Unseen64 is always digging up interesting facts and trivia about games that never got released and they've recently followed through yet again with another cool project that unfortunately didn't get to see the light of day. The project was to be developed by Zoonami, a studio composed of ex-Rare staff, but was never given an official name and was simply referred to as "Game Zero".
Game Zero was to be an exclusive GameCube game that would've utilized open-ended sandbox gameplay and the world was to be entirely composed of destructible voxels which the player could break to get items and resources to build structures. This was one of the main reasons why it got cancelled, as the project simply was too ambitious for consoles of the time. Additionally, the market for games at the time wasn't in favor of such open ended gameplay, so – after a few years of development and a rudimentary prototype – the project was shelved. For more information, read the full breakdown here.
What do you think? Would you have been interested in playing a Minecraft-like game back in 2004? Do you think this would've been a success had the team found a way to make it work? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source unseen64.net]
Comments 10
That title gives off an "obscure, messed-up video game creepypasta" vibe.
Whoa! And to think Microsoft had to go and buy Minecraft!
But... I was under the impression that Notch invented voxels!!
Don't want Minecraft now never mind 2004😂
My mate worked on this.
blocks =/= voxels
Minecart. LOL!
It could have been refreshing if done right. I think Minecraft hit at a perfect time, though. Great piece of gaming history for sure.
I think the reason Minecraft got so big was it's unique business model. The early versions used to be completely free. Once it hit alpha, Notch implemented a scheme where you'd get it at half price if you bought it during alpha, and a bit reduced if you bought it during beta. He also stated all additions would be free if you bought it before the beta ended. This resulted in a lot of publicity, both in the form of news articles and youtube videos.
While Minecraft and the way it works definitely is fun, I doubt it would have turned out to be such a hit if it was made as a console game like Game Zero.
Other than the fact that a game like this wouldn't have interested me at ALL, I also find it a bit odd to think that this wouldn't have been possible/would be too ambitious on the GameCube, since the current DS line of handhelds can play Minecraft games without a hitch, and they still aren't as powerful as the GameCube was.
Tap here to load 10 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...