1988 Lankhor
Platform: Atari ST
Mechanic Warriors was due for release on the Atari ST back in 1988 via Lankhor. It was a mix of shooter and strategy, where you could control different Mechanic Warriors (fighters, tankers, transporters) to carry out missions.
The game was being developed by Nicholas Choukroun, with graphics by Michel Ancel. According to a history page on the game, the title was proposed to Lankhor, but at the time they didn’t have the funds – as all resources were being put into Maupiti Island and couldn’t finance the game properly.
As a result it seems, the ambitious project was never going to make it in its original incarnation, and so it was heavily simplified into a standard shoot-em-up called Intruder, which saw release via UbiSoft in 1989.
According to contributor Hoagie, it wasn’t a complete waste for artist Michel Ancel, as it taught him to animate a character made of independent sprites, a feature that would be used successfully in Rayman.
Thankfully the history page on the game has some assets that assumedly have come from Michel Ancel, but we hope that some day something playable could be recovered of the original concept. That might some day happen, as within the Dominique Sablon archive at the Conservatoire National du Jeu Video (CNJV), there are a few floppy disks present with demos. Hopefully some day these will be preserved and made available for posterity.
If you know anything more, please do get in touch.
With a huge thank you to Hoagie / Abandonware France for the submission and scans.
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