I need help! (Chrono Trigger fan game shut down)

[VampirateLoyal]

Hi, my real name is Shaina. I used to post here a lot a few years ago. I also witnessed (and helped) the impressive fight against Vivendi. A part of me still can't believe we actually did it!

Anyway, the reason I'm here is because another fan game is being treated the same way... Chrono Trigger fans were making an interquel between CT and CC called "Crimson Echoes". At 98% completion, Square Enix shut them down. I won't go into detail here, but there are news stories all over the web. As you can imagine, we fans are all pretty upset.

What I was wondering was if you guys, especially the people behind "Save Kings Quest 9" could give me some advice. I would like to start a campaign against Square to save Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes, just like you did to save The Silver Lining. Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Yonkey]

I wasn't involved with the whole fan campaigning, so I'll just give my input from a developer standpoint.

About 4 and a half years ago, this same thing happened with our project.  Everyone had an opinion.  Some people wondered why it never happened sooner, some people wondered why it took so long, some people thought we deserved it, and some people thought it was just plain wrong.  Regardless, it's one thing to be an observer and a completely different thing to have it happen to you. 

Complying with the C&D is the best decision to start with.  Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to undermine the law.  We've had people suggesting us to change names & places, or post the release on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.  Needless to say, these actions are illegal, and while you may succeed in getting your game out to the fans, you will be held directly responsible for violating the C&D.

Now for what they should do.  Firstly, I would strongly recommend Chrono Compendium to get into negotiations with Square Enix asap, if they haven't already.  Explain to them why you do what you do, and show how your game will not negatively impact their company.  Allow them to fully evaluate your game, and be sure to emphasize how it will improve their goodwill by allowing your game to be released.

The other thing I noticed after visiting their site is how committed they are to keeping the game non-profit, to the point of not even allowing Paypal donations or even advertisements on their site.  We're the exact same here.  And personally, I think that's also your strongest defence.  The existence of your game does not syphon away profits from Square Enix, nor does it damage their reputation, or dilute their brand.  On the contrary, your work actually helps to attract more fans to their company, which in turn purchase their products and keep their business afloat.

Once you can fully convey that message to their lawyers, so that they see things from your perspective, they may reconsider.  Just remember that you are now fully accountable and are being highly scrutinized for any decisions you make from this point onward, due to all the press & fan attention.  You have a lot of power there, so be sure to use it responsibly.

[VampirateLoyal]

Thank you for your advice, however I think you have it wrong. I'm not involved with the creation of the game. I am a fan of the project and have just recently heard about the C&D letter. I also do not plan to illegally do anything to get them in trouble with Square Enix. I just want to create a campaign like all of you did with The Silver Lining.

[atec123]

Thank you for your advice, however I think you have it wrong. I'm not involved with the creation of the game. I am a fan of the project and have just recently heard about the C&D letter. I also do not plan to illegally do anything to get them in trouble with Square Enix. I just want to create a campaign like all of you did with The Silver Lining.

What you can do, then is show the developers yonkey's post.  It's a good idea to try what he said.  Get in touch with the developers, see what you can do.  If you give them that that's a good start.  If it fails then you can try making a campain. (sp?) I wasn't here then, but I'd suggessst making a forum.  Use a free service.  I have to say I hate most free servers for forums.  The reson I hate it is because they don't let you acces your own database.  Anyway, that dosn't matter for a site like this, I'm just rambling a bit. 
http://www.forumer.com
Give that a go.  Make a forum. (A phpbb one, NOT an IPB one.  It gives you a choice)  For some money, buy a domain name for a year from http://godaddy.com
otherwise, usee your whatever.xx.forumer.com-style adress. (You should use a domain though.)
Then, get support and make a formal letter.  I don't know much about making a formal letter, but I know how to get supporters.  Go on forums that you think will care.  I care.  I really care.  I will help you as much as I can.  Look all over the place.  Anywhere with adventure game fans.  maybe the agdiforums, ( http://agdiforums.com ) the adventureforums ( http://www.adventuregamers.com/forums/ )
and maybe the IA forums ( infamousadventures.com/forum ).  That's a good start, I think.  I totally agree with yonkey.
And sorry for the rambling, I'm as tired as hell.

[koko_99_2001]

One thing us leading SaveKQIX did was come up with a petition. Then we posted it here, as well as some other forums. People were asked to print, sign and scan it back to me. If they needed to contact me, they were able to email. Then I gathered up every petition, printed it off, and mass-mailed it to Vivendi. That way, they weren't just getting one petition here, one petition there...they received a whole box.

But, make sure the petition is respectful. You don't want to be like "We want you to let us keep this game!" Let them know reasons, and request that they keep it.

One thing I do know is that Chrono Trigger is still in development. I don't know if Square Enix is still making it as a computer game, but they do have the name still out there through new games. So that might actually make it tougher. Vivendi had decided not to develop any new KQ games...

[Yonkey]

Thank you for your advice, however I think you have it wrong. I'm not involved with the creation of the game. I am a fan of the project and have just recently heard about the C&D letter. I also do not plan to illegally do anything to get them in trouble with Square Enix. I just want to create a campaign like all of you did with The Silver Lining.

Sorry, I wasn't directly replying to you, it was more to their team.  And I wasn't suggesting you were planning anything illegal, I just happened to read a bunch of comments that other people were making to them on different sites.  But yes, if you could get in touch with them as a fan and show them this thread, it may give them some ideas on what they can do.

[VampirateLoyal]

Atec123: I love that idea! A forum would be a great way to organize the people that want to help me out with this... I'll post it here when it's done.

Koko: There's actually an online petition right now at savecrimsonechoes.com, but it's an online petition where you can sign your name only. I'll shoot them an e-mail and tell them what you did. It would definitely help a lot more. Thank you.

Yonkey: Lol thank you! I just wanted to be sure you knew where I was going with this. I'll definitely show this to the developers. I e-mailed the main project director and he did tell me something about Square issuing a statement about the matter... but so far it doesn't look like a green light at all.