Chronotron

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Not to be confused with Chronoton.

Chronotron
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Main menu
DeveloperScarybug Games[2]
PublisherScarybug Games[2][3]
DesignerJoe Rheaume[2]
ArtistBogdan Ene[2]
ComposerHelge Krabye[3]
PlatformFlash[4]
ReleaseMay 2008[1]
GenresPuzzle, platform
ModeSingle-player

Chronotron is a Flash video game developed by Scarybug Games.[5] Chronotron launched on the Kongregate website in May 2008.[6] It was selected as one of the ten games for PAX 10 2008 out of more than eighty entries.[2] Reviewers have considered the game innovative.[7] The protagonist is a robot named Chronotron who travels back in time to cooperate with himself.[4] The robot must fetch an item before moving to the next room.[2]

Solving the puzzles requires sending the main character back in time to coordinate with previous selves.[2] The gameplay requires thinking ahead.[4] Previous selves will always replay the inputs they did the first time around, not just the positions they were in.[8] As a result, actions by later selves can interfere with earlier selves and create time paradoxes.[8]

A number of web sites have licensed Chronotron, including Kongregate and MTV's AddictingGames.[8] It was featured on the front page of Kongregate.[1] The game appears on over 2,000 web sites[1] and has been played more than seven million times.[1] The developer splits advertising revenue evenly with Kongregate and made more than $1,000 in 2008.[6] The developer had made nearly $15,000 in profits from the game in 2008.[1]

Development

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Chronotron was developed by Madison, Wisconsin-based[4] Scarybug Games, which consists of a single person: Joe Rheaume.[4][5] Rheaume was the sole developer of Chronotron.[8] Development for Chronotron took seven months.[2] Chronotron's sponsorship support was handled through FlashGameLicense.com.[2] Interest in sponsoring Chronotron allowed Scarybug Games to hire Romanian artist Bogdan Ene to replace the graphics.[2][1] Royalty free music was purchased for the game.[5] The music's author is Helge Krabye.[3] Sound effects came from the Freesound Project.[3]

Chronotron's time travel elements was inspired by advertising for the Xbox game Blinx: The Time Sweeper[2] and an article on Braid.[2][8] Rheaume claims to not have played Blinx.[2] 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."[8] Rheaume wanted there to be no limit on how many times you could travel back in time.[8] The game contains references to time travel stories including Back to the Future, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and Doctor Who.[2] The puzzle platformer elements were inspired by The Lost Vikings.[2] Rheaume notes the similarity between cooperating with your self to the cooperation between the three Vikings in The Lost Vikings.[8] Puzzle pacing, with later puzzles building on what is learned earlier, was inspired by Portal.[2] Portal also inspired the use of humorous signs in game as hints.[2]

Rheaume is a Flash developer for his day job.[4] Chronotron was built as a hobby project[4] because Rheaume thought it would be fun to play.[2] He developed it further because he "thought it really had legs,"[8] and interest from other people kept Rheaume motivated.[8]

The name of the game and the protagonist comes from "chrono" for "time" and "tron" as a generic term for "robot."[4]

Reception

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Screenshot of the game

The game was selected as one of the ten games for the prestigious PAX 10 in 2008.[4]

Joe Rheaume was an invited guest to show Chronotron to the Penny Arcade Expo in 2008 as part of the PAX 10.[2] Chronotron was selected as one of ten games from over eighty submitted.[2] Chronotron is the only browser-based Flash game in the PAX 10 2008.[4]

Chronotron has been described as "a very deep, complex game involving time travel and past selves."[5] 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." [7] The same review said of the "rewind mechanic", "the concept is refined—and executed almost to perfection."[7] 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.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Archived from here Archived October 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine on October 26, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ a b c d Chronotron credits screen. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). (Excerpted from the television program X-Play.
  5. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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