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Project H.A.M.M.E.R.
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Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was the codename for a beat em' up title being developed for the Wii by Nintendo Software Technology. Starting development in 2003, the game was only ever shown off at E3 2006 before being removed from Nintendo's release schedule, and was officially announced to be cancelled in 2009.[1]
History
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. entered into development in 2003 as a title for the then-upcoming Wii console, as soon as the team's previous game, 1080° Avalanche, had gone gold.[2] The game began development to fill the niche of a first-party hack-and-slash game, internally likened to the Dynasty Warriors franchise.[3] Aside from using Dynasty Warriors as a template for gameplay, the team primarily put the story and worldbuilding first when developing the concept, unusual for a first-party Nintendo game.[3]
Around the time of its reveal at E3 2006, the title was referred to internally as Machinex.[1] The team developing the game was no larger than ten staff members, with Nintendo outsourcing concept art duties to another company.[2] The game would have used full computer-generated cutscenes, produced by animation studio Silver Ant to produce the game's cutscenes for an estimated cost of $1 million USD.[3]
Despite the game being nearly complete, many developers took issue with the game, thinking it was not up to Nintendo's quality standards, though the American developers and Japanese management disagreed on how to improve it, with the management ignoring any advice put forth by the developers.[2] After not being shown at E3 2007, it was reported that development resources had been shifted to other upcoming titles[4], though development was still ongoing.
Toward the end of 2007 the management had proposed an overhaul of the game's visuals; some of the staff proposed a watercolor style, but this was ultimately rejected in favor of completely starting over. Development then went into a more cartoony-looking game with the same core gameplay mechanics, codenamed Wii Crush, though the game still was not deemed enjoyable to play, and afterward several of NST's employees left the company. During development in 2007, the game's lead producer, Katsuhiko Kanno, had been taken off the project, replaced with Pikmin and Pikmin 2 director Masamichi Abe.[3] As the game entered its final stages of development the lead designer for the game at NST was fired, leading to more employees leaving and accusing the management of nationalism.[1]
With the conflict of interests between the developers and management, Nintendo of America conducted an internal review which showed employee morale at a record low. The game was finally cancelled after Nintendo pulled funding in 2009.[2]
Story
As Project H.A.M.M.E.R., the game would have been set in the future United States of America, during a robot invasion. M-09, a cyborg created by a government organization known as Project H.A.M.M.E.R., is tasked with saving the earth from the invading forces.[2][5]
As Wii Crush, the game would have had a similar but more cartoony setup compared to its predecessor. The game would have been about an alien invasion, and players would be tasked with going around the world to stop them.[3]
Gameplay
Players would control M-09, a cyborg weilding a giant hammer, as their playable character, using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The game would have used a mission structure, in which players fight waves of robots culminating in a boss battle at the end of the stage (described by developers to be similar in structure to Mega Man[3]). Players attack by swinging the Wii Remote or pressing the A button, and could lock on to enemies using the Wii Remote's pointer. The game would have also used a leveling system in which the player's attack power and health would increase as they leveled up.[2]
As Wii Crush, while the game's core gameplay wouldn't have been any different, the game would have supported multiplayer for up to four players locally and Mii support.[3] Toward the end of development, it was decided that the game would support Wii Motion Plus.
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Exposé Reveals Torrid State Of Affairs At Nintendo Software Technology. Nintendo Life (July 4, 2015). Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Nintendo's Project H.A.M.M.E.R: The Untold Story. YouTube (July 4, 2015). Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Nintendo's Project H.A.M.M.E.R: The Story Continued. YouTube (October 27, 2015). Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Project H.A.M.M.E.R. development in doubt (still). Engadget (July 19, 2007). Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ↑ Project H.A.M.M.E.R. on IGN. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
