Beta + Cancelled Survival Horror Video Games - Page 10 of 20

Sadness is a cancelled horror game that was in development by Polish video game developer Nibris for the Wii. Frontline Studios had previously signed a deal to co-produce Sadness. However, as of March 17 2007, the companies parted ways due to “artistic differences”. Set in pre-WWI Eastern Europe, Sadness would have followed the story of Maria, a Victorian era aristocrat who has to protect her blind son Alexander after their train derails in the countryside. Their subsequent adventures were based on Slavic legends. [Info from Wikipedia]

After years of development issues, in February 2010 Sadness’ website was closed and the game was officially cancelled, probably because they never found a publisher interested in the project.

Some music tracks created for the game were leaked online, as we can read on Polish Music Blog:

Polish game music blog Gramuzyka has come into possession of thirteen unreleased tracks by composer Arkadiusz Reikowski from Sadness , proving there was actual work done on the game. It seems this music was to be included in a demo version of the game that never saw the light of day.

Some more details were translated by Olga from different Polish sources, such as Gry Online, My Nintendo & Gram:

– Started as a wii game, but the development moved to wiiU after Nibris was disbanned in 2010. It was picked up by two american development teams, HullBreach Studios and Cthulhi Games, who had „some part in making the original”. They wanted to keep the game close to the original vision, but the work was practically started from scratch, changing a lot of technical aspects.
– Maria’s (the protagonist) full name was Maria Lengyel
– The train derailment takes place „somewhere in eastern Europe”, but another source states it was specifically Ukraine.
– Aleks wasn’t blind from the start; he lost his eyesight in the derailment, which also caused him to suffer from narcolepsy, schizofrenia and nyktophobia (fear of darkness).
– Aleks’ behavior was supposed to get more and more unsettling as the game progresses
– The game’s visual style is described as „gothic” and „lacking in color”, using only shades of gray.
– Actual fights with monsters were rare; instead, the player would have to use stealth, exploration and „other actions” that would help in the protagonist’s survival.
– Wii version was 3D and made on the gamebryo engine, while the WiiU version was made in 2D on the unity engine.
– The WiiU version put greater Focus on puzzles and „RPG-esque elements”
– Maria Lengyel was a polish-hungarian aristocrat
– Maria was supposed to lose conciousnes after the derailment. When she wakes up, she sees men dressed in black killing off the other survivors. Her husband and two other children are dead, her third child, Aleksander, is missing. Grieving Maria goes to find her son.
– Apparently, there were multiple plot synopsises: One is the above one, the second one has Aleks losing his sight, and the third one stated that Aleks was Maria’s brother, not son.
– Frontline Studios based in Bydgoszcz was allegedly to co-produce the game
– Nibris apparently didn’t have a publisher chosen
– FOG studios from Kraków was responsible for marketing.
– Game was planned for the end of 2007, but was pushed to 2009. There were periodic updates about the development going well.
– The game was allegedly supposed to be featured on E3 2009
– After removal of the site, a part of the team started Bloober Team, while the rest of the team is coordinating the European Game Center (Europejskie centrum gier) in Kraków
– The train at the start was heading to Lvow
– Some sources say the game took place before WWI, but this source says it takes place during it.
– Everything was done with the wii remote, forsaking menus for a seamless experience
– There was a rumor that the music was to be composed by Piotr Rubik, a fameous polish composer.
– Aleksander was eight years old
– Cutscenes were planned, but its unclear if they were made on the game engine.
– NPCs that the player could talk to were planned.
– Eight endings were planned, each one with a different message. Player’s actions were judged, the most important were ones concerning Aleks, how the player treated him and took care of his physical and mental well-being.

Thanks to Unvaluablespace, Userdante, Andrew, Olga and Anonymous for the contributions!

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Microsoft, Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony, Xbox

Campfire [PS2/XBOX – Cancelled]

monokoma

15-04-2010

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Campfire: Become Your Nightmare is a cancelled “reverse survival horror” that was in development in 2003 by Daydream Software, for the original Xbox and Playstation 2. The project was going to be an open ended action game, in which the player would had take the role of a serial killer, to massacre tourists and youngsters during their holydays in the woods. As we can read in the official press release:

What if you were the hunter instead of the hunted? What if your sole purpose in life was to cause misery, death, and pain to anyone and anything you encountered? Now you have your chance. So begins Daydream Software’s brutal “reverse survival horror” game, Campfire. Based on contemporary slasher flicks, Campfire allows players to choose from four different serial killers (Vincent Voucher, Mac Douglas, Louis Winterstorm, and Mannie the Clown) so that they may use them to wreck havoc on the unsuspecting populace of an out of the way campground.

Campfire vanished without any official announcement, but it’s possible that Daydream never found a publisher interested in the project.

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GameCube, Nintendo

Resident Evil Zero 0 [GC – Beta]

yota

26-02-2010

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Resident Evil 0 is the prequel of the first Resident Evil. It was originally developed by Capcom for the Nintendo 64, but at the end it was ported and released on the Gamecube. In October 2009, Tyrant of resident-evil-beta.de discovered many beta backgrounds and some removed items in the trial disc of the game.

Also, Trebla Yevrah noticed other unused items in the japanese trial version:

If one has the proper tools available, they can view many unused and early versions of items in the Japanese demo of Resident Evil 0. Using GCNrd, I modified the item slots and browsed through the values. As one would expect, most of the items that can be uncovered cannot be obtained ordinarily in the demo, but the majority of them are found in the finished product.
An unused hand grenade is present in both the trial and the final version of RE0. I was curious to see the state of this item in this early version of the game, but although the model and icon are still present, it cannot be equipped (like the released game). Actually, almost all weapons are unusable in the trial if you hack them into your inventory. The only ones operational are the handguns, knife, and hunting gun. The only exception, or at least, the only other equip that won’t freeze the game, is the shotgun. Your characters can hold it, but the weapon model itself is unfinished with no textures to speak of, and it cannot be fired.
Almost every item that can be examined has a slightly different texture when compared to the final game. One prime example is the key card used to operate the brakes on the train. I have tried using some of the key items in their proper place on the train, but they either don’t work, or freeze the game. For example, the hook shot can’t be used in the window that normally leads to the roof.

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Microsoft, Playstation 3 (PS3), Sony, Xbox 360

The Crucible: Evil Within (The Box/The Ritualyst) [Cancelled – PS3/Xbox 360]

U64 Staff & Contributors

01-12-2009

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The Crucible: Evil Within, AKA “The Box” or “The Ritualyst” originally was a Silicon Knights-developed (developer of Eternal Darkness and Too Human) open-world horror pitch for PS3 started in 2004, which was accepted for full production by Sega in March 2005.

“Silicon Knights has a rich history of developing great games that push hardware technology, so we expect this relationship will result in a powerful, new, and highly commercial franchise.”
Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America

In 2006, Sega revealed some game details in an online survey. Until then, the game was internally known as “The Box”. The survey however led to “The Crucible: Evil Within”. Later, however, it was renamed to “The Ritualist” instead.

“An open free-roaming action horror game where the player undertakes a terrorizing journey of suspense, fear, power and discovery, and where every decision has multiple consequences… Uncover an ancient chest with unimaginable power that seduces you into evil, sin and corruption.”

Court documents from Silicon Knights’ legal battle with Epic Games reveal that The Box was initially planned to be finished by February 27th, 2007. It was later amended to extend the delivery date to November 4th, 2008. In August 2008, Sega decided to cancel various external projects, including Aliens RPG: Crucible, Aliens: Colonial Marines (later restarted), Cipher Complex, and The Box. However, Silicon Knights was able to find a new publisher with THQ, which also dropped the project in early 2009. As a kind of compensation, team members of The Box were asked to help on Vigil Games’/THQ’s Darksiders.

Thanks to Daniel Nicaise for the contribution!

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Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Silent Hill 2 [PS2 – Beta]

yota

28-11-2009

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Silent Hill 2 is the second installment in the Silent Hill survival horror series. The game was released in late 2001 on Sony PlayStation 2 and was ported to the Microsoft Xbox later that year and PC the following year. The original European edition also included a second disc: a “Making-of” DVD video featuring beta trailers, an artwork gallery and a documentary on the title’s development. [Info from Wikipedia]

For more info about the beta differences in these early screens and videos, read the full article: Silent Hill 2 Beta Analysis! A beta version of the game is in the hand of some collectors and as we can read at Letter from Silent Heaven, it has some nice differences:

The sign says “WELLCOM!” (instead of its later version, “WELCOME!”).
The background on the cutscenes where you talk with Angela at the cemetery received an update. It appears the depth-of-fog was increased for the final build.
A first aid kit was once found on the lobby floor of the apartments.
At one time, the “hit” sound effects for both the Lying Figure and Mannequin were the same but later changed so each would have their own unique cries of pain.
Even the famous “Pyramid Head and James in closet” cutscene has seen a few changes. The sound effect revolving around Pyramid Head was revised. Also note the second mannequin’s legs are visible in the kitchen in the early build.

Some more info about the beta cuts from the Silent Hill 2 beta were shared thanks to an anonymous developer that worked on the game:

MARIA DEATH BETA:
In the very early prototype, instead of Maria die at the hospital, she was to die at the Prison. The part where james jumps down the hole in the prison into the hole with no door, Maria was to be impaled on a spike, but removed that scene because we thought it not fit Lore.
EDDIE BETA SCENE:
In the early prototype, we have very different eddie scene in apartment. James was to walk into apartment and witness eddie murder a man, then drag body to fridge and beat body while the man screaming until death. After, Eddie runs into bathroom and pukes, and james then meets for first time eddie.
Additionally, we had other scenes written in early script but got removed in re write. 3 Scenes remember:
1. A scene was written for James to enter Silent Hill in car. He was to pass through another town and stop at gas station to ask for direction. This scene was later remade for the Silent Hill 2006 movie.
2. Angela had other cutscene cut which was her being found in hospital. She was in script to be found in the second floor hallway and attack james but stop when she sees its him.
3. Final scene is a cut ending. Another ending was show epilogue for “leave” end. If leave end gets, James was to adopt Laura and bury Mary.

Thanks to Il’ya P, Megalol and silverpen for the contributions!

Some more interesting differences can be found hidden in the game’s code, as some unused weapons found by DeepGameResearch:

Most weapons differ from their final counter parts:

Pistol= Pretty close to final.
Wooden plank= Has a different menu model.
Steel pipe=No menu model, more attack frames than the final animation
Shotgun=No menu model, No sound effects
Hunting Rifle=No menu model,Does not use ammo (Unlimited clip,Never reloads), Uses pistol sound effects.
Spray Can(s)=No menu model,Glitched ready stance,No damage frames
Giant Knife=No menu model,Uses shotgun walking animation. So many more frames in the attack animation it makes the game look like it’s lagging, When the knife hits the ground it causes a loud screeching sound to play until the player enters the start menu.

Also even if the Doctor’s lounge and Examination room are inaccessible to normal players, DGR was able to found them both using the room jump in the debug menu. You can read more on Silent Hill community Forum! You can see more SH2 hack videos from DGR in his Youtube Channel.

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