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[Steel]

WC3. What could have been... (I'm 100% satisfied with what we got though)

edit: Can't find any sources, but I remember reading in a magazine back in the day that it was going to have more races, and I think a much heavier RPG influence.

edit 2:

http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...warcraft-3-prerelease-material-thread-155117/

I remember hearing about that too. That being said, what was being proposed is kinda what WoW ended up being.

 

[UraMallas]

Too Human was a cyber-punkish Total Recall type game on the PSX. 360 got a Norse gods that used advanced tech.

 

[Reebot]

I remember reading in the Art of Uncharted book that the game started out as taking place in an underwater base/prison and the player had to escape to the surface or something.

Any more info on this? Sounds interesting.

 

[DOWN]

Splinter Cell Conviction started as this:

It was a runaway game without any combat gear and tons of environment object interactions.

 

[Skikkiks]

Asura's Wrath's first trailer depicts almost a completely different game to what would end up being released

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsYZqXV2CUw

 

[bman94]

If I'm not mistaken Bioshock: Infinite had some very different gameplay mechanics initially. It was supposed to be open world and Elizabeth was actually supposed to be able to fight or help out in a much greater way than in the actual game.
Super Smash Bros. As well. Initially it wasn't using any Nintendo characters at all.

 

[deim0s]

Half-life

Running on the Quake 1 engine.

 

[DigiMish]

WC3. What could have been... (I'm 100% satisfied with what we got though)

edit: Can't find any sources, but I remember reading in a magazine back in the day that it was going to have more races, and I think a much heavier RPG influence.

edit 2:

http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...warcraft-3-prerelease-material-thread-155117/

There's an easter egg in Warcraft III that consists of an rpg mini-campaign where you play as an Orc hero.

 

[Megadragon15]

Didn't Knuckles Chaotix 32x start life out as Sonic Crackers on the Sega Genesis?

 

[ReyVGM]

Early Final Fantasy VII prototype.

That's so fake. FF7 was never even thought to be a hand drawn game.

 

[Orayn]

That's so fake. FF7 was never even thought to be a hand drawn game.

Pretty sure it's a post-FFVI concept piece. Ideas from that era would wind up in Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, FFVII, FFVIII, Parasite Eve, etc.

It's really not an early version of any one specific game, just like the interactive CG demo based on FFVI wasn't a precursor to a Final Fantasy on N64, despite running on SGI hardware often associated with it.

 

[Ragnorok64]

Metal Gear Solid: Rising as it was called then

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtM3PGyiQUc

This doesn't really seem like it ended up as being "very different" from when we ended up getting.

 

[Kaiterra]

Chrono Trigger was originally going to be a Mana game, which probably explains why Crono and Marle's designs were so similar to Randi and Purim from Secret of Mana.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

How have we made it two pages without Conker's Bad Fur Day? Originally a cutesy Banjo Kazooie-like game called Conker's Quest, Rare at some point went off the deep end and changed it to the foul gross-out we know today.

You can still see the original "aww shucks" Disney-like Conker in Diddy Kong Racing. Nintendo Power also did an extensive preview of the original game.

 

[Ragnorok64]

Chrono Trigger was originally going to be a Mana game, which probably explains why Crono and Marle's designs were so similar to Randi and Purim from Secret of Mana.

But wait, was Toriyama involved in the art from the beginning? If so wouldn't The resemblance be more like coincidence?

 

[t26]

Resident Evil 1.5

 

[Ragnorok64]

How have we made it two pages without Conker's Bad Fur Day? Originally a cutesy Banjo Kazooie-like game called Conker's Quest, Rare at some point went off the deep end and changed it to the foul gross-out we know today.

You can still see the original "aww shucks" Disney-like Conker in Diddy Kong Racing. Nintendo Power also did an extensive preview of the original game.

Post #3.

The obvious answer is Conker.

 

[Trace]

How have we made it two pages without Conker's Bad Fur Day? Originally a cutesy Banjo Kazooie-like game called Conker's Quest, Rare at some point went off the deep end and changed it to the foul gross-out we know today.

You can still see the original "aww shucks" Disney-like Conker in Diddy Kong Racing. Nintendo Power also did an extensive preview of the original game.

It's quite literally the third post in this thread.

 

[ExigentContact]

Halo started its development as an RTS, but as I recall it only lasted that way for a few weeks/months before they scrapped it and moved on. Initially they were aiming for an open world, even persistent TPS with MMO elements (Jason Jones was really hung up on that idea since it eventually was revisited in Destiny), then became a more straightforward TPS and finally an FPS in its final leg of development. The game we wound up getting in Combat Evolved was essentially cobbled together for the Xbox in a matter of 8 months or so. Multiplayer was basically two people setting the whole thing up in the last couple of weeks.

 

[ResidentDante]

Wasn't Bioshock originally to be set in a underwater nazi experiment lab in WW2? I recall seeing some prototype drawings, but I can't find them now.

 

[SoundPulse]

Ocarina of Time changed greatly over the course of its development.

Fan compiled overview of the "stages" of its development: Here.

 

[Azzanadra]

Bioshock Infinite.

And I don't think I need proof/links to show what it was in development, its all out there...

A tear rolls down my cheek every time I think what could have been.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

It's quite literally the third post in this thread.

Hahah, OK. Is kind of hard to read when it's one sentence/embedded video/title below embedded video.

 

[Funyarinpa]

Bioshock Infinite

 

[random25]

Isn't Xenogears supposed to be Final Fantasy 7 before the Final Fantasy 7 we have today?

 

[potam]

There's an easter egg in Warcraft III that consists of an rpg mini-campaign where you play as an Orc hero.

are you fucking with me? Can't find anything on it online.

apparently there is a tower defense mini game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tkyjymRdws

 

[Jacqli]

The development of The Dig is also quite interesting because there were several developers involved and significant differences compared to the version we finally got such as a Japanese member in the crew.
I read an exhaustive article about this a long time ago but I cannot find it (sadly, I think the website is dead&#8230.

 

[2+2=5]

What games are there that were very different early on in development?

I look at RE4. The first attempt at this game created Devil May Cry.

Then the second attempt at this game created this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J7_8irvZp8

Then after all of that we got the RE4 we know today

Please show examples if you can. If not, you need to at least describe it.

So basically the dream of every Resident Evil fan(an old school Resident Evil with modern graphics) become what generated Resident Evil 5 and 6. Lol.

 

[diddykong13]

I would have loved to see how this one was if it kept on it's original course:

Dinosaur Planet (N64) -> Star Fox Adventures (GC)

 

[Fliesen]

There's an easter egg in Warcraft III that consists of an rpg mini-campaign where you play as an Orc hero.

easter egg?
the Orc campaign of The Frozen Throne is literally a quest based open World RPG where you played as Rexxar.

Also, all things considered, Warcraft 3 WAS a "3D role playing strategy game", even at release, isn't it?
Within missions there's optional side-quests. You have a hero character with multiple special abilities that levels up throughout the campaign, who has 6 item slots for either consumables or stat-buffing items.

 

[potam]

easter egg?
the Orc campaign of The Frozen Throne is literally a quest based open World RPG where you played as Rexxar.

Also, all things considered, Warcraft 3 WAS a "3D role playing strategy game", even at release, isn't it?
Within missions there's optional side-quests. You have a hero character with multiple special abilities that levels up throughout the campaign, who has 6 item slots for either consumables or stat-buffing items.

I never played TFT. Hoping for that remaster....

I'm just going off what I remember reading about it before it released, but from the sounds of it, it was going to be a lot more RPG-oriented. What we ended up getting (heroes, levels, items, "quests", etc.) were just the scraps that made the final version.

 

[Alienfan]

Tomb Raider Reboot was supposed to be an open world survival horror game. And I think you were escorting a kid.

What we got was something much more grounded. New DLC looks like they could possibly be revisiting some of the concepts *fingers crossed*

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

Would Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker count?

The tech demo from Spaceworld looked like this

While the final game ended up being this

No, the tech demo was only that, and not indicative of any game they were actually making. People dogpiled on them when they revealed WW anyways, of course.

You'll notice that this time around everyone purposefully kept their expectations in check and were prepared for something completely different.

 

[CaptainLoveline]

Came here to say Resident Evil 4: Hookman, but the OP got that covered.

I'd say Persona 3, with only 2 videos existing of what the beta looked like here & here

They had an isometric viewpoint going on & transistioning between dungeon exploration and battles were seamless. However this all got scrapped due to memory limitations.

 

[nel e nel]

 

[MODEYV3]

This is what I thought about instantly once I read the title.

From Overstrike (Character)

To Fuse (Bland Shooter)

The sad thing is, is that you can tell by looking at the two titles which game you'd rather play. The cut off of the faces is the perfect example of how to kill a consumers connection with the characters.

 

[Chubzdoomer]

XCOM Declassified was originally a first-person shooter. It of course ended up becoming a third-person squad/cover-based shooter.

Here's some footage of the old versions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZO7mYI8GCQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pm00esm2zI

And here's an excellent piece detailing the game's evolution:
http://www.gamesradar.com/watching-xcom-fps-become-bureau-xcom-declassified/

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I don't know if it ever truly was different in development. I think not. But what Peter Molyneux sold us with 'Project Ego' turned out to have about 10% of the stated and promised features Fable has. I don't think a developer has ever lied more. I used to visit the 'Project Ego' forums like GAF, and even discuss with Simon and Dene Carter, the head developers. I think they were new at game dev and thought they could actually make that.

Just one awesome feature that is still impossible to implement today, thanks to the lack of care about AI in games (its getting better):

http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/03/25/in-depth-with-project-ego?page=3

Maybe it was called that because Molyneux's ego was going into overdrive?!

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

From memory metroid prime was originally a third person view game. I think the initial spaceworld video shows this, before miyamoto had them scrap everything and go first person.

I think this was back when retro was in severe difficulties and were to cancel the other four projects they were working on completely.

 

[wickfut]

Dark Souls 2

 

[digital_ghost]

A game that comes to mind is Fuse for 360 and ps3. It was previously called Overstrike, and had a different art style.

Tobad it was a sucky game. It was developed by Insomniac Games.

EDIT: I didn't see the post above about Fuse, sorry for the double post about the same game.

 

[Dr Zhivago]

Wasn't Bioshock originally to be set in a underwater nazi experiment lab in WW2? I recall seeing some prototype drawings, but I can't find them now.

I think it was an island rather than underwater. It was set in the present and you get shipwrecked on an island filled with the monstrous descendants of Nazi experiments which had formed a sort of ecosystem.

 

[Funyarinpa]

Danganronpa, it was originally black and white, FAR more horror-like, and everything about it was more grounded and mature. It was called DISTRUST and supposed to take place in only a week. There's a video, quite a bit of content is in the full game so DO NOT WATCH THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE FINISHED THE FIRST CHAPTER OF DANGANRONPA: TRIGGER HAPPY HAVOC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_W_3w_sfoI

 

[ScatheZombie]

WildStar was originally an FPS title.

That's actually why the studio is called Carbine.

 

[MrBadger]

Rayman 2, before it went 3D:

Reading that article, I'm so glad we've moved past those times. It was a real shame how 2D games took a beating by the media back when 3D was still new and taking off. Understandable, but Rayman 1 still looks great whereas the first versions of 2 certainly don't

 

[Fandangox]

Mother 3 was a 64 title

This one is sort of interesting because while it looked very different and seemed to have some changes, a lot of the stuff from the 64 cancelled version still ended up making it to the GBA version.

 

[Muffdraul]

*reads topic title*

Oh that's easy. RE4.

*reads OP*

God dammit...

To this day my hind is still chapped that we didn't get to play the version shown in the first 2002 trailer, where Leon is exploring that futuristic flying fortress. I wanted that so bad I could taste it.

 

[MrCuddle]

Half-life

Ivan the Space Biker, we hardly knew ye.

 

[Akuun]

Wasn't the first Devil May Cry originally a Resident Evil game?

 

[lazygecko]

Can't get over the irony of how Overstrike/Fuse would likely have been the reverse scenario in today's climate of hero shooters.

Here's what Alien Soldier looked like initially

And here's what the final product turned into