History is full of incredible accidents of fate, accidents that saved us from potential catastophe and pain. Tom Selleck, for example was this close to being chosen to play Indiana Jones. Eric Stoltz actually filmed a whole chunk of Back to the Future before being replaced by Michael J. Fox. Neil Diamond almost stole the role of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver from Robert De Niro.
Now, finally, gaming has its very own Neil Diamond moment. Ken Levine’s Irrational Games has released a pitch document for a game that never was – a game tentatively called ‘Monster Island’.
“Monster Island,” according to the document, “is a fast paced action/strategy console game that lets the player assume the role of either a giant monster out to eat a city for dinner or the authorities pledged to protect the innocent citizenry.
“The monster will constantly be forced to make decisions as to their next course of action. Should he stop for a light snack (American? Or perhaps a little Japanese?) or continue on a course of destruction that will build stronger bones and more radioactive breath.”
The pitch document is a fantastic insight into the early stages of videogames development, and terrifying look at what might have been. Who knows – there could be some parallel universe out there where people are playing Monster Island instead of Bioshock, and Tom Selleck is Indiana Jones.
[shudder]
From the Vault: The Monster Island Pitch [Irrational Games]
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