TIL We got "Halo 2" instead of "Gypsum" (Gaming)

by CyberKN , Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Monday, March 21, 2016, 19:42 (3175 days ago)

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/03/21/canceled-bungie-game-gypsum-revealed

Bungie may be best known for sci-fi shooter franchises, but there was a time when its developers worked on a game project deeply rooted in fantasy.

During an interview on IGN Unfiltered airing later this week, former Bungie composer and audio designer Marty O’Donnell revealed a since-cancelled project blending fantasy and mythology into an action game.

Code-named Gypsum, this game was built on the Halo engine and helmed by two men who had previously created a mod called “Chimera” for Bungie’s Myth. It went into development in between Halo and Halo 2, alongside another later-cancelled project called Phoenix. According to O’Donnell, developers working on Phoenix were moved onto Gypsum once development was halted on the former project.

“[Gypsum was] a game, very much mythical fantasy, there was a mythical creature that you played as in third-person – a Minotaur, believe it or not – and you ran around and smashed things with a hammer and magic stuff happened,” he says. “It was...it went very, very far. There was a playable prototype that was a blast. I did music for it, sound effects, everything."

Gypsum was eventually cancelled due to the decision to create a sequel to Halo, Bungie’s 2001 sci-fi shooter that eventually went on to become a massive blockbuster franchise and a major selling point for the original Xbox. With the need to up the ante, developers working on Gypsum were moved onto the Halo 2 production team, and the Minotaur action game was eventually axed.

Whether or not Bungie will ever revisit ideas from Gypsum remains to be seen, but you can learn more about Bungie, Halo, and O’Donnell’s career on this month's episode of IGN Unfiltered, airing later this week. And don't miss our month-long coverage of O'Donnell's new game, Golem.