In 2003, a coming-to-stage Saudi Arabian studio known as D-Max Digital Design was working on an interesting RPG heavily inspired by many Japanese games you’ve already played. The game was titled Journey to the Moon, initially planned to release on PC in 2005 or so. While the developer managed to create a prototype with promising plans to release a demo in that period, it didn’t happen. The reason for the cancellation of this game remains unknown, but it is possible that the developer couldn’t find a publisher willing to market and fund this game. It goes to show you, once again, that making games in the Middle East is next to impossible. What remains are a couple of concept artworks of what could have been:
Kill. Switch is a third-person shooter developed by Namco Hometek and published by Namco in 2003 for PC, Xbox, PS2, and the Game Boy Advance. The game revolutionised the TPS genre by introducing several groundbreaking concepts that ultimately influenced high-profile titles like Uncharted, Gears of War, and Rainbow Six: Vegas.
Despite its influence, Kill . Switch sadly didn’t receive any nominations or awards. However, its legacy is deeply embedded in the DNA of modern third-person shooters.
Before its release, the game underwent several changes, as seen in E3 and beta footage. One striking difference is the HUD, which was originally green instead of blue. In another clip, Nick Bishop—the game’s protagonist—had a different running animation. Additionally, early concept art reveals plans for a female lead character, though this idea was ultimately scrapped.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about Kill. Switch’s pre-release development beyond E3 and demo footage, as well as a few bits of trivia. Fun fact: Kill. Switch had two follow-ups in development. One was titled The Adversary, and the other The Displacement City Under Siege. Unfortunately, the projects were cancelled around 2005 and never came to fruition.
Concept Images:
Early Nick Bishop design
Possible cut female character
Note: Thanks to writer and producer Alvin Muolic. The character concept art sketches were made by artist Christian Gossett (the man behind The Red Star himself!)
Beta Images
Kill.Switch early look from pre 2002 build
early beta build of the game
Image of what appears to be early alpha of the game
Image of early Archer
The HUDs
HUD 1
HUD 2
HUD 3
HUD 4 (Final)
Credit: Evan Hanley, Jabler
Videos:
Differences:
HUD was changed twice (first it was green, then soft blue with lines)
Different running animation for Nick Bishop in early builds
Different attack
Guards don’t warn others when you throw a flash bomb at them
Different pointer HUD (changed twice)
More enemies in certain areas than in the final release
The enemy AI is tougher
The AI movement is often unpredictable
A sandstorm effect is present here, which was removed from the final release. Visibility is also difficult in the early builds (sandstorm area only).
Entirely different main menu
Different tutorial
Different objects in several environments
This video documents the early codename, various settings the developer experimented with and more
A documentary about the inception of Kill. Switch and the cancelled sequel
Project Flame was a cancelled 2D run-and-gun game that began development in 2008, originally conceived as a Flash-based title with plans to expand onto PC, iOS, Android, and even consoles (Xbox 360 Arcade). Spearheaded by a Syrian developer based in the UAE alongside a small team of artists and programmers, the project reached a playable demo stage that showcased a couple of levels.
Unfortunately, by 2010, internal disagreements and funding issues led to the team’s dissolution and the eventual cancellation of the game. To preserve its existence, the developer later uploaded the demo to their Behance page, allowing others to experience a glimpse of what Project Flame could have been.
Credit: Huge thanks to TunisianRetroGamer for the discovery
Before it became known as Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, the game was originally titled ESPionage. In its early beta builds, it looked and played quite differently from the version that eventually hit the store. This was largely because Midway began showcasing the game while it was still in its alpha phase.
The game was indeed shown at E3 2003, where it was featured under the ESPionage codename. Thanks to footage and media from that event, we can catch a few rare glimpses of what the game looked like during its early development.
While the game was officially scheduled to release on the GameCube, that port was eventually cancelled.
Severance: Blade of Darkness (or Blade: Edge of Darkness in Europe) was a brutal and atmospheric hack-and-slash released for PC back in 2001 by the now-defunct Rebel Act Studios. Years later, it got a remastered release on modern platforms, giving it a second life with old fans and curious newcomers alike.
While digging around the internet, I came across an old concept sketch that hinted at a possible sequel. It was originally posted on MercurySteam’s Facebook page but has since been deleted — and there’s almost no info about it anywhere else. Still, it seems like a follow-up was at least being explored at some point.
There’s not much else to go on right now, but if you happen to know anything about this lost project — or have more artwork or details stashed away — feel free to reach out. It would be great to uncover more about what could’ve been.
Internal Affairs was an action-driving-based game in development by Attention to Detail in 2000. Internal Affairs was designed as a 12-mission character-based driving and action game, and would have been extended with downloadable monthly episodes via broadband. Each episode would reveal a new area of Phoenix City Island and a new part of the plot, which initially concerned tracking down a group of terrorists.
Internal Affairs was self-funded entirely by the folks at Attention to Detail. While working on the game, they had a tight timeframe to quickly find a publisher to secure the game’s future. Unfortunately, two attempts to secure a publisher fell through, and Internal Affairs continued to rely on self-funding until it was deemed not commercially viable to proceed with the project. In the end, the game was cancelled. Chris Gibbs, who was involved with Internal Affairs, shared the following:
“We had two successive publishing opportunities,” recalls Chris Gibbs, ATD’s managing director. “One fell through due to the publisher folding, the next when the subsequent publisher was acquired.”
Without publisher support and with the broadband part of the game in doubt due to the slow penetration of services, ATD couldn’t wait any longer to secure a third deal, and took a paying commission instead.
Urban Chaos is a fun 3D open-world beat’em up developed by Mucky Foot Productions and released by Eidos Interactive on the PlayStation, PC and the Sega Dreamcast. Although it wasn’t originally scheduled to appear at the E3 1998 show, Eidos was so impressed with a demo they saw a few days before the show that they eventually decided to show it off to the press. Many images from E3 1998 are unfortunately lost to time, but I did manage to preserve a few that I came across in magazines. Who knows, maybe there’s more out there.
The difference between the E3 1998 demo and the final release is interesting:
Stolen is an obscure stealth game developed by Blue52 and published by Hip Games. The game was originally intended as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, but Sony abandoned the project. Blue52 eventually found a publisher, and the game was released in 2005 for the PS2, Xbox and PC.
Before the game’s release, it went through several changes, which I’ll demonstrate below. From the build dated April 5th,2004, we can observe the following differences:
Different HUD (HP, Map, Visibility Meter)
Different Gadget Icon
Whereas in the July 26, 2004 build, the only differences I noticed are the following:
Different HUD (closer to the final release layout)
Different suspicion music (it sounds like a soft version of the final release)
However, in the early build that probably dates to late 2003, we can notice MORE differences in this build. Please check out the video attached below.
Different running animation for Anya
Different wall run animation
Different icons for the mini games
Different HUD, gadget icons
Different movesets
Different walking animation for the guards
Different protection systems (if you pass by some machines, you’ll get zapped)
Unseen intro cutscene (?)
Different theme for the game ” Infiltrate. Neutralise. Vanish“. The final game is “Infiltrate. Steal. Vanish“.
April 2004 Build
July 2004 Build
2003 Build (maybe)
Early Concept Artwork
Anya Romanov, the game’s protagonist, went through several iterations along with Breeze, the game’s main villain. Below, we can observe some of the early sketches:
Early look of Breeze
Early look of Breeze
Old look
New look
Videos
Fan-documentary containing insight from Jaid Mindang and Rudolf Kremers.
This trailer of the game is important to note because it shows the following:
Different HUD (similar to the July 2004 build)
A special take-down technique by Anya that isn’t present in the final game
On July the 20th 2005, Tecmo once unveiled a lineup of their upcoming games. Among these games was Bastard!! Online, an MMORPG based on the Bastard!! manga by Kazushi Hagiwara. According to various media outlets, the game was initially slated to be released exclusively on PC in Asian territories.
When rumours began to circulate that the game was cancelled, GameKult.com uploaded an article featuring many images and other minuscule details. From the site, we can read:
The project Bastard !! Online is not aborted, as evidenced by the first real images of the game, released two years after the development was announced. For those who are still wondering, it will indeed be an MMORPG adaptation of the famous manga by Kazushi Hagiwara, plunging players into the chaos of Meta-Licana. PvP oriented, the game will offer allegiance to one of the competing factions, at the command of generals Nei, Gara, Karsu or by joining the camp of the oppressed led by Princess Shira. It remains to be seen whether the universe heroic fantasy, the game system and the presence of the charismatic Dark Schneider will prove convincing enough to captivate the Japanese public. The launch of the game is still planned for 2007 in the land of the Rising Sun.
Despite plans for a 2007 release, Bastard!! Online was never launched. However, in 2008, Gamekult.com published another article titled “Bastard!! Online Lives Again.” The article revealed that the developers had spent an additional year enhancing the graphics to make the game much more visually appealing than what was previously shown. The website provided the following details:
Announced almost four years ago, the project Bastard !! Online is still relevant. As immortal as Dark Schneider, this impossible MMORPG is reborn from its ashes through these new images, enhanced with a trailer extra. Don’t laugh, the developers were particularly keen to highlight the efforts made on the graphics part of the game in a recent interview. For the rest, we know that this MMO based on the work of Kazushi Hagiwara will require allegiance to one of the game’s factions, commanded by the highly charismatic characters Nei, Gara and the others. The game is now scheduled to go live in 2009, at least until further notice..
Years have passed, and Bastard!! Online was never released. Ultimately, the game was cancelled on December 18, 2009 as Tecmo concluded that the development time required, coupled with their market forecasts, made continuing the project unfeasible. What remains of the game are a few screenshots and trailers.
After the tragic cancellation of Kojima Productions’ Silent Hills, many were taken aback by the sudden announcement. The concept felt new and fresh. Horror enthusiasts were ready to savour it as soon as it launched, but in the end, it didn’t. Only a playable teaser was made and a couple of trailers here and there.
The community wasn’t content to let go of the idea of a first-person Silent Hill iteration. Thus, a fan-made spiritual successor in the name of Alison Road was born. Developed by Lilith Ltd, Alison Road was originally shown as a tech demo on July 1st, 2015 via YouTube. After the positive reception from the audience, development began shortly after. To help fund the project, Lilith Ltd launched a Kickstarter campaign around September 2015. The goal was to reach its $322,974 target before the October 21st deadline. While the Kickstarter campaign did receive funds from 4482 backers, earning Lilith over $188,564, the Kickstarter campaign was later cancelled on October 12, 2015. Just a few days before the original deadline.
The campaign was cancelled after Lilith Ltd signed a deal with Team17 to publish the game. At this point, with Lilith Ltd having the support of a publisher, things were proceeding smoothly, and a release for the quarter of 2016 was on the cards. However, on June 4th, 2016, the game’s development came to an ultimate halt when Alison Road’s official Twitter account announced the news.
Shortly after the game’s cancellation, Lilith wrote this statement on Facebook:
After a long consideration between Team17 and ourselves, we have reached a mutual agreement to end our collaboration on publishing Allison Road under Team17’s Games label. Sometime things pan out differently than expected as game development and publishing have so many layers of complexity… We’d like to especially thank everyone for their support through-out, it has and will always be appreciated!
Then Team17 followed with another statement after speaking to VG24/7:
After a long consideration between Lilith owner Chris Kesler and ourselves, we have reached a mutual agreement to end our collaboration on publishing Allison Road under Team17’s Games label. We love the concept and value Chris’ talent highly, but sometime things pan out differently than expected as game development and publishing have so many layers of complexity. The whole team here wish all the best to Chris on his current and future projects for which, before being a business partner, we are also a fan.
Neither Lilith Ltd nor Team 17 explained the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the game. However, on 22 August 2016, the game’s creator Christian Kesler, told IGN that he would resume development on the game, alone. This time around, Lilith Ltd was disbanded and development would be transitioned to the auspices of Far From Home, a new studio he had co-founded with his wife.
At this point, there was still a glimmer of hope that Alison Road would come to fruition. However, that hope was shattered when no new announcements about the project were forthcoming. Eventually, both the Facebook and Twitter accounts of Alison Road were silently shut down around September 2019. Time has passed, and Alison Road was forgotten. The game now lives in the spirit of Supernormal, a spiritual successor to Alison Road.
![Allison Road [Cancelled – PC/PS4/Xbox One]](https://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cb101-alison-road-693378917.jpg)
