Author Topic: The long night is upon us  (Read 4204 times)

ZeaLitY

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The long night is upon us
« on: November 09, 2013, 11:10:39 pm »
https://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=chrono+trigger%2C+chrono+cross#q=chrono%20trigger%2C%20chrono%20cross&cmpt=q

We'll still try to get Materials Requiring Translation done. But it seems like proper archival is going to be the perpetual activity from now on. Square's struggles lately only make things even more bearish for the prospect of a new game.

Acacia Sgt

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2013, 11:53:26 am »
What a horrible night to have a curse...

But indeed. Hopefully like every night, no matter how dark, a shining bright morning awaits at the end... hopefully...

X4220

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2013, 11:19:23 am »
Sad, but expected, two generations of home consoles without Chrono game, fourteen years since last (new) Chrono tittle.
Also, Square is in mess for last ten years.
At least, SE did not throw Chrono in mud with some mediocre/bad/awful games like they did with some other IPs....

Jormungand

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2013, 09:15:24 am »
It's not just Chrono. Turn-based JRPGs are on their deathbed.

ShogunSlug

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2013, 01:54:40 pm »
The next generation of games focus more on graphics than gameplay. They're practically all shooters, as well. It's not surprising that interest in games like Chrono Trigger or Chrono Cross is dying. It's sad to think about but the most we could do is pass on one of these great games to a next generation gamer.

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2013, 08:46:27 pm »
Square Enix is particularly focused on graphics-oriented Final Fantasy games (gameplay has gone out the window to a certain degree; it's looking like Final Fantasy XV could change that, however). They're also focused more on tablet and cell phone games as time goes on. You never know, with a reliance on simpler technologies with less graphical prowess it's always a possibility...

...but I wouldn't hold my breath.

ZeaLitY

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2013, 11:11:07 pm »
where the FUCK is a new chrono game

fuc kfuck FUCK FUCK FUCK

Acacia Sgt

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #7 on: December 27, 2013, 02:34:36 am »
If only SE could pass the IP to another company... well, at least it'd be better than nothing at all. At this point, it's kinda hard to make things as they were anyway so why not give someone else the chance, well, if they have the interest to...

Magus22

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2014, 04:43:08 am »
There were rumors (heh) about a new Chrono game made on the Luminous Engine...

Well, it's over a year old now, but it blew up on most gaming and blog sites.

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps4-news/83.html

Acacia Sgt

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2014, 12:54:00 pm »
Rumors... well, I still remain skeptical. Would be nice to be proven wrong, but well, only time will tell...

ShogunSlug

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2014, 01:42:10 pm »
https://www.facebook.com/ChronoTriggerHd

This guy has been doing some interesting things. He hasn't updated since June so I'm not really expecting much from this.

Magus22

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2014, 04:04:44 am »
https://www.facebook.com/ChronoTriggerHd

This guy has been doing some interesting things. He hasn't updated since June so I'm not really expecting much from this.

That is amazing work!

Lennis

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #12 on: January 10, 2014, 08:44:05 pm »
If the community is expecting a new game in the Chrono series, then this will be a very long night indeed.  The industry has changed markedly since Chrono Cross was released.  The sheer amount of money it takes to make a AAA title nowadays has made every major publisher risk-averse.  And Square/Enix's claim that a Final Fantasy VII remake is financially unfeasible is not wholly without merit - assuming said title uses the most modern graphics and has voice-overs throughout. (And if it doesn't, what would be the point of remaking the game?)  Remember that the most recent Tomb Raider was critically praised, yet was considered a commercial failure because it didn't have Call of Duty-like sales figures.  To be blunt, I no longer have confidence that anyone in the video-game industry has both the capability and the will to make a new Chrono game and do it well.

So why are we all here?  Just to reminisce?

I say no.

Chrono is very much alive, but the reason it's on life-support is that no one of importance seems to realize that the story can no longer be told or retold effectively in the medium it was originally released in.  People expect more.  As much as we adored the original game, we, as a community, know that the world of Chrono is much bigger than what could be portrayed in a 16-bit cartridge.  That is the reason why there has been so much fan-art/fan-fiction released over the years, both to continue the story and to fill in the blanks in the original.  Taken together, all of those works, canon and non-canon - however inconsistent - paint a picture of such depth that no game can do justice to the overall mythos and not disappoint a whole lot of people.  To the people that clamor for a new game, I wonder if you even know - I mean really know - what you are asking for.  Most of the people who made the original Chrono have moved on with their lives, and the odds of them getting back together to do it again are close to zero.  Would a new game have any chance of capturing the magic of the original, or even of Chrono Cross?

What I'm trying to say is that the underlying story of Chrono has evolved, while the underlying mechanics of gaming - go from point A to B, kill X - has not.  There would be a disconnect where the gameplay actually interferes with the telling of the story rather than being a seamless part of it.  We have seen countless examples of this from video-game publishers, including Square/Enix, on other projects.  Why should we believe that anyone can find the right storytelling/gameplay balance for a new Chrono game when no one else has been able to do it with other IP's?  That is a path of tears.  In addition, consider the difficulty of deciding what kind of platform or distribution method should be used for said game.  How do you get your game into the hands of as many people as possible without breaking your bank account making versions for every existent - and likely not completely compatible - platform?  Making a profit in these conditions is extraordinarily difficult unless your game is a multiplayer FPS.  Hence, one CoD clone after another, at least until that fad dies out, and then what do you do?  The big publishers are doomed.  The future is indie.  But does anyone honestly believe that an indie can do justice to what Chrono Trigger could be?  Let me tell you what an indie Chrono would look like: it would basically be the 16-bit game with a new coat of 2-D paint capable of scaling in or out with a smattering of new dialogue and a few new side quests.  That's it.  No new cinematics.  No new eras or characters.  Certainly no voice-overs, at least none of any quality.  What would be the point of such a project except to give a small base of dedicated fans a short-term cure for nostalgia?  It would be a rehashing of the old instead of something fresh and new.  It would not sell.  And fans, in the end, would not be satisfied.  We would be left wanting with no hope of getting anything more.  The franchise would truly die at that point, and a part of us would die with it.

There is only one viable path forward for Chrono the way it should be, and that is film.  I say that not just from a storytelling standpoint, but from a financial one.  Say, you can make a high-quality film adaptation for around $200 million per installment.  A worldwide distribution would net at least $800 million in ticket sales.  And then you would see hundreds more millions in sales when the film goes to Blu-ray six months later.  (Note that you are only dealing with two distribution platforms here, and they are very well meshed.  The same cannot be said of gaming distribution.)  With the total proceeds from the first film alone, you might have enough money to make two or even three more and still have enough left over to give the executives the big bonuses they expect.  Now, of course, this would all be a castle in the sky unless the film appealed to enough people to generate that level of interest.  To do that, Chrono has to move away from its gaming origins and more towards a solid narrative.  This is something that I think Chrono can do better than any other gaming IP, including Final Fantasy.  The core story is just that strong.  Advent Children has proved the limitations of Final Fantasy VII in a cinematic medium.  That story is just too weird in places to appeal to a wide audience.  Chrono Trigger, on the other hand, is a timeless story that I think anyone can relate to on some level.  It is a modern-day fairy tale with deep philosophical undertones.  The fairy tale would appeal to younger viewers.  The more serious implications of the adventure would appeal to the older.  The characters would appeal to both.

My novelization/remake of Chrono Trigger is an attempt to create a narrative foundation where these films might arise from.  It's a combination of what made original canon so compelling along with the best ideas created by the larger community.  I cannot envision Square/Enix wanting to take the latter tack with any game adaptation, given their less-than-amicable attitude towards fandom in general.  If you want to see Cedric...  If you want to see Queen Anne, or Antaeus Poore, or a mention of Alphard Zeal, or of Belthazar's less-than-virtuous motives - as all seen in Crimson Echoes, you will not get that in a Square/Enix game.  Only film.

Square/Enix owns the legal rights to Chrono Trigger.  We, on the other hand, own it in our hearts.  We have kept the flame alive in the middle of the night and have not let it burn out.  The long night is not upon us.  We have already been living it for 15 years.  And like all nights, this one will come to an end.  There is dawn at the end of the tunnel.  To reach that end and endure the remainder of this night, we need to keep doing what we are doing.  Keep drawing fan-art.  Keep writing fan-fiction.  Keep composing Mitsuda-inspired music.  Post it everywhere and often.  Get the word out that Chrono is not just another forgotten franchise.  Most importantly, abandon your swear-filled apathy and believe in a better future.  It's what Crono, Marle, and Lucca would do.

Satoh

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #13 on: January 13, 2014, 12:46:09 pm »
Most importantly, abandon your swear-filled apathy and believe in a better future.  It's what Crono, Marle, and Lucca would do.

Not to derail, but I rather think they'd drop what they were doing and shape the future with their own hands, no matter who or what got in their way...
And doing that would put us at odds with the series creators.

Not only would they create new things, but also change what was already there to get to the end of their goals. ("This future sucks, lets change the natural order of things.")

So using the example of Crono, Marle, and Lucca, and what they would be doing to end the drought of Chrono games... they'd be doing exactly what Squeenix has time and time again threatened us to not do.

There are basically two ways to ensure a Chrono filled future...
We can take the Trigger example and execute a huge hostile takeover of the Chrono IP, (which none of us have the money for) or,
we take the Cross example, and act as a Prometheus circuit to Squeenix's FATE and begin making unauthorized works under their noses, and not getting caught.

Neither of these examples are to Squeenix's benefit, but likewise they are the only ways to be certain that the series has not died already.

In the long night, we are the only company we can expect to have, and its up to us to decide what to do with our time. Some paths lead to destruction, others to salvation, but none are immediately known to us.

Its not as simple for us to just do the Crono thing. Hope isn't what saved them, but its the safe thing we can do.


Would you like to save the game_
   Y/N
« Last Edit: January 13, 2014, 12:48:24 pm by Satoh »

Manly Man

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Re: The long night is upon us
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2014, 02:03:06 pm »
Wow, Lennis sure can give a motivational speech. Makes me feel all tingly inside.

As for the movie idea itself, what kind of medium would you have it portrayed in? Live action? Animation? I, personally, could hardly see it as anything but a cartoon, although CG might work as well, but I'm not sure. Considering that Toriyama's getting back into making cartoons again, he would probably enjoy a chance to do something like that, but asking for big names is about as pipe-dreamy as it gets.