Back in 2012, Games That Weren’t were pleased to release two tech demos for download for the original PlayStation. The demos were from games developer Realtime Associates and were pitch submissions for contracts for Robocop and Gen 13. This piece has been updated and tidied up from its original announcement piece.
Both games didn’t win either contract, with Robocop subsequently released to poor reviews. Gen 13 ended up cancelled altogether. See below for screenshots and download links to see what might have been.
Robocop
The tech demos have been discussed before, and a video of the Robocop demo exists on Unseen 64 while the PlayStation Museum discusses the Gen 13 video, but for the first time they’ve been archived and made available to download for people to see for themselves.
The Robocop file is a simple tech demo where you can control Robocop walking around a single mostly wall-less warehouse. Pillars and boxes provide some sparse decoration, and whilst its 3D – nothing is solid, allowing you to walk through the walls and objects.
It’s pretty basic but at the same time shows the skeleton of how a full game would look. While of course the game ended up being made by someone else, it would have been cool to see what Realtime could have done with it had it been accepted.
Download the Robocop demo here
Gen 13
Gen 13 is based on the comic series of the same name, and PlayStation Museum has some pretty in-depth info on the submissions made by various companies for the contract to make it. The game ended up being cancelled, but its interesting to see the variety of submissions, so head on over to check it out.
The Realtime Associates version is the most simple, but PlayStation Museum caveat this by pointing out it was done in a single week, which makes it quite impressive. Its a fully 3D rendering of the heroine of the game and you can walk her forwards and backwards from multiple camera angles.
It’s simple but shows great potential for how the character of the series would have been portrayed. Some of the other submissions also seem to realise Gen 13 as a 2D game, so personally i’d give extra marks to Realtime for bringing it to life in 3D with so much charm, albeit with only a single character.
Thank you!
We conclude by saying a big thank you our unnamed source who goes under the pseudonym ‘David Warhol’, which coincidentally is the name of the president of Realtime Associates, Inc.
An equally big thank you goes to Unclejun and Monokoma (from www.unseen64.net) for their help in accessing the demos. If anyone discovers anything new in the demos, e.g. button combinations producing a different angle or move, then get in touch and let us know!
