Just Cause studio's canned dragon-riding fantasy romp AionGuard "would have been Crimson Desert", reckons former Avalanche creative head

Sadly, it was swatted down by the precise gangly golem of publishing whims

Back successful the precocious 2000s, Just Cause developers Avalanche ended up successful a publishing pickle with a phantasy open-worlder they were moving on. It was dubbed AionGuard, and ex-Avalanche main originative serviceman Christofer Sundberg reckons that had it not ended up chucked connected the cancellation bonfire, the crippled would've done a batch of the aforesaid things which've helped marque Crimson Desert a deed each these years later.

Sundberg is adamant of AionGuard's reddish puddingness, telling Padded Coat Gamer that portion helium hasn't played capable Crimson Desert to talk to everything successful it, "we had everything that I've seen from Crimson Desert successful the plans for that game".

AionGuard's transportation was a phantasy instrumentality connected Just Cause's explosive liberation of a monolithic unfastened world. You were a sorcerer-knight with an evil to decision by capturing strongholds, cutting proviso lines, and gathering enactment from locals. In lieu of the quality to alert astir with a wingsuit oregon fling cars astir utilizing hostility cables, you'd person a dragon to thrust and beryllium capable to morph into a elephantine golem alongside different magical powers.

It surely sounds similar it'd stock immoderate of the powerfulness phantasy and endless imaginable for exploration which lies astatine the bosom of Crimson Desert's look for success, and the Just Cause games decidedly pat into a akin loop of simply letting you escaped successful a monolithic playground to find and get up to chill things. Whether that's arsenic enjoyable oregon memorable successful the agelong tally arsenic a much focused open-world acquisition which leans much heavy connected a top-notch communicative is different question, but I tin spot the comparison. So, arsenic overmuch arsenic it mightiness look a spot of a agelong for immoderate developer to assertion that an aged task they were ne'er capable to decorativeness was conscionable similar a precise fashionable crippled that's conscionable travel out, this doesn't onslaught maine arsenic a scope successful that regard.

Whether there'd person been the aforesaid benignant of rampant appetite among galore players for a crippled of a Crimson Deserty quality backmost astir 2009 is different question, and 1 I wasn't plugged capable into the gaming matrix arsenic a 10 twelvemonth aged to beryllium capable to reply disconnected the apical of my caput now.

Sadly, AionGuard ended up without a steadfast aft 2 years of work, pursuing what Sundberg recalls arsenic a financially-motivated breakup via text. It was past announced and became the taxable of a large diagnostic successful Edge magazine, arsenic Avalanche tried to drum up buzz astir their thought that different steadfast mightiness spot and privation to tally with. That backfired, with nary moneypeople deciding the crippled was worthy a punt. AionGuard's squad ended up moving connected different caller crippled Avalanche had successful the works, an open-world escapade successful steampunk London called Arcardia Rising, which ended up gathering a akin destiny a fewer years on.

Sundberg's since near Avalanche, with his caller workplace Liquid Swords releasing gritty municipality brawler Samson today, April 8th.