So about a month ago, comic entrepreneur Lucius Merryweather launched a new vtuber agency named Astraline and gave its members all new vtuber avatars and an animated backstory/lore for each of them. I had been watching Fred Knudsen since before he joined the agency, and when he did, it got me thinking creatively.
I myself have been vtubing for over a year now, not really feeling settled into a brand. Everyone knows me as Schala, and lately I settled on a Toriyama style avatar I commissioned an artist friend to draw while I learned Live2D and rigged myself. (see attached) The problem, of course, is that I had to gimp myself from not just monetising my streams, but also fundraising for charity, to keep Square's eyes off me.
The advent of Astraline lit a spark of creativity in me and I really sought out to establish an original character, or at the very least, a character that won't have a legal potentiality looming over my head. A few ideas came to mind, but nothing really solid. Then I had watched Audio Pulp's
What Would Chrono Break Be Like? series. Couple that with a few ideas of my own and I had a solid idea and began drafting up a backstory for my new vtuber character -- It would be "Schala" but using the Chrono Break fan lore with some rearrangements, it would be vague enough to be considered its own thing.
So I set off writing up draft after draft of my story, every day pouring in new elements to really ground it as its own "Chrono-like" story. Around this time, I started getting intrigued by the Godot game engine while also working on my "open source Chrono Trigger engine" I mentioned some months ago, which by the way is still in progress. It was only recently that an idea hit me: a game tie-in! I had written so much draft story that I essentially made a mythos!
I have already participated in a few game jams (examples
here and
here) and even coded
my own semi-working 6502 emulator. Having 20 years of coding under my belt, Godot is very easy to pick up, so this would make a fine test of my skills and ambition.
What I have so far is that I used the Chrono Break fan theory series as a foundation, and initially tried blotting out any legally-distinct references to the Chrono games. From there, I started putting in my own ideas and interests, along with some Lovecraftian horror elements in place of a connection to Lavos.. It actually culminated this morning with my idea for a title - Temporal Flux: Echoes of a Dream. This title implicates what the story is about as well as pay homage to the Chrono fan games such as Crimson Echoes and Prophet's Guile.
Ultimately I do want to put Echoes of a Dream out on PC, Mac, and mobile. Consoles are an eventual possibility, but beyond my scope right now. I'm still juggling around whether it should be chibi 3D or HD 2D Octopath (and rumored Trigger remake) style.
The story so far is written to be self contained but with room to expand should it be successful. Ultimately, whether or not it's spiritually considered a sort of unofficial spiritual sequel Chrono Break was meant to be, I leave to the player. As its own series, it need not be under that pressure to measure up to the Chrono games. It can be an exciting adventure all its own, or it could give Chrono fans a sense of unofficial closure.
I'll post more info about this tomorrow. Goodnight all!
