For every video game that is launched on the market there are a good number of ideas that dreamed of achieving the same thing and were left in the gutter. Luckily there are initiatives like Hidden Palace that manages to rescue many of these proposals that did not see the light of day and that are a delight for true lovers of hidden treasures.
Hidden Palace and the games that did not see the light
An idea that is too ambitious for the technology and capabilities of the moment, a change of interest that forces a bet on another more profitable project or that there are no more funds to move forward are some of the many reasons why a video game does not see the light of day .
Of course, one cannot forget the main challenge facing any development: validating the idea. There are games that look good on paper, but when they are carried out … they do not finish curdling. So they stay in a simple prototype with one or two levels in many cases. But what about those games that were started and never saw the light of day?
Most games that do not end up seeing the light tend to pass away, disappearing as if they were never the idea of a developer. Even so, there are also some of these prototypes or first versions that, thanks to certain groups of users, can be preserved. And that’s how we got to Poject Deluge from Hidden Palace.
Xbox and Dreamcast Prototypes
Hidden Palace is a community of users, one of many, committed to preserving video games. Thus, no matter what it is, the main objective of this group is that any title that falls into their hands is preserved for the enjoyment of any interested user. Logically, this is not always possible or easy, because it requires obtaining the largest number of development discs from which to rescue said material, but when you find collections like Project Deluge’s , the work is greatly appreciated.
This project consists of a total of 349 video games in the prototype phase for Xbox and another 135 for the Sega Dreamcast . That is to say, a good list of titles that until now many did not even know that they existed or that they were the prototype of what later was the final game that hopefully some could play at the time. In short, they are small treasures that serve to give an idea of what it is to develop video games for these two platforms.
So, if this number of titles catches your attention for both consoles, imagine what there may be for Playstation or Nintendo consoles that at that time enjoyed greater popularity and support from different studios. Well, we tell you, because they also made a compilation for some of those consoles and, for example, for PlayStation 2 there were at least 800 prototypes.
In the recently shared collection of Xbox and Dreamcast prototypes are early versions of games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Sakter, Jet Grind Radio, Dinosaur Hunting, He-Man, etc. And possibly the strangest of them all, a Luigi game for the Dreamcast .
Can Hidden Palace titles be played?
Surely you are wondering if these prototypes can be played or not. The answer is yes, you can play them. The files can be downloaded directly from the Hidden Palace website . Once done, you will only have to record the title in a valid format for the platform where you want to play them or use emulators, which would be the simplest option.
So, if we encourage you, you can try one of these rarities or treasures that you can find for both platforms. Which by the way, you can consult separately. Here are the Xbox prototypes and here are the Sega Dreamcast prototypes.
