When you don't measure the ingredients and it still tastes INCREDIBLE.
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00:00Now it's interesting how some of the most influential and popular aspects of gaming
00:04weren't actually meant for this world. For example, Fog was inserted into Silent Hill,
00:09not to build tension, but to hide processing limitations. Stealth was never meant to play
00:14a part of Metal Gear, and Space Invaders created the concept of a difficulty curve by mistake.
00:20Sometimes developers will actually just stumble upon cool mechanics whilst playing around with
00:24software, and then go on to create an entire game around it. Or in the 11th hour, developers might
00:29decide to revise central characters, plotlines, levels, or the genre itself.
00:34So let's take a look at them as home jewels, this is WhatCulture.com,
00:36and these are 10 video games that were created by accident.
00:4010. Super Smash Bros.
00:42Now considering that Super Smash Bros. could have been nothing more than a gimmick,
00:45it's bizarre how it became the best-selling fighting series ever. Although Smash Bros.
00:50owes its success to its unique combat style and precise controls, it's the branding that turned
00:55it into a towering success. The fact that you could play as Pikachu, Sonic, Solid Snake,
00:59and so many more other iconic characters helped cement this legacy. I mean, could you imagine how
01:04Smash would have turned out if it had zero recognisable characters? But weirdly enough,
01:08that was the original idea, because back in 1998, Masahiro Sakurai was actually working on a four-player
01:14co-op fighting game, which roughly translated from Japanese into English to Dragon King the Fighting Game.
01:20When future Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took a look at Dragon King, he thought that it was too
01:25generic. So to make it leave a bigger impression, Iwata suggested replacing the combatants with
01:30Nintendo characters. Worried that Nintendo overall wouldn't be on board with this idea,
01:34Sakurai took Iwata's advice behind the company's back. So when he presented his project to the
01:39higher-ups, they were actually surprised to see their mascots beating the utter crap out of each
01:44other. Fortunately, they loved the presentation, and gave Sakurai permission to incorporate
01:48Nintendo characters. And with that, Super Smash Bros. was born.
01:539. Fighting Force
01:54After Streets of Rage 3 was released, fans could have never anticipated that they would have to
01:59wait a quarter of a century for a sequel. Considering Streets of Rage was a cornerstone
02:03for beat-em-ups during the 90s, you'd think that Sega or some other development team would just get
02:07cracking with Streets of Rage 4 far sooner. But here's the thing, they technically did. Core Design
02:13pitched a new Streets of Rage installment directly to Sega CEO Bernie Stoller. Annoyingly,
02:18this proposal was dismissed, since the CEO had never heard of the series despite being in charge
02:23of the company who released it. Instead of giving up, though, Core Design decided to craft their
02:28own beat-em-up called Fighting Force. Despite not having SOR's branding, there was a lot of hype for
02:33this title, since it was made by the same guys behind Tomb Raider. Unfortunately, this Streets of
02:37Rage clone was ripped apart for its repetitive gameplay, uncreative character designs, and the fact
02:42that it was clearly a Streets of Rage clone. In hindsight, it was actually a blessing that
02:47Fighting Force wasn't an official Streets of Rage follow-up, as it would have actually tarnished
02:50the franchise's reputation.
02:528. Banjo-Kazooie
02:54Banjo-Kazooie is a 3D platformer where the titular bear and bird must defeat an evil witch
02:59and rescue Banjo's sister. And when you hear that premise, you would never believe that it started
03:03off as a Snayers title called Dream Land of the Giants, and was centered around a boy, a dog,
03:09and a parrot battling pirates. Not only was the story chalk and cheese, the style and genres were
03:14completely different as well. Rather than being a platformer, Dream was envisioned as an isometric
03:18RPG. By using ACM technology, Dream would have had graphics akin to the Donkey Kong Country series,
03:24but to a slightly higher degree. When Rare got their first glimpse of Super Mario 64,
03:29they realized that 3D platformers were the future of gaming, and that compelled them to turn Dream
03:33into a similarly structured title for the N64. Believing a human character looked too generic in
03:39three dimensions, Rare changed Dream's protagonist into a rabbit. After a few days, they reworked
03:44the lead character again into the backpack-wearing bear Banjo. Although the developers wanted Banjo
03:49to be agile like Mario, they thought an acrobatic grizzly would look kind of weird. And so after
03:53some brainstorming, Rare decided to give Banjo a partner, a bird called Kazooie, who would pull off
03:58the more nimbler techniques. And when you look back at it, the only thing that Dream and Banjo-Kazooie
04:02had in common was, well, they were both games.
04:057. The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening
04:08Since every Legend of Zelda spends years in development, you'd safely assume that each character,
04:12mechanic, and area is examined and reworked meticulously. As such, it doesn't seem actually
04:17that feasible for a Zelda game to come by chance. And yet, that's exactly what happened with Link's
04:22Awakening. Kazuki Morita, who worked on the first two Legend of Zelda installments, was hired as an
04:27object programmer on A Link to the Past. In his spare time, he would use a Game Boy development
04:31kit to tinker with another Zelda-like title. But because this was an unsanctioned project,
04:37he never thought that his little hobby would materialize into something major. As such,
04:40he inserted many non-Zelda traits into his game, including the Chain Chomp from Super Mario
04:45and Wart from Doki Doki Panic. But when Nintendo saw his work, they knew that it had potential,
04:50and so agreed to release it as an official Legend of Zelda title. This installment,
04:54which became Link's Awakening, was a financial and critical success, winning two Golden Joystick
04:59Awards and spawning a 3D remake in 2019 which was also met with universal acclaim. Which is not bad,
05:05something that started off as a pet project. 6. Star Fox Adventures
05:10During its inception, Star Fox Adventures had no connection with, well, Star Fox. Originally,
05:16it was a new IP called Dinosaur Planet, which was set to be released on the Nintendo 64.
05:21Lead developer of Rare, Kevin Bayliss, explained how the game was meant to centre around a tiger
05:25called Timber, who had been transported to a prehistoric world. Over time, the developers
05:29repurposed Timber for Diddy Kong Racing, and had him replaced with two protagonists, Saber and
05:35Crystal. And according to head programmer Phil Tossel, you could actually swap at any time between
05:39the two by speaking to swap stone characters. Originally, Crystal also had a sidekick character
05:44called Kite, similar to Tricky in the final game, but was a pterodactyl that could fly,
05:49and the story was also quite different. After Dinosaur Planet was revised for the GameCube,
05:53Star Fox creator Shigeru Miyamoto looked at the beta to see how it was coming along,
05:57when he noticed the similarities between Saber and Star Fox, he convinced, or some would say
06:02forced Rare to turn Dinosaur Planet into a Star Fox installment, much to the developer's dismay.
06:07So, if you wonder why Star Fox Adventures feels like two games smushed together,
06:12it's because that's exactly what it is. 5. Zombie U
06:16Zombie U was a first-person survival horror title originally released for the Wii U. The game was
06:21similar to the House of the Dead series, but with more emphasis on elaborate means to dispose of
06:25the undead. Not only could you shoot the flesh-eaters to death with a good old-fashioned pistol,
06:29you could whack them with a crowbar, a crossbow, a shovel, or indeed a cricket bat. And throughout
06:34your playthrough, you're sure to see more zombies than you can shake a stick at, but there are two
06:38things you definitely won't see, and that is aliens and raving rabbits. As hard to believe as it is,
06:44that is how the project got the ball rolling. The original game, Killer Freaks from Outer Space,
06:48would have had the player-fighting extraterrestrials resembling the buck-toothed bunnies.
06:53Although the rabbits were removed early in development, their small size was actually
06:56incorporated into the aliens. But while playtesting, the developers ran into two major
07:00problems. Firstly, blasting at tiny aliens just wasn't satisfying, and since the game was originally
07:05released on the Wii U, the player had to keep checking the gamepad and TV screen almost
07:10simultaneously, which was exhausting since the creatures moved so fast. The developers realised
07:15these issues could be resolved by making the enemies slower and larger, which resulted in
07:19transforming them from aliens into zombies. 4. Tekken
07:23Now, Virtua Fighter might have been the first 3D fighting game, but Tekken was responsible for
07:28rocking the genre to its core. Because of its tight and diverse combat mechanics, Tekken was the first
07:33game to give Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat a run for their money. But since it's on this list,
07:38you just know that Tekken was envisioned as something entirely different. But let's just get
07:42something straight first. When I say that a game was created by accident, I usually mean that it
07:46started one way but ended up being something else. But Tekken is kind of different, since it was
07:50never intended to be a game to begin with. Originally, Tekken's beta was created by Namco
07:55to test 3D character models and texture mapping. But after Namco hired Virtua Fighter's designer,
08:00they thought that they could turn the project into a fighting game called Rave Wars, rivaling
08:04the soon-to-be-released Virtua Fighter 2. To ensure the game stood out over its competitor,
08:09the roster was filled with extremely distinctive combatants, including Jack the Android, King the
08:14Luchador, Wrestler, and whatever the hell Yoshimitsu is. And weeks before its release,
08:18the title changed itself from Rave Wars to Tekken, and the rest was history.
08:233. Devil May Cry
08:25To delve into the origins of Devil May Cry, we first need to look at Resident Evil 4. Even though
08:30this game is regarded as a masterpiece, it is a miracle that it saw the light of day,
08:34because its development was so chaotic that four versions of the sequel were discarded.
08:38The first incarnation revolved around a superhuman called Tony, who was endowed with heightened
08:43agility, speed, and strength. And to show off Tony's skill set, producer Shinji Mikami thought that it
08:48would be better to remove the fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds, which were staples
08:53in the Survivor Horror series. But over time, the developers thought the gameplay had become so
08:57bombastic that it had little resemblance to Resident Evil. Yet, rather than scrapping it,
09:01the project was reworked into a demon-hunting hack-and-slash called Devil May Cry. But that's not all.
09:07When Capcom was playtesting Onimusha Warlords, they noticed a glitch that allowed the player to
09:12juggle their enemies in the air with their sword. The developers found this bug so entertaining that
09:16they made it a key component in Devil May Cry's fighting mechanics. It may have been heartbreaking
09:21when Capcom had to start from scratch with Resident Evil 4 again, but you know what? It was definitely
09:25worth it, since the decision indirectly led to the creation of one of the coolest franchises ever.
09:312. Bioshock
09:32Early on in Bioshock's development, the team devised three pivotal concepts – drones,
09:37protectors, and harvesters. This trio eventually evolved into the Little Sisters, Big Daddies,
09:42and the Sploices. Apart from those three elements, Bioshock was totally different to begin with.
09:47Instead of exploring the aquatic terrain of Rapture, the story took place on a monster-filled
09:51spaceship. Originally, the story followed a character called Carlos, who's tasked with finding
09:56and deprogramming a senator's daughter after she's been brainwashed by a cult. When Take-Two
10:01Interactive realised the setting and story wasn't working, though, they changed everything. This
10:05time, the developers envisioned Bioshock taking place in an abandoned Nazi lab, which had been
10:10unearthed in modern times. Although this plotline was abandoned, many factors were incorporated into
10:15the final product, including plasmids, EVE, automated security systems, stealth, expositional
10:20audio recordings, and a consistent relationship with a character through a radio. But director Ken Levine
10:25felt that Bioshock looked too cyberpunk, which he regarded as being cliched at this time. So he
10:29changed the setting once more, this time to an underwater city. After that, it only required
10:34some more adjustment to get the Bioshock we know and love today.
10:381. Diddy Kong Racing
10:40When a game goes through drastic changes in graphics or genre, you can usually see a sliver
10:44of what the prototype was going for. However, the original version of Diddy Kong Racing, well,
10:49it's got virtually nothing in common with its retail form. Although Rare's beloved title was a vibrant and
10:54cartoony racer, it was actually pitched as a real-time strategy title, centred around a time-travelling
10:59caveman. According to Rare developer Lee Musgrave, the initial pitch was in the style of Command and
11:04Conquer and not related to what we got. Over time, it evolved into a Disney World-inspired adventure
11:09called Wild Cartoon Kingdom. By 1997, the project was reshaped into a driving game called Adventure
11:15Racers. Shortly after that, it was changed again to Pro-Am 64, serving as a sequel to the NES racer
11:21RC Pro-Am. But when Banjo-Kazooie missed its December 1997 deadline, Rare felt obligated to
11:27release a AAA title that Christmas. But since Pro-Am 64 wasn't a well-known brand, Rare knew that it
11:33wouldn't grab consumers unless it incorporated an iconic character. This inspired the team to not only
11:39implement Donkey Kong's sidekick Diddy Kong, but to make him the titular star. This decision altered
11:44the game's design to fit the more DK aesthetic and incorporate other staples from the franchise,
11:48including Bananas and Kremlings. And when you compare how it started to where it ended,
11:53and how many people cite Diddy Kong Racing as the real best kart racing game on the N64,
11:57the two properties couldn't have less in common.
12:01And there we go my friends, those were 10 video games created by accident. I hope that you enjoyed
12:05that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the comment section below.
12:08As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Instagram at RetroJ, but the O is a zero,
12:13and I hope to see you over there my friends. But before I go, I just want to say one thing.
12:17In life, you, I, and every other human on this planet will make accidents from time to time.
12:21It is part of living, I'm afraid. But you know what my friend, don't beat yourself up for mistakes
12:25that you've made in the past. As I've said, we all make them, so learn to forgive yourself.
12:29Because if you can do that, then you can go on to live a healthy and happy life. And at the end of
12:33the day, that is all I want for you. And you just need to remember, above all else, even if you do
12:37mess up from time to time, you're a big ledge, and you deserve the best.
12:41As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
12:47Bye.
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