Long-lost footage of an Xbox-exclusive seahorse jousting game has recently been unearthed, providing a fascinating look at what could have been released at the genesis of Microsoft’s first gaming console. In 2001, the original Xbox launched and redefined several aspects of console gaming, introducing a built-in ethernet port for internet access. Xbox also pioneered several now-iconic franchises like Halo and remains one of the biggest names in the video game industry.
One of the game developers that was well renowned at the time of the original Xbox console was Totally Games, a largely PC-centric studio known for classic Star Wars titles like 1994’s Star Wars: TIE Fighter and its many follow-ups - which themselves have recently gotten a spiritual successor in the form of Motive Studios’ Star Wars: Squadrons. However, in the early 2000s, Totally Games worked with Microsoft to bring flight simulation gameplay to the Xbox with a title that would ultimately never see the light of day.
Earlier this week, Axios uncovered a trailer for Knights of Decayden, an unreleased first-party Xbox game once in development by Totally Games. According to writer Stephen Totilo, Totally Games founder Larry Holland shared this footage, which was later posted on Totilo’s YouTube channel (via GamesRadar). As this trailer shows, Knights of Decayden (or Archipelago, as it was also called), put players in control of a warrior named Davro, who would be tasked with defending the “Kestrel Clan” by riding what appeared to be a flying seahorse across a wide range of environments in the fantasy world of "Alhanna" - including vast oceans and erupting volcanos. Armed with an energy-firing lance weapon, players would challenge enemies to joust-like battles both in the air and underwater, launch fish as makeshift projectiles, and discover the secrets of a lost race.
Totally Games originally pitched Knights of Decayden to Sony as a PlayStation 2 title in 2000 under the working title of Knights of Utu, though it would later be picked up by Microsoft with plans to release it as an Xbox exclusive sometime around the system’s launch in 2001. However, the project would ultimately be scrapped in early 2002, with Microsoft reportedly wanting to focus its efforts on titles that would better compete with Sony and Nintendo - such as 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved. When asked about Knights of Decayden, Totally Games founder Larry Holland remembers the game as being “incredibly ambitious and sort of foolish in equal measures,” with his studio being put under a massive time crunch to get Knights of Decayden finished in time for its deadline - a trend that sadly continues to be prevalent at studios like Cyberpunk 2077’s CD Projekt Red.
The combination of this unstable work environment and Microsoft’s diminishing interest in Knights of Decayden ultimately led to the project’s cancellation, but its early gameplay trailer remains an interesting look into earlier game development. There is no telling how a completed version of Knights of Decayden would have fared at the dawn of the original Xbox, but it’s interesting to think of Microsoft having another major flagship franchise for its still-prevalent Xbox brand if the project had been successful.
Source: Stephen Totilo/YouTube (via Axios), GamesRadar
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/JdbNYn1
No comments:
Post a Comment