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Prerelease:Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation)
This page details prerelease information and/or media for Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation).
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Contents
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]
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 a portal similar to the ones found in the Magic Crafters home where the home vortex should be stands in. There is also an Ice wizard in the corner where the Dragon statue should be (the statue in question being closer to the edge in this version).
- 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.
- 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.
- Additional 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.
- E3 1998 began, and Spyro had a booth.[5] Said booth featured an early build of the game with a few notable differencesː
- 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.
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8F1834A641B71DBC
- 19 July 1998
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL95DghK2OXuPhTFZzwByYxRaW6m-u1ve0
- A later build of the game, apparently only featuring a few minor differences. The life statues are, yet again, still golden, showing that they were changed to silver relatively late in development. The title screen still isn't finished.
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL95DghK2OXuPhTFZzwByYxRaW6m-u1ve0
- 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.
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 aesthetic, 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.
Home Vortex Early Design
The design of the vortex found at the end of every level which brings you back to the homeworld went through a few revisions until the final one was chosen.
This trailer from the European PlayStation demo disc 1 shows the earliest version of the home vortex (at around 1ː24) which consisted of the same platform used on the dragon platforms, with the addition of a few particle effects and a single blue gem floating inside. This design was most likely just a placeholder.
A latest version of the home vortex found in the Tabloid demo and the June 1998 build of the game features the final design of the "platform" but a gem can still be found floating in some of them. The gem itself isn't a graphical effect and can actually be collected to add to the current level's gem counter.
There is also evidence that home portals / gates not unlike the one from future Spyro games may have once been planned as opposed to the vortexes found in the final game (see #Miscellaneous Screenshots).
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"
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.
A trailer from a Playstation Underground demo disc in which we can clearly (if not briefly at 5ː08) notice the aforementioned lack of a low-poly model for the early dragon statues. The placement of the statue itself (where Argus would be in the final game) was also changed, being inside the dragon head instead of in front of it. Thus either the level was accessible from the start, or the dragon is only revealed after completing a level (there is evidence in the demo versions to support the latter). The earliest green gem version of the HUD is also shown.
"White Statue"
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.
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
Near the end part of Wizard Peak, where the home vortex would normally be, there appears to have been a portal / gate not unlike the ones found in the Magic Crafters home (see #Miscellaneous Screenshots).
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.
The next screenshot depicts Spyro flaming an Ice Gnorc at the end of Wizard Peak. The aforementioned portal / gate is shown and the Lucas is missing (it's possible that he may have once been on one of the platforms you can only access via Supercharge).
Dry Canyon
The screenshot of Spyro flaming a vulture in Dry Canyon shows that there used to be two gems instead of three.
Cliff Town
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
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.
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
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
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
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 amount of treasure, while in the final game you need yo rescue a certain amount of Dragons in order to progress to the Peace Keepers. Unused text in the Tabloid demo still references the Boatman.
Miscellaneous Screenshots
Peace Keepers
A screenshots of Spyro flying through Cliff Town which could be found in the "Science & Technology News" section of the Dragon News Network website. In the top-left corner, where the home vortex would normally be, there appears to be something which resembles the kind of gate / portal found in the Peace Keepers home. If this guess is correct, then reason as to why a portal would be found inside a level is unknown. The fact that a skybox seems to be inside this gate may imply that the devs may at one point have wanted the player to go through a portal to both enter and exit a level, an idea which would reappear in the game's two sequels.
Not yet added
- Information on the press kit and the official development content that comes with itː
- Some unusual low quality screenshots of Gnasty Gnorc, perhaps displaying this way due to a glitch
- Prerelease footage seen in advertsː
- https://youtu.be/tIC_FZZThCg (Build close to the final one, certain sound effects are missing or sound different).
