Prerelease:Normality/Early Prerelease Screenshots

This is a sub-page of Prerelease:Normality.

This appears to be the first ever build of Normality that was sent out to reviewers. It's unknown if all early screenshots found in various game magazines all belong to the same build, but at the very least they all share some distinct features, and have some differences that set them apart from the later build.

As this build appears to have been fully lost, only screenshots from gaming magazines remain. The oldest screenshots were published in October 1995, a full 8 months before the retail release.

Note that, as all prerelease screenshots come from magazine scans, some color correction has been done to account for printing artifacts.

M.I.N.T. Mall

In the 'Bad Influence! (S4E8) video report on Normality we can see a shot of the M.I.N.T. Mall with a cut dog NPC. This was either an early version of the blind man's dog, or possibly the dog that the bouncer at the TV Station was originally supposed to have. TODO: details.

Bad Influence! (S4E8)	Final

It's joined here by Bernard, the testing character that got used as stand in before final artwork was finished.

Barrels at the Plush-Rest Factory

In the GamePro UK #4 magazine, we can see that the paint barrels outside the Plush-Rest Factory used to be different. There appears to be a red and blue one, and the later gray barrel with yellow dot isn't there.

[TODO: add note here about blue paint.]

GamePro UK #4 (1995-12)	Final

We get a more clear look of these barrels in the Bad Influence! (S4E8) segment (in which the Oxy-Acetylene Torch is also missing).

Bad Influence! (S4E8)	Final

The blue barrel looks like it might be the same as the "oil drum" texture seen behind the door leading to the factory machinery in the Plush-Rest interior section:

OILDRUM
Oil drum

The red drum appears to be completely gone.

It's worth noting here that all the yellow paint drums in the retail version are also called "oil drums" even though they actually contain paint.

Kent's Apartment

A screenshot displayed on Gremlin's website shows some distinct differences in Kent's apartment.

Gremlin website	Final

The following differences can be seen:

• The coffee mug is green
• The kettle is orange
• The bird toy is not there
• A can of *FOOD* is on the chest of drawers
• The box you use to capture the rat is on the microwave (as in the demo—in retail, it's on the stovetop)
• The microwave is a bit larger, and its side texture is flipped

What's interesting is that some of these differences can still be seen in retail, in the FMV cutscenes that take place in Kent's apartment. These cutscenes were likely at least partly made early on in the development process. Here are some examples, both from the retail version of the game:

• 

  Removing the Sharkpoon from the bathtub. This shows the canned *FOOD* on the chest of drawers (which has the differently designed handles, similar to the render below), and a black box where the bird toy should be.

• 

  Combining the bird toy with the remote. Here we see the old kettle and mug in the background, as well as the older handles on the cupboards.

In the demo version, the can of food still exists but has been moved into the fridge.

A promotional render published in PC Review #53 (March 1996) also features this older version of Kent's apartment, as well as an early design for Heather in which she resembles her concept art more closely. We can also see some of the same differences in the kitchen as listed above, plus the handles on the cupboards looking slightly differently. The middle section in between the two blue cupboards also looks slightly different with a noticeable green growth coming from the top edge. [TODO: See below for a comparison of Heather's designs.]

PC Review #53 (1996-03)	Final

In the 'Bad Influence! (S4E8) segment on Normality we can also briefly these differences.

Bad Influence! (S4E8)	Final

In PC Zone #31 (October 1995), we can see an early version of Kent's TV, displaying monster trucks (which is seen in the TV shop in the retail version of the game). The window itself is also missing—it's literally just a hole in the wall with window blinds. The cutscene was remade completely for the final release.

PC Zone #31 (1995-10)	Final

Heather's Den

A screenshot in PC Zone #31 (October 1995) shows that the hammer in Heather's Den was originally a mallet. This mallet is later found in the TV Shop attic, whereas the hammer can only be used to obtain the key needed to unlock the rebels' fridge, which doesn't actually progress the story.

PC Zone #31 (1995-10)	Final

We can also see the old mallet sprite in the Bad Influence! segment.

Interestingly, in this version it seems that the hallway leading to the container was different; instead of a staircase heading down, it's a short straight section with a green floor texture. The green texture still exists in the game in the first version of the Den.

To explain this: the Den actually has two versions, in two separate map files: one for when you first meet Heather and don't have freedom to move around (which means you can't see the green hallway texture even though it's there, as it is behind you—this map is called DEN.MGL), and one for later on when you do get the freedom to move around, which uses the later hallway design (called DOCKS.MGL). In the first version of the Den, only the circular dumpster section exists, and the laboratory and docks sections do not appear in the map file at all.

Bad Influence! (S4E8)	Late Den, Lab Side (Retail)	Early Den, Dumpster Side (Retail)

The Gremlin website had a screenshot of the docks, showing the scapped rope item. This also shows the difference with the prerelease version of the voodoo doll, which is much larger.

Gremlin website	Final

Street

Again in PC Zone #31 (October 1995) we can find a slightly different version of the street outside Kent's apartment.

PC Zone #31 (1995-10)	Final

In the final version, the Norm truck does not show up until after you blow up the Mood Magnet substation—in the early version, it was apparently there even before the TV shop opens.

Another interesting detail is that, in the prerelease screenshot, the level geometry does not get darker further away from the camera as in retail—everything is in fullbright mode. This was either done for clarity, or the screenshot was made with an earlier version of the engine before the distance effect was programmed.

Cut Room in the Ordinary Outpost

This is by far the most interesting screenshot found in PC Zone #31 (October 1995), and the most interesting piece of cut content: a room that appears to have been completely scrapped and contains a number of unknown objects.

A cut room, probably from the Ordinary Outpost.

It seems fairly safe to say that this was a room in the Ordinary Outpost—potentially one that ultimately got turned into the staff room.

We can identify the following objects seen in the screenshot, all completely missing from the final release:

• Two guns (on the wall, in some sort of case or stand),
• Seven different posters (possibly wanted photos or mugshots) for a number of distinct individuals,
• A suitcase,
• A miniature of the Ordinary Outpost,
• A bottle containing a red or orange liquid,
• A desktop computer, possibly—the contraption on the chest of drawers looks like an IBM PC XT-style case with monitor and keyboard,
• A mug (in front of the computer case—again, very hard to make out).

For most of these objects there's no indication whatsoever what they might have been for. It's possible that the blue triangle on the desk is actually the scrap of cloth you find in the cells section, although it looks very slightly different.

The posters or mugshots could be related to the scrapped Kerry Oakley character, who uses a variety of disguises to fool the Norms, to the point where they believe she's a whole gang of rebel women. The faces don't particularly look feminine, though, and they might as well be random faces representing prisoners.

Although this was most likely a room in the Ordinary Outpost cells section, it's certainly possible that this room is actually an older version of a different location, too. Here are the most likely possibilities:

• 

  The cells section of the Ordinary Outpost—note the similarity in wall and floor textures, and the same schedule texture. This room is also the closest in purpose to the prerelease screenshot.

• 

  The office in the Plush-Rest Factory—this room also has the same ceiling (minus lamps) and what looks like an different version of the same table, and a highly similar chest of drawers with ashtray (not pictured).

• 

  The office in the Ordinary Outpost labs—note the same schedule texture on the right and again another version of that same table.