Chronotron | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Scarybug Games [2] |
Publisher(s) | Scarybug Games [2] [3] |
Designer(s) | Joe Rheaume [2] |
Artist(s) | Bogdan Ene [2] |
Composer(s) | Helge Krabye [3] |
Platform(s) | Adobe Flash [4] |
Release | May 2008 [1] |
Genre(s) | Puzzle, platformer |
Mode(s) | Single-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 main character 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] Chronotron records the control input, not the protagonist's position. [8] As a result, actions by later selves can interfere with earlier selves. [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]
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. [4] As a hobby, Rheaume can develop ideas which don't fit the ideas, time constraints, and budgets of his regular job's client projects. [4] Chronotron was developed because Rheaume thought it would be fun to play. [2] Rheaume developed it further because he "thought it really had legs." [8] Interest from other people kept Rheaume going. [8]
The name of the game and the protagonist comes from "chrono" for "time" and "tron" as a generic term for "robot." [4]
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]