Prerelease:Saints Row: The Third/Early Development
This is a sub-page of Prerelease:Saints Row: The Third.
2008
Early Development
Development of a third Saints Row entry started in September 2008, a one month before Saints Row 2 and the game would be called Saints Row 3.[1]. Scott Phillips would serve as the project's design director, who worked on the previous game.
Due to the initial poor sales of the second entry before ramping up at the beginning of 2009, Volition had a staff turnover by THQ, where only one fifth of the 100 people that would go onto develop the game worked on previous entries. Some of them were from other parts of Volition while several others were new employees. Many of them were also not familiar with Saints Row nor the game's engine and didn't have that much manpower to develop specific features.
Original Plot
The original story of Saints Row 3 was where the main character was an undercover cop, where they would have infiltrated the Third Street Saints. The main aspect of the game was focused on player choices, such as if they bound a bale of cocaine they would either turn it in to the FBI or give it to the Saints. It would have followed the same tone as Saints Row 2 in terms of noteworthy over-the-top moments and sense of humor.
The idea was liked by Volition but it didn't have a clear vision, nor it did not "feel like Saints Row". At least six months into development, the idea would end up getting scrapped. Whether this is to do with a similar plot in the cancelled title Saints Row Undercover is unknown.
2009
circa. Feb-Mar
A Change of Tone
After scrapping the initial plot and starting anew, the developmental team was met with much confusion where they didn't know what they had in mind for their vision. Phillips decided to get the team together to brainstorm some ideas, such as what "over-the-top", a keyword used to loosely describe the first two games meant. It was when they came up with a Design Mantra titled "Embrace the Crazy; Fun Trumps All"; where they suggested many crazy ideas and would be used as a buzzword all the way until the end of development.
An issue with Design Director Scott Phillips had with Saints Row 2 was the lack of a consistent tone, where they felt that crazy activities like streaking, wielding katanas, car surfing and using a septic truck did not blend well, using the first game as a comparison to an extent. With a more tonal approach in mind, they wanted the game to have less features.
The team decided to put together a tonal video to capture what "over-the-top" really meant, set to the song Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe.
circa. Spring-Fall
Revamped Graphics
When the previous game came out and became a hit success, Volition wanted to take their success further by advancing in graphical achievements. They went for a new modelling program and engine this time around, so they could be able to make more detailed environments.
The time of day was cut due to wet ground reflections in the rain, due to the exact building and props being rendered twice at the bottom as a reflection at all times compared to other games that occasionally have it rendered.
Early Concept Art
Steelport
Steelport was tentatively titled Bridgeport and Edgewood during development of the game. The art team went to Chicago for a few days to take reference photos, where the canals and steel bridges served inspiration. They didn't want to make the setting too much like it so they looked to fictitious city settings like Gotham City from Batman to distance it.
The team wanted to implement landmarks in the city, so it would be easier to navigate rather than having the player having to look at the minimap at all times.
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Protagonist
The reason that the male character preset was redesigned was because he looked "too anime".
Combat
Concept of the combat sequences in the game, where Brutes were apparently introduced.
September
Vehicle Style Tests
Vehicle style tests dated September 2009, of the Capshaw, reusing the model from the previous game. That car doesn't appear in the final.
November
Early Prototype
A very early and unstable prototype was shown in the 10th anniversary stream, dating back to December 2009. This build was made as a proof-of-concept "art test", in order to see how much level of detail can be handled in a singular setting.
- A huge bulk of the game is built around Saints Row 2, from the title screen (with a simplistic logo with a placeholder 3) to the HUD.
- The title screen's music didn't have any licensed songs, instead using some kind of orchestral placeholder music.
- The overall map and environment is slow, due to it taking up an excessive amount of space.
- The character cannot be customized, instead using the early male present seen in concept art.
- The character doesn't have any walking animations and is programmed in a T-pose.
- The minimap seemed to have been redesigned at this point.
- Steelport was rather small and completely different in comparison to the final. Despite that, many of the buildings, such as Smiling Jack's remain in the final.
- Swimming is functional in this build.
- The Joe Cola logo was completely different, parodying more of the real-life Pepsi brand.
Screenshots
Early Vertical Slice
A trailer made using that a much later build of the prototype's engine was created to show off to THQ. The footage was actually put together as a series of montages rather than actual, full gameplay. It was also captured with a very slow framerate before being sped up to make it look like actual gameplay.[2]
