Correct me if I'm wrong: it is common that when you complete a game with which you was involved for several hours and several days, one of the first thoughts that cross your mind is "when will the two come out?"
Perhaps this doubt is not a factor as relevant today. We live in the era of online games, multiplayer (competitive and cooperative) serve to extend the longevity of a title. However, sooner or later, his curiosity about the inevitable sequel ("inevitable," yes, think along with me, that game had sequels?) Starts to attract their attention.
Eventually, the studio that brought you the "Game 1 Incredible" announces plans to continue the story in "Amazing Game 2: The Return." Screenshots begin to appear, teaser trailers generally follow soon shortly.
But sometimes fate has other plans. For one reason or another, the studio loses interest in the launch sequence, then either the team responsible for it faces "creative conflicts" (industry euphemism meaning "nobody could agree on anything about the production of the game").
Whatever the reason, sometimes the sequels that we were promised appearance never end up on store shelves. And these are some examples.
Payback and Full Throttle Hell on Wheels
Full Throttle is an absolute classic of the genre adventure. Released in 1995 on the growing market of games on optical media for PCs (the wistful CD-ROMs, which we ran in our multimedia kit Sound Blaster), the game quickly became a critical success, commercial, and marked a generation. If you son of a computer technician in the '90s, you undoubtedly played Full Throttle.
In 2000, LucasArts began production of the continuation of game entitled Full Throttle: Payback. Tim Schafer, the genius creator of the original game, had dropped to LucasArts to work on his own newly-founded company, Double Fine Productions. The lack of participation of the brains behind the original game was a good indication that the thing started with the left foot.
Larry Ahern and Bill Tiller, both also employees of the weight of the original game, given the reins of the project. In 2001, they followed suit and dropped the LucasArts. Unable to count with the participation of producers in the first game, the company decided - quite rightly - to abort the continuation of Full Throttle.
The following year, LucasArts decided to try it again with Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels. And with a new direction, too: the game now have more emphasis on action than on the adventure. There was even a trailer released during E3 2003:
And, as with the previous design, Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels was canceled.
Want an even more sad news? Roy Conrad, the voice of Ben, died in 2002.
Legacy of Kain
The Legacy of Kain series has had five games. The series began in 1996 with Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain on PlayStation and PC, and was "completed" in 2003 with the Legacy of Kain: Defiance for PS2, Xbox and PC.
I say "complete" because the open end of Defiance made it clear that this was not the definitive history. Inevitably, a sequel was announced. Legacy of Kain: Dark Prophecy is the next chapter in the saga, but for various reasons the game was canceled.
One of the reasons for cancellation is traditional: the departure of members of the production of the original games. Amy Hennig and Richard Lemarchand, respectively the director and designer of the series, came out of Eidos. Tony Jay (Elder God of the actor) and Kyle Mannerberg (designer of the series) died after the release of Defiance. And to complete everything, Eidos has begun to prioritize the Tomb Raider series.
So Dark Prophecy ended up going to the grave.
Wet 2
Wet had everything to succeed: it was an action game in the third person to be released in 2009 by Bethesda, known for blockbusters Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3. The emphasis of the game was in acrobatic action with guns (a commonplace of post-Matrix, but still pretty funny) and had the whole influence of crime and action films of the 70s. Namely, that we look younger, know best in emulations of Tarantino.
Tarantula: die?
The game ends with the classic hook for a sequel. In the final cutscene, the villain Tarantula (who had his neck broken by the heroine) is seen moving his fingers, an indication that she is not dead as well, suggesting that this is not the last time that we'll see.
But that ended up being the last time we saw it. Although it was announced in November 2010, Wet 2 seems to have been canceled this year, according to a LinkedIn profile of the project leaders. Although no official announcement of the cancellation of several others involved with continuing the developer also abandoned. And in the last six months there was no new information on the project.
So I will venture a guess that that stirred a finger in the Tarantula was only a post mortem spasm.
Split Second 2
Okay, you know I'm a big proponent of games for IOS, right? There are hardcore gamers alarmists who say that kind of casual focus of the industry will hinder the real "serious" gaming. Well, the story of Split Second 2 gives a reason for this type of discourse.
Split Second is a racing game released in 2010. The game's premise is quite interesting: the riders are participants in a reality show, and the goal of racing is not just going through the finish line first, but alone if you prefer. As in the Burnout series, violently eliminating his opponents is not only allowed, is encouraged and rewarded.
Split Second explosions on the screen of the iPhone
The visual effects fill the eyes, as we can ascertain this collection of explosions. It's like driving a car in the middle of a movie from Michael Bay And to top it off, the game got perfect scores on specialized sites. As usual, a sequel to Disney was proposed, which is the publisher of the game.
And guess what happened? Disney refused to continue the game. She had just bought Tapulous, a developer of games for IOS, and announced it would shift its focus to the casual games (like Club Penguin, a social network of casual games that brought to American giant profits that much more wonderful - but little appreciated - Split Second).
Go ahead, you now have a good argument for claiming that casual games kill the hardcore industry. (Yes, I am aware that calling a game like Split Second "hardcore" irritate some fans simulation automobile)
You remember some continuation that leaves you hopeful, only to crush your dreams when the notice of cancellation painted in your feed reader?
