Chronotron

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Chronotron is a Flash video game developed by Scarybug Games.[1] Chronotron launched on the Kongregate website in May 2008.[2] It was selected as one of the ten games for PAX 10 2008 out of more than eighty entries.[3] Reviewers have considered the game innovative.[4] The protagonist is a robot named Chronotron who travels back in time to cooperate with himself.[5] The main character must fetch an item before moving to the next room.[3] Solving the puzzles requires sending the main character back in time to coordinate with previous selves.[3] The gameplay requires thinking ahead.[5] Chronotron records the control input, not the protagonist's position.[6] As a result, actions by later selves can interfere with earlier selves.[6] A number of web sites have licensed Chronotron, including Kongregate and MTV's AddictingGames.[6] It was featured on the front page of Kongregate.[7] The game appears on over 2,000 web sites[7] and has been played more than seven million times.[7] The developer splits advertising revenue evenly with Kongregate and made more than $1,000 in 2008.[2] The developer had made nearly $15,000 in profits from the game in 2008.[7]

Development

Chronotron was developed by Madison, Wisconsin-based[5] Scarybug Games, which consists of a single person: Joe Rheaume.[5][1] Rheaume was the sole developer of Chronotron.[6] Development for Chronotron took seven months.[3] Chronotron's sponsorship support was handled through FlashGameLicense.com.[3] Interest in sponsoring Chronotron allowed Scarybug Games to hire Romanian artist Bogdan Ene to replace the graphics.[3][7] Royalty free music was purchased for the game.[1] The music's author is Helge Krabye.[8] Sound effects came from the Freesound Project.[8]

Chronotron's time travel elements was inspired by advertising for the Xbox game Blinx: The Time Sweeper[3] and an article on Braid.[3][6] Rheaume claims to not have played Blinx.[3] Chronotron was released before the release of Braid.[9] Rheaume claims to have "thought of the idea of recording input and going back looping on yourself."[6] Rheaume wanted there to be no limit on how many times you could travel back in time.[6] The game contains references to time travel stories including Back to the Future, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and Doctor Who.[3] The puzzle platformer elements were inspired by The Lost Vikings.[3] Rheaume notes the similarity between cooperating with your self to the cooperation between the three Vikings in The Lost Vikings.[6] Puzzle pacing, with later puzzles building on what is learned earlier, was inspired by Portal.[3] Portal also inspired the use of humorous signs in game as hints.[3]

Rheaume is a Flash developer for his day job.[5] Chronotron was built as a hobby.[5] As a hobby, Rheaume can develop ideas which don't fit the ideas, time constraints, and budgets of his regular job's client projects.[5] Chronotron was developed because Rheaume thought it would be fun to play.[3] Rheaume developed it further because he "thought it really had legs."[6] Interest from other people kept Rheaume going.[6]

The name of the game and the protagonist comes from "chrono" for "time" and "tron" as a generic term for "robot."[5]

Reception

File:Chronotron scfeenshot.jpg
Screenshot of the game

The game was selected as one of the ten games for the prestigious PAX 10 in 2008.[5]

Joe Rheaume was an invited guest to show Chronotron to the Penny Arcade Expo in 2008 as part of the PAX 10.[3] Chronotron was selected as one of ten games from over eighty submitted.[3] Chronotron is the only browser-based Flash game in the PAX 10 2008.[5]

Chronotron has been described as "a very deep, complex game involving time travel and past selves."[1] Game designer Greg Costikyan described Chronotron as "a simple, satisfying, and enjoyable exploration of the effects of one novel mechanic on a well-established form."[10] A review on Jay Is Games described Chronotron as "a platform puzzler with a really innovative (and addictive) twist." [4] The same review said of the "rewind mechanic", "the concept is refined—and executed almost to perfection."[4] A reviewer on Rock, Paper, Shotgun said "Certainly I feel worn out after wrapping my head around a few levels, but also satisfied and pleased — you really should go play this."[9] Kotaku called it "a hell of a fun flash game."[11] Gawker.com rated Chronotron "Pretty pretty good" and said "If you loved Portal, you'll like this enough for two lunch breaks."[12] Jamie Fristrom of Torpex Games, a fellow honoree at the PAX 10, said, "Chronotron is actually my favorite of the PAX 10."[13] A GameCyte author "wholeheartedly recommend[ed] Chronotron to any and all puzzle fans." [14] Hecklerspray described Chronotron as "incredible" and "so impressively playable that it'll probably kill your productivity for the day stone dead."[15]

The developer believes the "biggest" and "fairest criticism" are problems with synchronizing robots' actions between time loops.[1]

References

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  1. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Template:Cite video (Excerpted from the television program X-Play.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Archived from here Script error: No such module "webarchive". on October 26, 2008.
  8. ↑ a b Chronotron credits screen. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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