Beta + Cancelled PC / MAC Video Games - Page 131 of 139

Overview: Tomb raider was not only one of the best selling, early 3D games, but it was the most recognizable icon of the PlayStation brand. Tomb Raider’s design and concept started in 1994, Core Design, of Derby decided that they wanted to make a video game based on ‘Tomb Raiding’. Subsequently the game was released early October 1996 on several platforms such as: PC, Sega Saturn and PlayStation. Tomb Raider was then re-released on the N-Gage Nokia phone to promote the franchise further. The original concept showed early drawings of a male character which they changed to a female named Lara Cruz then to the heroine we know as Lara Croft.

It is *rumored* that early revisions of Tomb Raider were to be planned be released on:

3DO
Atari Jaguar

It has been confirmed that there was an N64 port in progress but this got cancelled due to “contractual agreements” presumably with Sony.

As Tomb Raider was in development through 1995. The expected release date had been targeted for 1st QTR 1996. It has been confirmed that this revision was cancelled. This led to Tomb Raider being rescheduled for QTR 4 1996 after Eidos acquired U.S Gold.

As noted in an interview by Ross Sillifant with Mike Fulton:

Mike:This is the first time I’ve ever heard anything about Tomb Raider and Jaguar in the same paragraph. It seems very unlikely to me… the first released version of Tomb Raider was late 96, even later than Quake’s release.
Tomb Raider, in anything like the form we know, would have been very difficult to do on Jaguar. It used OpenGL for 3D and there was nothing like Open-GL for the Jaguar, and few games had made any sort of attempt at texture-mapping the entire display. I’m not saying it would have been impossible but it would have taken a pretty good development team to pul it off.

Also Core in early interview with Edge talk of Tomb Raider starting out on MCD, 12 months BEFORE BC Racers was finished, but could’nt get camera system working. Interview with Core Design in EDGE issue 41 (Jan’97) Has Jeremy Smith talking of concept of character in a cinematic enviroment, being inital concept for T.R, but they had immense issues designing a system around the character that would let them move within a camera system and Artist, animator and designer at Core, Stuart Atkinson said: ‘We already had the sketches and ideas for the game for about a year before we even finished BC Racers (on MCD). So any claims Tomb Raider was ORIGINALLY designed for Jaguar CD is not true, it was designed during MCD era, Core just waited for tech to reach point concept/ideas could be turned into full blown game.

Also Ross Sillifant wrote us that: “The Jag Tomb Raider claim? Comes from a SUPPLEMENT MAG, EDGE supplied in a 1-off, back in it’s early days, paid for by ATARI to promote up coming Jaguar games. I’ve never seen said supplement itself, despite owning complete eDge collection, and no-one that continues the claim seems to have copy either, lol. Basically in it were up coming Jaguar games from Core Design, Soulstar (which we know was being worked on) but claim has Swagman down for Jaguar as well (only early confirmed version i know of, was 32X) and very early Tomb Raider, with character known as Laura Cruz or something similar. Myth made ‘worse’ by a PHOTOSHOPPED image from sister mag Next Gen (i think) from USA where SAME screen shot, but in box out detailing system info someones (crudely) photo-shopped Jag CD logo over where it originally said Next-Gen systems.”

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Prototype Concept & Game Design – Date, 20th March 1995

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Scans of a game design booklet from early 1995 arrived on the internet a few years ago. This booklet shows a similar story line, featuring a character named ‘Lara Cruz’, she was supposed to activate the Pyramid using the Scion supposed to be found within the first 3 levels of the game. This variant of the storyline also suggests that Natla used to be a male character named Hamilton who sent Lara Cruz on this path to retrieve the artifact. The original games design document currently resides within a museum.

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Prototype Stage – Date, October/November 1995
Platform: Sega Saturn

The screenshots come from a Sega Saturn preview magazine which also claims the game was supposed to be released ‘1st QTR 1996’ it seems that CORE must’ve scrapped this nearly complete version of the game and remastered it ready for the year after! The levels look early, huge and the models all seem to be different, Lara, bear, wolves etc. The simplicity of the levels may have a negative impact in comparison to the final release. But I find it quite intriguing and it’d be great to see more of this prototype! Magazine scans are from both an October/November issue.

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Pre-alpha Stage- Date, Early 1996
Platform: PC

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The first video on this page, is one of the earliest known builds of Tomb Raider. It was compiled some time late 1995, apparently used to show U.S Gold the progress of what Core Design had made with the game. The video, shows early footage of the first installment of Tomb Raider, it seems that she has a braid. There are also rumors that the braid was removed because it caused frame rate drops in-game. It was then remastered for the next game Tomb Raider: II. Also, her main weapon is the ‘Magnums’, Core Design originally planned for Lara’s main weapon to be the Magnums, rather than the pistols. In this build, Lara’s model is very reminiscent of what is seen in the final. All that was changed was the head mesh and removal of the braid. There are also various animations which are significantly different from the final. It appears, that Lara Croft has the Sunglasses on her face which was removed from the final version but she has them in FMVs. The levels are currently unknown, the textures resemble the second level (City Of Vilcabamba), it looks more like a test level. The build comes with a debug feature, it allows you to pause, change the camera angle and even zoom to take a look around in other places. The enemies are barely different from the final version, it seems that the AI is less challenging. The locations, while only early placeholders, already display complex and haunting environments.
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Early Prototyping Stage FMVs – Date ???? 1995
Platform: Sega Saturn / PC

These videos apparently come from a similar or possibly the same prototype or press-kit as the one above. They show a completely different intro to the game with a brand new ambiguous storyline. The Scion also looks different and it appears that she already has all the pieces.

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Alpha Stage – Date, Early March 1996
Platform: PSX/SATURN

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In this version you can see the deleted jump animation is present, there is no water in this version so we know it’s before the alpha shown below where Lara cannot swim. Some of the screenshots of the third level show how different is was, it’s just not recognisable anymore.

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Alpha Stage – Date, Late March 1996?
Platform: PC

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This alpha version of Tomb Raider was compiled before May 1996, the May 1996 version has the ability to swim. Therefore, I can tell this was compiled before May 1996, the Diary, Dynamite and placeholder inventory items are included in this build, just as seen in later builds such as the May 1996 version.

It’s the first level, ‘The Caves’, but it seems that Lara spawns later in the level, Lara’s model is final, the animations are still different in some cases such as climbing up and jumping. She also has the ability to aim on 2 targets also shown in Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition (CORE) trailer. The skulls in the pit, are not present in the final version. The gun fire effects are simple sprites which resemble stars, Similar to the ones on the July 1996 PC Demo and May 1996 Alpha. Although Lara cannot swim the room flags can be set to water so the effect can be seen.

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Alpha Stage – Date, March 1996
Platform: PC

Here is a video similar to the alpha above this, it could be the same. However, it was shown at an E3 expo video and looks like it’s for the PlayStation 1. It ends with and unused intro/cut scene deleted sometime in August to make way for the final cut scenes/FMVs
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Alpha Stage – Date, 9th May 1996 (E3 Build)
Platform: PSX

This is the build shown at E3 1996 and is similar to the build shown above. It contains deleted diary and dynamite, it seems that dual aiming has been removed. There is still no sound in this version and a lot of the swimming animations are different, exiting water is different. Items on the floor are way larger than the final version. Dynamite icons are only seen in this version of the game so far. It is barely functional and has many minor bugs. There are different animations like the vaulting and land from jump animations. Lara cannot dive or roll, the circle button is used to swim. Lara cannot shoot without being locked onto an enemy, the controls are slightly different since circle button is walk rather than R1.

Video 2 also shows footage of the ending of the level which required Lara to be ‘moved to the next room’ in order to get there since the trap door causes a crash. They must’ve been out of time and hadn’t finished the trap door features.

Video 3 shows the early ‘prototype’ jump in action, it was activated by manipulating the E3 version. It also features a new animation where Lara crosses her arms. The jump animation is exactly the same as the ones shown in the first two videos, but was removed later in the June/July versions.

Video 4 shows a series of animations, there are several unused animations, it’s fun to watch.

Video 5 shows the unused sprites.

Video 6 shows the unused in-game models.

Video 7 shows an unused Lara croft model found in-game with no braid unfortunately. Must’ve been used for testing at one point in time and is most likely a very early revision of the Doppelganger.

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Alpha Stage – Date, 7th May 1996
Platform: PC

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This build is very similar to the PSX E3 demo. Containing differences to LEVEL2 in particular. It contains the first 3 levels of Tomb Raider. The third which is in very early stages. All the sound effects in this build are placeholder and were not present in the final game. The first level shows some significant differences in some rooms.

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Beta Stage – Date, Late May/June 1996?
Platform: PC

This beta shows Larson in the second level of the game. He normally appears in the fifth level of the game, Tomb Of Qualopec. You can see his gun is untextured, the star sprites are still present when Lara Croft shoots. They must’ve been experimenting with Lara competing against Larson in the first level so that Lara would get the scion before Larson, ordered by Natla would. You may have had to kill Larson before he kills Lara of course.

Also, in the Lost Valley, you can see that there are crocodiles which were deleted form the final. There are some minor level differences like the bridge debris, waterfalls in different places and missing dinosaurs.

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Beta Stage – Date, 2nd July 1996
Platform: PC

This build, is similar to the one above in some aspects, it still contains the star gunfire. There are several texture issues which can be seen throughout the demo. In this build, the Diary was replaced with the Passport, the fonts are different, and the Golden Idol is positioned above the collapsible ledges where a health kit is in place in the final version. It also contains a debug option, the map allows the user to explore a birds eye, view of the entire level. It is currently unknown if it features anything else since it’s a self playing demo. Similarly, in the inventory, the Grenade is present, Core design decided they’d like to replace the Dynamite with a more modern explosive device, ‘The Grenade’. Also, the doors which open to the Caves aren’t actually there.

There are various texture bugs and pressing E/F will change some texture rendering options. Pressing Z will also initiate “DOZY” where Lara can swim throughout the level and it also replenishes health. The map feature is handy as it allows viewing of all rooms which have been visited dynamically.

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Beta Stage – Date, 22nd July 1996
Platform: Sega Saturn

In the first video, there are several differences. Lara has her original costume (not gym), she has the ability to shoot. The level is called ‘Gym’, rather than Lara’s home, there is no voice overs, several collision issues (Lara can walk into objects), and there is no end trigger so the level cannot end. There is a bear in the gym room which isn’t there in the final version. In addition, it features a record demo option, this option isn’t functional like some of the other place holder options in the inventory screen. Level select is automatically unlocked like most other Tomb Raider Betas, however, this is only a 2-Level build. Notably, her footstep sounds are different, when she draws guns, multiple annoying sounds are played which is a glitch and was only fixed Late August 1996.

In the second video, there is pistol ammo. Core Design, planned for the Pistols not to be unlimited, there is ammo placed in various places of the level. The health bars are also different, the level is pretty much the same, just that the Golden Idol is placed elsewhere and that there is no end trigger. This version, also has the Grenade feature, once selected, it does not work since it’s a place holder option. Core Design, decided to scrap it, it is no longer present in builds after July 1996, removed possibly due to time running out.

In the third video i show you some unused models from the game including the doppelganger which shouldn’t even be in this level. She’s quite different as she moves a few seconds after Lara Croft.

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Beta Stage – 2nd August 1996
Platform: Sega Saturn

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Tomb raider development continues, this build still contains no Cut scenes, no FMVs. The grenade is also removed from this version, Pistol ammo is still present, they scrapped the Pistol ammo late August 1996. Again, the first video, is very similar to final, there is a missing slope, missing darts, and the buggy weapon draw issue is still present. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same as the final build. It is only a 4 level build.

Very similar to the final version, the doors have finally been added, where the Golden idol should be, the items from late July 1996, have been removed. It’s just an empty room.

In the third video, there is no entrance to where Lara comes from in the FMV, Pierre is missing from the game, Lara doesn’t have the ability to jump off slopes, the first secret at the top is missing. Some of the rooms such are very unfinished. Thor doesn’t have lightning, nor does the hammer appear to be there. In addition, the Damocles room has no swords which are supposed to drop then kill Lara.

In the fourth video, this level is also very similar to the final build, but it is also very buggy. Accessing certain parts of the level will result in a crash, some of the objects are texture less especially doors. Pierre still isn’t on this level either. When you complete any of the levels, it shows a deleted stats screen which shows how many rooms have been explored.

In the fifth video, I demonstrate the debug option camera freeze. It allows you to change from an automated camera to a frozen camera to check out Lara or play with a fixed camera etc.

In the sixth video, I show another hidden debug option which allows you to place the camera where ever you like.

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Beta Stage – 16th August 1996
Platform: Sega Saturn

This is a demo, from the Sega Saturn preview vol, series. It is similar to the August build above, some bugs have been fixed, the weapon draw issue is no longer present, health bar colour is now final. All pistol ammo has been removed from the stage. The level ends after pulling one of the blocks. This is actually identical to the final version now. Just the ammo display text is different.

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Beta Stage – 4th September 1996
Platform: PSX

This rare beta version of Tomb Raider for the PlayStation has different sound effects, those of which are exactly the same as the ones in the August, July beta versions for the Sega Saturn. There is also an ammo count at the top right of the screen which counts differently compared to the final. In addition to this, another difference is that the Golden Idol is in a different place. The save crystals are Gold but in the final they are purple. If you try to use one of them the game will freeze as the feature was not implemented yet. The title screen picture is also different.

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Beta Stage – 4th September 1996
Platform: PC

Lost Valley
Tomb Of Qualopec
St Francis’ Folly
Colosseum
Palace Midas
Cistern
Tomb Of Tiohocan
City Of Khamoon
Obelisk of Khamoon
Sanctuary of the Scion
Natla’s Mines

An amazing FULL beta version located on a magazine disc. There are several differences but it’s very close to the final game.

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Beta Stage – 26th September 1996
Platform: PSX

This is a video of a PS1 beta which is close to final. There are several differences such as names, inventory items missing etc. The controls are also similar to the Saturn version for some reason.

Editors:
1. SquarePulse
2. Gh0stblade

Change Log:

Gh0stBlade – Added very HQ 1995 screenshots.

Gh0stblade – Updated some small things 23/11/14
Gh0stblade – Added new videos PC Sept 4th footage 12/08/14
Gh0stblade – Added new footage and updated some areas 20/01/14
Gh0stblade – Added more info and fixed errors. 08/12/12
Gh0stblade – Added PSX Early September 1996. 08/07/12
Gh0stblade – Fixed mistake, added Early September 1996. 02/04/12
Gh0stblade – Added new footage, layout changed. 19/08/11
Gh0stblade – Added E3, August video footage + descriptions. 23/10/11
Gh0stblade – Added 12 videos, edited spelling errors and mistakes. 21/11/11
Gh0stblade – Added 2 new videos, screenshots. 24/11/11
Gh0stblade – Added 1995 images, Merged October/November, Fixed mistakes. 05/12/11
Gh0stblade – Added new alpha magazine scans (before May), changed date 08/12/11
Gh0stblade – Added Concept & Design 20/3/95, changed May/June 10/12/11

Images:

Nintendo, Nintendo 64 & 64DD, Others, PC / MAC, Playstation, Sony

Roller Ball [Playstation, N64, PC – Cancelled]

monokoma

05-05-2008

2 Comments

As we can read on Wikipedia:

“In 1997, Z-Axis Games was developing an official Rollerball video game adaption based on the film As part of MGM Interactive video game showcase lineup, The video game’s promise was to recreate the action of the futuristic game played in the movie, and it was set 10 years after the events of the film in the 2098 Rollerball season, where the player would be in charge of managing their Rollerball teams around the world, made up of Rollerball players with roles such as strikers, enforcers, guard, and other players who compete using jet bikes and magnetic in-line skates. Rollerball: The Video Game was slated to be released for PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo 64 on the first quarter of 1998, but was delayed to mid-1998 and then was canceled due to the publisher, MGM Interactive, going bankrupt.”

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Others, PC / MAC, Playstation, Sony

Speed Tribes [PSX PC – Cancelled]

monokoma

03-05-2008

2 Comments

Speed Tribes is a cancelled shooter / racing game that was in development in 1997 / 1998 by Nemicron and it would have been published by THQ for the original Playstation and PC. The project was based off a comic of the same name (or was the comic created just to promote the game?), in which six tribes of riders fight to became the leaders of the city.

In the game, players would have chosen one of the tribes and used aero-bikes to combat against the rival riders in open arenas. Many multiplayer modes were planned, especially for the PC version.

Mark Vanco (an American cyberpunk designer and artist) was involved with the creation of the comic and the game’s world. In the end Speed Tribes was never finished for unkown reasons and Nemicron closed down after a while.

Thanks a lot to Martin Jajam for his help in preserving more screens from this lost project!

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Microsoft, Nintendo DS, PC / MAC, Playstation 2 (PS2), Playstation 3 (PS3), Sony, Wii, Xbox 360

Dirty Harry Video Game [Cancelled – Xbox 360, PS3, PC]

Liam Robertson

29-04-2008

4 Comments

Dirty Harry/Dirty Harry Extreme was a cancelled third person shooter action game that was first in development at The Collective, Inc. and was intended to be published by Warner Bros. Interactive in the first half of 2007 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Additional versions were planned for Nintendo Wii, DS, Xbox, PSP, and PS2 to be released that same year.

Go Ahead, Make My Game

The first conception of ‘Dirty Harry’ is believed to date back to around June 2004. Around this time, multiple sources such as Eurogamer reported that license holders, Warner Bros. had started to privately invite developers to pitch their ideas for a Dirty Harry video game. It is unknown how many other developers responded to the offer, but it was The Collective, Inc. who delivered the successful proposal and was granted the license in late 2004.

An Announcement Too Soon?

Scripting work on the Dirty Harry game started around January, 2005. Eastwood had signed on to reprise his titular role, lending his voice and likeness, as well as being a creative consultant on the project. Actors Laurence Fishburne, Lucy Liu and Gene Hackman were also planned to feature.

The reveal of the Dirty Harry video game came in February, 2005. At the time, it was being targeted for a release in 2007 to coincide with the release of the HD-DVD Dirty Harry film collection. This was part of a marketing push by Warner Bros. to resurrect the franchise and the video game, in particular, was intended to give the series greater relevance among to younger audiences.

“Creating Dirty Harry video games will also introduce this memorable film character to new generations on a medium they appreciate.” – Clint Eastwood

Its first public announcement came in the form of a press release from Warner Bros. Interactive. At the time, details on the game were scarcely available. No trailer, screenshots or information about which platforms it would be made for other than multiple unspecified “next generation consoles” was attached. This was because production on the game had not even began at this point, but WB had great confidence in the project; to the point at which they’d announce it so prematurely. It would be a while, too, before the core of development would start. WB, The Collective and Eastwood spent the remainder of the year steadily refining the script and producing concepts of set pieces.

The game took place between the first and second films, Dirty Harry and Magnum. Little information on the narrative was ever revealed, but according to the initial press statement, its aim was to add more depth to the protagonist.

Concept art:

The Collective Gets To Work

It was in February 2006 that the game, then still going under the working title of ‘Dirty Harry’, was finally put into full development. It was being worked on for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

It was initially undecided whether or not the title was going to feature an open world San Fransisco, one former developer told us, but by the start of the year, it had been decided that it would instead take on a mission-based structure. It then became a ‘duck and cover’ third person shooter with melee combat elements.

The storytelling of the Dirty Harry game was linear, but featured a “reputation system”, as one ex Collective developer described. Players would be given the choice how to deal with criminals: they could either knock them unconscious with a melee attack or straight up shoot them with Harry’s trademark .44 magnum. The NPC’s in the game would then react dynamically to these actions. For instance, developing a high kill count or firing on someone unnecessarily could land you in hot water with the chief of police. Conversely, being too lenient on crooks could cause them to take the detective less serious, mocking him and considering him less of a threat.

In-game environments and misc. assets:

The First (And Only) Trailer

By April 2006, the game was progressing steadily at The Collective, but was not yet ready to put on display to the public. Warner Bros., on the other hand, had been talking it up to various outlets for some time and was keen to show it off. The solution to this was a trailer, which was produced by an external company. Initially, it was only shown behind closed doors to the press at E3 2006 in May, before being released online shortly thereafter.

The trailer, seen below, has been subject to some debate over the years. Some fans believed it was entirely pre-rendered and not representative of its in-game visuals, while others thought it could be an actual look at the engine itself. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. The Collective had given their game assets to ACMEfilmworks, including character models and engine schematics. ACME, under the direction of filmmaker Tigar Hare, then used these to render the trailer. Thus, it gives us a somewhat accurate portrayal of what it would have looked like in motion; albeit with a slight up-resing treatment.

As we have come to understand, Eastwood had yet to record any voice work for the game at this point, so the trailer used audio lifted directly from the original movie for the voice of Harry Callahan.

High quality direct feed screenshots of the trailer:

The Unseen Versions

It was never formally announced, but in late 2006, Warner Bros. Interactive had hired the now defunct Sensory Sweep Studios to create multiple versions of Dirty Harry for other systems. These plans included Nintendo Wii, DS, PS2 and PC.

Ambitiously, the developers were aiming to deliver the same third person shooter experience across every platform. Whereas the PC release would have been a straight port of Collective’s 360 game, the DS title was built from the ground up; as were the ones for PS2 and Wii. The Wii version was never put into full production, but would have been an “up-port” of the PS2 game with the additions of IR pointer aiming and motion control for melee attacks.

PS2/Wii Version models:

DS Game environment screenshot + model:

A Sudden End To Development

Up until the start of 2007, development on the title had been progressing “smoothly”, one developer recounted to us. The game, which had been renamed to ‘Dirty Harry Extreme’ towards the end of 2006, was on schedule for release within the next 7 months. One source told us that Extreme was about 70% complete, when in March, it met an abrupt end.

Representatives of publisher, Warner Bros. Interactive, visited The Collective to check up on the project and were unsatisfied with the progress they had made. The former devs we quizzed are quiet about the specifics of what exactly went wrong, but the product had failed to meet the standards of WB. In the interests of protecting the brand, the company revoked the team’s access to rights, cancelling their game. Sensory Sweep’s projects were also terminated shortly thereafter.

One reliable source who was close to WBIE attributed the demise of the project to a shift in their upper management, including the installation of a new president. An internal review lead them to revise their plans for the game, the source claims.

Subsequently, The Collective had to lay off the entirety of their Dirty Harry team of around 30 people. This was, at first, denied by a representative of the studio, but as time went on and more former employees came out of the woodwork, it became apparent that this had been the case.

Foundation 9, the parent company of Collective, said that the redundancies were part of an effort to “optimise” the studio’s development capabilities. While these statements were by no means untrue, our sources disclosed that it was, in actuality, a direct result of Dirty Harry’s failure; a truth thinly veiled by the PR cover-up. The loss of the contract with WB meant that Foundation 9 no longer was financially secure enough to keep them on board.

One ex employee alleged that staff at The Collective were mislead by the publishers into thinking that the project had been outright dissolved at this juncture – it had not.

Life After The Collective

After The Collective had been taken off the project, it was widely assumed that it was dead. Rumours of its end began to circulate when WBIE’s president, Samantha Ryan, released a statement to reassure fans that this wasn’t the case:

“We are moving forward with the Dirty Harry next generation videogames and will be changing our development plans in keeping with the best interest of the franchise legacy. WBIE is dedicated to creating a game that will bring Clint Eastwood’s legendary Detective Harry Callahan character to the interactive space with a new story and great gameplay.””

The extent of these supposed plans was never divulged to the public, but Ryan and the rest of their management were indeed looking for another developer to take up the reins. It was towards the start of 2008 that TimeGate Studios, fresh from launching F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate, was brought on board to complete the game.

TimeGate, however, could not simply pick up from when the previous developers had left off. Up until this point, it had been running in The Collective’s in house engine known as ‘Slayer’ with the Xbox 360 as its lead development platform. However, as Warner had no claim to use the engine without them, the game was rebuilt.

The production was subject to a major overhaul, involving the implementation of full two player co-operative gameplay for the entirety of the story mode, a former designer told us. The title of ‘Extreme’ was abandoned, as well, as it reverted to its prior working title of ‘Dirty Harry’. Monolith Productions of Shadow of Mordor notoriety had also been contracted to do additional work on the project externally.

The Final Nail In Its Coffin

Ultimately, despite years of toiling away behind the scenes, the Dirty Harry video game was not meant to be. In mid 2008, its final cancellation came about after its short-lived revival. A former artist from TimeGate said the decision was made by WBIE simply because “it wasn’t very good”. After several years of sinking money into a project that wasn’t turning out as they had hoped, the publisher ceased all work on it. Unlike detective Callahan, WB had no last shot left to fire, as no further attempts were made to pursue a new development studio.

Since the game vanished without a formal statement from Warner Bros. on the game’s status, various fan movements such as “Bring Back Dirty Harry The Game” have been established online in an attempt to resurrect it.

Alternative video link:

Microsoft, Others, PC / MAC, Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony, Xbox

Psychonauts [XBOX/PS2 – Beta / Concept]

U64 Staff & Contributors

19-04-2008

No Comments

Originally, the main character was an ostrich suffering from mental imbalance and multiple personalities. Tim Schafer killed the idea because he strongly believes in games being “wish fulfillments,” guessing that not many people fantasize about being an insane ostrich. Raz was originally named Dart and it had many different design before the final one. Even the Censors were different, with a more “green monsters” look. The HUD, the Menù, the Psi Challenge Markers and the Telekinesis style were changed too. Some “brains” were in different positions in the beta version, as the one at the top of the wall in front of the asylum. The Milla’s Lab does not exist in the final game.

Tim Schafer first conceived the idea for Psychonauts while working on Full Throttle, which originally was to have an interactive peyote trip sequence. The idea was deemed unsuitable for a family-friendly game, but it led to Schafer’s desire to do a game featuring psychological trips or interactive dream sequences. – [Info from Wikipedia]

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