Top 10 Videogames that Changed During Development

Top 10 Games That Changed During Development

Sometimes you don’t end up where you thought you were going. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we count down the top 10 Games that changed during development.

For this list, we are looking at games that went through the most radical changes from their original concept, be it in gameplay or by its visual style. We’re ranking these games based on how different the final release was to its original form.

#10: “Splinter Cell” (2002)

According to Ubisoft employees, the classic stealth game was originally intended to be a real time strategy game by Ubisoft Paris. Unsatisfied by the quality of the game, the ownership was moved to a team in New York where the game was turned into a stealth/action game on a floating island. It was only after a few years of development that the reins were handed to Ubisoft Montreal and Red Storm that game became the Splinter Cell we all know.

#9: “GoldenEye 007” (1997)

The hit console FPS almost never came to be. In fact, the game was supposed to be an SNES rail shooter inspired by Virtua Cop. It was only after first playing Super Mario 64 that the developers at Rare were inspired to do something better. On top of that, the multiplayer was a last minute addition, a secret project that was done without consent from Rare management. And yet at the end of the day it’s still hard to believe this was a movie tie-in game. With Pierce Brosnan, ew.

#8: “Team Fortress 2” (2007)

The first time this game was shown was at E3 1999 and it was a realistic military shooter. In typical Valve fashion, Team Fortress 2 disappeared from the face of the Earth until it was re-unveiled in 2006, this time with a cartoony art style that reminds of spy movies. According to Robin Walker, co-creator of the original Team Fortress, the 2006 release was actually the third or fourth completely different version of the game. Maybe that’s why Half Life 3 is taking so long.

#7: “Red Dead Revolver” (2004)

The western inspired videogame was originally developed by Capcom and was intended to be a follow up to their classic arcade side scroller Gun.Smoke, but it was ultimately dropped by the Japanese game company. It was then picked up by Rockstar Games, who expanded the game world and added some Sergio Leone inspired spaghetti western elements and a decent helping of violence to boot.

#6: “Borderlands” (2009)

The first reveal trailer showed the coop shooter rpg in a very realistic, gritty and intimidating world. The decision to change its style to a cartoonish, cell-shaded world was done in order to differentiate the game from its contemporaries, such as Fallout 3 and Rage, delaying its release and upsetting many fans. With what we know of Borderlands now, we’re glad they were able to forge a unique path and create such a memorable world.

#5: “Grand Theft Auto” (1997)

Originally called Race’n’Chase, a multiplayer cops and robbers game, the concept was changed when a glitch caused AI controlled cop cars to constantly ram the player’s car to cause non-stop crashes, which actually improved the game. DMA Designs ditched the original game. Grand Theft Auto was built around the infamous bug, with an emphasis on open world single player missions, both on foot and in vehicles. We have to thank this bug for helping create one of the most influential game franchises in history.

#4: “Resident Evil 4” (2004)

The fourth entry in the survival horror series went through various changes during development. The first version of the game was more of an action game and was eventually turned into Devil May Cry. The most famous unreleased version of this game, shows Leon walking around a haunted house, fighting ghosts and experiencing hallucinations as a result of being infected with a virus. When it was all over RE4 was tweaked so much, that even the preview disc demo is a bit different from the full release.

#3: ”Star Fox Adventures” (2002)

Originally titled Dinosaur Planet and intended for release on the Nintendo 64, the game told the adventures of prince Sabre and his adopted sister Krystal. The game was turned into a Star Fox titlewhen Shigeru Miyamoto visited the Rare offices and noticed the similarities with Nintendo’s hit franchise. Sabre was turned into Fox McCloud, Krystal was unfortunately downgraded to a damsel in distress and the game was moved to the Gamecube. Sadly, this was the last console game released under the Rare and Nintendo partnership.

#2: “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” (2001)

Twelve Tales: Conker 64, was first revealed at E3 1997 and as supposed to be a family friendly platformer set in a cutesy and colorful world. Facing a lot of early criticism for being yet another cartoony 3D platformer, Rare decided to throw their plain vanilla looking game in the toilet. What came out was a game featuring the adventures of a vulgar alcoholic squirrel in this colorful but very dirty world, from bouncing on a busty sunflower, to giving cows diarrhea, to wielding a shotgun against Zombies. Definitely not for kids.
Before we reveal our number 1, here are a few honorable mentions:

“Quake” (1996)
“Okami” (2006)
“Duke Nukem Forever” (2011)
“Shadow Of The Colossus” (2005)

#1: “Halo: Combat Evolved” (2001)

Believe it or not the original version of this beloved game wasn’t the Xbox epic we know today. It was unveiled by Steve Jobs at Macworld 1999, as a Mac OSX exclusive real time strategy game, though that was eventually dropped and the game became a third person shooter. It was then purchased Bungie in 2000, and Microsoft requested to turn the game into the first person shooter we know. It helped put the Xbox on the map, and modernized online gaming on consoles. The future of teabagging would never be the same.