This, darling, is the Zybourne Clock!

A couple years ago, a small group of posters on the Something Awful forums decided to make an original video game. Their game, The Zybourne Clock, was intended to be a fully volunteer made steampunk themed RPG. Instead, the failed project turned into a bounty of internet tears and unintentional comedy.

Here's a rough history of the game:

The Zybourne Clock was a goon project to create a sci-fi electropunk RPG using RPG Maker software. It is now best known for being a spectacular failure that makes every other failed goon project pale in comparison.

Initially started in BYOB by Rex Meteorite and Occupy Japan, the project was launched in mid-December 2006 with great fanfare. Recruitment/discussion threads were started in BYOB and Games, multiple banner ads were bought, and contributors even set up an offsite server and forum to co-ordinate development. Over 50 active contributors were claimed, some initial work was shown off, and things were looking pretty good.

Barely 2 weeks later, the whole project had imploded under a storm of drama and neglect. The external site was closed, and the still-active banner ads pointed to threads that were now either locked or gassed. Although most of the action happened on the external forums, most accounts state that things immediately turned cliquey and circlejerky, and drama spread unchecked as there was no effective organization or leadership to settle disputes or co-ordinate efforts.

Although the project was short-lived, The Zybourne Clock lives on in the form of hilariously bad concept art and dialog that get brought up from time to time. Foremost among these is Johnny, a beer drinking, cigar smoking card player with a prominent moose knuckle.

Once a week or so, I'll add some more art and fiction (both original to the game along with many parody pieces) as a treat to you. Today we begin with a short excerpt of in-game text along with a fake trailer.

Prologue

When the object enters the timestream, time begins to correct itself. Let me use this example: Imagine four balls on the edge of a cliff. Say a direct copy of the ball nearest the cliff is sent to the back of the line of balls and takes the place of the first ball. The formerly first ball becomes the second, the second becomes the third, and the fourth falls off the cliff.

Time works the same way.