A Scream from the Underground

[ZeaLitY]

The last year has shown that without Kajar Laboratories, there's not much to look forward to in the Chrono fandom, and thus there's not much to do at the Compendium, even for the people who willingly hang around. We've gotten a grand total of one entrant for the last fanfic contest and one for the current fanart contest. People aren't even being drawn in by the sidebar announcing these things. Without projects, and the promise and potential of new lifeblood in the series, there's just...nothing but to feel resigned to fate. I doubt we could even muster a collaborative fanfic at this point like Project ZEAL. There aren't enough people, and neither is the great spirit. When Ramsus first set up the website, it had the title, "Chrono Compendium Project". And it feels like the project is now concluded.

I'm not feeling very satisfied with that.

Obviously, projects are off the table. But there has to be something we can do to cut down on the pathos of hanging on to a dead franchise. Let's try and think of some suggestions for getting things moving. Let's get some proposals. I'll start with one:

• Make a giant banner to be at the top of the news/updates page linking to the current contest. Something in-your-face that implies raging activity. The sidebar, understandably is accomplishing hardly anything for drawing people in, and I want to keep the upper right on Material Requiring Translation, which is our most important page.

Now, let's make a scream from the underground.

[utunnels]

I'm thinking about making a new skin for this site.

[GenesisOne]

I'm thinking about making a new skin for this site.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.  Gray (and secondary tones following) doesn't exactly scream:

CHECK OUT THIS SITE!  IT'S AWESUM!!!!11

Anyway, perhaps a committee may be assembled for the site's proposed skin motif overhaul.

[Zephira]

Whatever happened to the doujin/manga team we had here? They weren't violating anything (that I know of), and running comics with consistent updates are a great way to maintain interest. Not like CHRONO COMIX (which is still really fun), but something that has a real plot. Maybe even feature Mysticalpha's comic.

[Lord J Esq]

I would support black ops project development off-site, with the Compendium serving to foster white ops related discussion. But, yeah, the Compendium is pretty much all it can be given the size of the fanbase, the age of the franchise, and the unlikelihood of new Chrono games in the near future.

You should bear in mind, ZeaLitY, that this is what success feels like. Notwithstanding that the glory of the climb can't last forever, I would hope you're happy with what you've been able to accomplish. No small feat.

[FaustWolf]

Do we have a Feature page that gathers links to all of MysticAlpha's comics in one place, or is there a section already devoted to it in Fanart?

I suspect that scoring an interview with Kato should be within our grasp, pending Kato's attitude toward the C&D or whether he's heard of it. I could see a giant thread devoted to Chrono fans posing questions, and we could gather all of English Chrono fandom together for one last giant...group thingie...with such an effort! If the franchise is truly dead, this might at least bring some closure to what is really still a fantastically open-ended series.

[hiddensquire]

At the risk of sounding blasphemous...

You could branch the site out to cover not just the Chrono series, but all time traveling related games.  Time travel is pretty much the core drawing concept of the series, and other games would have a similar draw.  Further, there aren't so many time travel games out there that the conversion would be completely overwhelming.  Now, granted, it would probably take another 10 or 20 years to cover other time travel games to the level of detail that you've covered the Chrono series.  However, isn't that kind of the point?  You want a driving force that will last for years and years, and this would certainly fit the bill.

Edit:
And it's not like doing this would be tantamount to giving up on the Chrono series.  If anything, bringing in other games would bring in other time travel fans to the Chrono series, and the cross-discussion among them could be very interesting indeed.

[GenesisOne]

Well, in that case, here's a list to get things started.  Some just don't deserve to make the list in terms of gameplay and story elements (aka half the list), but it's a foundation that'll improve over time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_containing_time_travel

[Lance VII]

Well, in that case, here's a list to get things started.  Some just don't deserve to make the list in terms of gameplay and story elements (aka half the list), but it's a foundation that'll improve over time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_containing_time_travel

That's not even a good list, either. Where the hell is The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of AGES?

[GenesisOne]

Well, maybe this list will fare better.

http://www.ugo.com/channels/games/features/timetravel/games.asp

[Machina Kyrios]

Obviously, projects are off the table.

Why?

Not just "why are projects off the table", but why is it obvious?

Last year, Square-Enix made it clear that they are the enemy. Yes, there are still good, talented developers working for the enemy, but as a whole the company has shown nothing but hostility to the Chrono series. We got hit damn hard by the CE C&D, not just from the loss of something that the community had rallied behind, but all of the collateral damage that went with it hurt too. We've bled momentum for the last year while the enemy has sat with their thumb up their ass in regards to the series.

Short of new blood, series wise, there's not much we can do except work on our own fan-made expansions to the series. Attempts that might call down more air strikes in the form of a C&D, but such is a risk we now know. Lord J Esq has the right idea on black ops projects. Or, we can do something perfectly innocent that can be used to give a head start to a project down the line.

Come to think of it, "perfectly innocent thing that can be used to jump start a project" isn't a project in and of itself...

... Which, come to think of it... is kind of obvious...

... Oh you're good.

You could branch the site out to cover not just the Chrono series, but all time traveling related games.

This is what No Mutants Allowed did during the time when it seemed like there wouldn't be another Fallout game. It seemed to work pretty well for them, switching over to covering some general post-apocalyptic stuff. Of course, with the Compendium's focus on analysis, if the Compendium's focus got wider it should be stuck to games with time travel and plot that can be analyzed. But yeah, the NMA approach could work.

We'd just have to avoid becoming Glittering Gems of Hatred here like we (different we) did at NMA. Also, Bethesda is the devil.

[ZeaLitY]

Nice; I've been reading NMA for news on New Vegas. I did a couple Fallout 3 playthroughs with mods and completionist strategies and everything, but after that...the game somehow has no replay value. I need NV.

[Machina Kyrios]

Nice; I've been reading NMA for news on New Vegas. I did a couple Fallout 3 playthroughs with mods and completionist strategies and everything, but after that...the game somehow has no replay value. I need NV.

The great thing about New Vegas is, despite having the same not-RPG gameplay as Fallout 3, it'll at least be done by developers we know can write a good story. Hell, several of Obsidian's people helped with earlier, not-crap Fallout games, so I'm actually excited for New Vegas too. The stab at OXM's "we don't trust Obsidian" bit that Brother None had up last month was quite nice, too.



Another "why are projects off the table" comes to mind.

What about a "totally not Chrono" game? Basically, a legally distinct and non-actionable clone of the gameplay and such with original IP. Or a framework of such, that can be used by people to make many such games? Something that could fill the void left by Squeenix saying we can't play with Temporal Flux here anymore?

[GenesisOne]

This is what No Mutants Allowed did during the time when it seemed like there wouldn't be another Fallout game. It seemed to work pretty well for them, switching over to covering some general post-apocalyptic stuff. Of course, with the Compendium's focus on analysis, if the Compendium's focus got wider it should be stuck to games with time travel and plot that can be analyzed. But yeah, the NMA approach could work.

We'd just have to avoid becoming Glittering Gems of Hatred here like we (different we) did at NMA. Also, Bethesda is the devil.

Funny you should mention hatred. A minor but very vocal group exists that hate Fallout 2. According to them, the random humor and the city of new Reno completely break immersion. While they have a point to an extent, Fallout 2 on the whole is a great non-linear RPG; the humor is funny, and new Reno has several interesting quests.

And, depending on which side of the fence you're on, No Mutants Allowed (or the Bethesda forums for you more hard-core gamers; me not included) could be considered too serious for their own good.  They don't just defend the series; they become obsessed with it to the point of picking apart every argument that comes their way, no matter how big, small, important, or insignificant it is.

... >.>

... <.<

I hope that doesn't include us Compendiumites.

[Machina Kyrios]

Funny you should mention hatred. A minor but very vocal group exists that hate Fallout 2.

Oh yes, they're present on NMA. Or at least, they were. They seem to have quieted down now that Fallout 3 has shown them what REAL shit smells like.

According to them, the random humor and the city of new Reno completely break immersion. While they have a point to an extent, Fallout 2 on the whole is a great non-linear RPG; the humor is funny, and new Reno has several interesting quests.

Correct on all counts. I've never been on that faction's side. Hell, I embrace Fallout Tactics, something of an issue until BoS and Fallout 3 came along and made Tactics look like gold.

And, depending on which side of the fence you're on, No Mutants Allowed (or the Bethesda forums for you more hard-core gamers twitch monkeys; me not included)

I don't see how twitchy FPS gameplay with little thinking or challenge is very "hardcore" really. It has its place, really, but not in an RPG. Never in an RPG.

Especially not a "sequel" to a game made to emulate pen and paper.

Putting it another way: Doom 3 is good. Baldur's Gate is good. If you mix Doom 3 and Baldur's Gate, however, you'd best know what the hell you're doing. Bethesda didn't, but because they developed the game with the Int <4 crowd in mind and payed for reviews bordering on fellatio, it was a commercial success, proving that stupid sells.

could be considered too serious for their own good.  They don't just defend the series; they become obsessed with it to the point of picking apart every argument that comes their way, no matter how big, small, important, or insignificant it is.

NMA defends the series. Bethesda's forums defend whatever the hell Fallout 3 is. (Because Fallout it ain't.)

I hope that doesn't include us Compendiumites.

</obligatoryhugesize>

Not yet. But if Square-Enix keeps up their shit, the Compendium might go down the same route as NMA, and you can see what kind of conditions make Glittering Gems of Hatred. ^_^