An Open Letter to Everyone

An open letter to everyone at the forum, regulars, hangers on, curious onlookers—

As you’ve probably been able to tell from the relative lack of updates, things have been slowing down around here for a while. The team has been incredibly busy with their own projects and lives, and there’s been very little time for Ark. Xen and I, who were more or less writing and handling all the graphics have been absolutely bogged down with working and living our new married lives. Lethus has a lot of graphical work, and Roe’s been working on album projects off and on this year.

When I started doing this, way back in 2004 with Chains, I was 21 years old. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I guess you’d say. Chains was 17. People on Gaming World were picking on him because he was doing a fangame. That’s how we ended up meeting. I didn’t come back until 2006 to work on Crisis, and even then, it was just because my own project was on hold. Eventually, my writing agreement with my friend Daniel (DQuinn, for those of you who are familiar with White Ninja) fell through on my project, OLAD, so I switched to Crisis full time.

Back then, I didn’t really have much of a life to speak of. Most of my team members were half a decade younger than I was, and I was still living the life of an on again off again college student. Irresponsible as all get out, but I did have a good time. I learned a lot of things and met a lot of really awesome people. Things got ugly at times—the worst of which was when Chains and I “broke up”—but for the most part, it was a lot of fun. I don’t think there are any regulars here who would deny that some pretty strong friendships were forged here. Hell, I met my husband here.

Even as I got older, I never really felt older. Not until last year, anyway. When Xenith gave me that ring and we were married, I felt incredible. I suddenly had a lot of new priorities in life—all focused on making our lives happy. Work on Ark stalled. I found myself spending less and less time on the computer. What had once been a near addiction fell away. I have trouble even appearing on AIM for an hour or two now.

I started a garden. We raised a kitten. I’ve learned to be a good housewife. I’ve started using my spriting talents to help earn some money. Xenith, meanwhile, works incredibly hard to provide for the two of us. He’s among the best salesmen in the district, and has earned accolades from his superiors for his fine work. We used to talk about the game and nothing else. Now we talk about planning a family.

It’s amazing that, even as I write this, I still have second thoughts. Crisis—and Ark, most of all defined my 20s. I learned my trade making those sprites. I made so many wonderful friends. But even so, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that it’s harder to hide the obvious from myself.

Without a larger team, a project this size is impossible.

I used to think I could fill all the vacant roles. I could learn to tile, I could make all the graphics. I could program the cutscenes.

I can’t do that anymore.

I can’t ask Xenith to do that anymore. The last thing I want to do when he comes home exhausted is railroad him into working on something else.

I can’t ask Roe to delegate more time to our cause. He’s an amazing composer, and deserves to have his work heard. I want him to release the OST with my full blessing, and any graphics I can provide him with.

I can’t ask Lethus to keep giving us art for free, when I know he has more on his plate than I do. He had at first considered to take the project under his wing, but realized that the time required to do it was prohibitive.

I can’t keep asking all of you to wait patiently while I stare at a blank canvas and try to imagine colors.

So… I’m calling it. Naysayers can rejoice—as I’m sure they will. It’s just ironic that this happens mere days after Chains called Theoria. We didn’t plan that. We were always sort of like-minded. I wonder if he came to the same conclusion I have.

We’re too old, and this is a game best left to the young. It’s better to call it what it is rather than lead people along with false promises.

The forums will remain open for all of you to use—if anything should come from this, it should be that we built a wonderful community. I also encourage people to use the forums as a showcase for their own projects, new and old. It’s yours, guys. Make it what you want it to be.

As for Ark… If you’d all like, I can release the script onto the forum, along with our notes. At least you can see what we were up to all this time.

Again, I’m sorry for leading you on for so long. That wasn’t my intention. When you pour 7 years into working on something, it’s hard to call a quits. It’s hard to admit it to yourself, let alone 50 other people. I really am happy that we all got to be a community for so long, and you were all really awesome. I hope that the community continues to thrive even without the game—most of what made it great wasn’t our doing, anyway.

Xen and I both wish you the best.

For the last time, signing off—

Lena Andreia

I have misplaced my pants.

I wish I could say I didn't see this coming, or even that I think there's still hope for Ark, but I've seen too much... you and Xen have new adventures ahead of you and most of the rest of the team has already moved on. All said, Ark's already a dream of the past to us. It's painful to admit, but the truth often is. I'm just glad it was you coming out and saying it personally, and not leaving some disgruntled ex-team member to rile up the public.

For the sake of spreading the message, I'll be opening the forum to the public soon. When I do, I want them to know one thing.

This game, this "Project Ark" never existed. In spite of what the public was lead to believe, from the start, we worked on Chrono Ark, a shining example of fan-made beauty. However, like many beautiful things, Chrono Ark was not to last. Many troubles met us along the way and, in the end, like it had so many times before, the future refused to change. Rather than let it be destroyed by a Cease and Desist Order or deluding our fans into believing in nonexistent progress, we chose to end it on our own terms. For this, we have no regrets.

However, while Chrono Ark itself is no more, its legacy lives on. Somewhere out there is the next to stand up and say "enough is enough", who has the hope of a new chapter in the story of Guardia and its long history. Be it a young fan with some sprite sets and RPG Maker, another group of skilled friends not unlike the ones who founded this very community, or perhaps even Square-Enix themselves after a change of heart, I know that the cause Chrono Ark stood for will not be forgotten so easily.

As well this community, Kagero Studios, is a testament to the friends and allies we've found in our struggle, united under one cause and now hard to fall. In time, we may even find a new cause to devote ourselves to, if nothing more than simply talking to some good friends. I am confident that even without the hope of Chrono Ark, we will continue onward, to whatever the Entity may have in store for us. After all, while the past may have been written, the future has yet to happen.

To Lena, Xenith, Roe, dko, Validus, Ghost, Chum, Les, TwoAcross, Slaix, and anyone else that I may gave missed, I thank you all for this experience. Speaking as both a fan and a teammate, it has been a pleasure working with you these past few years. Best of luck to you all, wherever the winds may take you.

To the community who supported us through all these years, our fans and our friends, I want to thank you all for your encouragement. I have no regrets, but know some might be saddened by this news. To you, I would like to offer a moment to not mourn, but reflect upon the good times we've had together over the final soundtrack single release: the perhaps aptly-named Times Have Changed.

...Eh. I honestly never expect fangames to work out. It would've been fun, and I've enjoyed the development, but I'm not gonna get all weepy about it. I'd love to read the script if you guys want to release it, and I'll still be hanging around, at least until everyone else gets fatalistic and abandons the joint. But until then, goodnight, good luck, and all that nonsense.

Yeah, I'll be sticking around m'self. The game might be dead but that doesn't mean we should waste a perfectly good forum.

Oh, hey, I forgot I was gonna make this forum public now. I should go do that.

This saddens me. I've always wanted to see this project come to fruition. But we had an uphill battle to fight.

Before we were friends, we were brought together by love of one thing.
Before Ark, before Crisis, we were Chrono fans.

And with Ark gone, where does that leave us? It leaves us exactly where we were. Ark is no more, but we are still Kagero Studios. We have no reason to stop talking about games, movies, anime, and all our little jokes. There are a million little places on the internet that exist for discussion amongst people with little in common, and we've got more than a little- we know each other better than any high school graduating class. Unless your graduating class consisted of 16 people who'd lived together for years in cramped quarters like mine did, but I digress.

Lena, Xenith, you're part of our family. If you've been too busy for Ark, if you've felt dissuaded from posting here during spare minutes because you feel you owe us a game, well, you're free of that burden now and I invite you to stay. You can hang out with us on weekends and drunkpost in the spam section like normal members now.

stu·di·o
   [stoo-dee-oh, styoo-]
noun, plural stu·di·os.

1. the workroom or atelier of an artist, as a painter or sculptor.
2. a room or place for instruction or experimentation in one of the performing arts: a dance studio.
3. a room or set of rooms specially equipped for broadcasting radio or television programs, making phonograph records, filming motion pictures, etc.
4. all the buildings and adjacent land required or used by a company engaged in the production of motion pictures.
5. studio apartment.

(10-06-2012 03:14 PM)Arcc Wrote:  We have no reason to stop talking about games, movies, anime, and all our little jokes.

You forgot the ponies :P

I think we should rename the forum.

...after me.

...admittedly, I kinda saw this coming for a good while, but, it's totally understandable. Time goes on and priorities change. You've got a family now, you're trying to keep your heads above water in a harsh economy. Ark definitely would've been a distant number on a to-do list, and recently, it almost seemed as if it felt like an 'obligation' instead of something you genuinely wanted to do anymore. That being said, I wish you guys the best in whatever it is you do, and don't be strangers. If you ever feel like shooting the breeze about something, I'm around (although my AIM got hacked and I now have a new one..., forget to mention), plus I miss talking with you guys.

(10-06-2012 03:21 PM)Gaspar Wrote:  I think we should rename the forum.

...after me.

No Forum for Old Men?

I was thinking "Jeremyland," but that works too.

ONO

(10-06-2012 04:24 PM)Corona!01 Wrote:  the forum's about to get a paradigm shift

Hey, I thought I deleted that post!



But seriously, more on that in another thread at another time. Give the folks some breathing room to take all this in first.

EDIT: For reference, I put all Chrono Ark-related materials in an archive in Fangames, which is in the new Games project forum. Just sayin'.

I think Cross put it best in a way.

What was the start of all this?
When did the cogs of fate begin to turn?
Perhaps it is impossible to grasp the answer now,
From deep within the flow of time...
But, for a certainty, back then
We loved so many, yet hated so much,
We hurt others and were hurt ourselves
Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
Whilst our laughter echoed,
Under Cerulean skies...

It's kinda sad that Chrono Ark won't come to life as you all planned, but you have your priorities now and we understand that. Just don't be a stranger. I'd like to hear about any games you'll be spriting for, Lena.

Also, new kitty? :o Can I see pics?