Eurogamer has a fascinating article up this month concerning a number of games that were pitched by various designers at Origin Systems, but which didn’t gain traction and were thus never made. Or…well…at least a few such titles.

Death & Destruction

Originally pitched by Warren Spector as a Sega Genesis title, Death & Destruction is a grim name for a lighthearted idea – one best illuminated by the subtitle, ‘Mad Scientist Simulator’.

“I wanted to do something cartoony and Rube Goldberg-like where you got to be a bad guy,” says Spector, who maintains that Death & Destruction is one of his favourite game concepts. “You were an evil mad scientist exploring Things Man Was Not Meant to Know.”

Gladiator 3000

“Xak wiped the sweat off his palms. He was nervous and he didn’t like the fact that the Battlemaster knew it. He could hear the roar of the crowd above him. The walls of the cell would shake when the crowd got really excited. The crowd really loved the death blow. The Battlemaster nodded his bronzed bald head. It was time to go. The arena, and the crowd, were waiting…”

So begins Brian Adams’ pitch for Gladiator 3000 – a sci-fi spin on the Roman coliseum with ‘infinitely variable levels’.

Frontier

Despite bearing the name of Elite’s sequel, Origin’s Frontier is actually about as far from a David Braben space trading game as it’s possible to get. Instead, it’s a semi-educational pioneer simulation set in the wild west, and it was envisioned as a way for Origin to enter new markets such as schools.

“It’s the late 18th century, you’re a pioneer and you’ve got a nation to explore and settle…are you a caravan of homesteaders? Forty-niners? Are you the one guy who’s going out west to ranch?”

Space Race

Another pitch for the Sega Genesis, Space Race is as antithetical to Frontier as it’s possible to get – albeit one sold (or not) on a similarly simple concept.

“Imagine Road Rash or Super Monaco Grand Prix; now imagine that same kind of intense action in outer space, with you at the helm of a futuristic space-racing ship. That’s Space Race.”

Carl’s Crazy Carnival

Finally, the most bizarre and out of place concept in Origin’s vault of rejection; a children’s action game about evil clowns and bearded ladies.

“This is a game made up of several small games that, together, allow the player to free ‘Carny’ Carl, owner of Carl’s Carnival. He’s been captured by a cartel of crazy clowns who have conspired to convert Carl’s Carnival into complete chaos.”

There are more details about each game — including some design document scans — at the Eurogamer article proper, so be sure to read it in full. Arthurian Legends merits a brief mention near the end, but no details about it are given.

Oh, and it’s worth noting that the header image used by the folks at Eurogamer — Origin’s classic “We Create Worlds” motto set against a space backdrop — seems to be a crop of this wallpaper that Chlorthos put together a while ago.