houdini
05-17-2006, 01:28 AM
I remember following this one when it was first announced. Quite hideous eight years after the fact, but I'm sort of curious to hear if anyone ever played it.
http://n64media.ign.com/media/images/previews/FB08.jpg
January 27, 1999 - The industry term "Indefinite hold" describes Virgin Interactive's once-promising 3D platformer, Freak Boy, for Nintendo 64. Once thought of as one of the console's more ambitious titles, the game now rests comfortably atop Vaporeware Mountain, where it shall remain undisturbed. But what went so wrong with Freak Boy, described by Virgin Interactive's ex-VP of Design Julian Rignall as, "one of the greatest games never made, " as to lead to the project's untimely demise?
Freak Boy began its life internally at Virgin Interactive's Irvine-based studios in California. The game design (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066612p1.html#) itself was fairly simplistic. One day a "Regular Joe" unwittingly stumbles through a warp-hole of sorts, which completely alters his universe. Not only does the world around him change shape, but so does he. His solid body shell of old is replaced by a morphing, quasi-liquid substance which lends itself to changing and acquiring new shapes. Located throughout the game are various weapons and objects -- from gun and drill pieces to sticky, bouncing items that increase jumping ability -- that "Freak Boy" can simply absorb onto his body and make use of.
"I played an early demo of it and I thought it was brilliant," recalls Rignall. "The design is still viable today and I still think it would make a game that would definitely be one of the five best for Nintendo (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066612p1.html#) 64."
What ultimately killed the game were the politics surrounding it. An early version of Freak Boy was previewed to management at Virgin Interactive, whereupon its visual style came under fire, despite the fact that it was extremely well done. The reason? It didn't look enough like a "Nintendo game (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066612p1.html#)," or, in other words, it wasn't bright and happy enough. The development team was made to re-work it. The process was long and decidedly unfruitful. Months later more issues came into play and the development team was sent back the drawing board once more. More time passed.
"It was a combination of idiots, morons and stupid management decisions," remembers Rignall. "Development dragged on for years and it just never got anywhere. It kept being restarted, scrapped and overhauled and by the time it kind of reached a point where the game was playable, the code was so unstable and badly put together that they couldn't actually build a game out of it." Last year Virgin Interactive listed the game's status as "indefinite hold." The project was unofficially put to rest.
IGN
http://n64media.ign.com/media/images/previews/FB08.jpg
January 27, 1999 - The industry term "Indefinite hold" describes Virgin Interactive's once-promising 3D platformer, Freak Boy, for Nintendo 64. Once thought of as one of the console's more ambitious titles, the game now rests comfortably atop Vaporeware Mountain, where it shall remain undisturbed. But what went so wrong with Freak Boy, described by Virgin Interactive's ex-VP of Design Julian Rignall as, "one of the greatest games never made, " as to lead to the project's untimely demise?
Freak Boy began its life internally at Virgin Interactive's Irvine-based studios in California. The game design (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066612p1.html#) itself was fairly simplistic. One day a "Regular Joe" unwittingly stumbles through a warp-hole of sorts, which completely alters his universe. Not only does the world around him change shape, but so does he. His solid body shell of old is replaced by a morphing, quasi-liquid substance which lends itself to changing and acquiring new shapes. Located throughout the game are various weapons and objects -- from gun and drill pieces to sticky, bouncing items that increase jumping ability -- that "Freak Boy" can simply absorb onto his body and make use of.
"I played an early demo of it and I thought it was brilliant," recalls Rignall. "The design is still viable today and I still think it would make a game that would definitely be one of the five best for Nintendo (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066612p1.html#) 64."
What ultimately killed the game were the politics surrounding it. An early version of Freak Boy was previewed to management at Virgin Interactive, whereupon its visual style came under fire, despite the fact that it was extremely well done. The reason? It didn't look enough like a "Nintendo game (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066612p1.html#)," or, in other words, it wasn't bright and happy enough. The development team was made to re-work it. The process was long and decidedly unfruitful. Months later more issues came into play and the development team was sent back the drawing board once more. More time passed.
"It was a combination of idiots, morons and stupid management decisions," remembers Rignall. "Development dragged on for years and it just never got anywhere. It kept being restarted, scrapped and overhauled and by the time it kind of reached a point where the game was playable, the code was so unstable and badly put together that they couldn't actually build a game out of it." Last year Virgin Interactive listed the game's status as "indefinite hold." The project was unofficially put to rest.
IGN