Fortress (cancelled video game)

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For other video games titled Fortress, see Fortress § Computing and games.
Fortress
Composer(s)
Erik Thunberg
SeriesFinal Fantasy
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ReleaseCancelled
Genre(s)Action role-playing game

Fortress is the

Grin. Director Ulf Andersson devised the concept for Fortress before preproduction began in the second half of 2008. During development, Square Enix approached the developer and proposed making the game a spin-off of Final Fantasy XII. Grin reconceived the game in the recurring Final Fantasy world of Ivalice, and included elements of XII, such as stylistic motifs and character designs; additional elements included chocobos and other recurring creatures from the Final Fantasy series. It was to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360
.

During development, Square Enix did not pay Grin over several months and disapproved of the game's

tech demo
surfaced.

In 2011, Fortress was thought to have been in development by an undisclosed studio, but this was also suspended, and the game was not released in any form.

Premise

According to scenario writer Ulf Andersson, the story was set several years after the events of

Balthier, and earlier main protagonists Vaan and Penelo. A new character, a demigod named Laegd, would join Basch after being defeated in single combat. The main aim of the story was to bring the entire cast of Final Fantasy XII back together for a final fight to save Ivalice.[1]

Development

tech demo
.

Fortress started out as an original

level designer at Grin.[7]

The game was pitched to various publishers, and the Japanese gaming company Square Enix took an interest in the project. Square Enix president

boss fight from Bionic Commando, which at the time was being developed by Grin for the Japanese company Capcom, Wada said he had seen enough, and decided that Square Enix would publish Fortress as a Final Fantasy spin-off.[2]

Once it became a Final Fantasy title, the Grin founders wanted to come in and revolutionize Final Fantasy in new ways with their project.

recurring creatures of the Final Fantasy series.[4][5][10][11] A portfolio video created by lead technical artist Anders Bodbacka revealed that Larsa Solidor and Basch fon Ronsenburg from Final Fantasy XII were also to be featured.[12] The setting was to be different from a normal Final Fantasy game, with familiar characters exploring a "Nordic" version of Final Fantasy, and "primarily set in a massive fortress" according to Linda Dahlberg, a Grin associate producer.[7] Other landscapes such as plains, forests, deserts and snowfields were also designed.[4][5][10][11]

Invaders from the sea were to be the main enemies of the game. They were visually based on the

Malboro, where the player would use the seaweed on its back to climb on top of it and drop bombs on the creature's weak spots.[4] According to a design document, the game was divided into at least seven chapters, starting at the gate of the Fortress and leading up to the top of the stronghold.[13] Grin's music director Erik Thunberg was responsible for the game's score, including a track that features a rearrangement of the "Prelude" theme from the Final Fantasy series.[14][15][16]

Cancellation

Square Enix was supposed to pay Grin US$16.5 million for the production of Fortress in successive waves in accordance with the project's milestones. No payments were made during the first two months of development, but Grin's co-founder Bo Andersson was initially not worried as he considered delayed payments common and had faith in the project. However, several more months went by without payments, costing the studio 12 million kr a month. Grin closed all of their offices except for the main one in Stockholm, but still no money came.[2] In 2009, Grin released Terminator Salvation, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, and Bionic Commando to negative reviews and poor sales, which caused further financial woes and seemed to make Square Enix nervous.[2][3][7] The publisher wanted updates and asked that all of the game's assets, including the code, the music files, and even the game's developer language be faxed to them. This move was described as impossible and "almost a criminal behavior" by Andersson.[7][17]

Square Enix had changed its mind, and no longer liked the Nordic style of this spin-off game, so a last-minute style change was attempted.[2] The game had been such a well-guarded secret, and had been through so many changes, that most employees did not know they had been working on a Final Fantasy game until very late in development.[7] Grin attempted to change the art style to fit more with traditional Final Fantasy games, but still did not receive any positive feedback. In response, Grin sent Square Enix an image of one of the latter's own games, Final Fantasy XII, and were told that it does not look like a game in Final Fantasy's style.[2][17] Following that exchange, Grin came to the conclusion that there was no longer any way to satisfy the publisher.[2]

In early August 2009, a call was received from Square Enix telling them that no payments were coming.[2] Grin's founders considered suing, but had run out of money, leading them to stop production after six months of work. Furthermore, Grin ceased production on all of their other projects and declared bankruptcy due to Sweden's severe laws against operating businesses under a debt load.[2][3][18] Magnus Ihrefors, one of the 3D artists who worked on the project, stated that he had only found out about the game's cancellation in August, but it was like a "punch in the belly" for their last chance to get on track again.[7] The developer closed its offices on August 12, stating that delayed payments from "too many publishers" caused "an unbearable cashflow situation" and referred to Fortress in a farewell note as an "unreleased masterpiece that [they] weren't allowed to finish".[19][20] According to the bankruptcy papers, Square Enix felt that the development goals for Fortress "had not been met in a satisfactory way", whereas Andersson claimed the contrary, arguing that the milestones initially set up with a producer from Square Enix had been met.[2] Mraz stated that Grin seemed to have ignored Square Enix's requests for changes, and the Final Fantasy franchise was too important to overlook this behavior.[7] The Anderssons later called the game's cancellation a "betrayal", and said they have never received any payment for the initial work done on the game.[21]

Aftermath

After Grin's closure, the former existence of Fortress spread as mentions and concept art of the project appeared on former employees' resumes and portfolios.

2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Motomu Toriyama of Square Enix said that Fortress was suspended, saying that the game "won't be released".[25] In 2012, music director Erik Thunberg posted a music track intended for the game.[16]

References

  1. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (October 6, 2015). "The Canceled Final Fantasy XII Sequel: Narrative and Gameplay Revealed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ottsjö, Peter (May 28, 2011). "Strypta av speljätten" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  3. ^
    GamesIndustry.biz. September 21, 2009. Archived from the original
    on January 5, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Albihn, Björn. ""Fortress" - Portfolio of Björn Albihn". Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Hellstedt, Joakim (September 9, 2009). "Online Portfolio of Joakim Hellstedt". Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  6. ^ Lindqvist, Erik (February 13, 2012). "Erik Lindqvist" (in Swedish). LinkedIn. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Failed Fantasy". Play UK (227). imagine publishing: 54–57. 2013. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  8. ^ Grant, Christopher (May 29, 2011). "GRIN founders say Square Enix turned their smiles upside down". Joystiq. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  9. ^ a b King, Ryan (August 20, 2009). "Grin was working on Final Fantasy game". Official Xbox 360 Magazine. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  10. ^ a b Plunkett, Luke (June 29, 2011). "Tony Holmsten's Video Game Art Is a Final Fantasy". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Holmsten, Tony (August 29, 2010). "Tony Holmsten's Portfolio". Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  12. ^ Anders Bodbacka (May 4, 2010). "New portfolio video". Wordpress. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  13. ^ Good, Owen (September 13, 2009). "A Final Look Inside Grin's "Fortress"". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  14. ^ Thunberg, Erik (January 23, 2012). "Erik Thunberg - Sweden". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  15. ^ Thunberg, Erik (January 18, 2010). "starsounds.net". Archived from the original on April 8, 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Gilbert, Ben (February 20, 2012). "Music from Grin's canned Final Fantasy game 'Fortress' found unguarded". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2015-04-20. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  17. ^
    1UP.com. Archived from the original
    on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  18. 1UP.com. Archived
    from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  19. ^ Rob, Crossley (August 12, 2009). "Grin 'forced' to close down". Develop. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  20. ^ Hinkle, David (August 20, 2009). "GRIN's 'unreleased masterpiece' was a Final Fantasy game codenamed 'Fortress'". Joystiq. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  21. ^ Gera, Emily (August 12, 2013). "Canceled Final Fantasy 12 spin-off gets huge video and image compilation". Polygon. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  22. ^ Cullen, Johnny (January 18, 2010). "Video of GRIN's Final Fantasy project leaked, was an FFXII spin-off". VG 24/7. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  23. ^ King, Ryan (January 18, 2010). "Tech demo of cancelled Final Fantasy". Official Xbox 360 Magazine. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  24. ^ Sal Romano (May 27, 2010). "Square Enix's "Project X" is not Fortress". Scrawl. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  25. ^ a b Smith, Jamin (September 6, 2011). "Final Fantasy XII spin-off Fortress 'suspended'". VideoGamer. Archived from the original on 2015-01-20. Retrieved March 5, 2013.

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