Chronotron is a Flashvideo 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.[1] Reviewers have considered the game innovative.[7] The protagonist is a robot named Chronotron who travels back in time to cooperate with himself.[3] The robot must fetch an item before moving to the next room.[1]
Solving the puzzles requires sending the main character back in time to coordinate with previous selves.[1] The gameplay requires thinking ahead.[3] 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.[4] The game appears on over 2,000 web sites[4] and has been played more than seven million times.[4] 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.[4]
Development
Chronotron was developed by Madison, Wisconsin-based[3] Scarybug Games, which consists of a single person: Joe Rheaume.[3][5] Rheaume was the sole developer of Chronotron.[8] Development for Chronotron took seven months.[1]Chronotron's sponsorship support was handled through FlashGameLicense.com.[1] Interest in sponsoring Chronotron allowed Scarybug Games to hire Romanian artist Bogdan Ene to replace the graphics.[1][4] Royalty free music was purchased for the game.[5] The music's author is Helge Krabye.[2] Sound effects came from the Freesound Project.[2]
Chronotron's time travel elements was inspired by advertising for the Xbox game Blinx: The Time Sweeper[1] and an article on Braid.[1][8] Rheaume claims to not have played Blinx.[1]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.[1] The puzzle platformer elements were inspired by The Lost Vikings.[1] 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.[1]Portal also inspired the use of humorous signs in game as hints.[1]
Rheaume is a Flash developer for his day job.[3]Chronotron was built as a hobby project[3] because Rheaume thought it would be fun to play.[1] 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."[3]
Reception
Screenshot of the game
The game was selected as one of the ten games for the prestigious PAX 10 in 2008.[3]
Joe Rheaume was an invited guest to show Chronotron to the Penny Arcade Expo in 2008 as part of the PAX 10.[1]Chronotron was selected as one of ten games from over eighty submitted.[1]Chronotron is the only browser-based Flash game in the PAX 10 2008.[3]
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]
↑Fristrom, Jamie (September 1, 2008). "Notes on PAX and the PAX 10". GameDevBlog. Jamie Fristrom. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
↑Heritage, Stuart (May 16, 2008). "SLACKERJACK - Chronotron". Hecklerspray. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
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