Chrono Clutch (frog to glenn) updated w art and script

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Oh.  But that's not really a Cease & Desist letter, then.  But I get it.  I thought it was a REAL one.

[Shadow D. Darkman]

I didn't know that was a fake. My bad. Never mind, people.

[DarioEMeloD]

I knew it... lol

Any news?

[Mr Bekkler]

the news: i have mixed a few songs together for the soundtrack/score but i really need help tying the plot together.

i'm torn between doing a closed frog/glenn game and a more expansive, altogether more confusing game, and i'm leaning toward the one character frog game, maybe adding magus as unlockable.

basically i'm thinking frog gets attacked in his home and is rescued by masa and mune, who fuse and are kidnapped, hence the stealing of the sword. then he gets a calling from the entity to fuse some dead dimensions together to create conditions where he could retain human form. in each of these dead dimensions is either flea, slash, ozzie, shadow glenn, and finally dalton, who posesses the chrono clutch, and has already kidnapped chrono and marle and attacked guardia.
he may or may not recruit magus from 2300, where magus is now a village chief, trying to balance reconstruction of society with the search for schala. he also may or may not save chrono and marle, and return them to guardia.

that's where it stands now, sprites, music, and an idea. everybody here keeps talking about c&d letters and all i'm asking is what other fans would like to see done plot and gameplay wise. does this sound playable or would you all like to see something different? please, give me input!

[idioticidioms]

I always liked to think that it was due to Princess Nadia's kiss at the end of CT that made Glenn Human again. or maybe Magus released his spell on him before returning to his search for Schala.

[Zephira]

the news: i have mixed a few songs together for the soundtrack/score but i really need help tying the plot together.

i'm torn between doing a closed frog/glenn game and a more expansive, altogether more confusing game, and i'm leaning toward the one character frog game, maybe adding magus as unlockable.

basically i'm thinking frog gets attacked in his home and is rescued by masa and mune, who fuse and are kidnapped, hence the stealing of the sword. then he gets a calling from the entity to fuse some dead dimensions together to create conditions where he could retain human form. in each of these dead dimensions is either flea, slash, ozzie, shadow glenn, and finally dalton, who posesses the chrono clutch, and has already kidnapped chrono and marle and attacked guardia.
he may or may not recruit magus from 2300, where magus is now a village chief, trying to balance reconstruction of society with the search for schala. he also may or may not save chrono and marle, and return them to guardia.

that's where it stands now, sprites, music, and an idea. everybody here keeps talking about c&d letters and all i'm asking is what other fans would like to see done plot and gameplay wise. does this sound playable or would you all like to see something different? please, give me input!

I think it's a pretty good idea. As for those "may or may not" parts, are those optional quests, or just parts you haven't decided on yet? Both of those would make really good plot points.
As for recruiting Magus, Frog would need a really good reason to ever work with that man. It'd be awesome if you could come up with a good enough reason, watching arguments between those two is always fun.

How will Frog cross dimensions, anyway? Will there be something like Opassa Beach so you can go back and forth as you please, or will the Entity send Frog on his way whenever he finishes with one mission?

Oh, and Magus would be found in 12000 BC, not 2300.

[Mr Bekkler]

haha. i just noticed the year thing. pfft i'm burnt out apparently. i'm not even gonna edit it cause it's funny. thanks for feedback on the idea, to answer questions:

`the may or may not parts would be optional quests.

`the method of travel would be kind of a mix of opassa and end of time, like a temporal c shaped room with a few doors and each door leads to a dimension that needs to be fixed. so you can go back and forth and if you get stuck you can come back and stuff.

the thing with magus is that he's not just looking for his sister. that's a very thin veil over what he really wants. what he wants is oedipal. he wants to kill ozzie, because ozzie was his father figure. the reasoning behind this (why not his real father, dalton, or the gurus?) is ozzie is the one who robbed janus of his humanity. and with all the power that kid had, his hair got a deeper blue, his skin lost all pigment, his ears and teeth sharpened, and his eyes turned red. he became a monster. his sister represents morality to him. that was taken away when he was a child.

in short, he's not looking for schala at all. he's nostalgic and doesn't know it. he's looking for humanity, same as frog. that's why he'd find common ground, and i think i can show that with the two of them getting tossed into a mutual crisis, and being forced to see they're not so different bla blah.

`other possible side quests: save the gurus, save doan, fight dragon god



edit: updated first post.

[Mr Bekkler]

i hope this isn't a bad double post. i have legitimate new content! i wrote an introduction script for the game, and have the rough design i'm going with for Frog.  First the picture.

i drew this with a wacom tablet in corel painter on my computer, as an attempt to draw Frog, and eventually the other characters, in a non-anime style. This is going to be a bit darker overall.

And now for the introduction to the game. Remember, this is first draft, so please give constructive criticism, but be nice   Here it is so far:



   Glenn:
Cyrus! NOOOOOOOOO!

   Ozzie:
...a more fitting form...

   Magus:
...yes...

   A voice:
Glenn...Wake up...OI, GLENN!

A knight the size of a human but with the head of a frog opens his eyes. He sees a dim streetlight and two silver-haired children over him, each one staring into one eye.

   Frog:
Tell me who you are before I cut off your heads.
You don't fool me. I know you're not children.

   Einz:
Wow, Glenn. You're mean. Should we tell him, Lanz?

   Lanz:
Hmm, I don't know Einz. Maybe he remembers, Einz.

   Frog:
Remembers what?

   Einz:
So much for that.

   Frog:
You have five seconds.

   Einz:
Now don't jump the gun. Tee hee!

   Lanz:
Yeah, calm down, Glenn. We're in this together.
Do you remember where you are? That was a pretty
bad fire.

   Frog:
Fire? Where? Where is the Masamune? Good God,
don't tell me I lost it! Where are we? I
demand an answer now!

Another child, slightly older looking, comes through
a door to the side.

   Zera:
Enough playing. It is time to introduce ourselves.

   Einz:
You're no fun!

   Lanz:
Fine. My name is--

   Einz:
In order, please!
My name is Einz, I'm the youngest!

   Lanz:
By less than a minute! My name is Lanz.
We live in your new sword.

   Frog:
My NEW sword? Oh no. It really IS gone.

   Zera:
Fear not, Glenn. My name is Zera. We are the
siblings of the sword, Einlanzer. I regret
to inform you that you probably do not remember
this because your dimension was destroyed.

   Frog:
Dimension? As a measurement? What is your
meaning, nightmare?

Zera presents the Einlanzer. Frog takes it reluctantly.

   Zera:
I'm sorry. It was Dalton. He destroyed your world,
but not before he swapped us for the legendary
Masamune. It is not WE who should be feared. We
are merely dreams.

   Frog:
Preposterous! Take me home, immediately!

   Einz:
Buddy, we'd love to, but...

   Lanz:
...It's just not there anymore.

   Frog:
I refuse to believe that. Dalton! Impossible.

   Lanz:
Masa and Mune were trying to defend you. You were
trapped in your own home under a sleeping spell
when he came.

   Einz:
The thing is, we come from Sunstone. Had we come
from Moonstone, we would have been nightmares.
We've been charged with life energy. Masa and
Mune, now THEY came from Dreamstone, which allows
them to conform to the needs of the carrier.

   Frog:
They were taken. And Queen Leene? The King?
What of them?

   Lanz:
Dalton. He sneaked up and stabbed Masa and Mune
in the back. With US! And they...they're...

   Zera:
I'm so sorry, Glenn.

Dalton appears from a Red Gate. He is with Ozzie.

   Ozzie:
Ah, the little froggie! Didn't think we'd find YOU here.

   Frog:
Ozzie! Dalton! This sword looks like the Masamune,
but it feels so different! So strange.

   Dalton:
A giant frog? Interesting. I think I'll dissect you.

   Lanz:
Glenn! Jump!

   Einz:
No, that's a terrible idea! You have no clue what's down there!

   Zera:
It's his only chance. We have to reenter the sword, and push!

Dalton points the Masamune at Frog, and it flies directly toward his head. The three siblings run into him, knocking him over the edge of the fence at the end of time.

   Ozzie:
I...didn't see that coming.

   Dalton:
Hm. Let us go. We have more to change. More to collect.

   Ozzie:
Aren't you gonna check and see if they're DEAD?

   Dalton:
Either way, it doesn't matter. They'll be falling for an eternity.

He laughs. He takes out what looks like a pocketwatch, turns a dial, and a Red Gate appears next to him. He enters and Ozzie follows.

A hanging red wire is attached to the side of the platform. After following it down, it is revealed to be Frog's tongue, the only thing keeping him from falling.

Frog loses his grip, and falls.

[Mr Bekkler]

Man, a month and not even a comment. Well, I assume this is why fan projects die so quickly. So any mod that wants to take this thread down, feel free. I'm still working on it (ALONE BTW), but it seems nobody here is interested. Thanks anyways.

[mav]

Whoa now, don't lose faith so easily. I read through the topic and I gotta say it sounds pretty decent. My only suggestions would be to make sure the ideas of your game fit within the mythology of the Chrono series (just give the Encyclopedia a quick check for various topics about the Masamune, Einlanzer, and other events) and make sure the dialog matches the characters we know and love. Frog, for instance, should retain the general feel of how he was in CT (you don't have to use his Old-English "accent" though) and try to keep patterning everyone's dialog of their original counterparts. Right now you're still in the early stages, so it's no big deal, but I think people prefer hacks/fan sequels to feel a little like the original. Otherwise it was quite well written--Einz and Lanz were written delightfully, I think they seemed the most realistic, so keep it up.

Take my suggestions lightly--they're just my opinions--and don't be discouraged by the lack of input from everyone: people like to see a lot before they get committed, and that's especially so since you're relatively new here.

[idioticidioms]

hmmm.... maybe that IS why so many fan projects die. People like him who feed off the attention of others, who don't have the will to work without feedback and even the faintest praise.

[Mr Bekkler]

hey now, NOT looking for praise. i was looking for help. i want to tie it in to the chronoverse and total lack of interest=total lack of help. if you think the whole idea or even just part of it sucks big time tell me why. that's what i WANT to hear.

on the other hand. thank you, mav for the criticism. i'm still experimenting on frog's actual dialogue. right now it's some combination of non-shakespearean normaltalk and headfast angry aged frog. he's supposed to be twenty years older than when chrono trigger left off, a bit hardened in his years and i don't think i've nailed it yet. i appreciate the thought, though.

[mav]

hmmm.... maybe that IS why so many fan projects die. People like him who feed off the attention of others, who don't have the will to work without feedback and even the faintest praise.

Well there's a difference between looking for feedback and hoping for praise. Without feedback or criticism, you're not gonna have the support you need for a finished product. And more importantly getting no feedback is an indication that there's little interest in the project, and thus there's little motivation to continue. Would you continue a project if no one gave you the slightest inclination of interest? I wouldn't.


Anyhow, addiesin, it sounds like your story is still evolving, which is good, so chances are that it'll require editing as you continue working on it. Hopefully some of the fellas who've worked on their own hacks and projects can give you some feedback or information--I really haven't delved into fan-games much...

[skylark]

I definitely know how it feels to not get any feedback on stuff. You have my condolences.

Anyway, I kinda agree on Mav's points of making the characters sound like they do in the game.

Hmmm... Ozzie and Dalton... wonder how they managed to team up. This thing certainly has my attention.

[Mr Bekkler]

first off, if anybody else would like to do some writing, i'd love to have someone else on board. it would definitely help round out details, and help with motivation. any artistic skills are not necessary but a plus.

hmmm.... maybe that IS why so many fan projects die. People like him who feed off the attention of others, who don't have the will to work without feedback and even the faintest praise.

Well there's a difference between looking for feedback and hoping for praise. Without feedback or criticism, you're not gonna have the support you need for a finished product. And more importantly getting no feedback is an indication that there's little interest in the project, and thus there's little motivation to continue. Would you continue a project if no one gave you the slightest inclination of interest? I wouldn't.

couldn't have said it better me'self

I definitely know how it feels to not get any feedback on stuff. You have my condolences.

Anyway, I kinda agree on Mav's points of making the characters sound like they do in the game.

Hmmm... Ozzie and Dalton... wonder how they managed to team up. This thing certainly has my attention.

yeah, it seems frog should be more like he is in the game, which i'm struggling with. i kinda feel like he should be angry at the world, but that was never the case. i must rethink some things. one thing for sure - frog is not going to speak with the archaic dialect. while i like the ctnp explanation, i just can't see the main character of a game, however long or short the playtime, talking that way the whole time.

as far as ozzie and dalton, there is much more to do with them.    much more.

i really do appreciate the feedback. the most useful thing i've gotten so far is the notes on characterization, and they will NOT go to waste. thank you sky and mav!