Jul 29, 2019

Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey - Mia

In the end, ChatAid + ChatAid Here I go again DLC will also be in French. You can choose the language at the beginning.

The reason ChatAid isn’t in “Dual Language Screen” like my other stories is because of the “chat-like” UI and the localization.

You see, JolieAbby and Guyishere country of origin + language is swapped between versions, and it would be very awkward to have both appear on the screen at the same time.

JolieAbby, in English, text with some French. In French, she’s called PrettyAbby, and she left some English in her French texts. Guyishere is “Guyestla” in French.

[Slight Spoiler]
Also, in Part 2, when you meet one of the Rift Breakers, he’ll ask what “RB” mean to you. In French, the Rift Breakers are “Briseurs de Failles”, so the “RB” become “BF” and the choices are different.

If you’re fluent in both French and English, you can do the 2 versions and see the changes at work.

ChatAid is coming tomorrow.

Jul 28, 2019

“Alice and friends”, under its current form, is officially canceled

Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey - Mia

40+ hours later in RPG Maker MV, “Alice and friends” doesn’t fare too well.

My mapping skills are terrible, only 30 minutes gameplay made in total, and… well… I don’t think anyone would like the results.

Act 1: Cutscene, battle, more cutscenes, more battles, the end of Act 1.

A rushed story, writing without narration/dialogs only doesn’t help matters, almost no character developments… Nope.

This is terrible and there is no way I would release that on Steam.

“Alice and friends”, under its current form, is officially canceled, but the story might return in Ren’py, since it got potential.

And this is the last time I announce something before it’s completed (any other games) or near completion (the “Reverse Me” trilogy).

Jul 20, 2019

“Alice and friends”

Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey - Mia

Friendly warning: huge text wall.

Wanting to take a good break from Ren’py, and RPG Maker MV was teasing me, I’m back with the engine I started with on Steam!

I’m currently working on a big project.
A retelling/soft reboot/mega crossover(?) of everything I’ve released on Steam, as a Visual Novel with simple RPG Battles.
(Or almost everything, it’ll depend on the resources found + what my imagination can provide.)
Yes, a game like “Les Quatre Alices” or “A.L.A.N.” but better.

Time to work!

I had gained experience since then and this game, which got the title of “Alice and friends” (it might change) will be better.
More good battles, more characters, better presentation, a backlog to read previous dialogs and more.
Not a rehash/reskin/dare-I-say-assetflip (it that even possible to do?) of “Les Quatre Alices”, "Shirina" or "Dark Fairies".

Now RPG Maker can export to Linux too so Windows, Mac and Linux are in the plans.
No other language than English, unless I try to use that translation plugin I had found… (wait and see).

Before anybody asks, no, nothing will be removed from Steam.
All my Ren’py works are here to stay and the “old versions” of my previous RPG Maker / Twine games (A.L.A.N., Shirina, Entre-Deux, etc) can be obtained with their Ren’py counterparts.
For exemple : With "Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey", you get "Les Quatre Alices" & "4 Alice: Lorange Journey".

Alice D, old VS new

However, I’m not sure for the achievements support. As much as I love them, putting them in RPG Maker MV is quite a daunting task.
The wrapper to use + right plugin had caused me trouble in the past for my other games + incompatibly problems on certain PC.
I’m sure those issues still exist.
I remember having trouble getting another game made with rpg maker mv on Steam to launch not too long ago and the problem was from there.
Also I’m not sure this method works on Mac and Linux.

Now Alice Brown really look like a kid!

Anyway, right now, I have the basic plot points written for Act 1 (my plan is for the whole story to be in several Acts).
Act 1 cover “Les Quatre Alices (rpg maker mv) / 4 Alice Lorange Journey (twine remake) / Les Quatre Alice: Lorange Journey (Ren’py re-remake XD)”.

I’ll keep you all informed as I made progress.

Title Screen

Also 9 days before ChatAid arrives. ːsteamhappyː

Jul 15, 2019

Upcoming story: ChatAid

Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey - Mia

I’m proud to announce that “ChatAid” is coming soon on Steam.

Description:
When you found a wacky program on your PC called “ChatAid”, you ended up in a chatroom. Someone needs your help.

Features
* A short story written in Ren’py, in Two Parts, with 4 endings in total.
* You can choose your name, nickname and gender.
* Steam achievements.

Unlike my previous works, which were always bilingual (French and English), ChatAid and any future stories will be English Only. Why? For simplicity’s sake.

French is my mother tongue, yes, but it’s also a very complex language compared to English, and it’s so much harder to write stories with character customization in French.

For example, I had trouble getting “neutral” words in French for Ivanoile and Nuri, since they are nonbinary. In English, it was so easy to do. “Hir”, “they”, “them”. Done.

I also got the bad habit for making a lot of typos in French, unlike in English, and getting proofreaders is difficult. (Also I’m not a very patient person and waiting for the typos fix while x story would be ready for release is really annoying!)

And, well, Steam sells all over the world and the English text is the most read. So English Only for now on.

Jun 30, 2019

Version 4.0 !

Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey - Mia

* Dual language UI and in-game!
* NVL reading remains, but in ADV-ish style, since you’ll see one line at a time.

So:
French Line
English Line
nvl clear (clear the page)
rinse and repeat

Of course, the line won’t repeat if the character only calls someone by his/her name.

* Improved English translation, more prevalent in “Four Alice” story.
* Some typos fixed in French.
* Credits updated.
* Help menu removed.
* New choice buttons.
* Inknut Antiqua font changed to Amble. It’s so much easier to read.
* Background “window” changed for a plain one.
* Some explanations added to “Three Emilie”, since that story was a prototype for the four Alice.

Enjoy.

The next game to be updated in the coming days/weeks will be "Entre-Deux: Cursed"!

Jun 22, 2019

Major updates in the works.

Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey - Mia

After completing the “Reverse Me” trilogy, I made the decision to update all my other games so that they match Reverse Me, presentation wise.

It’ll take a good while to do, but you’ll see:
* Dual Language Screen and User Interface
* ADV style reading instead of NVL
* Revised English translation for some games
* And more!

“A.L.A.N.: Rift Breakers”, version 4.0., is almost completed with those changes. Here’s some previews.

Jun 14, 2019

Infos about “Reverse Me!”

Les 4 Alice: Lorange Journey - Mia

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1105150/

The “Reverse Me!” series will be a collection of shorts and linear stories, all based on fairy tales or legends. They’ll have something in common. “Rez/Ru” is the first story, the other will be released as DLCs.

I don’t have any ETA for the other stories - since I still have to write them in French, translated then into English, and put everything into Ren’py - but I do intend to complete at least 1 or 2 before the release in August.

Since there are a lot of fairy tales I can get inspiration from, I also don’t have a clear number of stories in mind. Will the “Reverse Me!” series be at trilogy or more? Only time will tell.

All stories will have Steam Achievements.