Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc is a platform game developed by Ubisoft and released for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC in 2003. A Rayman 3 beta demo was leaked online sometime ago, with some differences as character models, voices and controls. I did not play the final version of Rayman 3, so if you can notice some more differences in the development screens or the beta videos below, please let us know!
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Beyond Good & Evil 2 is the sequel to Ubisoft’s 2003 action adventure, which was released on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Pre-production started in 2007, just like the original title by a team at Ubisoft Montpellier. Michel Ancel returned as lead designer after his Rayman 4 concepts evolved into a minigame collection.
Even though a short teaser was shown at Ubidays 2008, the title was put on hold in summer 2009. The team was dissolved, Ancel started work on Rayman Origins, while other members of the team moved onto other project at Ubisoft (Tintin, different prototypes).
However, in 2009, a short trailer was leaked showing what the team envisioned for the game. Two years later, Ancel presented this trailer at a conference together with various artworks and another video with in-engine footage.
The current fate of the title is unknown. Michel Ancel revealed that current generation consoles are not powerful enough to realise the team’s vision for the game, implying a next-generation release. While both he and Ubisoft deny that the game is cancelled, only a small team (if any) is currently working on it.
Special Thanks to BGEMyth.net, Twitter user Alltpweek, and Gamersyde.com.
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The Adventures of Tintin is an Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii game based off of the 2011 movie of the same name, which itself is based off of the classic book series by Herge. It’s mixed genera game that features side scrolling and 3D sections where you can control the young reporter Tintin, his faithful dog Snowy, or the drunken, but trusty sailor Captain Haddock.
First unveiled during Microsoft’s 2011 E3 conference, the game looked similar to it’s final version. There were still a couple beta differences, namely Tintin wielding a gun during the motorcycle section in the trailer as opposed to the final’s slingshot. This change was most likely done to keep the game’s E-10 rating.
Post by EmmBee
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Dragonflight: Chronicles of Pern is an action adventure based on the Dragonriders of Pern book series by Anne McCaffrey, that was in development in 1998 / 1999 by Grolier Interactive for PC and Playstation. Initially the game was going to have a style similar to Diablo, but after a couple of years of development, Dragonflight became an action game with a 3rd person view camera. In june 2000, Grolier Interactive stopped releasing videogames when they were bought by Scholastic.
Grolier Interactive’s game could have been doomed, but it seems that Ubisoft bought their assets, cancelled the Playstation version and moved the Dragonflight to Dreamcast and PC. In 2001, they finally released this project as Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern.
An old interview with Grolier Interactive can still be read at RPG Vault:
Can you provide some details on development progress that has been made over this time?
Oliver Sykes: What people may remember from the previous incarnation of the game is a very isometric viewpoint, a bit like Diablo. One of the major changes in the game is the camera system. We can now script the camera to act very cinematically. It can track with the player, spin round him, drop from above to below. Any number of camera shots can linked to describe a location and the characters in it as well as adding a great deal of fluidity.
Could you explain the level of depth and interaction we can expect from NPCs? What kind of a conversation system is there?
Oliver Sykes: The conversation system is fairly linear in most places. This choice was employed as we have such a vast number of characters to converse with, the conversation choices would have gave our scripters headaches. However, at key moments during the game you can make choices and these choices will effect the outcome of events. One choice could give you bonuses and unlock new locations and characters, whereas another may lead you down an entirely different path with different consequences.
Thanks to Celine for the scans!
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Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (also know as Shadow Strike during its development) is a third-person stealth game in the Splinter Cell series, developed and published by Ubisoft Shanghai in 2004. Below you can see a video compiled by Silenceofthehills, with lots of early concept arts and beta screens. Text and video annotations in the video help explain the differences between the earlier planned renditions and the final version of various spots in each area.
As seen in the video, a fully missing level map is viewed under the first game‘s HUD. Since the first game had cut a level and used it as an extra in another version of the game, its quite possible that these shots are from a missing level. Its also possible that these are merely early renditions of a previous level, or even simply a test level considering the unaltered HUD.
Secondly, we can also see the previous incarnation of the PS2 and GameCube port before it had be delayed and taken under various graphical tweaks to ensure the artwork was nearer to par with the original versions of the game. This is also available in the GameInformer article scan as well, which also oddly contains a beta HUD akin to that of the online mode’s. This HUD was also apparently shared between all versions of the game.
Below is the direct quote on this from Gamespot itself, posted on February 4, 2004 by Justin Calvert.
“Ubisoft has today announced that while the Xbox, PC, GBA, and cell phone versions of Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow are still on track for release next month, the PS2 and GameCube versions will now launch at a later date. The only reason given for the delay is that the development team is committed to making sure that the other two console versions are as good as the Xbox version.”
Thanks to Silenceofthehills for the contribution!
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