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Cliff Bleszinski Shows Off Concepts For Pitched Boss Key Games
In the wake Boss Key Productions closing their doors after Lawbreaks and Radical Heights failing to take off, head honcho Cliff Bleszinski has begun tweeting out some of the Boss Key games that didn't see the light of day.
The first game, codenamed "DragonFlies," would have featured samurais riding dragons and fighting zombies. Bleszinski described the game's aesthetic as "feudalpunk," and said it would have done "for dragon riding what Halo did for vehicles." Players would also have found and hatched dragon eggs, then raised the babies.
Here's one of the games I wanted to do codenamed "DragonFlies."
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) May 15, 2018
Basically you were ninja/samurai in airships riding dragons fighting zombies with friends in a PVE "feudalpunk" setting on floating islands. (the airships = your "aircraft carriers", the dragons = your "planes") pic.twitter.com/yX2ivPwezb
The second game was planned to be a VR title. Codenamed "Rover," the game would have pitted five teams of five against each other using giant "Zoid looking walkers." Teams would have likely been in charge of a single machine, with different players operating different systems and having to leave to quickly repair mechs due to the toxic air on the planet.
Here's another one, initially planned for VR, codenamed "Rover" but was shaping up to be "DogWalkers" - DOG stood for Destructive Ordnance (on the) Ground.
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) May 15, 2018
Inspired by WW2 tank crews/battles/the movie Fury. 5 v 5 v 5 v 5 v 5 Zoid looking walkers fighting it out in MP. pic.twitter.com/2UkGtwk2iH
The last game Bleszinski showed was also a VR title, planned to be a spiritual successor to Toobin. He describes the game as "Mario Kart on water with animals in VR."
Here's the silly/fun one - basically a VR spiritual sequel to Toobin, only everyone are animals - and a way to fight Seasonal Affection Disorder. (Mario Kart on water with animals in VR.)
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) May 15, 2018
Called "Donuts." pic.twitter.com/wNKef9QsS4
These ideas were a group effort, according to Bleszinski. He also offered up a quick thought that offered a bit of insight into how developers pitch publishers on their ideas, and the potential pitfalls that come with that process.
One problem with publishers, generally? You pitch something and the response is often "too similar to something we have or out there so no" or "this is too unique so we can't do a proper financial model for it."
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) May 15, 2018
I respect them but as a creative it's frustrating.
Our Take
While these ideas sound great, games are made or broken in the development process, so it's hard to know how the final projects would have turned out. Still, samurais riding dragons are cool, and it's always disappointing to see ideas with potential get snuffed out.
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