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    Do you honestly believe that writing this Chrono Trigger novel is a piece of cake??  Well...perhaps the simple mind would think so.  After all, what's so tough about playing a game and writing down what happens?  To that I say, "Nothing, really...Not if you're writing some sort of journal or log describing the game as you're playing it.  I don't know about you, but reading a log of how some random individual's game played out is not exactly my idea of entertainment...Believe me, I've tried it."  So, I've decided to design this page to let you in on some of the obstacles faced when taking a full and rich RPG like Chrono Trigger and converting it into an equally rich novel that all generations can enjoy.

Warning: This is a SPOILER page that refers to many direct scenes and sequences throughout the game.

Index:

Introducing Game-Book Conversion

    Game-book conversion...Ever heard of such a thing?  Probably not, but it's quite possibly the biggest issue to consider when converting an RPG into a novel.  After all, I am converting a game into a book.  Many would ask, "What's the big deal?  Just play the game and write it down."  However, I tell you, there is much more to it than that!

    Let's start with this example:

    This scene is, of course, very familiar to all fans of Chrono Trigger as a picture of Truce Village in the year 600 A.D.  The first time that this scene is introduced is right after Crono has arrived here in search for Marle, who has just disappeared from the Telepod.  Now, let's start from the moment of Crono's arrival, and try to visualize the events that take place as they occur in the game.  First, Crono arrives and fights off three Blue Imps.  From there, he walks off, goes up a ladder, climbs over a bridge, and is confronted by two more Blue Imps.  After fighting them off, he climbs down another rope ladder and either passes or fights two more Blue Imps and a Roly.  After that, he exits the path from Truce Canyon and finds himself heading south towards Truce Village.

    I'm sure you have those events freshly implanted into your head once again, so now we'll take this from a different perspective.  Think about writing down exactly what we just visualized.  What if we were to write down only what actions were made in the game?  Is that enough?  Of course not!  Doing that, you only get a picture of Crono walking, climbing, and fighting off creatures we have no visual reference for.  The novel has to take the entire scene one step further and then beyond that.  On the game, we have the TV screen to display the surroundings for us, but, when reading text, we need descriptions to help our minds to paint that same picture.  It's imperative to note the barren terrain of rocky, brown dirt and the orange colored leaves of the plants, for example.  Once Crono is out of the canyon, that scene must be set up with equally enriching detail by noting the forests in the west, the beautiful green grass, and the dirt path leading into town.  It's extremely important to try and imagine that you are standing in Crono's place, seeing the same sites that he is seeing.  Place yourself in that situation...You have just arrived in a world both like and unlike your own as though suddenly setting foot into an alternate universe.  What are you thinking?  Are you confused?  Perhaps you're in denial, disbelief, or maybe you only care about finding Marle and leaving.  These details must be determined to keep the reader involved!

    But, of course, there's still much more to it than that.  Battle scenes are among the most difficult to make interesting in a novel when coming from an RPG.  I continuously strive to make them as realistic as possible, with twists, turns, and actions that do not appear in the game.  It's not enough to write a battle sequence where each character fights in turn and while standing in one location.  Likewise, you can't start each battle scene saying something like "Crono shocked the beast with his Lightning attack" or "Marle used her Aura powers to heal Frog."  That's what sounds more like a log of the game rather than a novel.

    The final main issue within game-book conversion deals with the many routes and choices that an RPG has to offer.  It goes without saying that the choice made on one game may change some outcomes completely from what would've happened had the alternative choice been taken.  Die-hard fans will know that the campfire scene above would not even occur if Robo chose not to stay behind with Fiona.  That option would not even be available if the desert monsters that destroyed the forest were not killed, and those monsters would never have created this Sunken Desert had the lady in Zeal burned the sapling per the player's advice.  In short, it's very important that all choices and alternatives be evaluated and looked at in the interest of the novel and its acceptance by all CT fans who like to make their own choices when playing the game.

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Quality is Priority

    It's common for businesses to mark their products with a seal of Quality Assurance to make their customers feel comfortable and satisfied with their products.  While I may not have an actual seal of quality, I do have a commitment to deliver the best product that can be produced as a Chrono Trigger novel both for current fans of Chrono Trigger and the rest of the general reading public.  This is one of the main reasons why it takes so much time to produce.

    The entire idea behind quality is relative.  I want to do my best because it is in my character to put quality work into whatever it is I strive to complete.  I need to do my best because that is the only way that I can earn the support of others and the approval of Square.  Quality is essential to this project, so this novel will be quality work.  Many have heard me say it before, but I'll say it again, "This story is not my own, but belongs to all fans of Chrono Trigger..."  As a result, I cannot just fly through the game writing down what happens and so on.  The novel cannot be more inclusive of any certain character beyond reason because whichever character is left out is going to be someone's favorite.  For reasons such as these, my strife is to create the most comprehensive writing of the CT story that can be written and in the highest quality so that everyone will enjoy it in that form.

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Organization's the Key

    Role playing games almost always involve player interaction in some way or form.  This is what makes them such a special, unique, and enjoyable class of video game.  In playing one of these games, the player will often find him/herself faced with choices that could affect the story of the game, its characters, the setting, or the actions in a way that wouldn't have been had the player made the alternative choice.  Chrono Trigger is no different.  Throughout the entirety of the game, the player is faced with choices that can affect the responsiveness of characters and the way that events play out (or if those events play out).  These choices may come in the form of a literal question or through the actions of the player within the game, but they are there and are critical when dealing with the novelizing of this rich and classic story.

    The two events above are major examples of this because neither scene will play out if the player doesn't choose to go there.  The picture of Lucca and her mother in the year 990 (left) is the best example of this because it [arguably] depends more on the choices of the player than any other part of the story.  The first choice affecting this is made when the player is asked if the lady in Zeal should burn her sapling or not.  If she does not burn it, the Sunken Desert later appears in the Middle Ages where Fiona's forest once flourished.  From there, the player may choose to fight the desert monsters and stop them from creating a wasteland barren of all vegetation.  When the monsters are gone, the player is faced with another choice, which is whether or not Robo should be left to help replant the forest.  If he is left, he can be reclaimed in the year 1000, where he is kept in Robo's Shrine.  Once these events have been set into motion, we come upon the famous campfire scene with all of the characters, which is where Lucca dwells on thoughts of her mother's accident 10 years in her past.  That night, she sets off into the past through a special Time Gate and ends up in her room in the year 990.  This time, the player is faced with a challenge, not a choice, that will affect character interactions, mostly towards the game's end.  The scene above is only seen if the player is able to save Lucca's mother from her accident.

    So...Why bring this up?  Because, in order to handle all of the situations and dialogue choices in this game, organization is the key!  And organize I do!  With a Committee split into a Support Team and an Editorial Team in addition to everything else that I must be responsible for, I have to be organized!  For the novel itself, I have three in-game files that directly correspond to three on-paper entities, including the novel itself.  All three of my game files are occupied for the purpose of this novel, so it's all down to business on my cartridge!  One file is set far ahead of the novel's place in the story and is used for taking notes of events, occurrences, choices, and anything else that I should be mindful of.  Another file is set just one "chapter" ahead of the novel and is used for outlining chapters in detail before they are written.  Finally, of course, the remaining game file is used to follow the novel directly so that all of the in-game dialogue and settings are there for me to use.  I also have a full-length, typed "script" of the entire PSX game with all of its dialogue (excluding special endings), courtesy of an individual named Jay (I have not forgotten the favor).

    The outlining and note-taking procedures are extremely important to the quality and success of this novel.  Without them, I could not properly prepare for the many directions that the game can go.  It's also essential to have them for the purpose of capturing the dialogue of every character.  As you know, only three may be played at once and, like in the scene above, (of course, "Glenn" is "Frog"), something different will be said if a different character is being played or if the characters are in different orders.  For these many reasons, careful organization is the key.

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Decisions, Decisions...

    The most trifling of decisions can sometimes be the most hindering, which is no different for this novel.  Constantly, I am faced with decisions of a smaller nature than of those described above that must be made for the sake of the novel.  These issues often deal with samples of character dialogue, elements of the game that just don't fit into a novel, added dialogue and scenes, which characters to feature, and which actions to take.  Because of this and because I feel that this story is not my own, I have the Novel Survey to get public input on many of these matters.

    This is a classic example of what I'm talking about.  For the famous escape sequence of the game, I will have to make one choice for the novel.  (This also ties into the content of the section above.)  That choice is, ultimately, to allow Crono to escape or to force him to wait for Lucca.  Within that, there is also the choice of saving Fritz or not.  It so happens that I have already made this choice for the novel, and I hope that everyone will enjoy what I have worked out.  Nonetheless, it is a classic example of the decisions that must be made.

    And, as you might expect, there will be many items, techniques, battles, and pure, game elements that will be left out because they are only there to suit Chrono Trigger has a game, not as a written story.

    Similarly, it becomes an issue to choose a character or characters to be left out of the action because it is actually necessary in the storyline.  One of these choices, which I have already faced, comes when someone must stay behind in Proto Dome to open the door once the power is restored.  As with any similar situation, I had to make the decision based on what would be the most effective for the novel and the storyline.  I always allow myself the freedom to choose anything that I need to, even if that means changing the in-game story just a little so that it works out better in the novel.  It's important to remember that the Chrono Trigger game engine was created so that three and only three characters could fight at once.  So, the game's storyline naturally revolves around that.  In order to liberate this story and bring it into the world of literature, it is necessary to work around that.  In any case, I make this promise to all: I will never change anything so that it has a major or adverse affect on the storyline, and I will make no changes that force other changes upon the core story.  That means that, no matter what, the story will remain as it always has, but there will be additions, corrections, tweaks, and decisions made that will enhance the story as a novel.

    If there are any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this, please email me (novelist@chronotrigger.info) and I will further justify it.

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Convincing the Corporate Giant

    Ah, the corporate giant: The gaming company we call Square-Enix.  Obviously, we all love this company for the awesome contribution it has made to the gaming industry, so we can only hope that they will listen as we ask them to consider something new.

    There is no doubt that the biggest and most determinate hardship of all involves trying to convince Square to approve this novel's publication.  As this can be a very sensitive situation with so much depending on a few actions and responses of the administrative personnel, the moves that I make towards this step must be thought out with extreme caution and care.  It is my hope that constant pledges of support from a growing number of fans will eventually persuade the company to okay the novel, if it comes to that point.

    Before that, is my hope that they will simply like the idea and the product, seeing the opportunities and flare that it brings.  They will hopefully understand that this novel could pioneer a very lucrative, popular, and enjoyable industry that no one would ever regret.  After all, what parent wouldn't rather have their child read the story portrayed in a game rather than just spending time playing the video game?  For this reason, an industry where role playing games are also novelized would be extremely popular both for people who enjoy the games and for those who don't.  The video game industry and the game-novel industry can only help each other, so everybody wins!

    So...with no real reason for Square not to approve this novel and for every reason to approve it, I'm confident that something will be worked out in the end.  Thank you for reading!

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Special thanks to Luckyboy's Chrono Trigger Page for the game images above.
Chrono Trigger and everything affiliated with it is under the strict copyright policies and protection of Square-Enix, Ltd.  (Trust me, I know...)  All other material on this page is copyright of Wayne and may not be reused without permission.