for the English translation, if you wanted one. I do a lot of creative writing and work fairly quickly when editing/rewriting material.

That said I can't speak French (just English and a little Japanese) so I'd need a rough translation to work with.

While I'm hear I'd better add that this is the most beautiful-looking AGS game I've ever seen and I can't wait to play it.

Marion · Sun 11/05/2008 14:22:37

Thank you very much, Jared

Sciere · Mon 12/05/2008 16:53:50

Marion, I just finished the game and I'm left speechless. This was hands down one of the best adventure games I've played, and I thought the pirate genre would not be further explored again after the brilliant Nelly Cootalot. The graphics are absolutely amazing and you did not spare an effort to create as much as possible - the close-ups for instance highly support the immersion. The way you crafted the flashbacks and divided it up into different chapters, all leading to the grand showdown - the design of it all is brilliant. I, too, found the controls somewhat confusing with left/right doing different actions in the inventory and in-game, but it never took away from the captivation. Outstanding work and great balance between flow and difficulty. Since I liked the story so much, I'm going to pick up the comic books series as well if those are still available.

I tried the earlier AGS version too after playing (the one with the comic book panels and top-down view), and it sure has come a long way. Of course not only graphics-wise, but also in how you further adapted the story to an interactive medium. Move over, Jane Jensen.

Marion · Mon 12/05/2008 17:47:21

Thank you Sciere, I'm very happy you all enjoy my game

Concerning the comic book, they are still available, but only in french (and nederland).
Oh, and, as Mods says, the title suggests nudity : there is no nudity in the game, but there are some soft erotics scenes in the comics books

SSH · Mon 12/05/2008 17:53:04

For the impatient of us, can't you just stick the translation file through google translate so we can play NOW, please!

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Mon 12/05/2008 19:13:22

Oh, trust me, you wouldn't want that.

Marion · Tue 13/05/2008 06:10:02

Yes, be patient, someone is working on it

I will ask him if it's finished soon.

Sciere · Wed 14/05/2008 16:13:06

It seems the first album was only recently translated into Dutch, I had no problem finding it =)

Marion · Wed 14/05/2008 17:57:28

That's true, and the second one will come soon I think

paolo · Thu 15/05/2008 13:29:20

Un autre petit bug (another little bug):

Spoiler

In the mine, if you dig in the pile of stones a second time you find the box again.

[close]

On the whole, though, this is an excellently written game - not only are the graphics amazing, but the gameplay and scripting are top notch too!

Marion · Thu 15/05/2008 19:47:24

Thank you, I will fix that

Snake · Thu 15/05/2008 21:24:19

Damnit!

Why do all the really cool-looking games have to be in French?

This looks like a really fun game, the art-work is great! It also sounds like an interesting game, so I really hope for you to make an English adaptation - I STRONGLY agree with SuperDre about having somebody who knows the English language to make the translation. You could very well have a great game here, but with a crappy translation, it'll deter immersion immensely.

--Snake

paolo · Sun 18/05/2008 09:52:38

Yes, for what it's worth, there are three qualities required of a translator to produce a good translation:

* Having excellent knowledge of the source language (the language being translated from).
* Having the target language (the language being translated into) as their mother tongue, not just so that they get the spelling and grammar right, but also so that they know what turns of phrase are suitable for particular situations.
* A good understanding of the subject matter of the original text.

So the ideal translator here would be someone who has English as their first language, knows French very well and also knows the Peter Pan stories well and has some familiarity with nautical terminology.

This is kind of the wrong place to post this because it's academic now that the translation is under way (and I'm sure the translation will be fine), but I thought I'd mention it.

===============

EDIT: I'm totally stuck in the mine I've asked about this in Hints and Tips and someone mentioned that

Spoiler

if you interact with everything, the game goes to a cutscene,

[close]

but no joy. I'm bringing this up here in case it's a bug - Marion? I wonder if it might be to do with

Spoiler

getting the box twice from the pile of stones.

[close]

EDIT 2: Yes, it looks like this is caused by the bug I have already mentioned:

Spoiler

getting the box twice from the pile of stones.

[close]

I went back to the point where I entered the mine for the first time, did what was necessary, and then when I came out of the mine, the cutscene started.

Marion · Mon 19/05/2008 14:29:16

Yeah, sorry for this bug, it will be fixed in the next version.

paolo · Mon 19/05/2008 18:47:38

No problem. I've found a similar one -

Spoiler

when you are in the caves, you can ask the captain for the file repeatedly.

[close]

Hopefully this does not cause a problem anywhere.

Marion · Tue 20/05/2008 07:17:55

I will look at it.

The english translation is done, I will upload the new version of the game very soon

Thanks to The Orator for this !

EDIT : The new version with the english translation and some bugs fixed is available !
http://katurajdr.jexiste.fr/fichiers/jeux/dread.zip

Captain Lexington · Wed 21/05/2008 00:20:27

Whooopsy daisy!

Playing it through a little ways with the translation, I see that not everything makes perfect sense in the context... It's just that the messages went by so fast in game that I couldn't always read the French so when I got the translation file I didn't always have the context. $:-\$

I hope you guys don't find it too distracting, and when I have the time I'll probably go through and fix the problem sentences...

EDIT: In fact, if you guys could wait until I have this figured out that'd be great. Some of the mistakes I made are frankly a little embarrassing.

Marion · Wed 21/05/2008 06:16:24

Ok, I delete the file for now, I will wait for the corrected translation to upload it again

paolo · Fri 23/05/2008 13:35:32

The Orator:

If you play the game in a window rather than full screen, you can just click on your desktop (or do anything that removes the focus from the game window, such as click on another application) and the game pauses until you click on the game window again.

Marion · Sat 31/05/2008 20:26:00

Hi,
the game is available again, the english translation file has been fixed !
http://katurajdr.jexiste.fr/fichiers/jeux/dread.zip

SuperDre · Sun 01/06/2008 06:16:43

oh thanx... gonna play it real soon...

neon · Mon 02/06/2008 07:55:27

Good news. I know what I will do this evening ;-)

SSH · Mon 02/06/2008 12:06:26

It would be nice if the Menu screen and the plot summary in the book on starting a new game were also translated (by creating new images and replacing them if the english translation is detected?)

Marion · Mon 02/06/2008 12:11:51

Yes, sorry, but I don't know how to "detect" the english translation in the game...

Anyway, "Nouvelle partie" = start new game, "charger partie" = load game, "quitter" = quit.

SSH · Mon 02/06/2008 12:23:45

Code: ags


if (Game.TranslationFilename == "English2") {
  Display("You are using the English translation.");
}

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Mon 02/06/2008 12:24:38

Did a post of mine just get deleted?

I had posted the appropriate snippet from the manual...

EDIT - Wow. Maybe I change tabs and forgot to press "post". That's a first.

Marion · Mon 02/06/2008 12:31:11

I didn't know this option, thank you

tube · Mon 02/06/2008 22:06:28

The comic style graphics worked extremely well with the rather edgy story to produce an intriguing contrast. Loved the character close-ups too. In fact the whole experience was very solid package right down to the piratey music, which fit the game like a glove. The puzzle design was far from fancy, but at least the puzzles were mostly logical. In many places they did feel a bit tacked on and I confess I enjoyed the story and the overall experience much more than actually playing the game. Excellent first try though.

That said, I was left with an impression that the low resolution worked a bit against your drawing style here (and I have nothing against low res games generally). Not being an artist myself I might be talking out of my ass, but I'd hazard a guess that your art style and work flow doesn't really benefit from the low pixel count, and you'd probably be able to produce higher res graphics and animation in about the same time, seeing as it's all black outlines with very simple shading. The higher resolution might give an even greater sense of playing a comic book, which to me would seem like something you might have been aiming for.

PS: I'd definitely be interested in the books if they were available in a language I could understand. My loss.

Marion · Tue 03/06/2008 05:21:52

Thank you tube

I have made the game in 640x480 because I didn't want it to be too heavy. But I will try a 800x600 game next time if it isn't too long.

neon · Wed 04/06/2008 11:38:22

I finished the game a few minutes ago, and I must say that I'm really impressed.

This is high quality. The graphics are fine, the music fits into the set, the story is deep, the characters are lovely, this game contains anything I like at adventures. The riddles were very easy, but this was very good for the game flow.

I hope you will find the time to make games from the other comic books.

Just two things:

In the english translation, when leaving the mermaid, Dread says 'See you soon, Jamal' and there are some minor typing errors.

When standing in the water beneath the boat on the island with the footsteps, Dreads sprite is flickering a bit.

But altogether, this is a relly fine game.

Marion · Wed 04/06/2008 12:15:20

Thank you very much

I understand the translation problem with the mermaid : in fact, two dialogs contains the same text "see you soon" in french. The first one is when you talk with Jamal. Then when you talk to the mermaid, AGS read the first "see you soon", the one with Jamal instead of the one with the mermaid... :

I have begun the work with the adapation of the second book, but it won't be easy. It's not really an adventure any more, it's more psychologic. I will see if I can do it.

neon · Wed 04/06/2008 12:43:00

Thanks for the info, it's important since I'm currently writing a review for part 1.

Joneleth · Sat 07/06/2008 23:17:07

Quote from: Marion on Wed 04/06/2008 12:15:20

I have begun the work with the adapation of the second book, but it won't be easy. It's not really an adventure any more, it's more psychologic. I will see if I can do it.

Cool, looking forward to it.

Do you have any plans to make games of your other series too?

BTW maybe you should add "English version released" to the topic title to attract more people?

Marion · Sun 08/06/2008 07:19:02

Good idea

I don't think I will adapt my other comic books at this time.

Matti · Thu 12/06/2008 23:24:41

I think I found a bug.

At the beginning of the 1st chapter when talking to the captain the close-up-view suddenly changed to a conversation with the cook Mister Smee and Dread is standing somewhere at the bottom right corner of the screen, outside the walkable area. I think this just happens if you talk to the captain BEFORE talking to Mister Smee, but I'm not quite sure.

But it's no big deal, though standing outside the walkable area one can still leave the room.

But let me say: It's a really nice game

EDIT: I just tested it again and it works if you talk to the cook before talking to the captain.

Marion · Fri 13/06/2008 06:59:26

Thank you, I will see if I can fix this bug.

Svartberg · Sun 15/06/2008 06:09:26

Awesome game, FUN FUN FUN

Thank you

skeeter · Thu 19/06/2008 04:15:42

Hi,

Could you tell me what the first screen of writing says? The introduction, after I press new game. I'm just wondering what it says, because then I'm playing the game and I'm not sure where I am or what I'm doing.

Thanks!

Marion · Thu 19/06/2008 07:03:53

It says :

In mysterious ruins in the jungle, a sailors crew enters a strange voodoo hideout...

skeeter · Mon 23/06/2008 07:10:49

Thank you!

Cornelia Morge · Mon 23/06/2008 19:44:36

Great!

Ultra Magnus · Fri 27/06/2008 09:05:40

Just finished the game, and I really did like it. Well done.

Only a couple of criticisms/bugs...
*I think there were too many time cuts. The flashback scenes were used well and to good effect of revealing the plot little by little, but there were just too many of them in my opinion.
*A lot of the time when changing scenes (particularly when going to a character's speaking view, but not always) a little bit of text (not in a text box) would flash up on the screen, far too fast to see what it says, though.
*The ending was a bit... abrupt. It just sort of stopped.
*The English translation still needs work, I'm afraid. An example:-

Spoiler

I couldn't really tell what Dread and Peter were talking about between giving him the map and the pirates turning up.

[close]

The rest was functional enough, but not really fluent.

Other than that, good stuff. Great artwork and music especially.

Marion · Fri 27/06/2008 09:47:22

Thank you very much.
I'm working on the second game, but it's more difficult because it's not really an adventure like the first one. I hope you will like it anyway.

Captain Lexington · Sat 28/06/2008 04:14:30

Yeah guys, I'm sorry about how the translation turned out.

French has this habit of implying nothing, and I didn't feel like I could take enough liberty with the dialogue to make it really flow in English.

If ever given the opportunity again, I'll definitely put more time into it.

Marion · Tue 01/07/2008 07:38:54

Oh dear, Dread Mac Farlane is the game of the month !!

Thank you, thank you very much !!

Ultra Magnus · Tue 01/07/2008 08:47:29

Quote from: The Orator on Sat 28/06/2008 04:14:30
Yeah guys, I'm sorry about how the translation turned out.

French has this habit of implying nothing, and I didn't feel like I could take enough liberty with the dialogue to make it really flow in English.

Don't worry about it too much.
As I said, it's functional enough for the most part, and it didn't stop the game being pick of the month.

Congrats on that, by the way.

Marion · Tue 01/07/2008 09:46:24

Thank you

Mordalles · Sun 06/07/2008 17:14:14

wow, great game. love the graphics, and the story is well told, with the flashbacks, etc.
thanks!

Nachtvlinder · Tue 16/09/2008 23:38:18

I saw this game a month ago, and was longing to play it. But alas, the link was not working anymore. Then I saw the domain had changed and after a little thinking I decided to trie to use the path and change the domain and, o wondrous joy, it worked. so here it is

Marion · Wed 17/09/2008 08:43:24

Thank you, I will check this.

biorogue · Mon 29/09/2008 19:45:20

great game! but i have no clue what the very beginning had to do with the rest of the game. i.e. the voodoo woman. maybe i'm just dense.

Marion · Tue 30/09/2008 07:46:40

In fact, you discover this in the sequel. But it's not done yet...

Dread Mac Farlane (english translation available !)

m0ds

skeeter

skeeter