Open world where we would throw rocks at dinosaurs. BC from Lionhead Studios was too ambitious to happen

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Initially, Lionhead Studio’s debut game, “Black & White,” made a powerful impact on the charts, striking a balance between artistic and financial triumph. This popular success allowed Peter Molyneux’s firm to grow and purchase three subsidiary studios.

Among them was Intrepid Computer Entertainment, a company aiming to enter the action-adventure game genre with a prehistoric theme. This initiative, dubbed the BC project, seemed destined for success on paper, but unfortunately failed during development. Let’s explore what this concept held and attempt to uncover why it never made it to store shelves.

Prehistoric challenges

Similar to Fable, created by Lionhead Studios, BC was initially designed as an exclusive title for the Xbox console. The Intrepid Computer Entertainment team drew inspiration from historical textbooks but didn’t adhere strictly to them. Instead, they blended and embellished elements according to their interpretation.

In the course of the game, players will assume roles of early humans tasked with colonizing expansive territories. To achieve this, they’ll need to rise through the food chain, a challenging feat given that they’ll be contending for dominance not just against fearsome prehistoric animals such as saber-toothed tigers, but also simians and… dinosaurs. The possibility of watching cavemen engage in battles with ancient reptiles on screens may become a reality.

Ambitious goals

In the game called “BC“, the food chain was a deliberate aspect, not merely an oversight. Each creature in the game was designed to be part of a dynamic ecosystem. This implies that smaller creatures could prey upon weaker ones and larger creatures could potentially feed on them (symbolically speaking). The ecosystem wasn’t just a backdrop; it was meant to unfold through interactions between various species. Moreover, players were supposed to have the power to impact the balance of nature, possibly leading to the extinction of certain species.

Fight for a place

In this imaginary game, animals serve as both nourishment sources and combat allies. You could capture and train certain species to attack our foes in battle. The battles were intended to be fierce; blood would spatter heavily, limbs and heads would scatter across the battleground. Besides employing basic melee and projectile weapons against adversaries, we had to utilize the environment strategically. The developers considered adding features that allowed us to poison enemies with plants or trigger avalanches on their heads.

It’s clear that we wouldn’t embark on such an adventure solely by ourselves or accompanied only by a pet. Instead, BC designed this experience for us to guide a diverse group of characters, each with unique personalities, professions, skills, and combat abilities. Among them would be hunters, shamans, and warriors, each offering distinct benefits to our tribe. Once we’ve filled the provided map, our journey continues, taking along some of the most capable tribe members to aid us in establishing a similar community in a new location.

In addition to facing challenges from our opponents, we might encounter difficulties due to varying weather conditions during our expedition. We’re planning to explore a variety of outdoor environments, such as rainforests, deserts under intense sunlight, or snow-capped mountain ranges. Each location could pose unique problems – for example, the mountains could be treacherous in blizzards, while the desert might be dangerously hot.

This couldn’t have worked out

The highlight of the attractions we were eagerly anticipating in BC, as far as I was concerned, was the stunning graphics. While they may not seem particularly impressive today, they were truly awe-inspiring when the game was first announced. BC garnered attention due to its exceptional draw distance, detailed character models, intricate enemy designs (which featured an impressive 6 to 10 thousand polygons at the time), and realistic shadows.

It wasn’t hard to predict that BC might encounter difficulties during production, given Peter Molyneux’s major announcement and the company’s involvement. A game of such complexity would still be challenging to develop even today, demanding a massive amount of effort. Back in the early days of hardware, limitations caused trouble as well. Yet, Molyneux, who is known for his candidness, appeared optimistic about the project. However, he didn’t shy away from acknowledging that due to the game’s ambitious nature and the high standards the creators were striving for, the release of the title was uncertain.

2004, wrapping up the year, I found myself grappling with a tough call regarding our exciting new project code-named BC. It had only been half a year since its official unveiling, yet here we were, putting it on hold. As much as I loved this game brimming with potential, it was a hard pill to swallow. But, as the leader of our team at Lionhead Studios, sometimes tough decisions have to be made. Yet, I didn’t shut the door completely on revisiting this fascinating topic down the line.

Regrettably, things didn’t turn out as expected for both BC and Lionhead Studios. The project wasn’t revived after its initial failure, and the company associated with it shut down in 2016. However, there were still numerous resources left behind from BC. Among these, screenshots for this article are particularly popular; you can also view a trailer of it below.

Games similar to BC

Given that the BC project seems unlikely, what game could we play instead to gain a rough idea of the kind of experiences it might offer? A suitable choice would be Far Cry Primal. Although it doesn’t feature dinosaurs, this Ubisoft production immerses us in prehistoric times and lets us explore the allure of tribal life among saber-toothed tigers or mammoths.

The Humankind Odyssey,” a survival-based action game where you embody early human ancestors and influence their evolutionary journey.

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2025-04-20 21:32