Nintendoe3

A new GamePad-centric prototype game, Project Guard, has inadvertently been revealed by TIME, after it – ironically enough – published an exclusive interview with Shigeru Miyamoto ahead of time.

The article has since been pulled, however, we were able to discover a few titbits about the experimental concept before it was removed. It's worth noting that we're bound to find out more about this project in Nintendo's Digital Event, which is due to take place in just over under an hour.

As described in the article, Project Guard reportedly uses the GamePad as a "quick-jump map", which enables the player to quickly switch between different laser-firing security cameras in a heavily guarded fortress. The player is tasked with gunning down enemies as they attempt to storm and even sneak past their defences.

When asked if Project Guard was influenced by the tower-defence genre, Miyamoto-san revealed that Nintendo actually began experimenting with the concept during the Nintendo 64 era. However, he says that the N64 lacked the processing power needed to make the project a reality, and the reason why Nintendo has now returned to it with the Wii U is because of the interface afforded by the GamePad.

Much like other tower-defence games, the player – in the demo shown to TIME at least – is able to place their defence cameras where they think is best before the match begins. A replay function at the end of the match shows the player where they succeeded and failed, providing them with the chance to work out optimal positions for next time.

It's worth emphasising again that this is currently just an experimental concept and, therefore, may evolve into a completely different title or not even end up being developed into a fully functioning game altogether. We'll be sure to share more details on this concept when they become available.