Games That Weren't^®

Our next entry is for a title that unfortunately had a successful Kickstarter campaign, but seems to have been abandoned without any further updates from the developer since 2019.

A number of updates were made on the Kickstarter page, but then the developer hit some medical issues and then went completely off the grid. As a result, there have been quite a few disgruntled backers who have taken to the comments section, frustrated after the lack of transparency and progress.

It’s a huge shame, as there was a lot of promise for the sequel, especially after the success of the first game. At the start, there were plenty of updates and progress reports and the game was looking really good.

At one stage, Jason did release a very early preview, which you can download below. We have also collated some concepts/screens that were shown on the Kickstarter page and also Protovision’s own page on the game.

We later then added graphics that were contributed to the game by ZombiWorkshop/LucanMonks and also Daniel Melendez (who sent over a ton of concept materials!), and these can now be found within the gallery below.

Daniel revealed that the blueprints were supposed to be included with the game as goodies in the form of wall-posters. The designs also appeared in the demo as 3D-renders, and some of the enemies would be shown the same way, as pre-rendered graphics. The rest were supposed to be used as concept art.

Then ZombiWorkshop found a series of promo pieces that they were thinking of using, that led to the pixel art posters in the main game. They were drawn up as artwork first, and then translated later to pixel art.

It is hoped that the game will eventually be picked up and finished, but there had been a strong possibility that Jason passed away in 2021. Thankfully, it has been confirmed that this was a different person, after finding that Jason has been active on Github more recently in 2024 and with age differences too.

Another fairly recent title which sadly seems to have been abandoned, and a lovely multi-screen scrolling platformer too – where you control a strange object that can bounce and collect items and turn into a spike ball to kill enemies by the looks of things.

A preview was released in 2017, but no further updates have been heard about the game and so it seems like it may have been cancelled.

Thanks to Gamebase64, we learn that there is a code repository for the game on GitHub, where it was suggested that there were plans for more levels, some gfx gimmicks and music/sfx. We have added a copy of the archive to the downloads for posterity.

If you know anything more about the title and its progress, then please do get in touch. For now, check out the preview for yourself for a glimpse of what could have been.

There have been numerous updates to Bruce Lee (the classic Datasoft game from 1984) over the years, and there was also once another from Andrea Schincaglia and Saul Cross in 2014.

A sooped up version of the original game with new graphics, sounds and map – but featuring many of the concepts that made the original so great.

Unfortunately it didn’t seem to get any further than some concept screens, graphics and music. A slideshow of some of the screens were released.

Just a year later, it seems some of at least Saul’s work may have been re-used for a similar themed game called Tiger Claw. A different developer though by the looks of it.

We hope to learn more soon as to why this conversion was abandoned, and if it got any further than the slideshow demo we have here.

Our next entry into the archives is a fairly recent development from 2018 which sadly seems to have been abandoned. Beat Em Up (working title) is a set of test concepts where you have two players that can fight against other enemies.

There is nothing much to it at this stage, just a series of animating sprites on the screen that you can move around and carry out fight actions. The second preview has a bit more interaction, but there is no “game” here just yet.

The development is by Leigh White, who has done a few other C64 games in the past. Thanks to 5ace in the comments, a post on Lemon64 highlights how the game came about and how it has been paused due to a lack of time.

It is possible that the game as a result will get resurrected, but for now it remains sadly within the GTW archives.