The Month That Could Have Been Announcement

[Katie Skyye]

Why not turn the game into a flash movie? Each chapter could have episodes. There isn't a law against fan videos right? Just use the script and dialogue you have like make it a fan fiction of your own works! Forget the game, turn it into something new for a change. Keep the dream alive. Remember, don't believe in yourself, believe in the me who believes in you, for yours is the dream that will conquer the heavens.

I said this earlier, as well...I don't remember where. But yeah, I think that a Flash video (or interactive fiction of some sort) would be pretty epic.

The thing about an interactive fiction that I find appealing is that you would still be able to keep the choices available to the characters, which is something the developers were sad about losing were the play-throughs posted as videos--which they're going to be.


The only trouble with that is that it's more work, and I'm not sure if the CE team really wants to put so much more time into this project. Who knows how long it might take to turn five years of game into a Flash movie/story/choose your own adventure?

[blarg]

They could use the annotations on youtube to link to different videos every time there is a choice

Also how come I don't see this on any other sites yet? This is why waiting for an official response was dumb nobody else cares much anymore. Priority number one should be to get a penny arcade comic about this that is how the porn site beat Nintendo after all. (OK maybe not but a comic would be awesome. A game journalist asking somebody at E3 during an interview maybe a developer about this or fangames would also be awesome)

Also I think the debate about releasing the game or not is interesting. (I still think Square got tricked by Dark Sage and that matters a lot because they would probably sue a profiting game but never waste time on a free fangame even if they mistakenly sent a C&D to them and are to stubborn/lazy/don't want any more attention from the press to undo the thing.)

Anyways I just wanna add that even though SE are rich doesn't mean they will waste time money and a huge explosion of negative news and hate from their fans on a case they probably won't win (i'm sure they aren't responsible for an unprovable anonymous beta leak)over a thing that barely affects them like a romhack just to spite and destroy a person's life at great cost to them. that is not how corporations work.

Also I'm wondering why nobody has mentioned the possibility of a low settlement if they do actually sue so that nobody has to destroy their life/schedule going to court? isn't that how most lawsuits end up? Don't people actually pirating things only get $3000 that'd be easily get able in a pay for legal fees donation drive especially with the suit getting mentioned on every gaming site ever and it could be even less like 200.

Still looking forward to the videos I'm sure whatever the CE team decides is best and I support whatever they do cause it is their decision

 

[Agent 12]

Turning this into a flash video would be a huge, huge investment.  I don't really forsee it happening in the future.

The best thing people can do is make sure that the videos are viewed by as many people as possible.

--JP

[FaustWolf]

They could use the annotations on youtube to link to different videos every time there is a choice

This is an interesting observation blarg. We're still going to upload linearly, but we'll go back and scrounge up sidequest footage too. To be honest I didn't record a whole lot besides the immediate aftermath of the choices, but we'll see what we can do in this regard.

[Glenn27]

Hey, sorry about any personal insults towards the creators.

I didn't mean to get riled up at them it's just.... the whole situation has me really pissed off.


That douchebag asshole lying to SE and getting this project closed for his own personal shits and giggles.  SE believing his lies then when being corrected then refusing to retract their position.  SE promising to make a statement then basically lying and taking a shit on the creators to avoid giving this controversy anymore attention.  And people talking about giving in to SE without taking a stand- I'm just supposed to smile and clap my hands and shrug my shoulders?


Yeah, I came off as overly fanboyish but my point still remains.  I still think that letting the project die is the wrong decision, not just for the fans but mostly for the creators.  That's five years of hard work gone- that they will never get back.

Maybe now is not a good time to fight a lawsuit- but when is it ever a "good" time?  There is no such thing as that, not five years ago and not anywhere in the next twenty years.  The creators could live to be 120 and there would never be a "good time" in that time period to fight.  That's why massive soul-sucking corporations can usually throw their weight around and bully the little guy, people get afraid, but that doesn't mean the little guy should always submit.


Would I personally release it?  Yeah I would, but I'm not them and I didn't make this game.  I don't know the creators and their own personal reasons for saying and doing what they're doing but I don't disrespect them for that.  I strongly disagree, but I take back any insults.


One last point though- my stuff about lawyers lying is right.  That whole Donkey Kong story is COMPLETELY true- read the book I cited if you don't believe me.

If lawyers working for a massive soulless corporation would lie to another rich corporation and risk the consequences, then why wouldn't they risk lying to a bunch of little guys with little money?  All they even got for LYING to Nintendo was a slap on the wrists.  You think SE would worry about the consequences if it was proven they were lying to the creators here?  Best they could muster is a slap on the wrist (extremely unlikely), or a fine worth less than what FF7 games sell in a 6-hour period, a risk MORE than worth the consequences if it can create a climate of fear and paranoia fanatically opposed to releasing this game in the fan community to do SE's work for them which it seems like they have more than accomplished in spades.

That's how lawyers work, "I'm right and here's why, and here's a bunch of threats about what we're going to try do and you'd better shut up and give us what we want."  If they can mindfuck you and threaten you to the point you surrender without even putting up a fight then that outcome is most preferable.

They have no interest in generating negative publicity from a lawsuit on behalf of the modding community, they just want this issue to die and everybody to forget about this game, and that's why they had the creators not quote them at all and why they refused to publicly respond in any manner and chose to lie to them. 

"Why the fuck should we bother to respond?  Fuck you, we're SE and we don't have to and we don't care," is their basic response.


I hope that someday in the future that somebody releases this game anonymously and realizes that SE can't just sue and lock up all the creators and beta-testers.  They're a massive soulless corporation but they're NOT as God-like and all-powerful like Lavos as they claim to be as far too many people here are too quick to automatically believe and accept as indesputable fact.

[Katie Skyye]

Turning this into a flash video would be a huge, huge investment.  I don't really forsee it happening in the future.

The best thing people can do is make sure that the videos are viewed by as many people as possible.

--JP

Yeah, I didn't really have my hopes up, either. It would just be cool, is all.

They could use the annotations on youtube to link to different videos every time there is a choice

That's an EPIC idea! I know it's already been replied to, but whatever! Cool idea! I don't know how feasible that is, considering everyone has supposedly deleted their beta copies...

However, if there IS someone who still has a copy, I'm sure they'd be willing to tape sidequest footage and email it to CEMemorial or something...no one would ever know which parts were original footage and which were taped later, after all. >_> <_<

I'm not trying to instigate some sort of leak here. If that wouldn't work, it wouldn't work, end of story.

I'm just throwing it out there.

[knuck]

I just want to remind everyone that, regardless of Dark Serge's actions, it was SE who made the decision to C&D us. I would hope that nobody forgets that SE are the ones responsible for where we are now.

Actually, it's your own fault, but let's not get into that yet again.
Nice video.

[RySenkari]

I know how we can still get the game released.

Let's challenge Square Enix to a game of basketball! Our five best players versus five of their characters. If we win, you guys get to release CE.

We just need to find Michael Jordan to help us.

[alfadorredux]

::Sigh::

I ducked out of here for a couple of weeks in the hopes that the worst of the mess would have quieted down a bit by now, then get back and find this...

Glenn27, if you're really so pissed off about the current state of affairs, why don't you put your money where your mouth is?  Scrape together a couple of hundred dollars of your own money, find a lawyer versed in IP law, tell him the story, and ask him, in his professional opinion, whether or not Squeenix has a leg to stand on--you don't need anyone's permission just to ask about that. Or try to spread the story to more places. But don't waste your time and energy attacking the CE team for not being willing to pursue your ideals. They already have enough problems.

As for everyone else: Squeenix probably is waiting for this to blow over. It would be the sane thing to do, from their point of view. If that bothers you, then don't let it. Simple, no? But the place to do that isn't here at the Compendium--can't draw much attention that way.

[Happy-Dude]

Hey guys... If there is ever time, and as a favor to all those Chrono fans that have never played it... Can there be a Prophet's Guile playthrough too? I'd love it, and I'm sure others would too ..

(Amazing job on the videos, by the way... Hell, amazing job with the ROM patch itself, guys !!)

And please confirm, is there still channels open with Square Enix? (As in, is contact still even possible?) All I can see is that they left the issue opened... I want them to issue a FINAL statement, and that's it. I want the lawyers to MAKE this an issue, not evade it. And I want SquareEnix to see how badly fans wish for Chrono... Even a fan game of this caliber should see the light some day... :')

And for a best case scenario, I want the game be offered to SquareEnix, promised to be distributed among the top heads and to SE of Jap, no strings attached (just need original story credit and such), and played through... I want them to see what a game Crimson Echoes could have been. (Has this even been carried out? If a channel of communication is still open, please do so and offer them this?) I will not say R.I.P. Crimson Echoes until that *official statement* comes to us fans.

But other than that, all I want is for this *still open* issue to be closed for good (so many of the Compendium, and I'm sure for the developers, can move on). And thanks CE and Compendium admins, for being so professional and resolute about this.

I wish you all the best. Nice work

[Samopoznanie]

Excuse me everyone, good evening.

My name is Brett Wooley, I am the host of a live radio program in North East Louisiana called Meteor Radio.

I want an interview from someone involved with the project to speak about this. I don't care about how it needs to be approached. Whether it's to summon support, or to mourn the loss of a great project, I want the people to know about this.

Is there someone that can help me with this? Please let me know as soon as you can. Thank you for your time. And thank you for the dedication the team put into that project.

Sincerely yours,

Brett Wooley (Axtuse)
www.meteorradio.com

Have any of the staff here taken up this guy's request for a radio interview? I think that would be fantastic publicity.

As long as SE doesn't send another C&D against the Youtube playthrough (no reason to, because there's already a ton of Chrono Trigger playthroughs on Youtube), this is not a complete defeat and the CE team retains its dignity by showing off its work for all the world to see.

Unfortunately modding and other forms of fangaming are still a young area of fan activity in comparison to fan fiction, fan art, and fan film. I mean, this whole movement literally started in the late 90s and early 00s. We're on the cusp of a new cultural wave. We all thought SE was building up a tolerance for fangames with the release of various RPGMaker titles, fan translations/retranslations, and medium-scale mods like Prophet's Guile. Crimson Echoes, as one of the few full modifications/conversions to reach fruition, emerged onto a lightly treaded path, and SE, not being used to the existence of such things, decided to kick it down. But CE will not be the last such project attempted, in all probability. All this has just been one battle in the gradual campaign for acceptance of fan activity.

Very nicely put. I agree. There will be more projects as time goes on. Sooner or later the whole music, film and video game industries are just going to have to wake up and adapt to the realities that fan projects, file sharing and the like are not something you can just quash with a C&D order. Sure the CE crew couldn't put up a battle like the one that's engulfed the Pirate Bay guys, but it would've been foolish to do so, given the comparatively small size of the operation, and the fact that SE isn't pursuing the matter so aggressively.

I commend the CE team for going about things professionally, even getting in touch with and pressing SE for a release or statement. I think most folks would just fold and stew over things, or make like Glenn27 has been suggesting, taking the risk of a 6-figure fine and court battle over a hobby, and releasing the game in defiance of the C&D. It might've worked just fine that way. Maybe SE would've been too lazy in their fatcat bureaucrat offices to pursue it outside of threatening letters. Who knows. But ultimately it's the team's decision, and I would have done the same thing (perhaps storing a copy for myself, but that's not a possibility that can be discussed).

As for the whole Dark Serge thing, what can be said. It's stunning, how out of their way some people will go just to be a prick.

Thanks to all involved for the youtube clips, I'll watch them with interest. The suggestion of a flash video is neat, but if it's troublesome then meh. What do I know about these things. I hope that if anyone from the team gets the energy or interest in starting another, not-explicitly-Chrono game down the road, they can incorporate some story elements and the like into things.

[phelph]

Hey guys... If there is ever time, and as a favor to all those Chrono fans that have never played it... Can there be a Prophet's Guile playthrough too? I'd love it, and I'm sure others would too ..

Prophets guile is still on romhacking.net (they havnt gotten their C&D yet).

[SilentP]

Uhh... any chance we could get the videos without the commentary too, lol?  Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely interested in hearing your thoughts/reasons for story choices, etc.  Just that that seems like something I'd want to watch *after* I watch it normally.  But maybe that's just me. 

However you do it, though, definitely glad to see it.

[Agent 12]

The commentary is Youtube annotations (not our voices ).

It actually improves the videos I think, they are usually added during boring parts like walking around the OW.

--JP

[Farius Wolfang]

And if we collect money through the internet, to pay a fine to Square Enix? Everyone can help, and the game will be release! 150.000 is not too hard for all fans of Chrono Trigger!