Gypsum: Difference between revisions

394 bytes added ,  2 years ago
m
no edit summary
mNo edit summary
mNo edit summary
Line 17: Line 17:
{{Quote|It was pretty cool. It was a bit of a bummer to stop it, because now we have games like the [[Wikipedia:Batman: Arkham|''Arkham'' series]] and ''[[Wikipedia:Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor|Shadow of Mordor]]'' and ''[[Wikipedia:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt|The Witcher 3]]''—and that’s the sort of free-roam combat that we were doing back then, but nobody’s ever seen it.|[[Paul Bertone]]{{Ref/Site|Id=HistoryOfHalo|URL=https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history|Site=Vice|Page=The Complete, Untold History of Halo|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}}}}
{{Quote|It was pretty cool. It was a bit of a bummer to stop it, because now we have games like the [[Wikipedia:Batman: Arkham|''Arkham'' series]] and ''[[Wikipedia:Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor|Shadow of Mordor]]'' and ''[[Wikipedia:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt|The Witcher 3]]''—and that’s the sort of free-roam combat that we were doing back then, but nobody’s ever seen it.|[[Paul Bertone]]{{Ref/Site|Id=HistoryOfHalo|URL=https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history|Site=Vice|Page=The Complete, Untold History of Halo|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}}}}


'''Gypsum''' was the codename of a cancelled video game project that was worked on by [[Bungie]], from the start of [[2003]] until June of that year. It was to be a [[Wikipedia:Virtual camera system#Third-person view|third-person]] [[Wikipedia:Action game|action]] [[Wikipedia:Beat 'em up|beat-em-up]] with a setting that blended [[Wikipedia:Myth|mythology]] and [[Wikipedia:Fantasy|fantasy]].{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}{{Ref/Site|Id=IGNGypsum|URL=https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/21/canceled-bungie-game-gypsum-revealed|Site=IGN|Page=Cancelled Bungie Game 'Gypsum' Revealed|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}} Gypsum was being developed using Bungie's in-house [[Blam engine]].{{Ref/Site|Id=TigerEngine|URL=https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022106/Lessons-from-the-Core-Engine|Site=GDC Vault|Page=Lessons from the Core Engine Architecture of Destiny|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}}
'''Gypsum''' was the codename of a cancelled video game project that was worked on by [[Bungie]], from the start of [[2003]] until June of that year. It was to be a free-roam [[Wikipedia:Virtual camera system#Third-person view|third-person]] [[Wikipedia:Action game|action]] [[Wikipedia:Beat 'em up|beat-em-up]] with a setting that blended [[Wikipedia:Myth|mythology]] and [[Wikipedia:Fantasy|fantasy]].{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}{{Ref/Site|Id=IGNGypsum|URL=https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/21/canceled-bungie-game-gypsum-revealed|Site=IGN|Page=Cancelled Bungie Game 'Gypsum' Revealed|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}} Gypsum was being developed using Bungie's in-house [[Blam engine]].{{Ref/Site|Id=TigerEngine|URL=https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022106/Lessons-from-the-Core-Engine|Site=GDC Vault|Page=Lessons from the Core Engine Architecture of Destiny|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}}


In it, the player would take control of a [[Wikipedia:Minotaur|Minotaur]] and according to [[Martin O'Donnell]] who produced sound effects and music for the game, "you ran around and smashed things with a hammer and magic stuff happened." A playable prototype of the game was produced, which O'Donnell described as "a blast".{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}} Game designer [[Paul Bertone]] compared Gypsum's gameplay to modern titles such as ''[[Wikipedia:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor|Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor]]'' and the ''[[Wikipedia:Batman: Arkham|Batman: Arkham]]'' games.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}
In it, the player would take control of a [[Wikipedia:Minotaur|Minotaur]] and according to [[Martin O'Donnell]] who produced sound effects and music for the game, "you ran around and smashed things with a hammer and magic stuff happened." A playable prototype of the game was produced, which O'Donnell described as "a blast".{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}} Game designer [[Paul Bertone]] compared Gypsum's gameplay to modern titles such as ''[[Wikipedia:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor|Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor]]'' and the ''[[Wikipedia:Batman: Arkham|Batman: Arkham]]'' games.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}
Line 24: Line 24:


==Development==
==Development==
Gypsum was worked on by a small internal team within Bungie, who had previously worked on [[Phoenix (cancelled Bungie project)|Phoenix]], another internal project that had been cancelled in early [[2003]]. However, [[Jason Jones]] had promised the Phoenix team that they would get to develop their own game. So, despite the cancellation, the team remained separate from the ''[[Halo 2]]'' team and commenced work on a new project, Gypsum.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}} This project was helmed by two men who had previously created a mod called Chimera for ''[[Wikipedia:Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]'', a previous Bungie title.{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}}
Gypsum was worked on by a small internal team within Bungie, who had previously worked on [[Phoenix (cancelled Bungie project)|Phoenix]], another internal project that had been cancelled in late [[2002]] or early [[2003]]. However, [[Jason Jones]] had promised the Phoenix team that they would get to develop their own game. So, despite the cancellation, the team remained separate from the ''[[Halo 2]]'' team and commenced work on a new project, Gypsum, in early 2003.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}} This project was helmed by two men who had previously created a mod called Chimera for ''[[Wikipedia:Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]'', a previous Bungie title.{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}}


Against the wishes of [[Joseph Staten]] and [[Max Hoberman]], Jones joined the Gypsum team as creative director and project lead at some point in early 2003, while still moonlighting as project lead on ''Halo 2''. A number of other ''Halo'' developers also contributed to the project, including game designer [[Paul Bertone]] and composer [[Martin O'Donnell]], who produced music and sound effects for it. The Gypsum project made significant progress in the following few months, having produced a playable prototype by June 2003. This prototype seemed to be well-received within Bungie, with O'Donnell describing it as "a blast", and Bertone saying it was "pretty cool".{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}}
Against the wishes of [[Joseph Staten]] and [[Martin O'Donnell]], Jones joined the Gypsum team as creative director and project lead at some point in early 2003, apparently bringing several ''Halo'' designers with him,{{Ref/Site|Id=CathedralHurricane|URL=https://medium.com/@Oozer3993/assembling-a-cathedral-out-of-a-hurricane-the-making-of-halo-2-24652d08d29a|Site=Medium|Page=Assembling A Cathedral Out Of A Hurricane — The Making of Halo 2|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}} while still moonlighting as project lead on ''Halo 2''. A number of other ''Halo'' developers also contributed to the project, including game designer [[Paul Bertone]] (who had previously been part of the Phoenix team) and composer Martin O'Donnell, who produced music and sound effects for it. The Gypsum project made significant progress in the following few months, having produced a playable prototype by June 2003. This prototype seemed to be well-received within Bungie, with O'Donnell describing it as "a blast", and Bertone saying it was "pretty cool".{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}}


However, this success was short-lived, as after the famous [[Halo 2 E3 demo|''Halo 2'' E3 demo]], it became evident within Bungie that they would not be able to ship ''Halo 2'' in its current form on the [[Xbox]], because the hardware was not powerful enough to handle the [[Wikipedia:Shadow volume|stencil lighting engine]], given the scope of the game. This necessitated that the game be significantly overhauled, including a complete redesign of the [[campaign]]. Thus, all other ongoing projects at Bungie were cancelled in June 2003, including Gypsum, and all employees were folded into the ''Halo 2'' team in order to complete the game.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}
However, this success was short-lived, as after the famous [[Halo 2 E3 demo|''Halo 2'' E3 demo]], it became evident within Bungie that they would not be able to ship ''Halo 2'' in its current form on the [[Xbox]], because the hardware was not powerful enough to handle the [[Wikipedia:Shadow volume|stencil lighting engine]], given the scope of the game. This necessitated that the game be significantly overhauled, including a complete redesign of the [[campaign]]. Thus, all other ongoing projects at Bungie were cancelled in June 2003, including Gypsum, and all employees were folded into the ''Halo 2'' team in order to complete the game.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}