Topic: Chrono Trigger Resurrection Update

[TheYoungerPlumber]

The team has posted some impressive new screens, and even a trailer, but are forced to stop development.

The small development team behind fan game Chrono Trigger: Resurrection has posted some very disappointing news: they have received a Cease and Desist letter from Square Enix demanding they stop making their game.  It seems after years of looking the other way, Square Enix has changed its policy on independently-created games honoring their own.

Perhaps it was the quality of the project that triggered this unprecedented response so far into development.  Chrono Trigger Resurrection sports professional quality artwork that has further improved since its last showing.  Here are a few samples of what you will now never be able to play:

The Chrono Trigger Resurrection site also has a trailer showcasing a few scripted scenes:

Trailer (Normal Quality DivX - 24 MB)
Trailer (Low Quality DivX - 18 MB)

It truly is a shame the lawyers have interfered with something so promising.   The team is not swayed, though, and is already planning something “new and fresh.” Our sympathies go out to everyone who worked so hard on this game, only to have to walk away:

Nathan Lazur - Project Director/Programmer
Luis Martins - Art Director / Concept / Texture / Lighting / Effect Artist
MoĂŻse Breton - Main Character / Background Modeller / Texture / Effect Artist
David Ying - Main Character / Background Modeller / Texture Artist
Mathew Valente - Musician
Xavier Dang - Sound Designer
Michel Cadieux - Main Character Animator  

[CHEN]

This sucks...

[Flames_of_chaos]

Maybe S-E where mad that this was made for GCN and Xbox.

[CHEN]

I thought it was made from a PC engine. But this was inevitable anyway. It's just sad for the guys who poured so much work into it. It's the same with the 2D Ocarina of Time if I remember correctly.

[Bill Aurion]

Squenix is just jealous...And they seem to hate the fans of their GOOD games...

[Saturn2888]

This is the most horrible thing ever to happen to the industry. The 2nd would be the demise of the great empire Nintendo.

I'm going to sign a petition against S-E's choice to stop this. What if they hired these guys or something? I've been waiting for this game and it's more and better than I ever expected. See, what's w/ this American attitude of u can do anything you want? U just have the have the money (Howard Zinn, The People's History of the United States). And it seems that power is held by people who have money. Why would S-E do something like this? The industry needs competition and the only RPG competition for S-E is Namco, good luck there. Only ToS and ToP are really worth it (well I haven't played the other Tales of Games) and Skies is a cool game too, but it seems S-E is trying to pull a Microsoft here and have an RPG monopoly (rhyme intended).

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Petitions don't do jack.  And Square Enix only has a monopoly in the sense that they're the only large developer/publisher dedicated to RPGs (and the only publisher associated with console RPGs).

Other large publishers do put out RPGs, they just don't push their products hard enough.  Namco seems to see opportunity in RPGs, but isn't willing to spend the big bucks on TV ads.  Nintendo's doing more RPG content lately (Golden Sun, Mario RPGs), that KotOR game is pretty popular, and let's not forget Atlus.

[HyuugaYuurei]

not meaning to be the guy who puts salt on you guy's wounds guys but I mean come on this and that 2d ocrina of time were both illeagal projects, that would be like some small band of upstarts forming a company and making a new Kid Icarus title for the XBOX hardware, and I'm pretty sure everyone would be quite pissed about that, especially the people who are the creators of the game (nintendo), so it was only a matter of time before this happend, and besides remember square did have that poll asking what game they would like to see remade on the DS and I'm more than sure chrono trigger won, so I wouldn't get too pissy yet

[TheYoungerPlumber]

There is some truth to what you say, Hyuuga.  However, it is also true that many songs on OC Remix, vgmusic, etc. are technically infringe on copyrights as well, and publishers tend to look the other way, since in most cases it does not compete with their product (and in fact it is free publicity).

Now, if the publisher/developer feels that it is a threat for some reason or another, and this tribute would cause some to not buy an official product (such as Zelda Collector's GC disc, or a remake of Chrono Trigger on the DS), that's another story.

No one disputes the fact that Square Enix has the right to shut down this product.  We're just surprised the company would make use of their right to do so after knowing about this product for so long (and yes, Square/Square Enix was notified of this project by the creators early on).

[Perfect Cell]

I've been waiting for this game

This game wouldnt have actually been released... So it was a pointless but nice enterprise...

[Saturn2888]

whoops. sorry, I hadn't eaten for 12 hours and I've had stuff come up. Now that's I'm more rational, I understand, but it was REALLY professional. My thing is, why hasn't S-E hired these guys? Prob. bc S-E doesn't like the way games sell for GCN and just don't want to go there. Plz prove me wrong but don't make me out as an idiot.

[FyreWulff]

They really should have made something original instead of basing their work off of someone else's. S-E is very much in the clear to shut it down - because that is not how you become good at making games.

If they want to showcase their engine, they should have made original characters for the demo of it. Otherwise, they a) did not get permission (you'd be suprised at how many fan projects get an okay from S-E when you just ask ) b) not only were they taking S-E's IP for their own use, they were also using art copyrighted to Akira Toriyama, and c) using S-E's music.

I feel no pity for them. They knew it was going to happen. Next time, ask for permission BEFORE you start.

[Bloodworth]

This wasn't about showcasing an engine, it was about a fan's dream of playing Chrono Trigger in 3D.  I'm not as knowledgeable on the history here, but as TYP said, I believe they notified Square early on.  Either the Square-Enix merger changed their stance on the project, or they weren't expecting it to be so high quality as to compete with any future projects they might do.  These guys already knew that they couldn't sell it, but were making it freely available to PC gamers and developers with console dev kits.  Perhaps if they weren't making it publicly available for the PC, S-E wouldn't have bothered with it.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

I believe the story is that they notified Square of their project early on (multiple times) and did not receive an official response.  Not responding is a trump card--the IP owner can smite the project if they desire, and S-E did.

[vherub]

Sure, Squarenix has every right to put a stop to any unauthorized project using their work/characters/etc.
But I would have thought SE could profit better by taking this project in with open arms, perhaps deciding to give it away as a packin/demo disk.  It is a wonderful gift that has simply fallen into their lap and they instead decide to react like the jealous 5 year old who refuses to share his toy (not to stereotype any five year old out there on this board, but come on, your age group is not known for either its generosity or sound thinking).

SE had better be motivated by their own desire to revisit ChronoTrigger, but again, they certainly could have absorbed this work already being done in way everyone could have profited from.

I would be thrilled if a game I created/designed was leading to this much work over a decade later (which in video game years is a lifetime) and I really can think of no reason that could possibly justify this move.

Then again, the entirety of the story has not come out and perhaps- a very weak perhaps, but a perhaps nonetheless, SE did offer some royalty fee/co-development agreement that the Resurrection Team turned down.

I just guess we will have to wait a couple more lifetimes until the copyrights expire on these works and we can finally get some independent remakes.

[valkan]

This is a sad sad day for gamers everywhere.  I guess the guys up at S-E got too caught up in makin money intellectual property to actually care about the fans who play their games.  This is like someone making a mod for UT, and then some pissed off company sending a C and D letter to stop development. (As I recall this happened to several DBZ mods.)  Petitions don't work.  You want them to at least look at your opinion, you should get a friend who writes japanese pretty well(unless you can do it yourself) and send a letter from the community(a written one) to our friends up at S-E.  That'll likely have more impact then a petition. It can't be any bullcrap riddled with curses and spelling mistakes.  It should be a letter expressing our deepest interest in a franchise that we all know and love.  But it also can't be a letter telling them "how it could be good publicity and that stuff
" these guys are a bunch of Japanese business guys in suits thinking they're professionals.  The last thing they need to hear is some fans halfway across the globe telling them how to run they're company.    This is the only method, that I see, might actually work.   But then again, this is S-E, and they might not give a crap about anything we say, so long as they keep getting our money.

[JubJub]

I think it is perfectly acceptable for SE to ask for this project to be stopped.

The dudes making this 3d remake are aware that they are breaching IP laws. It's just that now they've been officially told to stop instead of NOT STARTING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Regardless of whether it is a good remake or as bad as they come, being told to stop because of IP law breach should not be news to these people, it should be expected.

Hopefully they place their talent into an original game idea instead of riding off the back of the talent of another company.

And Valkan, its NOTHING like making a UT mod! UT has clear and straight-forward licensing laws for UT mods.

In response to the commentry about SE taking this on board, or employing the dudes, i find that rediculous. SE has already invested vast $ in creating 3D engines for their games, why would they bother investing in a (no doubt) inefficient, amatuer engine or artist? Oh, and don't forget the language barrier... i doubt the creators of this unlicensed remake speak Japanese.

[Bloodworth]

Look, seeing the potential of the legal problem is one thing, but I'm not sure why everyone's ripping into these guys.  There's no doubt they knew the risks, but again, this is a project done for the love of the game.  I wouldn't be surprised if they finish it privately just to play it themselves and hope they can share it with others sometime in the future.

As for that crack about them being amatuers, you don't seem to have really looked at the project at all.  These guys are all professionals that do this on the side.  Sure, they're a small team with limited funds and a corporate project could be more refined, but that doesn't make them amatuers.  Plus, I don't what you'd consider an amatuer artist anyways -- someone that isn't making money at it?  That sounds like most artists to me.

[valkan]

I didn't get the feeling that they were amatuers at all by watching the trailer.  Even if it was just some renders doing scripted actions, thats pretty good.

[TonyNinja]

What happened to CT:R was kind of expected, it's sad for fans that we always lose with these things, but expected, nice effort of the team though.

Funy that you people talk about a UT mod, there is a CT UT Mod, and they will probably get the axe too, just a matter of time.
It's on www.chrono-trigger.com.

[joeamis]

I agree with the majority of JubJub's post.

Although I would have loved to play the game/scenes.  Another thing is I thought the people making this project were only doing like 6 scenes at most with only a handful of characters.  And how many years have they been working on it?  It looks so good because they put tons of effort and time into remaking only a few scenes.  To think they could make an entire game, with an original story, as good as Chrono Trigger is pushing it.  Not to mention the fact that obviously Square is going to make another Chrono game eventually.  I doubt they want their franchise being milked, when they've made a point of not doing that with Chrono Trigger.  Thus making each new release that much more exciting.  Time to play Chrono Cross.

[nickmitch]

I don't have much to say so I'll just take comfort in to my T.V. and cry. . .

[tssf]

Quote
Originally posted by: JubJub
I think it is perfectly acceptable for SE to ask for this project to be stopped.

The dudes making this 3d remake are aware that they are breaching IP laws. It's just that now they've been officially told to stop instead of NOT STARTING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Regardless of whether it is a good remake or as bad as they come, being told to stop because of IP law breach should not be news to these people, it should be expected.

Hopefully they place their talent into an original game idea instead of riding off the back of the talent of another company.

And Valkan, its NOTHING like making a UT mod! UT has clear and straight-forward licensing laws for UT mods.

In response to the commentry about SE taking this on board, or employing the dudes, i find that rediculous. SE has already invested vast $ in creating 3D engines for their games, why would they bother investing in a (no doubt) inefficient, amatuer engine or artist? Oh, and don't forget the language barrier... i doubt the creators of this unlicensed remake speak Japanese.

It's very easy to sit there and type in a message box in a forum and call us a bunch of "amateurs", with a "(no doubt) innefficient, amateur engine" . It's also very easy to sit on your high chair like that and claim you know everything there is to know about us, our project, and the hard work we put into it.

But it also makes you look like a jack-ass. Congratulations.

To think you know everything there is to know about the team (who, by the way, contain members who are actually in the game industry) and to think you know everything there is about the engines we created and used for this demo, is not only ignorant, it's laugable. But hey, you'll always have forums to visit to make yourself feel important.

To everyone else, thank you for all of your support. Yes, we knew this day could come, yes we were dreading it every single day in the development, but we went on.  We were creating it as a tribute toward a game we all adored. And, despite what some people say, it was not our entry into the games industry. We always stated, "In the unlikely event that Square Enix hire us" so, we of course were not expecting to be hired, either.

We were hoping that since this was never intended to neither make money, nor be the entire game, that they would let us continue working on it. Regardless, we are disappointed that people will never get to see the hard work that we put into this.

Anyway, thank you all for your support over the past few months. Planet GameCube has especially been good to us. If anything comes up with this issue, or if anything new happens with other projects, we'll let you know definately.

[Bill Aurion]

Fantastic...I wish you the best of luck in future endeavors...

[CHEN]

I wish all of you the best of luck as well.