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The Game Archaeologist: Six more MMOs that never made it to launch
It's always possible to be surprised with reveals of older MMOs, even after years of writing this column. For example, I had never heard that Valve was initially working on an MMO called Prospero in the late '90s before we posted on it a couple of weeks ago. It's crazy to me that parts of what could have been a groundbreaking online title were then repurposed for Half-Life and Portal. It's not necessarily bad how things turned out, mind you, but I do get lost wondering what might have been. From time to time here on The Game Archaeologist, I like to turn our attention to MMOs-that-never-were: titles that died before launch thanks to funding shortfalls, studio collapses, or corporate bungling. We've covered titles like Wish, Ultima X, and Middle-earth Online, but today I want to catch up on several titles that have been haunting my list for a while now. So strap in as you get a six-pack of MMOs that were never released!
The Perfect Ten: MMOs that died in development hell
If you know me, you probably know that I have a weird fascination with alternate history. You know, the daydreams of historians when they're not rewriting the past to suit the latest trends. "What if?" my mind wonders, especially when it comes to MMOs. You see, for every game that actually makes it to launch, there are several that die gasping and alone in the bowels of development hell. Sure, many of these are pathetic creatures that didn't really stand a chance anyway, but there are some that could have made an impact on the industry if they had reached release and been halfway decent. We'll never know what a world would look like with these games in them, but we can always muse, "What if?" Continuing Perfect Ten's recent dark streak, here are 10 MMOs that died in development hell; it's to our eternal loss that we'll never get to play them.
New evidence supports Bungie's Destiny in MMOs
If you have been following Bungie, then you are well aware of the alleged MMO in development by the creators of the single-player first-person shooter series Halo. Most are also aware of the "World of Warcraft in space" quote from a supposed ex-Bungie employee in the geek blog Kotaku. In that same article, the source named Project Tiger by another name: Destiny. At the time, there was nothing to validate the claims of the article, until now. Now may be a good time to don your tinfoil hat. On the fan site Halo.Bungie.org, a blogger may have discovered an actual connection between the words of the ex-Bungie employee and the name Destiny. While tracing the activities of Bungie employees, this intrepid pursuer found Podophobia Entertainment a company formed by Harold Ryan and Martin O'Donnell of Bungie. One of the trademarks issued by this company was the name Destiny listed as "computer game software downloadable from a global computer network." Massively will let you draw your own conclusion for this, but pictured above is the trademarked logo for Podophobia's Destiny and next to that a Bungie employee wearing that same logo on a t-shirt. Tell us what you think in the comments.
Bungie admits to MMO hoax
Are they or aren't they? This is the multi-million dollar question for Bungie Studios, who had all but confirmed that it was working on a MMO of sorts. Apparently, this was either a ruse, a goof or a massive misunderstanding, as a Bungie representative clarified David Aldridge's comments at GDC as being nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek joke. Bungie fans, prepare to have your heart broken, in three... two... one: "In rehearsal Aldridge was convinced that everybody got the joke. It was all in the delivery, he assured us, and he was certain it was clear that he was playfully riffing off of the recent rumors. Unfortunately, most people can't figure David out -- they can't process him. And we don't expect them to. You can't process David Aldridge with a normal brain. You'd need tiger blood and Adonis DNA." While the studio tried to laugh off the miscommunication, this is sad news indeed for MMO fans who had hoped that Bungie was jumping into the ring. Last month we heard unconfirmed reports that this alleged MMOFPS was being developed under the code-name of Destiny.
Blizzard's Pardo talks Bungie MMO
reddit_url = "http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/25/blizzards-pardo-talks-bungie-mmo/"; reddit_target="gaming"; Tweet A Bungie MMORPG is a rumor that simply won't die. Whether it's Joe Staten hinting at a persistent world during the recently concluded GDC, or Bobby Kotick telling investors that one of the reasons Bungie signed with Activision was to avail itself of Blizzard's vast customer service expertise, scuttlebutt about a Halo-themed MMO is a speculative fire that's hard to douse. In a new interview at Next Gen, Blizzard boss Rob Pardo (co-designer on World of Warcraft) says his company could share resources with Bungie on an MMO project and furthermore, he'd love to play it. "I think that's one of the other reasons we've been so successful at Blizzard -- all of us play and love games. We're as big a fans as anybody. I would love to play a Bungie MMO. I think it would be cool," he said at last week's Blizzcon. Pardo was also quick to point out that Blizzard is very focused on their own development, and talk of a Bungie collaboration is somewhat premature. "There are a lot of ifs there. It would have to be a very specific proposal," he said.
This week on the MMO Report
This week's MMO report features two more guest stars. Last week's coffee-thieving werewolf is gone, replaced by two (admittedly adorable) World of Warcraft pets. You'll find your weekly dose of Massively love just after the 2:00 mark, so let's look at the news! Casey covered the infamous Mythic billing glitch from last week, pointing out that one unfortunate player was hit with over $1,000 in charges. Dungeon Fighter Online -- which the G4 team got to play with at last year's PAX -- and its crazy player numbers got a look as well. Korea's gaming curfew, the newest SWTOR planet, and the Halo MMO got their fair share of news coverage as well, and the show wrapped up with a look at some reader mail. Follow along after the jump for a look at the MMO Report, here for your viewing pleasure every Thursday night. Don't forget to visit our friends at G4TV as well!
Halo MMO had $90 million budget, canceled as Microsoft eyed 'casual, broader audience'
Over the past couple of years, we've seen dribbles of information here and there about the canceled Halo MMO, but a recent conversation IncGamers had with ex-Ensemble Studios employee Dusty Monk (yep, that's his real name) revealed not only the exorbitant cost of the planned development (three years of which took place before the game was canceled), but much, much more. First and foremost, the game's development was said to cost $90 million, as you likely inferred from the headline above. Second, the game was intended to be a "WoW killer," according to Monk. "It was absolutely going to compete against WoW. You have to remember that Ensemble came from a standpoint of being really good at competing against Blizzard Entertainment," Monk said, using the Age of Empires series as an example. Unfortunately for the folks at Ensemble working on "Titan" (the codename for the Halo MMO), the launch and subsequent blistering success of the Nintendo Wii allegedly altered the direction that Microsoft wanted to take. "Microsoft, from its gaming division, was really changing directions. They were looking really hard at the Nintendo Wii and they were really excited by the numbers that the Wii was turning. This was about the time that Microsoft decided that its Xbox platform and XBLA really needed to go more in the direction of appealing to a more casual, broader audience." Given that new direction and what Monk calls a "very expensive, very long, and very protracted" development, Microsoft eventually shut down the project. But hey, at least we got Halo Wars, right? Right?!
Former Ensemble staffer talks about cancelled Halo MMO
Here's a blast from the past for you: Halo MMO. The project from Ensemble studios -- codenamed Titan -- left a lot of disappointed fans when Ensemble closed and development was canceled. We've not heard much from that area for several months, but IncGamers got a chance today to speak to Dusty Monk for some new information on the now-defunct MMO. Dusty -- now the founder of Windstorm Studios -- was a staffer for Ensemble and pretty heavily focused on the Halo project. He's got some interesting things to say about what could have been: "We had all this incredible talent, we had the right people, the right passion, we had a phenomenally successful IP - the Halo IP." If you're a Halo fan thinking wistfully about what could have been, you'll definitely want to check out what else he had to say in this interview with IncGamers. [Thanks to Belinda for the tip!]
Is this concept art from the canceled Halo MMO?
Last year, the news that a Halo MMO was once in development left us all wondering "what if?". The game was being made by Ensemble Studios, who put out the Xbox 360 RTS Halo Wars. The screenshot that was plastered over most stories about the cancellation looked decidedly World of Warcraft-y, and an Ensemble representative later said that the more advanced versions of the game fit the Halo theme much better. Perhaps it looked a bit like this. Some internet sleuthery on fansite Halo.Bungie.Org has uncovered this gallery of concept art from former Ensemble Studios artist Dylan Cole. The art doesn't appear to be from Halo Wars, and our friends at Joystiq raised the question: could this be from the canceled Halo MMO?The art is marked as being from the "Halo Universe", which may simply be referring to the general Halo world -- but maybe it isn't. At the moment it's all speculation, and Joystiq has contacted Dylan Cole to see if anything can be cleared up. Whatever it was for, it's some fine work and well worth checking out, particularly for Halo fans (of which we hear there are a few). Start at page one of the gallery here.
The Halo MMO: What could have been
In an interesting article at Gamasutra, the last days of Ensemble Studios are chronicled to honor the mega studio and what they once were. Regardless of the titles that put them on the map, the studio had some great games in the works. One such game was the Halo MMO, which was confirmed late last year. The project -- codenamed Orion -- has been in the works, in one form or another, since 1998.According to the article, this project was to be the new focus of the company. There was even a brand new facility being built to house the development of the game. The construction of that building suddenly stopped one day, and Microsoft informed the team that they would be closing down operations. The project originally known as Titan was no more. Check out the entire three-page article for more on the last days of Ensemble Studios.
Massively week in Review
Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute. Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria launches!The official patch notes are up on the forums, and the servers went live at midnight with all the new content! We've collected up all of our best pieces of news and information on Turbine's latest ... check it out! EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey Launches!Massively has been following the expansion's lifecycle since it was announced at this year's SOE Fan Faire, and today we've put together the best of all our content touching on this brand-new chapter in the EQ2 saga. Read on for all the details! And the first World of Warcraft player to reach level 80 is...Nymh, Human Warlock of the EU server Drek'thar (and the real-world country of France) became the first World of Warcraft player to reach level 80. Further details emerge on the canceled Halo MMOShacknews had the chance to speak with Ensemble director of technology Dave Pottinger, who had quite a bit to say about the Halo MMO. The biggest surprise revealed was that the game had gotten a green light and was in development for a good length of time before leadership changed at Microsoft, and the title was canceled. Cryptic may be porting Champions / Star Trek Online to the PS3Cryptic Studios has shown their superhero game playing quite well on Microsoft's console at events all through the summer con season. Now it seems as though they're looking to bring those games to the PlayStation 3 as well.
Halo MMO received green light approval before managment canceled
After hearing about the canceled Halo MMO back in September and taking a look at some of the game's leaked assets, Shacknews questioned Ensemble Studios' Dave Pottinger about the project and why it died away."We had staffed up an almost-40 person team" says Pottinger, claiming that the Halo MMO "had actually been green-lit", but that new Microsoft management axed the game's development soon after. Pottinger also explained that their approach to the Halo MMO mirrored some of the familiar concepts in games like World of Warcraft, but stayed true to the Halo art style and overall action theme. But no, Microsoft says we cannot haz Halo MMO ... not yet.
Further details emerge on the canceled Halo MMO
Shacknews had the chance to speak with Ensemble director of technology Dave Pottinger, who had quite a bit to say about the Halo MMO. The biggest surprise revealed was that the game had gotten a green light and was in development for a good length of time before leadership changed at Microsoft, and the title was canceled. Pottinger also acknowledge the fact that conceptual screens leaked were in fact designed with a very World of Warcraft mentality, although he stressed that what Ensemble actually ended up with internally at the time had more emphasis on feeling like the traditional Halo universe.Combat was also a topic of discussion. Pottinger says the game's combat had a very classic MMO feel to it, but there was a leaning towards an "actiony" feel. Whether or not Ensemble's Halo MMO was or is a good idea, there's no denying the fact that a properly made title could still appeal to a lot of people.
Bungie considers the challenges of a Halo MMO
Bungie community and PR director Brian Jarrard recently told gamesindustry.biz that a Halo MMO has been the subject of "heated discussions" at the house that built Master Chief. Jarrard opines on the topic for a while, concluding that a lot of new lore and characters on top of the already-extensive universe that is Halo for a workable MMO.That point of view rings quite true with us here at Massively. Typically, any time a non-MMO property is tapped for entry into the genre there are mountains of conceptual alterations that need to be made -- not to mention the catch 22 Jedi concession. You can't have a compelling Star Wars MMO without Jedi, however there needs to be some serious lore considerations if a developer is to allow hundreds of players run around their game world as laser-sword swinging, neo-space faring, monk/samurai. The same rule applies to the rare and elite Spartan warriors of the Halo universe.
Canceled Ensemble title was Halo MMO
Gamasutra has discovered that a canceled project at Ensemble Studios -- soon to be shuttered by Microsoft -- was in fact a Halo MMO. The game was supposedly in development in 2006 and part of 2007, which would jive with rumors that were circulating at the time. Gamasutra managed to dig up some of Ensemble's concept art and mocked up screenshots of what the game would have looked like. Taking a look at the screenshot, it's clear that the game's interface would have borrowed heavily from World of Warcraft, while the concept art shows off a dual sword wielding Spartan with what appears to be an AI companion standing (floating?) behind him. The 'magic' energy of the game was apparently refered to as Psion, so perhaps the AIs would have been part of the game's magic system.Alas, the game is kaput, though it's unclear exactly why it was canceled. It could be that a similar game was also in the works, a likely possibility given how many teams are currently working on Halo projects. Then again, maybe it was canceled when Ensemble realized it would get pretty boring if everyone picks Master Chief.[Thanks to everyone that sent this in. Via Joystiq]
Ensemble Studios was working on Halo MMO
Gamasutra has broken the news that Ensemble Studios, responsible for Halo Wars, was working on a Halo MMO. It's not clear at what stage the project was canned, but Gamasutra's analysis based on available material is that it was probably cancelled in mid to late 2007. Gamasutra has also gained access to some prototype UI and level screenshots. With the help of our own lead blogger here at Massively, Michael Zenke, they've attempted to unscramble how the UI might function. Michael points out the clear similarities with the World of Warcraft interface, identifying what appear to be a mana bar, inventory button, talent tree and other functions. Louis Wu of the unofficial Halo website halo.bungie.org offers expert commentary on the level shots, identifying the familiar and the hitherto unseen aspects.As Gamasutra points out in the article, there are multiple development teams at work on Halo-related projects right now. It's therefore possible that a Halo MMO could still exist, but if it does, there's not a whisper of its presence so far.Update: Apologies for referring to Ensemble Studios as 'closed'; they are scheduled to be closed after the release of Halo Wars, but this has not yet taken place.Update 2: Gamespot's Rumor Control department has taken a long hard look at the evidence, and has pointed to a Flickr photostream containing 50 images of what appears to be a Halo MMO in development.
Canceled Ensemble project was Halo MMO
With Ensemble now disbanded, Gamasutra reveals one of its big projects that never saw the light of day: a Halo MMO. According to various reports, it appears that the game was in development for some time during 2006 and 2007 before being canceled. Seen above, a shot of the UI and an action pose of a Spartan duel-wielding. The design, from what little we can see of it, borrows a lot from World of Warcraft's simplicity and (judging by the dual-wield screenshot) hokeyness.We understand there are reasons for cancellations, but this seems like a money printer on par with Pokémon and Blizzard's aforementioned MMO, regardless of quality. As Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently mentioned to GamesIndustry.biz, there are "more than two or three teams" working on Halo projects at the moment, so the MMO concept might not be entirely dead.
Halo Chronicles alpha evidence is fake [update]
Update: Looks like there is no Halo Chronicles alpha after all, as HBO has learned from Bungie's Luke Smith that the evidence is "100% fake." According to AddictGaming.com, a Bungie employee has been spotted on Xbox Live* playing a game called Robins Perch. What's interesting is the descriptive text that follows: "Chronicles Alpha - Exploring Onyx." Chronicles, eh? Could that be Halo Chronicles, the upcoming collaboration between Peter Jackson and Bungie? We thinks it can. Why the codename Robins Perch though? Considering the Halo 3 alpha was codenamed Pimps at Sea -- the name of Bungie's long awaited piratical pimp simulator -- Robins Perch could be a play on Crow's Nest (the nautical term, not the Halo 3 level). Cute.The part about exploring Onyx is particularly intriguing, as it implies there could be more than one planet to traverse. Could Halo Chronicles be the Halo MMO that has been rumored for ages? Whatever it is, hopefully the appearance of the alpha means we'll finally hear some solid news about Halo Chronicles soon (at a special event perhaps).*Note: We can confirm that the gamertag spotted does indeed belong to a Bungie employee. We won't be giving it out for the sake of privacy.[Thanks, Richard D]
Running the numbers on a Halo MMO
What property would sends chills through fandom on two sides of a genre divide? What title could you almost guarantee to spark interest and even further expand the MMO genre? How about Bungie's Halo? We've talked about the possibility of a Halo MMO once or twice before, but it was just that, talk. In light of the E3 Bungiegate hoorah, Rock Paper Shotgun is running the numbers on how likely Bungie's big announcement was to have been a massively multiplayer FPS set in the Halo world.It all comes down, essentially, to the statement by Microsoft that the next Halo title won't star Master Chief. "Lateral thinking", as RPS puts it, can easily see the possibility of yourself stepping into the 'title' role in an interaction with the franchise. Certainly the groundwork is there - we know that Bungie has some lore tucked away behind the scenes. They know lots about that world we haven't seen in the games yet, and odds are they'd love to get it out somehow. Halo 3, by the same token, has a bunch of MMO-like elements already embedded. Much like Call of Duty 4, your participation in multiplayer matches impacts a persistent 'character'. The site has a few links for you to follow (including one to an interesting Microsoft research paper), and some videos as well. All of this is just speculation, just the same. What do you think? Are we likely to see a brand new Bungie-helmed MMOFPS sometime in the future?
Would You Rather ... Spartans! Edition
In our continuing effort to bring you fresh and interesting content, X3F presents Would You Rather ... a weekly feature that asks you the hard questions. The point? If you had to choose one or the other, which would you go for?In week two of WUR we ask you to decide between a true sequel to Halo in the form of Halo 4 or a Halo first-person massively multiplayer online title. So, putting the Halo storyline aside, we want to know:Feel free to share the reasons for your vote in the comments. We'll share the results of the poll during the next edition of Would You Rather ... which hits X3F every Wednesday.Last weeks surprising results can be find after the jump ... Engage!
