Builders laid off from Dauntless creator Phoenix Labs unveiled a recreation that nearly was on the studio. Codenamed “Venture Dragon,” it was formally cancelled over the weekend, prompting a number of artists and the sport’s composer to disclose their work.
This previous Could, Phoenix laid off round 100 workers and canceled a number of initiatives in growth. When studios kill initiatives, they do not all the time let employees (present or former) publicly converse on nor exhibit at size what they’d been engaged on.
In keeping with principal idea artist Nicholas Kole, there have been a number of inside makes an attempt to avoid wasting “Dragon” that went nowhere. In revealing his work, he referred to as it “the most important ever artwork bomb of labor I liked.”
In Kole’s phrases, “Dragon” would’ve been a multiplayer sandbox-RPG impressed by Minecraft and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The undertaking had been in growth since 2021 and the studio’s third undertaking after 2023’s Fae Farm.
A have a look at what “Venture Dragon” may’ve been
For Cole, he confirmed ideas for a number of in-game creatures. One was influenced by pine cones (therefore its title “Pinoceros“), and one other by clay ocarinas.
Additional artwork was revealed by co-developer Airborn Studios. Trying again on its contributions, Airborn referred to as “Dragon’s” state of affairs “bittersweet,” and lamented that gamers “will not be capable of expertise [our designs] the way in which it was supposed to be.”
Together with the artwork, composer Cris Velasco launched one of many would-be recreation’s tracks, calling it considered one of his favourite scores he ever made. “Now by no means to be heard in its completely,” he added.
Apparently, Kole, who beforehand labored at Crash developer Toys for Bob, briefly talked about a fifth recreation in that sequence that was additionally cancelled. He gave no particulars, however famous the eventual embargo break for that recreation would “break individuals’s hearts.”
At time of writing, Kole and different artists have mentioned they will reveal extra from “Dragon” over time. So if the undertaking sounds attention-grabbing, it could be value checking again on these accounts from time to over the following a number of days.
