Varuna's Forces

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Varuna's Forces
Designer(s)
Mike Montague
Programmer(s)Eric Adem
Platform(s)3DO, Atari Jaguar CD, Dreamcast, PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
ReleaseUnreleased
Genre(s)First-person shooter, rail shooter, real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Varuna's Forces is an unreleased

sci-fi video game that was in development by Accent Media Productions and planned to be published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar CD and JVC for 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Dreamcast, PC, PlayStation and Sega Saturn.[1][2][3]

Assuming command of four soldiers from the eight-man Marine Attack Division team of the United Coalition of Planets, the player would have the choice of selecting a number of scenarios, each one featuring a different set of objectives to successfully complete by taking advantage of the unique attributes that each member of the team has to do so.

Philips CD-i based on both The Joker's Wild and Jeopardy! TV game shows.[5] It also stars Michael Clarke Duncan in one of his first video game roles along with Panic in the Park, among other actors that were involved in the production of the project prior to its cancellation.[2]

Though the Jaguar CD version was slated to be published in late 1995, it was never released along with the 3DO version due to discontinuation of both platforms.[2] The Saturn version was slated to be released around summer 1996,[6] but this version was later discontinued and development was transferred to the Dreamcast instead, although this version would later be cancelled due to the system being discontinued as well.[3] The PC version remained into development until JVC ran into financial difficulties that left AMP without funds to continue with the project, ultimately ceasing development of Varuna's Forces and leaving it unfinished as a result.[2][3]

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot from the beta build of the 3DO version.

Varuna's Forces is a hybrid rail shooter/third-person shooter game with

pre-rendered fractal terrains and the player must shoot upcoming enemies before landing on a set location of the planet,[7][9] similar to Psygnosis' 1994 Novastorm.[10] After the rail shooter section is over, the first-person shooter section starts, and the player must manage the team and plan their movements in order to successfully complete the objective within the set time limit,[6][7][8] which are reminiscent of Electronic Arts' 1993 real-time tactical game Space Hulk
.

Soldiers

Each member of the team has their own set of skills and attributes that can be taken advantage of to complete the missions, however, the soldiers also have their own quirks that the player must be aware during the mission such as a sudden change in behavior:[7][8][11]

  • William Kunkel
  • Andrew Ozuna
  • Tom Burnet
  • Julie Makela
  • Joshua Carson
  • Dana Palmer
  • Michael Henley
  • Carl Tomas (Played by Michael Clarke Duncan)

History

Initially announced for the Atari Jaguar CD, development of Varuna's Forces was later spawned across multiple systems such as the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and Sega Saturn, with neither platform receiving the title.

Varuna's Forces was first announced for the Jaguar CD and displayed to the public at

Windows, which was published by IVI Publishing.[2]

Varuna's Forces was later showcased during the first

1995, where it was announced that the game would also come to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and Sega Saturn as well besides the Jaguar CD, with previews showing a non-playable version of the rail shooter sections, small portions of the first-person shooter sequences and other differences compared to its earlier counterpart.[9][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] It was also showcased during the Fun 'n' Games Day event hosted by Atari Corp. on June 20, 1995.[23] The Jaguar CD version was going to be published by Atari and was slated for a November/Q4 1995 release,[24][25][26][27][28] while both the 3DO and Saturn versions were going to be published by JVC instead,[20][22][29] with the latter being originally slated for an October/November 1995 release.[30][31] In their September 1995 issue, Computer and Video Games assessed that the Jaguar CD version was comparable to the PC version, which was also going to be published by JVC.[3][32] An internal document from Atari showed that the Jaguar CD version was still listed under development as of December 1995.[33]

Despite Varuna's Forces kept being advertised in magazines and catalogs,

Sega of America president and COO Bernie Stolar that the system would be discontinued.[3] Production of the PC version continued until JVC came across with financial difficulties that left AMP without financial support to keep developing the game, resulting into the complete cancellation of the project and leaving it unfinished as a result.[2][3] Prior to its eventual discontinuation, Eric stated that each platform the game was being worked on had its own sub-team dedicated to work within the system's technical specifications.[2] In the same year after it was cancelled for both the 3DO and Jaguar CD, its trademark was abandoned.[41]

When

Hasbro Interactive released the patents and rights to the Jaguar into public domain in 1999 by declaring it as an open platform and opening the doors for homebrew development, it permitted independent publisher and developers to release unfinished titles from the system's past life cycle as a result.[42] Two non-playable builds of the Jaguar CD version were sold and published by B&C Computervisions in 2009.[43] On February 15, 2009, 3DO community member bitrate uploaded footage of an early playable build from the 3DO version of Varuna's Forces to YouTube.[7]
In more recent years, footage from a playable build of the Jaguar CD version has also been uploaded online, showing several differences between it and the 3DO version.

References

  1. ^ a b c Reutter, Hans. "Unreleased Or Unfinished Jaguar Games – Varuna's Forces CD". cyberroach.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Varuna's Forces". fmvstory.com. June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Unreleased Saturn Games – Varuna´s Forces". sega-saturn.net. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  4. ^ "Atari Explorer Online – Volume 4, Issue 5". atarihq.com. July 20, 1995. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "3DO Brasil: Jogos Cancelados – Varuna's Forces". 3dobrasil.com (in Portuguese). April 2015. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "Varuna's Force". Saturn+. Paragon Publishing. 1996. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f bitrate54 (February 15, 2009). 3DO Varuna's Forces UNRELEASED. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2018 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b c d "The Jaguar: A Hungry Cat Looking for Food – Varuna's Forces". GamePro. No. Premiere Supplement. IDG. Spring 1996. pp. 116–124. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
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  10. ^ "Atari Explorer Online – Volume 4, Issue 1". atarihq.com. January 16, 1995. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
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  12. ^ "64 Bits – Une Sentation Nouvelle – Ils Arrivent Sur 64 Bits – Varuna's Forces / CD Jaguar". CD Consoles (in French). No. 4. Pressimage. February 1995. p. 98. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
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