In a surprising move earlier this week, Boss Key Productions co-founder, Cliff Bleszinski revealed that he waseffectively shutting down his companyand stepping away from the industry. While the studio had loads of talent and passion, its games were never able to gain any traction with fans.LawBreakerswas a well-crafted arena shooter that seemed to be overshadowed byOverwatchat every turn andRadical Heightsattempted to quickly cash in on the Battle Royale crazy through neon lights and an 80s style. Even without a large audience to fall back on, Bleszinski shared some ideas and concepts for new experiences the studio had brewing before ultimately pulling the plug.
Following up on his major studio closure news yesterday, Cliff Bleszinski has been using his Twitter account to reveal images, concept art, and ideas thatBoss Key Productionshad been coming up with for other games. One such game was known asDonuts, a VR racing arcade experience similar to the classic gameToobin, where players were animals and using beverage cans forMario Kartstyle attacks. He added that drinking ginger beer added health, shaking up full cans could cause an area of effect attack, and slamming both hands together would cause the character to jump over obstacles like fallen logs.
Another concept was known internally asDragonFliesoffered a PvE experience in a Japanese-inspired FuedalPunk world. Players would be either a Samurai or Ninja in a floating airship, riding dragons and fighting zombies. Dragons would have essentially been the primary way players moved around the world and could be customized or hatched from other eggs found in the world. Interestingly enough, Bleszinski also admitted that the team aimed tolearn from the mistakes ofScaleboundandLairin order to makeDragonFliesinto something unique.
The final concept Bleszinski shared was known asDogWalkersand it took inspiration from things likeWorld of TanksandTokyo Wars. In this game, players would be battling other players in massive DOGs, Destructive Ordinance (on the) Ground, while trying to stay safe from the toxic air that inhabited the world. Any leaks in the massive walker would need to be fixed, so players would have to use gas masks, patch holes, and even rappel outside to repair issues with the mech.
Ultimately, the main reason why these games stayed as concepts instead of active projects is that the publishers either thought the ideas were too out there or too similar to things that already existed. At least a couple of the projects above would have commanded a budget of at least $40 million, not seen as cheap in the eyes of publishers. Bleszinski went on to say that as a business owner, he certainly respects that decision, but as a creative, it was incredibly frustrating.
