Remember all those classic video games you grew up with and how iconic many of them are?
Well, odds are, they didn't start out the way you remember them.
Any great art goes through multiple drafts, changes, chops, screws and alterations before
the final product, and video game development is no different.
Final Fantasy VII
"Now… the most anticipated, epic adventure of the year… will never come to a theater
near you!"
Final Fantasy 7 is often cited as one of the best, most revolutionary RPGS ever.
Of course, the game didn't begin this way, and wasn't even intended for the PlayStation
at first.
The story also took a few twists and turns into what was finally released, but the original
concept probably would have still made for a pretty good game.
When FF7 was first envisioned in 1994, series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi planned for a 2D
Super Nintendo game.
He envisioned the game would take place in New York City in 1999, and would be more akin
to a detective story than what we actually got.
It was meant to follow a character named — and we are not kidding here — Detective Joe.
Cloud.
Aeris.
Sephiroth.
Detective Joe.
"One of these things is not like the others."
Soon, development on the video game was stalled, due to JRPG mega hit Chrono Trigger taking
precedent for the company.
When development resumed in 1995, the original 2D SNES thing was scrapped, and the designers
began to focus on the incoming Nintendo 64.
Development costs ballooned, and it became the most expensive project of its kind for
the time, costing an estimated $45 million in 1995.
As it progressed, it became clear the game wouldn't work on the cartridge-based Nintendo
64, since the game's graphics and cinematics would require the extra storage space allowed
by CD-ROMs.
Ties were severed with Nintendo, Joe and New York got the boot, and gaming was changed
forever.
GoldenEye 007
Nintendo 64's GoldenEye 007, even years later, is still widely seen as one of the best first-person
shooters ever.
And yet, during its development, it was never intended to be that.
Instead, like many other games of its era, GoldenEye's life began as a standard 2D side-scrolling
platformer for the Super Nintendo.
The video game's development came towards the end of the SNES's life cycle, so the game's
director, Martin Hollis, proposed to instead utilize the power of the Nintendo 64 console
to realize the game's true power.
"Load a Rumble Pak and see how it feels when 007 meets N64!"
With this switch, the plan for a 2D side-scroller was scrapped for an on-rails shooter using
a light gun.
This would have been pretty similar to the hit Sega game Virtua Cop but, like the 2D
plan, this too was eventually scrapped for the familiar first-person shooter people still
play today.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Nintendo has Mario, and Sega has Sonic.
But while Nintendo's plumber protagonist has basically stayed the same throughout the years,
the same cannot be said for Sonic.
The hedgehog we all know and love actually began life as a rabbit who could use his ears
to throw objects.
This was ultimately scrapped, as the chips available on the Genesis weren't advanced
enough to properly animate the ears in action.
Other Sonic appearance considerations included a sloppy bulldog, a dude in a crown, a creepy
jester, and a chick wearing a cap, until finally they settled on the familiar, little blue
hedgehog we have all come to love.
Some people, too much.
"Let's act out my Sonic fan fiction!
I'll pick something family friendly."
Banjo Kazooie
Banjo Kazooie is one of the more popular games for the Nintendo 64, but it started out as
something completely different when development began in 1997.
The original concept came from a game called Project Dream, which was in development for
the Super Nintendo by Rare.
The video game starred Edison, a boy armed with a wooden sword who would become entangled
with pirates on an adventure.
After some work, Rare switched gears and reworked the game for the Nintendo 64 — only then
did they realize that Edison wasn't exactly working out.
"Initially, we had a rabbit for some reason.
I really have no idea why we picked a rabbit."
A few incarnations later, the rabbit evolved into the honey bear that became Banjo, and
an icon was born.
Halo
Follow us as we travel back in time to an ancient era called "the late '90s."
In July 1999, Steve Jobs announced Bungie's Halo at the annual Macworld Conference & Expo,
as a game planned for both the Macintosh and PC platforms.
The original concept was similar to the hit strategy game Myth, but in a sci-fi setting.
By the time the game was displayed at E3 in 2000, however, it was completely different.
The game was no longer a real-time strategy game, and had evolved into a third-person
action game.
Still, there was no Master Chief, and players assumed the role of a regular soldier — Bungie
was far from realizing its future flagship's potential.
Everything changed when Microsoft bought Bungie Studios in 2000.
With the purchase of the studio, the video game became an exclusive Xbox title.
The game was modified into the first-person shooter it is today, with Master Chief as
the main character, improved graphics, and an extensive backstory — and, for a brief
and shining moment, all was right in the world.
Doom
Doom didn't start out as an iconic franchise in the making.
Rather, the original concept for Doom was just another licensed game, based on the Alien
movie franchise.
iD Software later chose to abandon the license in order to get more creative control over
the video game.
And thus the legendary Doom was born.
"We basically put out a press release before we even started programming the game — and
the press release basically said 'Doom is going to be the best game on the planet Earth."
If you've ever played the granddaddy of the FPS genre — and let's face it: you have
— it's not hard to imagine swapping out those nasty demons for Alien's equally iconic
xenomorphs.
In retrospect, it's kinda hard to ignore the similarities when you really think about it.
Space marines?
Check.
Nightmarish creatures?
Check.
Lots and lots of firepower?
What do you think?
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