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Prerelease:Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation)

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This page details prerelease information and/or media for Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation).


This cactus is UNDER CONSTRUCTION
This article is a work in progress.
...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.
Hmmm...
To do:
  • There's still more out there to find - magazine scans are a "priority".
  • Investigate the June/July build of the game. Since they're prototype versions they're probably not worth adding to this page, but they haven't been released yet so adding them to the prototype page might not be a good idea just yet either.
  • Add screenshots/replace links when needed.

Conception

Spyro the Dragon started development following the poor sales of Disruptor, Insomniac Games' previous game. Noticing the rise in popularity of platformers such as Super Mario 64 or Crash Bandicot, Insomniac decided that their next game would try to appeal to a larger audience. Aiming to create a character for their new game which would in a way serve as a mascot for the more child-oriented part of the Playstation library, art director Craig Stitt suggested this character to be a dragon due to their sheer appeal in terms of both appearance and gameplay options.[1] The idea was then pitched to the rest of the development team, only to receive a positive reception. And so began the story of Spyro the Dragon.


Changes in Spyro's character in early stages of development:

  • Spyro's working name / title used to be "Pete", before later being changed to "Pyro" and finally Spyro.
  • Spyro was originally intended to be an adult dragon, but was later turned into a kid in order to be easier to animate and look cuter.
  • Other preliminary sketches also depict Spyro as being bipedal. "The Making of Spyro the dragon" released by Playstation Underground actually shows us an early animation test of Spyro raising on his hind legs and putting his hands on his hips in a sassy manner.[2] While Spyro can go bipedal (like during the ending of the first game) he is otherwise quadrupedal by default.
  • Spyro's original color was green, but it was switched to purple so that he wouldn't blend into grassy environments. Spyro's early color scheme can be seen in one of the early animation tests shown in "The Making of Spyro the dragon".[3]


(Source: The Making of Spyro the dragon)
(Source: The Animation Academy)

Development Timeline

  • Conceptual phase ( Early 1997)
  • Date Uncertain (~Spring 1998)[4]
    • Early promotional material which features an early version of the HUD (at around 0ː13), appears to predate the HUD shown at the E3 of that year.
      • This early graphic for the life icon still exists in the final game, albeit unused. Another change to the HUD is that the icon next to the counter which appears when you collect gems shows a green gem instead of a gold treasure chest.
      • Wizard Peak's level design is different, showing the entrance to an unknown area near the end of the level (in the final game the home vortex stands in front of where it used to be), and an Ice wizard in the corner where the Dragon statue should be (the statue in question being closer to the edge in this version).
  • May 29th to the 30th
    • E3 1998 began, and Spyro had a booth.[5] Said booth featured an early build of the game with a few notable differencesː
      • The HUD is different, as the life icon is in the center of the screen as opposed to the right side.
      • The tents in the Peace Keepers home have a different, more pronounced "shadow" on their surface, which may be the result of a glitch, seeing how it disappears once the tent is flamed.
      • There is a locked chest on the platform in the central area of the Artisans overworld.
      • Gildas is missing his release animation, and his dialogue is presented in text form.
      • At around 27ː39 you can see the Dragon counter going from zero to one after releasing Magnus in the Peace Keeper home, implying that this level was accessed via cheats in order to show different levels beside the ones from the Artisans home during the presentation.
    • Additional footage from Spyro's booth. [6]
      • The aforementioned early version of the HUD can be seen more clearly (at 1ː27).
      • Said extract of the footage shows that the Magic Crafters home was also accessed via cheats, as the HUD informs us that the player hasn't collected a single Gems nor rescued a single dragons.
    • Additonal footage from Spyro's booth. [7]
      • A short clip of Spyro in the Artisan home, indirectly focusing on the locked chest which would ultimately be removed in the final game.
  • Date Uncertain (~May 1998)
    • The Tabloid demo is built. It appears to be closely related to the build of the game shown at E3 1998.
    • Some time afterwards a second demo of the game is built. This version is later than the E3 build but earlier than the June 1998 build.
  • June 1998
    • https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8F1834A641B71DBC
      • A currently unreleased prototype of the game, featuring different enemy placement, slightly different level design in a few levels (such as additional platforms), a multitude of dragon differences and an incomplete title screen. The life statues are still golden.
  • 12 August 1998
    • Roughly the date that Spyro the Dragon finished development, according to the final game's WAD file.
  • Late 1998
    • Sep. Spyro the Dragon is released in North America.
    • Oct. Spyro the Dragon is released in Europe.
  • 1999
    • Apr. Spyro the Dragon is released in Japan.

Early Gameplay Ideas

In late 1998, Insomniac Games created a website based on Spyro's in-universe news channelː the "Dragon News Network". Featured on this website was a page describing the game's technical marvels and what the player could expect from it, yet a few things are mentioned here but never actually seen in-gameː

  • The "moveset" section references a Fireball power-up, which would only make its debut in the game's sequel. It may imply that it was originally planned to be in the first game.
  • Gnasty's World / Gnorc Gnexus is referred to as "Machinists", its earlier name. Unused text in the Tabloid demo still references this homeworld as Machinists.
  • Listed among the ways to discover hidden areas are "flaming a rock" and "running around a tree". While no area can be unlocked by doing those things, this concept may have inspired the concept of the (hidden) Skill Points presents in the game's two sequels.


(Source: Dragon News Network)

Concept art

Gnorcs

Judging from concept art, the basic Gnorcs enemies were at first planned to have a more humanoid / clearer body shape and wore more medieval-inspired clothing, as opposed to the final design which is rounder, simpler, and usually either "naked" or wearing nondescript metallic clothing. The reason for this change was likely motivated by the Playstation's graphical limitations, and the Gnorcs' design from later Spyro games - namely Spyro: A Hero's Tail - more closely match the early concept art.

Fodder

There exists concept art for some fodders which never made their way into the final gameː such as a sort of fuzzy animal, a strange horse-like creature, and two sorts of birds. The latter two have a more toon-like esthetic, which contrasts with more realistic / less stylized fodders found in the final game.

Enemies

Conceptual sketch for a cut enemy called a "Flying Monk", which bears a striking resemblance to the Green Wizards from the final games. It is unknown whether this enemy was a sub-specie of the Green Wizards or if they simply inspired / evolved into them (which could be supported by the existence of an artwork of what appears to be a fusion between a Flying Monk and a Green Wizard).

A rough early sketch of a Tin Soldier informs us that in order to defeat them you would have to "push him sideways until he drops", which was changed probably due to the Armored Gnorcs in Ice Cavern requiring a similar method in order to defeat them. The design of the armor itself was also later refined, the feather on the helmet being replaced by a spike and the sword by a shield.

Unknown creature

There exists a piece of artwork featuring a bizarre troll-like creature. Said creature has a large nose, shaggy black hair tied in a braid, greasy skin, and a disproportionately small body with a light stomach pattern. It may have been an enemy design which was ultimately scrapped. Another theory is that it may have been a sort of fodder (hence the small body and apparent lack of ways of attack) that was scrapped because of its unsettling appearance.


(Source: The Animation Academy)
(Source: Misc. Concept Art)

Dragon Statue Early Design

The design of the iconic crystallized dragon statues appears to have gone through several redesigns until the final one was chosen.

"Gold Spyro"

Spyro1-GoldDragon-TownSquare-1.png

This screenshot of Town Square found in Game Buyer Issue 3 from September 1998 depicts the earliest known design for the crystallized dragons, in the form of a gold statue of Spyro, which may have either been the original intent or was simply used as a placeholder until a better design was found.

As a side note, the other dragon statue (the one where Thor is imprisoned) which is normally present on the higher platform appears to be missing, which is probably just due to the dragon not having a low-poly model yet, since videos of the statue show that it only appeared when Spyro was very close to it.

"White Statue"

Spyro1-PICT-Dragon-1.png

This screenshot of the bottom of Stone Hill's well found in the March issue of Ultimate Solutions shows a more elaborate design for the crystallized dragons, now showing them standing up with their wings unfolded, they also now seem to be made out of white crystal as opposed to the previous gold. This dragon seems to be closer to the center of the room as opposed to the leftmost wall.

As a side note, the design of the locked chest appears to have one being closer to that of a traditional chest (à la The Legend of Zelda) as opposed to the design used in the final game, which is more angular and is made out of metal.


(Source: Game Buyer Issue 3)
(Source: Ultimate Solutions March Issue)

Next Generation Screenshots

The 42nd edition of the magazine Next Generation which came out in June 1998 (initially released in a limited format at E3 1998 in May) shows some screenshots from one of the earliest known builds of the game (the magazine claims it to be an alpha version). Regardless of the exact date, we can see that the screenshots present quite a number of differences.

Wizard Peak

Spyro1-PrereleaseWizardPeakEntrance.png

Near the end part of Wizard Peak, next to the home vortext, there appears to have been an entrance to a part of the level that was cut in the final game. Only solid white can be seen through the entrance, presumably from the skybox. Note also that in the final game, Spyro has to jump up a few steps on the way up this section of the level - no steps are present here. The top of the peaks also seem to lack snow.

Spyro1-PrereleaseWizardPeakEntranceCloseUp.png

The next screenshot depicts Spyro flaming an Ice Gnorc at the end of Wizard Peak. The gate to the aforementioned entrance is shown and the home vortex is missing, it is then possible that this gate led to an outside area where it could be found, alongside Lucas. A reason that could have led to this area being removed is that it may have allowed you to get on one of the platforms you can only access via Supercharge, which would have defeated the purpose of this area.

Dry Canyon

Spyro1-PrereleaseDryCanyonMissingGem.png

The screenshot of Spyro flaming a vulture in Dry Canyon shows that there used to be two gems instead of three.

Cliff Town

Spyro1-PrereleaseCliffTownFatLady.png

The screenshot of Spyro approaching the second Fat Lady in Cliff Town shows some interesting differencesː this enemy and her cauldron seem to be closer to the "river", and there doesn't appear to be any cacti behind her.

Peace Keepers home

Spyro1-PrereleasePeaceKeepersRoom.png

A screenshot of the beginning area of the Peace Keepers home. The texture on the wall is different as the brick effect extends further up the ceiling, the lighting also seems to be brighter.

Spyro1-PrereleasePeaceKeepersTents.png

This screenshot of the scared Gnorc Guards in the Peace Keepers home shows the earlier version of the tents with their large "shadow".

Ice Cavern

Spyro1-PrereleaseIceCavernMissingGems.png

The three red gems here aren't shown in this screenshot (whether they already were collected or weren't yet placed there is unknown).

Toasty

Spyro1-PrereleaseIToastyEarliestHUD.png

This screenshot of the fight against Toasty shows that the HUD icon next to your gem count used to be a green gem and not a treasure chest like in the final game.

Artisans home

Spyro1-PrereleaseBoatman.png

The Boatman, a Viking-like character who would have transported you to the Peace Keepers, but was ultimately replaced by the balloonist. The magazine mentions that in order to board the ship you would have to collect a certain ammount of treasure, while in the final game you need yo rescue a certain ammount of Dragons in order to progress to the Peace Keepers. Unused text in the Tabloid demo still references the Boatman.


(Source: Next Generation issue 42)

Not yet added

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