Game designers come up with ideas every day. Lots of ideas. Sometimes those ideas get pitched. Sometimes those pitches go into pre-production. Sometimes they become full-fledged projects. And sometimes those projects ship. But what most gamers don't realize is that some games get canceled. And every great developer can tell you the story of a project that never saw the light of day.
This is the story of one such phantom title: David Jaffe's Heartland.
Based on the hit Canadian Broadcasting Corporation show Heartland, it has horses and stables, that sort of thing.
In this thought-provoking opinion piece, EALA's Borut Pfeifer examines games from Blacksite: Area 51 through David Jaffe's canceled Heartland and indie oddity You Have To Burn The Rope to ask... can a game ever truly be 'subversive'?
On the topic mentioned that games try and give you moral choices to make ala Bioshock. I don't believe most gamers make game related choices based on moral or ethical beliefs. Games are still pretty primitive in this respect. Most game related decisions are made on how it affects gameplay. If I kill the little sisters does that affect the outcome of the game, does it limit what I get to experience in the game, does it lead me to new avenues in the game? In that respect it's hard to make a game subversive without overtly spelling it out for the player.
Maybe years down the road games will grow to allow more moral choices to affect the player that mimic real world and allow that suspension of disbelief.
Well in that respect you would have to look at the Metal Gear Solid games. Over all it's a sneaking game, you're not intended to kill anyone you come across, the option is there, but it greatly affects your rating. By the second game, you're given the tranquillizer gun as an alternative killing method.
It does allow you to either sneak around with ease, thus getting through the mission faster and be rewarded later. Not to mention later that you can boast about it.
Over all the article is well written and good insight on telling stories in gaming.
Good point Tempist. There are some games that are able to pull it off much better than others and make you forget you are playing a game.
As the new year begins, let's take a look at some various PSP games that never materialized. Many of these games have been totally scrapped, while others hold on to life support -- will they ever see the light of day?
Halo on PSP would be funny
I am curious if GT (5?) will ever be released on the PSP. Ah well, the God of War version looks fun coming in March 2008 or so!
Cant wait for that game, ever since they umped to 333mhz God of War looks bettter than ever. It would be cool if oblivion came to the psp.
yeah the title picture is funny as hell. Halo will only ever feel right on an Xbox controller to me. I dont even think I would wanna play it on my PS3.
It would only be good to use as flaming fuel.
I think, if I'm not mistaken, the maker talked about the PSP version recently, and it's not canceled. I'm not 100% sure though.
A game based on Oblivion (simplified) would have been great. The PSP really needs more games that push the tech and only God of War seems to fit that bill in the future. Lean times.
I got an interesting email linking to a survey from Sony asking me what I'd like in a future version of PSP. Looks like they will have another version sometime in the future. Portables sure change a lot these days....
but that would have been hella hard to pull off with only one analog stick. DMC is a bit too fast a game to use the shapes button to aim ala Siphon Filter
Poor Advent. I was looking forward to the sequels.
Does anyone remember the Advent Rising sweepstake to win a million bucks? Then of course they pulled it and screwed everyone over.
Its to bad HeartLand never came out. I would have loved to seen how this game would have worked on the PSP. Well may be some day Jaffe will get back to this game or make some thing like it for PSN.
I would love to see this game hit the market eventually. I loved God of War and a game like Heartland from the sounds of it, i would deeply enjoy. I'm a big fan of Jaffe and Deus Ex is my second favorite video game of all time. You put both of them together and add in a deep moving story and i would love to see it come out.
Some of those concepts are amazing but sadly a little to deep for the gaming crowds of today. I would have enjoyed playing it!
... I'm sorry... I must have stumbled into the political board by mistake...
I'm all for freedom of expression, but I don't buy games to listen to people b*tch about the president. Yes, you don't like him... I understand... and while I accept your opinion, I don't care about it. Just shut up and make a god **** game I want to play!!!