Metroid Database.com

Yesterday evening, Mama Robotnik on NeoGAF forums discovered a leaked "idea document" for the sequel to Metroid Prime dating from late 2002. The document, titled Metroid 1.5 (in other places of the document, it is referred to as Metroid 2) seems to have been leaked accidentally on the Google Site (now locked) of Tony C. Giovannini, a former level designer for Retro Studios. Hours after the document was posted on the GAF, it quickly spread throughout the Internet, after which the document was taken down earlier today and the site locked. Note that Giovannini had posted plenty of other documentation for nearly every game he ever worked on - Oops!

The Metroid 1.5 document is really more of a project proposal than a full-fledged design doc, and very little of the proposal found its way into later Metroid games (even then, the influences are somewhat doubtful). It was written by Giovannini with several concept artworks by Andrew Jones from November 18 to December 3, 2002 - beginning the day Metroid Prime was launched. The bolded text indicates later additions. The entire document is available still on the NeoGAF forums as well as on Wikitroid. Giovanni was not credited Prime 1 or Prime 2, but he worked on Metroid Prime as an event scripter and level modeler using Maya (Space Pirate Frigate Tutorial, Magmoor, Phendrana, and Phazon Mines).

Note that early concept documents rarely reflect the final build and are meant more as proposals rather than setting things in stone. While a lot of this may initially sound good on paper, it either would have been incredibly difficult to build, or just wouldn't have been that fun to play if you think about it in depth (something that became all too clear after I participated in the Global Game Jam!). Still, it is interesting to note which gameplay elements survived to appear in Metroid Prime 2: a parallel dimension, an alien race in cryosleep, exploration inside ships, an Evil Samus, robot factories (and enemies), and a multiplayer mode (though far more ambitious than even Metroid Prime Hunters). The idea of multiple bounty hunters was later used in Hunters and Prime 3.

Here are highlights:

Story:
Samus is abducted by a mysterious interdimensional alien race hell-bent on conquering the galaxy. The aliens abduct bounty hunters and assimilate their "best and most deadly abilities" into the ship's AI as well as the alien soldiers. To prevent them from conquering the galaxy, Samus must cooperate with the bounty hunters to disable the ship, destroy the AI, and eradicate the aliens.

Setting:
The game was meant to take place immediately after Metroid Prime on a massive spaceship the size of several Star Destroyers. The ship takes place in a parallel dimension where gravity is reversed, time runs backwards, and "other weirdness" happens. The game's size was roughly as large as the Chozo Ruins and Phazon Mines combined and contained areas such as hangar bays, an factories, a cryo chamber, the ship's exterior, and a reactor core. The game also promised a larger number of morph ball puzzles. It was basically designed as a smaller, deeper version of Metroid Prime with more puzzles.

Enemies:
At the core of the game is a mad AI which tries to foil Samus' mission. The AI is split into four personalities: The Child, The Killer, The Martyr, and The Mother. Each personality of the AI would affect the environment in different ways, such as enemy behavior, lighting and visual effects, battles, and puzzles. The AI would also taunt the player, lock doors, fill rooms with poisonous gas, and activate security systems and machinery. The designers felt this provided the AI with a unique twist. Had they succeeded, it could have been one of the most memorable game characters that predated GLaDOS by half a decade...

Aside from the AI, most enemies were robots as the aliens were stuck in cryosleep. The robots would perform a wide variety of functions, including assassin droids that drop from the ceiling. There were also biological enemies released from stasis that included a Humetroid, which can launch a Metroid from its chest, and the Thrash-hunter, a Space Pirate hybrid.

Gameplay:
Samus' power-ups are limited by the "containment matrix", which is controlled by the ship's AI. Power-ups are restored by disabling the matrix and unlocked by scanning "stat-bots", which grant the player new powers including cloaking, self-destruct, wall walk, ceiling hug, camo-skin, and infrared vision. However, when a stat-bot is scanned, Samus' genetic data is uploaded to the ship's computer, and the AI clones new enemies with Samus' powers, culminating in a battle with an "Evil Samus". This power-up system would allow multiple solutions to the same problem and increase replay value as well as freshen up item collectioon.

The biggest addition though was multiplayer, which was far more ambitious than even Metroid Prime Hunters. The designers tossed around the idea of programming a "Mecha-Samus" that could be controlled remotely or played in split-screen mode using a second player. Once defeated, bosses could be playable characters in a multiplayer mode where one player controls the boss and the others try to defeat it. They also suggested an Ancient Chozo Robot Battle, sort of like a giant rock 'em sock 'em robots. The designers noted that the Metroid feeling of isolation would be lost with the inclusion of multiplayer, but the game would as a whole still feel like Metroid.

Until next time...
Captain Commando