Trivia Browser
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According to game designer Pascal Cammisotto, the developers of Piglet's Big Game were not given access to the script for its source material Piglet's Big Movie, and were simply instructed by Disney to make a Piglet-themed product. The game was directly pitched to Disney as "Resident Evil for kids", an inherently unusual pitch that, according to Cammisotto, was successful due to game designer Mark Albinet being particularly convincing. The developers felt they were making the game more for themselves while not talking down to the very young demographic most Disney iterations of Winnie-the-Pooh are aimed at, and Disney Interactive producer Risa Cohen supported their liberties from the source material as she felt it would be a quality game.
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In 2020, Gangs of London was adapted into a television series by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery. In an interview with Sky News about the show, Evans revealed that he was originally hired to make a film franchise based on the game, but felt that if they went this route then they would have "two-thirds of our running time focused purely on our central characters, and then only a third left to explore the side characters that populate that world". Feeling this wouldn't be able to do justice to the diverse cultures and ethnicities that make up London, Evans proposed making it a TV show instead because "you can afford to go off and detour for 10 to 15 minutes and spend time with other characters, and learn about them in more detail."
Collection: Croc
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Due to the success of the Croc games, Fox Interactive considered creating an animated television series based on them. A show bible was written by Flint Dille complete with backstory and six episode synopses, but plans for the series were scrapped. These documents were considered lost for over 25 years until 2024, when Argonaut Games announced that the show bible (as well as accompanying meeting notes) would be included in the remaster of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos as part of the game's Crocipedia.
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A sequel to MySims Agents called MySims Agents 2 was planned, but was ultimately shelved in Fall 2009. Years later on May 12, 2023, designer Brian Kaiser shared an old completed story outline for the game on his Twitter account. Based on the outline, the plot would have revolved around the player investigating a series of strange events involving an unknown energy source (later revealed to be seeping through portals from the Nightmare Realm), all while contending with the new S.P.A. director Morgan (a reworked version of the scrapped character Vice Admiral Morgan from MySims Kingdom) and her advisors Dragomir and Svetlana (reused from MySims SkyHeroes), who has shut down several branches of the agency as part of "restructuring" and captured Walker after he began to investigate them. Several characters from the original game would have returned, with Roxie Road, Jenny, Dr. F, Buddy, and Vic Vector all being part of the player's team as they solve cases all over the globe. While full gameplay details are unknown (aside from a new grapple hook mechanic), some pieces of concept art have been released since, such as designs for Morgan's various monster forms.
Story outline thread on Twitter:
https://x.com/VonKaiser/status/1657038598888120327
Location concept art posted by artist Norman Felchle (likely for Skip Rogers' mansion, mentioned at the start of the outline):
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=216206145073383&set=pb.100063556808091.-2207520000.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=216205668406764&set=pb.100063556808091.-2207520000.
Morgan boss concept art:
https://beyondsims.com/2010/11/mysims-agents-2-canceled-boss-details-on-morgan/
https://x.com/VonKaiser/status/1657038598888120327
Location concept art posted by artist Norman Felchle (likely for Skip Rogers' mansion, mentioned at the start of the outline):
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=216206145073383&set=pb.100063556808091.-2207520000.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=216205668406764&set=pb.100063556808091.-2207520000.
Morgan boss concept art:
https://beyondsims.com/2010/11/mysims-agents-2-canceled-boss-details-on-morgan/
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In 2018, Donkey Kong Country designer Gregg Mayles posted a tweet off the heels of King K. Rool's reveal as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate featuring a naming sheet from the former game's development dated to March 8, 1994. This document contains several proposed names for various characters and the game itself, with Monkey Mayhem being listed as a working title. Other differences include the following:
• The names "Blonde Kong" and "Honey Kong" were suggested as alternate names for Candy Kong.
• King K. Rool was originally named "Kommander K. Rool".
• Rock Krock was originally named "Krocrock".
• Slippa was originally going to be called "Mr. Hister". This particular name appeared to be changed late in development, as an unused hint from Cranky Kong mentions Mr. Hister.
• Squidge was originally named "Mr. Squidge".
• Clambo was originally named "Ms. Clamity".
• Cranky Kong and Funky Kong's names were originally spelled "Crankey Kong" and "Funkey Kong".
Additionally, the naming sheet lists several proposed characters absent from the final game:
• An owl Animal Buddy named Hooter. In the replies to his tweet, Mayles stated that Hooter "was going to light the way with its night vision", and that it was eventually replaced by Squawks the parrot.
• A mole Animal Buddy named Miney, likely playing off of the counting rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe".
• A "Kremling Magician" named Kloak, who would later appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
• A "Statue Kremling" named Krumble.
• A "Green Kremling" named Klanger.
• A "Robot Kremling" named Krocbot.
• A Moray eel enemy named Mobo.
• A fireball enemy named Fizzle.
• A yeti/"Iceman" enemy named Frozone. In the replies to his tweet, Mayles expressed amusement at "Frozone" also being the name of a character from the 2004 American animated film The Incredibles, stating that "We never used or copyrighted the name, so anyone could have used it." Indeed, "Frozone" is one of several entries on the naming sheet that doesn't have a trademark symbol attached to it. Coincidentally, the Donkey Kong Country television series would feature a yeti character of its own, Eddie the Mean Old Yeti.
• Two fish enemies named Bloop and Gloop; the latter would later appear as an enemy in Donkey Kong Land.
• A "nasty beetle" enemy named Veedub, who would later appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest under the name Click-Clack.
• The names "Blonde Kong" and "Honey Kong" were suggested as alternate names for Candy Kong.
• King K. Rool was originally named "Kommander K. Rool".
• Rock Krock was originally named "Krocrock".
• Slippa was originally going to be called "Mr. Hister". This particular name appeared to be changed late in development, as an unused hint from Cranky Kong mentions Mr. Hister.
• Squidge was originally named "Mr. Squidge".
• Clambo was originally named "Ms. Clamity".
• Cranky Kong and Funky Kong's names were originally spelled "Crankey Kong" and "Funkey Kong".
Additionally, the naming sheet lists several proposed characters absent from the final game:
• An owl Animal Buddy named Hooter. In the replies to his tweet, Mayles stated that Hooter "was going to light the way with its night vision", and that it was eventually replaced by Squawks the parrot.
• A mole Animal Buddy named Miney, likely playing off of the counting rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe".
• A "Kremling Magician" named Kloak, who would later appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
• A "Statue Kremling" named Krumble.
• A "Green Kremling" named Klanger.
• A "Robot Kremling" named Krocbot.
• A Moray eel enemy named Mobo.
• A fireball enemy named Fizzle.
• A yeti/"Iceman" enemy named Frozone. In the replies to his tweet, Mayles expressed amusement at "Frozone" also being the name of a character from the 2004 American animated film The Incredibles, stating that "We never used or copyrighted the name, so anyone could have used it." Indeed, "Frozone" is one of several entries on the naming sheet that doesn't have a trademark symbol attached to it. Coincidentally, the Donkey Kong Country television series would feature a yeti character of its own, Eddie the Mean Old Yeti.
• Two fish enemies named Bloop and Gloop; the latter would later appear as an enemy in Donkey Kong Land.
• A "nasty beetle" enemy named Veedub, who would later appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest under the name Click-Clack.
Gregg Mayles' original tweet:
https://x.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1027946702270021638
Mayles' confirmation that Squawks replaced Hooter:
https://x.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1028581505566748674
Mayles' remark on the shared name "Frozone":
https://x.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1028884538381004802
The Cutting Room Floor article:
https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Donkey_Kong_Country_(SNES)#Early_Naming_Sheet
https://x.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1027946702270021638
Mayles' confirmation that Squawks replaced Hooter:
https://x.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1028581505566748674
Mayles' remark on the shared name "Frozone":
https://x.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1028884538381004802
The Cutting Room Floor article:
https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Donkey_Kong_Country_(SNES)#Early_Naming_Sheet
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Sometime in 1987-88, Sega and the Japanese magazine "Beep!" held a "Story Recruitment Campaign" to let readers submit ideas to be considered for Phantasy Star II. This contest was held both to set a base for the start of development and to market the game to a wider audience on the name value of Phantasy Star, with the game being heavily advertised in Beep! thereafter. Despite the contest's name, Sega accepted any idea and gave out awards for scenario writing, illustrations, and game mechanics. Out of over 2000 entries, 29 were selected as winners and awarded with individually numbered "Associate Planner" certificates. They were also offered to meet with the game's developers for a planning meeting on March 20, 1988 at Sega's headquarters in Otorii, Tokyo, among other prizes. The events of the planning meeting and the top 7 winners were published in the June 1988 issue of Beep!, including a picture of the full roundtable. Producer/programmer Yuji Naka and artist Rieko Kodama were two of the developers in attendance.
Associate Planner No. 001, the Grand Prize winner, was Fumiko Sato. Of the 29 winners, three of them are known to have gone on to work in the video game industry and returned for work at Sega:
• No. 004 was 17-year old Masahiro Sakurai, who won the "Game System Award". Sakurai often recalled the contest without mentioning the game by name, claiming he came up with "something like the action-focused Active Time Battle system seen in JRPGs" before it existed. It's believed that this meeting was what prompted Sakurai to drop out of vocational school to pursue a full-time career in game design, using the award to advance his professional image until he was hired by HAL Laboratory after graduating high school in 1989. Sakurai became known for his work with them and Nintendo, creating the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series.
• No. 005 was Yukinobu Arikawa, who won the "Game System Special Award" for his entry titled "Those who inherit the legend". While it's not known if he attended the planning meeting, Arikawa would join Sega's AM2 team in 1990 and is still employed at Sega as of 2022. He became known for the comedic touches he adds to the games he works on, having worked as a game designer, writer, localizer and texture artist on different games in the Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Super Monkey Ball, Virtua Fighter, and Daytona USA series.
• No. 011 was middle schooler Keisuke Ōuchi, who described his proposal as being full of "middle school syndrome", but was unable to attend the planning meeting because he lived in the countryside at the time. Ōuchi worked on games as a character designer and graphics artist in various capacities, and created and directed the 1998 visual novel Ojou-sama Express, which similarly to Phantasy Star II held a long-term reader participation contest in the gaming magazine "Dengeki G's Magazine". He also works as a collectors' toy designer under the name Alan Moriguchi, specializing in mechs and robots.
It's unknown if or how any of the winners' ideas were used in the final game, as all of the developers used pseudonyms in the credits and no Associate Planners were credited.
Associate Planner No. 001, the Grand Prize winner, was Fumiko Sato. Of the 29 winners, three of them are known to have gone on to work in the video game industry and returned for work at Sega:
• No. 004 was 17-year old Masahiro Sakurai, who won the "Game System Award". Sakurai often recalled the contest without mentioning the game by name, claiming he came up with "something like the action-focused Active Time Battle system seen in JRPGs" before it existed. It's believed that this meeting was what prompted Sakurai to drop out of vocational school to pursue a full-time career in game design, using the award to advance his professional image until he was hired by HAL Laboratory after graduating high school in 1989. Sakurai became known for his work with them and Nintendo, creating the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series.
• No. 005 was Yukinobu Arikawa, who won the "Game System Special Award" for his entry titled "Those who inherit the legend". While it's not known if he attended the planning meeting, Arikawa would join Sega's AM2 team in 1990 and is still employed at Sega as of 2022. He became known for the comedic touches he adds to the games he works on, having worked as a game designer, writer, localizer and texture artist on different games in the Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Super Monkey Ball, Virtua Fighter, and Daytona USA series.
• No. 011 was middle schooler Keisuke Ōuchi, who described his proposal as being full of "middle school syndrome", but was unable to attend the planning meeting because he lived in the countryside at the time. Ōuchi worked on games as a character designer and graphics artist in various capacities, and created and directed the 1998 visual novel Ojou-sama Express, which similarly to Phantasy Star II held a long-term reader participation contest in the gaming magazine "Dengeki G's Magazine". He also works as a collectors' toy designer under the name Alan Moriguchi, specializing in mechs and robots.
It's unknown if or how any of the winners' ideas were used in the final game, as all of the developers used pseudonyms in the credits and no Associate Planners were credited.
Beep! - screenshots of March 1988 issue (in Japanese; it's believed that this issue is where the full list of winners were first published, but no full scan of the issue is available online):
https://retoge-mag.websa.jp/archives/215
Beep! - June 1988 issue (in Japanese; Page 86 in the magazine):
https://archive.org/details/beep-1988-06/page/86/mode/2up
Beep! - September 1989 issue translated developer interview:
https://shmuplations.com/psiirelease/
Masahiro Sakurai (No. 004) on Creating Games video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk8WsbCQXGc#t=194s
Sakurai translated magazine column on school/early work experience:
https://sourcegaming.info/2015/07/06/school-work-and-specialists-sakurais-famitsu-column-vol-3334/
Sakurai - The Guardian interview:
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/aug/08/super-smash-bros-ultimate-masahiro-sakurai-35-years-gaming-history-nintendo
A conversation between gamers and game journalists about the future of computer games, held on August 15, 1989 at Dempa Publications, Inc. (19-year old Sakurai partook in this, and is credited with winning the Game System Award in the Phantasy Star II contest) [published in "CHALLENGE!! Personal Computer AVG & RPG 5 JP Book"] (Pages 341-355 in the book, Sakurai only appears on page 348 and did not participate in the rest of the conversation):
https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d5/CHALLENGE%21%21_Personal_Computer_AVG_%26_RPG_5_JP_Book.pdf
Yukinobu Arikawa (No. 005) career history:
https://segaretro.org/Yukinobu_Arikawa
https://www.mobygames.com/person/69425/yukinobu-arikawa/credits/
Keisuke Ōuchi (No. 011) tweets:
https://x.com/AlanMoriguchi/status/1320302751096553472
https://x.com/AlanMoriguchi/status/1321068321450553347
Alan Moriguchi (Ōuchi) revealing his identity in 2014:
https://x.com/AlanMoriguchi/status/520581151493070849
Ōuchi MobyGames page:
https://www.mobygames.com/person/456584/keisuke-ouchi/
Dengeki G's Magazine - August 1998 issue (Pages 49-61 in the magazine):
https://archive.org/details/dengeki-gs-magazine-013-august-1998/page/48/mode/2up
Japanese Wikipedia article on Ojou-sama Express with magazine citations (including the above issue):
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/お嬢様特急
Sega Associate Planner No. 017 tweet:
https://x.com/suginov/status/1321062605033664513
Sega Associate Planner No. 019 tweet:
https://x.com/unlucky_numbers/status/1539132578120486912
1988 contest materials were reportedly republished in the reprint mook " Beep(ビープ) 復刻版―特別付録 音楽CD2枚組 ":
https://www.amazon.co.jp/Beep-%E5%BE%A9%E5%88%BB%E7%89%88%E2%80%95%E7%89%B9%E5%88%A5%E4%BB%98%E9%8C%B2-%E9%9F%B3%E6%A5%BDCD2%E6%9E%9A%E7%B5%84-Softbank-mook/dp/4797326239
Tweets that served as a starting point for researching this submission:
https://x.com/gosokkyu/status/1585114095329898496
https://x.com/gosokkyu/status/1705220228828045506
https://retoge-mag.websa.jp/archives/215
Beep! - June 1988 issue (in Japanese; Page 86 in the magazine):
https://archive.org/details/beep-1988-06/page/86/mode/2up
Beep! - September 1989 issue translated developer interview:
https://shmuplations.com/psiirelease/
Masahiro Sakurai (No. 004) on Creating Games video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk8WsbCQXGc#t=194s
Sakurai translated magazine column on school/early work experience:
https://sourcegaming.info/2015/07/06/school-work-and-specialists-sakurais-famitsu-column-vol-3334/
Sakurai - The Guardian interview:
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/aug/08/super-smash-bros-ultimate-masahiro-sakurai-35-years-gaming-history-nintendo
A conversation between gamers and game journalists about the future of computer games, held on August 15, 1989 at Dempa Publications, Inc. (19-year old Sakurai partook in this, and is credited with winning the Game System Award in the Phantasy Star II contest) [published in "CHALLENGE!! Personal Computer AVG & RPG 5 JP Book"] (Pages 341-355 in the book, Sakurai only appears on page 348 and did not participate in the rest of the conversation):
https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d5/CHALLENGE%21%21_Personal_Computer_AVG_%26_RPG_5_JP_Book.pdf
Yukinobu Arikawa (No. 005) career history:
https://segaretro.org/Yukinobu_Arikawa
https://www.mobygames.com/person/69425/yukinobu-arikawa/credits/
Keisuke Ōuchi (No. 011) tweets:
https://x.com/AlanMoriguchi/status/1320302751096553472
https://x.com/AlanMoriguchi/status/1321068321450553347
Alan Moriguchi (Ōuchi) revealing his identity in 2014:
https://x.com/AlanMoriguchi/status/520581151493070849
Ōuchi MobyGames page:
https://www.mobygames.com/person/456584/keisuke-ouchi/
Dengeki G's Magazine - August 1998 issue (Pages 49-61 in the magazine):
https://archive.org/details/dengeki-gs-magazine-013-august-1998/page/48/mode/2up
Japanese Wikipedia article on Ojou-sama Express with magazine citations (including the above issue):
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/お嬢様特急
Sega Associate Planner No. 017 tweet:
https://x.com/suginov/status/1321062605033664513
Sega Associate Planner No. 019 tweet:
https://x.com/unlucky_numbers/status/1539132578120486912
1988 contest materials were reportedly republished in the reprint mook " Beep(ビープ) 復刻版―特別付録 音楽CD2枚組 ":
https://www.amazon.co.jp/Beep-%E5%BE%A9%E5%88%BB%E7%89%88%E2%80%95%E7%89%B9%E5%88%A5%E4%BB%98%E9%8C%B2-%E9%9F%B3%E6%A5%BDCD2%E6%9E%9A%E7%B5%84-Softbank-mook/dp/4797326239
Tweets that served as a starting point for researching this submission:
https://x.com/gosokkyu/status/1585114095329898496
https://x.com/gosokkyu/status/1705220228828045506
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Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo was one of two game ideas pitched to franchise creator Nick Park. The other unrealized game idea which Park also approved of took place on Mars, and would have been titled Red Leicester.
subdirectory_arrow_right Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (Collection)
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Following the release of Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan, development started on a fourth entry in the series titled "Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4: Gunyip!". According to series co-creator Steve Stamatiadis, this game would have expanded upon the aerial combat sections featured in Ty 3, featuring a variety of Bunyip-inspired aircraft and factions, as well as both new and returning characters. It was ultimately cancelled around 2007 due to Krome Studios focusing their resources on developing ports for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Stamatiadis would later release a test reel of the game on his Tumblr page, which was later included as a piece of bonus content for Ty 3's PC remaster.
Company: Kane Carter
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Kane Carter is known for being the creator of the Five Nights at Freddy's fangame series "POPGOES", and all the titles that he has made or conceptualized since 2015 have has been part of that series. However, in August 2023, Carter revealed that he, his girlfriend (known as "Turntail" online), and fellow developer Emil Macko worked on a scrapped concept for an original Unreal Engine horror game around 2017-2018, named "Floodbound." Carter described the basic story as:
Carter also stated that the goal of the game was to travel through three large areas while dodging Drain Face.
The original programmer was going to be Nikson, known for his work on The Joy of Creation fangame series and Glowstick Entertainment games. Nikson replied to the post offering to continue work on the game if Carter ever decided to go back to it, saying that he loved the idea and the enemy design proposed for it.
"You play as a murderer, trapped in a rainy purgatory parallel world, after almost dying in a car crash that happened while you were fleeing the scene of your third victim. [...] It's home to a single, bizarre villain named Drain Face - a creature who was once human, turned into a mutated monster that survives only off of the rainwater that falls in the rainy parallel world. [...]"
Carter also stated that the goal of the game was to travel through three large areas while dodging Drain Face.
The original programmer was going to be Nikson, known for his work on The Joy of Creation fangame series and Glowstick Entertainment games. Nikson replied to the post offering to continue work on the game if Carter ever decided to go back to it, saying that he loved the idea and the enemy design proposed for it.
Floodbound reveal:
https://twitter.com/kanethecarter/status/1689427287425302530
Full Floodbound development summary:
https://twitter.com/kanethecarter/status/1690527136119984129
Nikson programmer reveal:
https://twitter.com/kanethecarter/status/1689450445519941634
Nikson reply:
https://twitter.com/nikson_dev/status/1690635505363296257
https://twitter.com/kanethecarter/status/1689427287425302530
Full Floodbound development summary:
https://twitter.com/kanethecarter/status/1690527136119984129
Nikson programmer reveal:
https://twitter.com/kanethecarter/status/1689450445519941634
Nikson reply:
https://twitter.com/nikson_dev/status/1690635505363296257
Franchise: Sonic The Hedgehog
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Ben Hurst, one of the writers for the 1993 "Sonic the Hedgehog" animated series, attempted to pitch a continuation of the show to Sega in 2002 as either a third season or a movie. He consulted DiC Entertainment, who produced the show (as well as two other Sonic cartoons, "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Sonic Underground"), and was given the name of a Sega executive who wanted to talk with him more about the idea. Hurst then received a call from Ken Penders, at the time the head writer for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, who had been made aware of Hurst's interest in making a movie based on the series. Hurst offered to include Penders in the project, and told him his strategy for the pitch was to develop a satisfying storyline to conclude the show, and simultaneously giving Sega ideas for new games. This resulted in a long-standing controversy where Hurst claimed that Penders sabotaged his plan by telling Sega that he was trying to co-opt the franchise, resulting in Hurst's dismissal from the project. Over 13 years after Hurst's death, Penders would give his side of the story in a 2023 blog post, claiming that Hurst's joint proposal between the two would involve asking Sega to pay them to produce the series, and doubted that Sega would even schedule a meeting to let them pitch it if Sega funding the pitch was the premise, stating that "the owner of any IP is looking for a payday when it comes to using the rights for their properties."
In September 2003, Penders pitched his own concept for a Sonic the Hedgehog movie, titled "Sonic Armageddon". Four pieces of concept art were produced, and even a homemade pitch video was made to show to Sega executives. From what is known about the pitch (which seemed to borrow elements from both the 1993 series and the Archie comics), it would have involved the planet Mobius being destroyed and changed the depiction of the roboticization procedure to something much more gruesome than what had been previously seen. Notably, several major characters (such as the Freedom Fighters sans Sonic, Tails and Sally) are not shown in either the pitch video or the concept art, and the characters that are shown are given major redesigns. A common belief is that DreamWorks Animation was Penders' choice to produce the film, but Penders would later state in 2019 that he had pitched the idea to Sega only, and that DreamWorks had no involvement. The film never materialized; Penders would later claim on separate occasions that the idea was dropped because of "massive corporate upheaval", as well as the development of the animated series "Sonic X" affecting talks regarding the film.
In September 2003, Penders pitched his own concept for a Sonic the Hedgehog movie, titled "Sonic Armageddon". Four pieces of concept art were produced, and even a homemade pitch video was made to show to Sega executives. From what is known about the pitch (which seemed to borrow elements from both the 1993 series and the Archie comics), it would have involved the planet Mobius being destroyed and changed the depiction of the roboticization procedure to something much more gruesome than what had been previously seen. Notably, several major characters (such as the Freedom Fighters sans Sonic, Tails and Sally) are not shown in either the pitch video or the concept art, and the characters that are shown are given major redesigns. A common belief is that DreamWorks Animation was Penders' choice to produce the film, but Penders would later state in 2019 that he had pitched the idea to Sega only, and that DreamWorks had no involvement. The film never materialized; Penders would later claim on separate occasions that the idea was dropped because of "massive corporate upheaval", as well as the development of the animated series "Sonic X" affecting talks regarding the film.
Attempted pitch:
https://web.archive.org/web/20201111200242/http://www.sonicsatam.com/information/the-lost-3rd-season/
Hurst's dismissal:
https://web.archive.org/web/20201113070038/https://www.saturdaymorningsonic.com/features/ben_hurst/
Penders on Sonic Armageddon:
https://web.archive.org/web/20201213205554/https://twitter.com/kenpenders/status/1105647131438673920
Penders on the attempted pitch controversy:
https://kenpenders.com/sonic-armageddon-or-what-a-long-strange-journey-its-been/
Pitch video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNteN_qlHp0
https://web.archive.org/web/20201111200242/http://www.sonicsatam.com/information/the-lost-3rd-season/
Hurst's dismissal:
https://web.archive.org/web/20201113070038/https://www.saturdaymorningsonic.com/features/ben_hurst/
Penders on Sonic Armageddon:
https://web.archive.org/web/20201213205554/https://twitter.com/kenpenders/status/1105647131438673920
Penders on the attempted pitch controversy:
https://kenpenders.com/sonic-armageddon-or-what-a-long-strange-journey-its-been/
Pitch video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNteN_qlHp0
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X was originally pitched under the name Eclipse and was developed under the title Lunar Chase. The single-letter rename came at the request of Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who contacted director Yoshio Sakamoto early in the morning after playing the game.
The Lunar Chase name was retained for a planned English localization of the game, which was ultimately scrapped due to fears from Nintendo of America that international players would find the game's presentation and design too complex for a handheld title. Creator and programmer Dylan Cuthbert additionally blamed the cancellation on a presumed lack of interest from retailers in the United States. A prototype of the English version would eventually surface in 2020 as part of the Gigaleak, a massive leak of internal server data from Nintendo. The Eclipse pitch, meanwhile, was released to the public by the Video Game History foundation three years later.
The Lunar Chase name was retained for a planned English localization of the game, which was ultimately scrapped due to fears from Nintendo of America that international players would find the game's presentation and design too complex for a handheld title. Creator and programmer Dylan Cuthbert additionally blamed the cancellation on a presumed lack of interest from retailers in the United States. A prototype of the English version would eventually surface in 2020 as part of the Gigaleak, a massive leak of internal server data from Nintendo. The Eclipse pitch, meanwhile, was released to the public by the Video Game History foundation three years later.
Video Game History foundation article:
https://gamehistory.org/eclipse-the-demo-that-sold-3d-to-nintendo/
US Gamer article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190210151024/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/dylan-cuthbert-star-fox-game-boy-hacking-feature-interview
ArsTechnica article:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/10/exclusive-legendary-star-fox-coder-on-series-history-surprise-sequel-launch/
The Cutting Room Floor article:
https://tcrf.net/Proto:X/Lunar_Chase
https://gamehistory.org/eclipse-the-demo-that-sold-3d-to-nintendo/
US Gamer article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190210151024/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/dylan-cuthbert-star-fox-game-boy-hacking-feature-interview
ArsTechnica article:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/10/exclusive-legendary-star-fox-coder-on-series-history-surprise-sequel-launch/
The Cutting Room Floor article:
https://tcrf.net/Proto:X/Lunar_Chase
Company: Next Level Games
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During 2004, Next Level Games was working on a game based on the WWE franchise called "WWE Titans: Parts Unknown". Planned to release on the Playstation 2 and Xbox as a 1-vs-1 fighter, the game was planned to have a radically different direction from past WWE titles, featuring a new art style that focused on exaggerated character designs and cinematic locales. Settings for the game included urban environments (i.e. rooftops in a city) and an old castle located in the snowy wilderness. Additionally, one stage concept was labelled "Cena Stage", likely in reference to wrestler John Cena. This suggests that some individual wrestlers would have received arena dedicated to them.
While the game would have featured several established wrestlers, Next Level also considered adding original cast members made specifically for the game. One piece of artwork for the game shows that there were plans for anthropomorphic characters (such as crocodiles and bears) and sorcerers. Not much is known about the gameplay, though art for the game suggests that destructible environments were intended to be a key focus. For unknown reasons, the pitch was rejected by the game's publisher, THQ.
While the game would have featured several established wrestlers, Next Level also considered adding original cast members made specifically for the game. One piece of artwork for the game shows that there were plans for anthropomorphic characters (such as crocodiles and bears) and sorcerers. Not much is known about the gameplay, though art for the game suggests that destructible environments were intended to be a key focus. For unknown reasons, the pitch was rejected by the game's publisher, THQ.
Franchise: Killer Instinct
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On the 19th of February 2024, designer Kevin Baylis revealed a pitch he made for Killer Instinct 3 for the Nintendo 64. It was meant to be a prequel featuring younger versions of the characters, where players could hone the characters' moves, then gaining more before moving on to "the next chapters of their lives". The game didn't make past the concept phase because the people at Rare thought that "the fighting game ‘fad’ was over".
Company: Next Level Games
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Next Level Games once had a project pitch for an action game called "Catalyst" that would have been released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As the game was never officially announced, not much is known about it other than what is seen in the pitch video, which involves an unidentified man attacking a group of soldiers using a device called the "Catalyst" after they had betrayed him and kidnapped his daughter. The game was never released, likely due to not being able to find a publisher.
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In 2021, a 15-second clip of beta animations for the game dating back to 2006-2007 was discovered on the website of animator Michael Daubert, a former employee of the outsourcing studio The Animation Farm who produced animations for an internal pitch of an early iteration of the game. These tests showcase a completely different art style from the final game and unused gameplay elements, with Mickey shooting ink out of his body to quickly surf around, and jumping and slamming the ground to summon a tidal wave of ink to attack large Blotling enemies. This tidal wave attack also causes Mickey to lose all of his colors, turn white and become exhausted, suggesting that the known early idea of ink/paint/thinner usage changing his physical appearance was going to involve a stamina meter tied to his attacks. Mickey's early design was more stylized compared to his traditional appearance in the final game, featuring a prominently tall forehead, a lanky, stretched body, no visible mouth, and crooked oval ears. This early design would live on through an emblem used in promotional materials and as a recurring icon throughout the final game, with the inky black outline of the early design's head forming an "M".
In 2024, an extended pitch trailer for this version of the game using some of the same animation footage was posted online by Thomas Heimann, another former employee of The Animation Farm. The pitch for this version of the game proposed a 2008 release date and outlined possible gameplay mechanics, an early version of the story, and early character designs for Mickey, the Phantom Blot, and the Blotlings. A model sheet for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit with character designs dating back to his initial usage in the 1920s-30s was also teased during the trailer, but he does not appear in it.
In 2024, an extended pitch trailer for this version of the game using some of the same animation footage was posted online by Thomas Heimann, another former employee of The Animation Farm. The pitch for this version of the game proposed a 2008 release date and outlined possible gameplay mechanics, an early version of the story, and early character designs for Mickey, the Phantom Blot, and the Blotlings. A model sheet for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit with character designs dating back to his initial usage in the 1920s-30s was also teased during the trailer, but he does not appear in it.
Early animation snippet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hVrTVt0d-o
Extended pitch trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkc2cPIeSx4
https://www.deviantart.com/thomasheimann/art/EpicMickey-Pitch-1012295768
Final game's title screen with emblem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkvCZYpFU6Y?t=258
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hVrTVt0d-o
Extended pitch trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkc2cPIeSx4
https://www.deviantart.com/thomasheimann/art/EpicMickey-Pitch-1012295768
Final game's title screen with emblem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkvCZYpFU6Y?t=258
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One of the developers of Yo! Noid 2 also worked on STRAFE, a game featuring Totino's product placement. Through these food industry connections, said developer managed to contact Domino's Pizza and almost pitched the idea of having some kind of official collaboration. The developers ultimately did not go forward with, as the game's developers didn't feel they had enough energy to go through the hassle of making a pitch document. Despite the pitch not being made, the developers did compile a video of streamers talking about how the game made them hungry for Domino's for the purpose of the pitch.
subdirectory_arrow_right Next Level Games (Company)
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In 2011, Next Level Games began work on a game called "Clockwerk", that never made it to the prototype stage before its cancellation. The game was about a pair of elderly Hausmeisters named Otto and Herman, who take care of "The World Clock", a magical clock tower that governs the flow of time throughout the universe. On the day before their retirement, however, a group of gremlins attack and dismantle the clock tower's innards, forcing the grumpy pair to defeat the invaders and fix the inner workings before they can finally retire. Supposedly, it was pitched to multiple companies (including Sega and Nintendo), but was ultimately cancelled when the company they had partnered with felt that the gameplay was too similar to another game they were publishing.
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In June of 2020, an uncredited animator who worked on the game named Dennis Opel posted various development clips on his Twitter page. These clips were for a pitch to rework the game's combat system, which he worked on in the sidelines while the game was still in development. Some of his ideas included incorporating dodging and counter attacks; certain moves the player could perform being affected by the enemy's actions, stats, and distance from the player; etc. In the end, this pitch was never submitted to Rockstar.
Development footage posted by Dennis Opel:
https://twitter.com/Dennis__Opel/status/1269049405929213952
https://twitter.com/Dennis__Opel/status/1270047686964609025
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1270168960550354944
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1270890948843540480
https://twitter.com/Dennis__Opel/status/1271586105066811394
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1273766609375465474
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1274129565074382848
The Cutting Room Floor mirror:
https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Bully_(PlayStation_2)#Dennis_Opel
https://twitter.com/Dennis__Opel/status/1269049405929213952
https://twitter.com/Dennis__Opel/status/1270047686964609025
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1270168960550354944
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1270890948843540480
https://twitter.com/Dennis__Opel/status/1271586105066811394
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1273766609375465474
https://twitter.com/DennisCraftshop/status/1274129565074382848
The Cutting Room Floor mirror:
https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Bully_(PlayStation_2)#Dennis_Opel
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The story section of Sonic Underground's manual has numerous inconsistencies with the plot of the show it's based on, though are still featured in early production documents. These include:
• Robotnik at one point being referred to as "Sheriff Robotnik", likely a reference to the Sheriff of Nottingham from the legend of Robin Hood. He does not bare this title in the show itself; early leaks to the show's plot prior to release also reference his role as a sheriff, suggesting it was a scrapped concept from early on in development.
• The Oracle of Delphius being banished to the Frozen Wastes by Robotnik and passing away from unknown causes sometime after, telling Sonic how to reunite with his siblings in his dying breath. While the Oracle does take up residence in Ice Cap in the final show, he was not banished there, nor does he ever die.
• The Medallions being stated to be golden, but in the final show they bare a more silver coloration. Another detail stated in the manual but not in the final show is that they each possess three notes engraved into them.
• Robotnik's given motive for finding Queen Aleena is so that he can marry her and make her his consort, as he believes that by doing so he can become the rightful ruler of Mobius. While not his overall motive in the final show, the episode "Wedding Bell Blues" did use a similar premise for its plot.
• While not in early production documents, the game's manual states that it ends with Sonic, Manic and Sonia reuniting with their mother, which never actually happened in the original show, making it the only piece of Sonic Underground-related media where this goal is actually accomplished.
• Robotnik at one point being referred to as "Sheriff Robotnik", likely a reference to the Sheriff of Nottingham from the legend of Robin Hood. He does not bare this title in the show itself; early leaks to the show's plot prior to release also reference his role as a sheriff, suggesting it was a scrapped concept from early on in development.
• The Oracle of Delphius being banished to the Frozen Wastes by Robotnik and passing away from unknown causes sometime after, telling Sonic how to reunite with his siblings in his dying breath. While the Oracle does take up residence in Ice Cap in the final show, he was not banished there, nor does he ever die.
• The Medallions being stated to be golden, but in the final show they bare a more silver coloration. Another detail stated in the manual but not in the final show is that they each possess three notes engraved into them.
• Robotnik's given motive for finding Queen Aleena is so that he can marry her and make her his consort, as he believes that by doing so he can become the rightful ruler of Mobius. While not his overall motive in the final show, the episode "Wedding Bell Blues" did use a similar premise for its plot.
• While not in early production documents, the game's manual states that it ends with Sonic, Manic and Sonia reuniting with their mother, which never actually happened in the original show, making it the only piece of Sonic Underground-related media where this goal is actually accomplished.
Full details:
https://twitter.com/SatamHistorian/status/1538585617600335872
Sheriff Robotnik origin:
http://www.tesp.co.uk/TESP/main.php?FrameURL=Articals/Reports/RoadSU.htm
"Wedding Bell Blues" - Sonic Underground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Hr-chOCtI
Wiki page with game manual scans:
https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Underground_(LCD_game)/Manuals
https://twitter.com/SatamHistorian/status/1538585617600335872
Sheriff Robotnik origin:
http://www.tesp.co.uk/TESP/main.php?FrameURL=Articals/Reports/RoadSU.htm
"Wedding Bell Blues" - Sonic Underground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Hr-chOCtI
Wiki page with game manual scans:
https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_Underground_(LCD_game)/Manuals
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A well-known claim relating to Bug! is that legendary film director Steven Spielberg endorsed the game as "the character that is going to do it for [the Sega] Saturn." This claim is somewhat dubious however, as both the 2009 IGN article the quote was popularized by and the internal pitch video for the game's sequel that the quote originated from cite the origin as being from his visit to the 1995 Consumer Electronics Show, which was in January, 5 months before Bug! would be revealed to the public at E3. Bug! creator David Warhol has stated that he was not there to actually see Spielberg approve of the game, but did know that he approved of the game.
Twitter thread researching quote history:
https://twitter.com/PandaMoniumGR/status/1637489008950362117
IGN article the quote originated from:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/02/02/what-hath-sonic-wrought-vol-10
GameFan magazine Volume #3, Issue #7 (Page 52):
https://retrocdn.net/images/d/db/GameFan_US_0307.pdf
https://twitter.com/PandaMoniumGR/status/1637489008950362117
IGN article the quote originated from:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/02/02/what-hath-sonic-wrought-vol-10
GameFan magazine Volume #3, Issue #7 (Page 52):
https://retrocdn.net/images/d/db/GameFan_US_0307.pdf
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