Chronomaster
Encyclopedia
Chronomaster is a computer DOS
-based adventure game
developed by DreamForge Intertainment
and published by IntraCorp
on 20 December 1995. Its main plot was written by novelist Roger Zelazny
and was his last known work, as he died during the development of the game.
Chronomaster narrates the story of Rene Korda (voiced by Ron Perlman
), a retired and formerly renowned designer of "pocket universes" — self-contained worlds developed according to the tastes of the person who finances their construction. Korda is hired by a representative of the "Terran Regional government" to restore two pocket universes from a state of "temporal stasis" and to find out who is responsible for the situation.
Generally speaking, each pocket universe contains a single solar system with anywhere from one to several worlds Korda can visit. Each world requires Korda to travel to magnetic North and use a "resonance tracer" to locate the universe's "world key". The world key (each protected by a unique puzzle) stops or starts the universe's temporal flow. Each pocket universe has a unique feel to it, reflecting the personality and interests of its owner. Verdry for example, owned by a woman known for creating a philosophical movement centered around nonsense and unreality, contains a world shaped and colored like an Easter egg. The laws of physics are bent and broken, and the puzzles tend to be either nonsensical, or possess a very twisted and backwards form of logic.
In order to move within pocket universes in which time is stagnant, Korda employs "bottled time", a container which when opened provides him with a field in which times flows normally. Bottled time may also be used to activate objects and trigger ongoing events which were halted by the temporal stasis. He also counts on the help of a versatile context-sensitive
tool which makes available different functions to him, depending on the pocket universe he visits. During his journey Korda is accompanied by his personal digital assistant (PDA) Jester (voiced by Lolita Davidovich
), a flying blue spherical robot who provides more comic relief than help with gameplay. Korda is eventually joined by Milo, (voiced by Brent Spiner
) a former student of Korda's and the sole survivor of a horrific pirate attack on his homeworld.
Chronomaster makes heavy use of CG cutscene
s. Chronomaster possesses a degree of non-linearity in that many tasks exist which are unnecessary to complete the game, and puzzles frequently have two possible solutions.
Running Chronomaster on today's operating systems and machines requires the use of a DOS emulator
such as Dosbox
.
Chronomaster was adapted for the novel in 1996, closely following the game's plot and coauthored by Roger Zelazny
and Jane Lindskold
. The novel is entitled "Chronomaster" and is 360 pages long, ISBN 0-7615-0422-2.
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
-based adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
developed by DreamForge Intertainment
DreamForge Intertainment
DreamForge Intertainment, Inc. was an American computer game developer. It was founded as Event Horizon Software, Inc. by the computergame developers Thomas Holmes, Christopher Straka, and James Namestka. The company would later change to Dreamforge...
and published by IntraCorp
IntraCorp
IntraCorp was a Miami, Florida-based game publisher, founded in 1984. They went bankrupt in 1996 and shut down along with their main subsidiary, Capstone Software. IntraCorp developed and published games for a wide range of genres....
on 20 December 1995. Its main plot was written by novelist Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
and was his last known work, as he died during the development of the game.
Chronomaster narrates the story of Rene Korda (voiced by Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
), a retired and formerly renowned designer of "pocket universes" — self-contained worlds developed according to the tastes of the person who finances their construction. Korda is hired by a representative of the "Terran Regional government" to restore two pocket universes from a state of "temporal stasis" and to find out who is responsible for the situation.
Generally speaking, each pocket universe contains a single solar system with anywhere from one to several worlds Korda can visit. Each world requires Korda to travel to magnetic North and use a "resonance tracer" to locate the universe's "world key". The world key (each protected by a unique puzzle) stops or starts the universe's temporal flow. Each pocket universe has a unique feel to it, reflecting the personality and interests of its owner. Verdry for example, owned by a woman known for creating a philosophical movement centered around nonsense and unreality, contains a world shaped and colored like an Easter egg. The laws of physics are bent and broken, and the puzzles tend to be either nonsensical, or possess a very twisted and backwards form of logic.
In order to move within pocket universes in which time is stagnant, Korda employs "bottled time", a container which when opened provides him with a field in which times flows normally. Bottled time may also be used to activate objects and trigger ongoing events which were halted by the temporal stasis. He also counts on the help of a versatile context-sensitive
Context-sensitive
Context-sensitive is an adjective meaning "depending on context" or "depending on circumstances". It may refer to:* Context-sensitive grammar* Context-sensitive language* Context-sensitive help* Context sensitive user interface in computing...
tool which makes available different functions to him, depending on the pocket universe he visits. During his journey Korda is accompanied by his personal digital assistant (PDA) Jester (voiced by Lolita Davidovich
Lolita Davidovich
Lolita Davidovich is a Canadian film and television actress.-Early life and career:Davidovich was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of immigrants from Yugoslavia. Her father was from Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and her mother was from Slovenia; she spoke only Serbian during her early years...
), a flying blue spherical robot who provides more comic relief than help with gameplay. Korda is eventually joined by Milo, (voiced by Brent Spiner
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr...
) a former student of Korda's and the sole survivor of a horrific pirate attack on his homeworld.
Chronomaster makes heavy use of CG cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s. Chronomaster possesses a degree of non-linearity in that many tasks exist which are unnecessary to complete the game, and puzzles frequently have two possible solutions.
Running Chronomaster on today's operating systems and machines requires the use of a DOS emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
such as Dosbox
DOSBox
DOSBox is emulator software that emulates an IBM PC compatible computer running MS-DOS. It is intended especially for use with old PC games. DOSBox is free software....
.
Chronomaster was adapted for the novel in 1996, closely following the game's plot and coauthored by Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
and Jane Lindskold
Jane Lindskold
Jane M. Lindskold is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels.Jane M. Lindskold was born in 1962, at the Columbia Hospital for Women. She is the first of four siblings: Ann M. Lindskold Nalley, Graydon M. Lindskold, and Susan M. Lindskold Speer. Lindskold's...
. The novel is entitled "Chronomaster" and is 360 pages long, ISBN 0-7615-0422-2.