Author Topic: Revised Plot and Planning Thread  (Read 22269 times)

Chrono'99

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #60 on: November 18, 2006, 12:14:00 pm »
There's a problem with the Frozen Flame warps (chapter 6 and 20). At the Lavos Crater, the entire cast is supposed to be sent through time, but only 3 characters are present during the event. A simple solution to this would be to have Belthasar send the 3 non-active characters to the crater to help the party... but this would make the choice between saving Ayla or the planet quite superfluous then, since a whopping amount of 6 persons would be present to do both actions at the same time!

To add to the complication, there's the Frozen Flame confrontation before the nightmares in chapter 20, where the 6-7 characters are also supposed to be all present. This makes the two scenes sort of redundant: when the entire cast will be present in Chapter 20, the player will immediately expect the Flame to warp them in different places (even though it's illusions there and not eras).

~

Yet another issue, which may be more opinion-based this time, is what happens in these nightmare sequences. Looking back, I'm starting to think the 6 nightmares are too similar to each other (only Ayla's one has a kind of twist): some NPC comes and expresses an exaggerated, negative consequence of the character's actions, and someone dies. The patterns are the same, with only the NPCs and eras differing. The nightmares, if they are what they're named, should revolve more about the characters' repressed fears and desires, rather than some nickpicked consequences of their quest that we know are heavily distorted and far from the truth.

Of course, pointing at things is easier than coming up with solutions... I'll have to think about it. Someone had proposed that Marle and Lucca could exchange their lifes in their nightmares (without meeting each other though). Marle would be a happy commoner, but would quickly realize that she shouldn't run away from her position of Queen considering all the current (and coming...) political troubles. Her realization would be her victory over the Flame's vain offer. Lucca would gain all the benefits of being Queen, but would be angered because Crono would still not love her... Er, yeah, this Lucca example is lamer I guess. I do think the Marle example is decent though. The sequences are very short and battles are not necessary.
« Last Edit: November 18, 2006, 12:22:09 pm by Chrono'99 »

nightmare975

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #61 on: November 18, 2006, 12:33:03 pm »
What if it showed them sort of what will happen if they have the Frozen Flame. They could have what they ever wanted but they have to try and fight it off or their wants will consume them.

Chrono'99

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #62 on: November 18, 2006, 04:01:24 pm »
Well, the CT cast knows about the dangerousness of the Frozen Flame more than the CC characters, so they probably want to have nothing to do with possessing the Flame. But yeah, "what they ever wanted" is what I was thinking of. More precisely, the Flame wouldn't be proposing or granting them their wishes. Rather, it would be showing them what they seem to want and ask them why they want it (I mean, metaphorically, not with an actual textbox), and the characters would be answering the Flame with their actions, whether they got it "right" or "wrong".

What I mean is that each sequence should be so that they could be summed up with a very short quote from the characters, like in CC, except that this time the quote will be in the form of a scene instead of a text.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #63 on: November 18, 2006, 09:29:50 pm »
I'm getting weary of the planning phase, so we can all throw down the passion of youth and keep this discussion alive...

~

  • That brainwashing thing does seem a bit dumb, since if anything Luccia's parents would WANT to listen to the cyborg to hear news about the future. It's made me think of a new possibility. Perhaps the agent's internal workings are damaged; to keep him alive, Chronopolis have to replace some of the firmware in his processing unit. When he returns to the laboratory, a diagnostic is done and causes problems, and the few words the cyborg does speak sound like gibberish to the scientists. So, they simply do a sort of formatting, which also sets the cyborg up to fight them again.
  • I gave it some thought today, and I think that with a sentient Lavos, we could add the grandiose quality by having...statements appear in the Darkness Beyond Time. Very dark, very deep things about being totally alone, subject to darkness...the player might infer King Zeal is stating these things. They'd pop up in new areas. But then, at the confrontation, it would be revealed that these are the thoughts of the Lavos. We'd have the huge honor of giving Lavos character development, and he could even allude to members of his species by extension.
  • In line with a previous suggestion, is there something...we could do to make it seem like they need to hurry? If the lost plot line of Chrono Cross is considered, the Time Devourer needed Serge. Well, in CE, it'll have Schala AND King Zeal, meaning the fusion might take place pretty quick. Although this still does nothing to the outside world.

Chrono'99 is about to post so I'll stop here until he finishes.

Chrono'99

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #64 on: November 18, 2006, 09:47:22 pm »
Yeah, I spent some time formulating my idea. I'm posting this and going to bed, so sorry that I don't reply to your post now.

This is about Chronopolis:

CC states that it was the central regime which established Chronopolis, in 2,300 A.D. So, I guess the place in CT:CE has to be known from this government after all. Belthasar would certainly not let the regime be aware of his creation of the TDC and Monitoring Station though. How do we solve this issue?

I think we could have the TDC and Monitoring Station be on a secret floor known to and accessible only to Belthasar, Atropos, and the party. The Chronopolitan scientists would be above still debating about the feasibility of time-travel and the existence of Lavos. I'm not sure about how people would "feel" about this solution though. I mean, a secret floor in a secret military base, which is in fact not even a military base... is it okay or too much?

Or maybe we could let the TDC and MS where they are and let the scientists be aware of them. They are the most intelligent geniuses of the time, so maybe they all agree to lie to the central regime about their achievements? One would expect Belthasar to have a less risky solution though... (or is he already mind-controlling everybody in what there is of El Nido? :shock:)
« Last Edit: November 18, 2006, 09:49:01 pm by Chrono'99 »

ZeaLitY

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #65 on: November 18, 2006, 10:38:08 pm »
Here we go.

  • That brainwashing thing does seem a bit dumb, since if anything Luccia's parents would WANT to listen to the cyborg to hear news about the future. It's made me think of a new possibility. Perhaps the agent's internal workings are damaged; to keep him alive, Chronopolis have to replace some of the firmware in his processing unit. When he returns to the laboratory, a diagnostic is done and causes problems, and the few words the cyborg does speak sound like gibberish to the scientists. So, they simply do a sort of formatting, which also sets the cyborg up to fight them again.
  • I gave it some thought today, and I think that with a sentient Lavos, we could add the grandiose quality by having...statements appear in the Darkness Beyond Time. Very dark, very deep things about being totally alone, subject to darkness...the player might infer King Zeal is stating these things. They'd pop up in new areas. But then, at the confrontation, it would be revealed that these are the thoughts of the Lavos. We'd have the huge honor of giving Lavos character development, and he could even allude to members of his species by extension. Too cheesy? If done right, it could be a little disturbing, just right for the DBT.
  • In line with a previous suggestion, is there something...we could do to make it seem like they need to hurry? If the lost plot line of Chrono Cross is considered, the Time Devourer needed Serge. Well, in CE, it'll have Schala AND King Zeal, meaning the fusion might take place pretty quick. Although this still does nothing to the outside world. Which leads me to an idea:

King Zeal notes cryptically that at least his vision of a new Zeal may come true, even if it would be cut short by the Time Devourer's completion. He secretly showed a group of Mystics the future and taught them the Atash Kedah's opposite (though they can't use it at max capacity). He also created an elemental artifact for Sargon and the others to use to begin Zeal once again. The party realize the storm is beginning and discover the Mystics. Magus comes in with two Chronopolis agents to attempt to seal the power of the Mystics for that generation, since they cannot be dissuaded. "You unlocked their power in your future...and now you shut it away in the past." They then discover Sargon meeting with several old Zealians at his house, excited and talking about the new future. Magus then destroys the power source despite huge protests. Sargon condemnds the "Prophet", as Magus tries to explain that the world needs to find a different path, and that the artifact was emplaced by an arcane force. Sargon argues that no one has a right to impose upon others what is best for the future, or maintain what might have originally happened. He argues that Zeal would have restored humanity to its peak. Magus shrugs him off, but as the party is existing...we hear the following.

Lucca wonders what does give their party the right to dictate how time should be, and what denies Sargon that right. Lucca starts to come to the conclusion that might is right...they possess temporal technology. But Glenn arrives to deliver a stirring speech.

"No, might is not right. Lavos has demonstrated that well enough. He possessed enough strength to wipe out the world, yet through our resolve, we were able to send him packing and allow life to continue. We may obey no authority but our own when time traveling, but this is not necessarily bad. We have done what we believed to be right. We believe in humanity's right to live and flourish, and humanity has done that -- each person dictating how he or she will live and affect the grand scope of history. We merely have ensured that right. Some of us have acted in our own interests --"

Magus: ...

Lucca: ...

"but we have still summarily fought to give life a chance. You might ask, why don't we try to save every wronged person in history? Why don't we see how it all turns out in this little universe millions of years from know? Well, who knows where humanity will lead itself through history. Perhaps it's our belief in ourselves and our desire to make things right that led the planet to dream of us and enable this power. Time travel is an strength like any other -- as long as it is in the hands of noble people with high aim and, above all else, the power of discretion -- it can bring about wonderful things. And we have that discretionary vision and focus to only do what we truly believe in, and nothing else. Even without Belthasar's messing around time and mistake of reviving King Zeal, Lavos would still have been creeping away down there in the Darkness Beyond Time. And despite all our mistakes -- all our failures, shortcomings, and doubts -- we once again have the power to eradicate an evil influence in time. Let us use it -- not because we merely have it, but because we can unleash some good in this world that others cannot. Lavos -- the Time Devourer -- whatever you wish to call it, is poised to once again snuff out the aspirations of living beings to discover and love this magnificent and complex universe. And we are the only ones poised to stop it. Time travel is dangerous -- but here, we don't only feel like doing it because it is "right" -- we are compelled to do it as ones who believe in humanity and the growth and understanding of our reality. And just maybe, this world can be improved a little as we struggle through our journey. So do not falter; let us ride again on  the Wings of Time to fight for what we hold important and beautiful. Let us follow Crono's example and charge into the unknown to liberate our future. The Darkness Beyond Time, a black dream with no beginning or end -- is but our finest battleground! Let us not be late for our appointment with destiny!"

  • Chapter 6 Frozen Flame warp -- we could actually have a couple rooms before King Zeal in which the others could be trapped in...or something. I originally thinking about having Belthasar say "they're en route," but this invokes time travel problems, so I'm trying to limit direct future influence aside from communication. But it seems like a solution might be simple. The first room might have injured Iokans in it -- the three non-player party members will stay behind despite Belthasar's protest. Then, King Zeal can simply note in his speech that he's caused a cave-in to seal it shut, meaning the other party members are trapped. To avoid coding headaches, this first room could be a cut scene. Otherwise, if the player switched characters and came back, w'd have to have some coding to make sure Glenn couldn't be IN the party and hELPING the Iokans both...
  • Chapter 20 Frozen Flame warp -- we could simply explain that before, Lavos wanted to get the heroes out of his way. This time, Lavos will try a different strategy of breaking them down. The other party members could come in at the bottom of the screen shortly before the Flame is engaged (that is, IF the palette problem can be solved by not having them all on screen at once).
  • Frozen Flame sequences -- Yeah, I sorta worried about that too. From Chrono Cross, it seems the Flame tells Serge's party something diametrically opposed to what they believe in. Viper is told that we're all here to fight and destroy to survive; Marcy is told that she's a halfling to ridicule her...so let's see what it would say to the Chrono team.

  • Crono - You will kill others forever and never succeed in bringing peace.
  • Marle - You will never escape the horrors of this world and your royal status of suffering them.
  • Lucca - Science is only a tool to be used by people with greater power than yourself.
  • Glenn - Guardia will fall and your knightly ideals and struggles will mean nothing.
  • Robo - You will never be accepted by robots or humans.
  • Magus - You are powerless to save your sister or avenge your kingdom.
  • Ayla - Life means nothing but killing others to survive.

So this concludes the big plot post. Discussion? And is that speech too much?
« Last Edit: November 19, 2006, 12:28:26 am by ZeaLitY »

nightmare975

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #66 on: November 18, 2006, 10:47:40 pm »
Should Marle comment on the DBT upon entering? She has been there once before.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #67 on: November 18, 2006, 11:11:37 pm »
Good idea. That would help us explain away that Marle disappearance.

Chrono'99

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #68 on: November 19, 2006, 11:25:35 am »
  • The cyborg formatting sounds good, though could you clarify what happens to him between the end of the Reptite timeline and his comeback in the Porre Lab? I think I'm missing something (why does he leave Chronopolis, if he does go there). Oh and, why not give him back his name, Sorin? Kasmir sounds better than Serran too, I think.
  • King Zeal's attempt to create a new kingdom is very good. This gives a concrete insight on his wishes and develops all the other stuff (even Sargon!). The speech is quite long but could fit if we put some drama and a big crowd of people listening, etc. I'm not sure why it's Glenn who stands up and suddenly gives this speech though. Among the crowd would be Mystics, but still Glenn would be more prone to act like this in 602 A.D. than in 11,998 B.C. He seems a bit like he was aware of the events and is reading a written speech here. Also, how will the entire sequence be played? Will there be battles?
  • About Chapter 20: Perhaps only the 3 sequences corresponding to the 3 active characters should be shown? This would favor replay value over any possible redundancy.

~

And now, something even longer than above!

I've finally managed to formulate something that was blurrily on my mind since a while. This is another take on the origins of Lavos, wrapping some stuff about the Frozen Flame's purpose and the overarching CC plot, thanks to all the site's gathered theories and information:

Lavos did not only evolve the human species, Lavos IS humanity. He represents the desire of evolution taken to an extreme. He wants to keep on evolving and improving himself continuously but too wildly: if we could ask him why he wants that, he'll probably have no answer to give. This is kind of the same thing for humans:

Quote
Kid:
   So that's Terra Tower's
   final, true form...
   In the end, we're all the
   same...
   Everyone dreams of bein'
   greater, more powerful...

They want self-improvement, scientific progress, etc., but where are they heading to with all this? The same question can be asked for the Reptites and every other living beings too, but the game will focus on humanity because they're the ones who got in contact with the Frozen Flame. In CC, the humans are compared to Lavos; throughout CE we could hint at the reverse, that Lavos can also be compared to humans. The original Lavoids would have originated on a planet in which humanity was so advanced, yet so selfish and destructive, that they evolved into Lavoids (this would take thousands of millennias of course). In addition to what we know of the Lavoid life cycle, the humans would also fit somewhere in there, being evolved by Lavoids, but also becoming Lavoids. The Chrono planet basically risks the same fate if the humans don't take more responsability in their free will. In a way, I guess this cycle is comparable to the Hindo-Buddhistic notion of Samsara, the wheel of perpetual reincarnations.

Maybe we could put this little scene in some nightmare or DBT area too:

Quote from: Hadriel on Monday 25 July 2005, 04:03:42
On Lavos' form in the Defiled World: I'd wanted to implement this idea a while ago, and this is a perfect place for it.  Remember the demon sculpture on the top of Magus' summoning altar in the original game?  Lavos' form here will basically amount to that brought to life.  It's a twisted form that reflects Lavos' sick desires

Some character could note that it's a twisted form that reflects Lavos' sick desires, but that also depicts him as a humanoid (despite the horns and extra arms).

Now, about the Frozen Flame's origins. Its creation was actually accidental. In order to evolve, Lavos just has to slumber in the planet's core, he doesn't need anything else. However, a piece of his shell splintered by mere chance and remained on the surface. Lavos never wanted other beings to use the Flame's power, so he wanted to retrieve it.

Lavos succeeded in recovering the Flame in 12,000 B.C. in the original timeline, when he tricked Queen Zeal into setting forth the conditions of the Ocean Palace disaster (yes, this is an adaptation of DBoruta's theory, we'll have to thank him hugely). After retrieving the Flame, Lavos simply destroyed it, or something, because he already has similar powers to it. However, in Keystone T-1, the same attempt failed because of Crono's intervention (in Keystone T-2, the TTI-fied Lavos pulls Chronopolis back in time to try a second time to retrieve the Flame, but that's after CT:CE).

Yet, simultaneously to these attempts, and all the more after them, Lavos also communicates with the person possessing the Flame, if this person is fitting or special enough. This person would be the Arbiter of Time, someone Lavos discusses with and gives a chance to stop his never-ending quest for evolution, i.e. the mediator between Lavos and the planet's inhabitants. Lavos will, explicitely or not, interrogate him about the meaning of life and their purpose in the universe (Lavos' and the Arbiter's purpose, which is the same). Whether the Arbiter can answer those questions or not, he will eventually have to make a choice: either merge with Lavos and join him in his quest to find the answers, or refuse to do so and possibly remain alive if they're strong-minded enough, in which case Lavos will still destroy the planet sooner or later and continue his life cycle anyway. King Zeal and Schala were the latest Arbiters. There were a certain amount of Arbiters before them too, and whether they fused with Lavos or not, they all contributed to add to Lavos's sentience and knowledge of things (Lavoids are all sentient, but this particular Lavos is even more...cognizant thanks to his contact with the surface species; there is a bit of the "Reconciling differences" theme in here).

The last point is the defeat of Lavos in Chrono Trigger. This has viciously altered Lavos' perspective on the universe. Instead of wanting to seek some metaphysical knowledge, he has given up and began to wish for the destruction of all space-time instead. In CT:CE, King Zeal is the Arbiter of Time. He's supposed to have the choice to not fuse with Lavos, and hugely prefer a new Zeal Kingdom actually, but he eventually falls. Perhaps he could somehow come to a conclusion reminiscent of Miguel's speech (about res nullius, fusing with eternity, etc.). Whether it's because of his madness, Lavos' will, or his conscious choice, we don't know and we defeat him before the fusion anyhow.

At the end of CC, Serge uses the Chrono Cross to "heal" the Time Devourer. Whether it answers Lavos' questions or not, we again don't know, but the liberated Schala does seem to have grasped something deep about the meaning of life.

So, that's it. It can be gradually explained throughout the game, with the big Arbiter/choice and alien/human thingies being revealed in the DBT mentioned pop-ups. I suppose this still doesn't exactly hasten things at the end of the game, though perhaps Lavos at North Cape could actually be calling the cast to the DBT to expose them his immense dilemma... this would at least make them and the player curious, and give the Entity's test another reason to be (to make sure they don't suddenly agree with Lavos' philosophy or something like that).

This interpretation explains a lot about Lavos, and gives him some personality, while still keeping the focus on humanity and the struggle of free will and fate, as it is in the rest of the series. But of course, that's a suggestion. Thoughts on it?
« Last Edit: November 19, 2006, 11:50:12 am by Chrono'99 »

nightmare975

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #69 on: November 19, 2006, 12:52:28 pm »
Humanizing Lavos, I like it.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #70 on: November 19, 2006, 01:55:38 pm »
Well, like Gaspar said, we've got more speed now and less haste. The Glenn speech and the Lavos darkness do well to brin the themes of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross both to a dramatic finish. I don't think we could possibly go wrong here, and I'm merely a bit worried that it'd be tough to make a new sequel now! I guess I should get this stuff added to the revised plot outline and then check it over one last time. Then we can move on to location planning. Although...one last thing. What should be done with Ayla? I guess the original idea was, if you save her, she's with you from that point on; if you do not, she comes back after Glenn goes and gets the hides off the mountain in that rest period.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #71 on: November 19, 2006, 03:43:50 pm »
I forgot about the Chronopolis thing. We can resolve it in the ending. The Chronopolis chief notes that Belthasar appeared out of "nowhere" with the Time Research Lab. Perhaps we can justify it by Belthasar noting at the end that he's going to renovate Chronopolis for his ultimate plan, and that he'll need the Central Regime's vast resources for a grand experiment he's going to conduct. He's going to reveal his "private lab" after dismantling certain aspects to the Central Regime, which will jump on the opportunity and move things to the sea of El Nido. This will also enable Belthasar to use the Frozen Flame.

Does that sound good? Right now, I think we are in the sea of El Nido, but how then do we have a road to the Comet Islands? That's pretty weird...I guess a highway would have been possible and might have been left behind in the Time Crash, if we must.

Well, before I add all this, I just need a vote of approval.

Chrono'99

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #72 on: November 19, 2006, 05:20:45 pm »
The Chronopolis and Ayla things sound good. For Ayla, I thought we would allow the possibility to just make her die, so that she'd be the optional character of the game (like Magus was in CT). But this is probably because I don't really care about her... I guess it's better to keep her alive.

Oh and speaking of the central regime, this reminds me of the Vanguard Apocalypse scenario. I always liked the theme of Romantic ideals of old slowly falling into absolute totalitarism (cf. Germany). I thought there was no decent place for it in the new plot though, and Chapter 12 is the closest adaptation we have. But perhaps we could actually make it fit even more? Instead of the Vanguard and Serran creating a central regime, we would have a rebellion and Cakulha try to disrupt an already-existent Vanguard central regime. The options would then be:

Option 1: Cakulha teleports the party and the rebels outside and blow up the building...committing suicide.
Option 2: The party defeats Cakulha in battle, but the rebels launch the missile in the meantime and blow up some city.
Option 3: Cakulha leaves the place and goes to fight King Zeal; the rebels launch the missile but the party has the time to board the Epoch and destroy it in mid-air.

Either way, the rebellion never manages to overthrow the regime (at least not in 2,302 A.D.), though the few robots present among them will allow for the Vanguard to be aware of Chronopolis. The only problem there is concerning this version is that since Glenn doesn't create the Vanguard in the reverted 602 A.D. (after Chapter 15), we have to fix something. To explain why the central regime still exists in the CC timeline, we would have to make the party realize after Chapter 15 that the Vanguard still exist, except they were created by knight Renault (or someone else) instead of Glenn.

I think this scenario would be a perfect illustration of the theme of humanity's corruption, but I'm not sure if the Renault solution is credible or not.

EDIT: Or perhaps, the central regime could still have risen without the Vanguard? We'd imply the regime is less strong, but still existent. I'm really not sure.

~

In all cases, I do think Renault, Luther, and Roget should be in 602 A.D. They're not really needed in the Present, whereas they could counsel Glenn during the Mystic/Porrean/everyone genocide.

I also spotted a small plot-hole: Glenn must put the past Masamune in 11,998 B.C. instead of 1 A.D., else there'd be some complication with Time Bastard in the Middle Ages. I had chosen 1 A.D. just to involve the era a bit more in the plot, but I guess it's not possible this way.

~

This thing will probably be my last major suggestion of alteration of the plot:

Quote from: Shadow_Dragon on Saturday 23 July 2005, 13:50:04
Why would everyone congratulate Crono and co. as heroes? I know that King Gaurdia welcomes them back at the end of CT as heroes, but he has to believe his own daughter, and he had the power to make a large celebration, but do you think everyone would suddenly believe that a group of teenagers saved the world when they have no proof? That'd be like if I told everyone here that I'd gone into the future and saved the world. I think that, rather than being praised as heroes, the crew should be marked as insane. Glenn had a high position in charge of the knights, or w/e, but I think his tales of time-traveling should be frowned upon (like everyone thinks he's talking about a dream when he talks about it, so they just ignore him when he does, and they pretend he's fine)

Should we make villagers dubious of the party's adventure? The feeling would be especially strong in Porre (except for Sorin and Montcrief) and would be another factor explaining their rising antipathy towards the kingdom's authority.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2006, 05:40:46 pm by Chrono'99 »

ZeaLitY

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #73 on: November 19, 2006, 05:49:53 pm »
Well the one thing that would make them venerate hte heroes is that Crono and Marle are now royalty. Even if they were a bit incredulous about their achievements, they'd still respect them for being good, strong royal heirs. Not sure about Robo and the others not from 1002 A.D., though.

Would the Cakulha philosophy be the same? And my question is, once the Vanguard is removed from the equation, wouldn't having it happen the same mean the new Vanguard (founded by Renault instead) would know of Chronopolis again? I'm not sure here...

But I see the theme. It ties into the Porre / Guardia conflict. The Vanguard, founded to protect old values, ends up being a bureaucratic, sort of corrupt, evil organization resistant to change and ends up making the world worse off than it could have been. It locks in the traditions of the past in a misguided attempt to ensure human growth, leaving society less open to change to deal with new issues, technology, threats, etc.

Chrono'99

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Re: Revised Plot and Planning Thread
« Reply #74 on: November 20, 2006, 03:03:48 pm »
After pondering the different possibilities we have, I think having the central regime still be existing without the Vanguard is the better solution. If Renault creates the Vanguard, this kind of cheapen Glenn's responsability... Instead, we could have Belthasar note that the central regime still formed without them, and that it's still militaristic but slightly less powerful. The regime wouldn't believe the rumors of the existence of Chronopolis; I guess the Vanguard had believed those rumors because they already suspected that their founder Glenn had been a time-traveler.

As for Cakulha's philosophy... I'm not sure, I suppose many different things are possible. I believe having him not really caring about the rebellion could be good though. He'd be acting like Magus was: just using some conflict to achieve a personal objective (in this case, gathering power to try to find Chronopolis?). During the chapter we'll mention the background of the central regime, which was built after some global nuclear conflict, but we'll also clearly show that the rebellion isn't any better than this regime (they're terrorists after all).

For Chronopolis, maybe we should disconnect the island from the mainland and put some teleporters instead? It may hardly be secret base if it's connected to the world with a highway.
« Last Edit: November 20, 2006, 03:08:44 pm by Chrono'99 »