With Ensemble now officially closed, Gamasutra went for one last tour of the office and snagged what gossip they could on IPs that never was.
The world will never know such a gem as a ”Diablo in space” game now, for shame Microsoft. They also reveal how an ”earthlings versus Martians” turned into Halo Wars.
”Internally, the studio would prototype new game ideas. After that stage, the best results would be developed, then pitched to Microsoft,” reports Gamasutra.
”They included: a fantasy-adventure RPG called Sorcerer; Nova, a “Diablo in space” game; a pirate-themed take on Diablo; a game called Wrench; a Ratchet & Clank-style platformer called Bam.”
”Most detailed was a game called Agent, with an art style and universe inspired by Pixar’s The Incredibles, and using gameplay elements from Tomb Raider. As the concept art shows, the game was instantly iconic and unique.”
Another corner stone developer for the PC has suffered closure, with the demise of the Age of Empire devs truly ending an era.
”Another title was Graeme Devine’s Phoenix – an RTS game featuring earthlings versus Martians in a War of the Worlds-style conflict. The game changed over time, and would eventually become something different entirely: Halo Wars.”
Halo Wars was Ensembles official last hurray and its ‘gone gold’ announcement must have been bitter sweet as the studio doors slammed shut right after. Good luck guys!
