Editing Gypsum

{{Status|RealWorld}}
{{Game infobox
|name=''Gypsum''
|image=
|developer=[[Bungie]]
|writer=
|composer=
|publisher=
|engine=[[Blam engine]]
|platform=
|releasedate=
|canceldate=[[2003|June 2003]]
|genre=
|modes=
|rating=
}}
{{Quote|It was pretty cool. It was a bit of a bummer to stop it, because now we have games like the [[Wikipedia:Batman: Arkham|''Arkham'' series]] and ''[[Wikipedia:Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor|Shadow of Mordor]]'' and ''[[Wikipedia:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt|The Witcher 3]]''—and that’s the sort of free-roam combat that we were doing back then, but nobody’s ever seen it.|[[Paul Bertone]]{{Ref/Site|Id=HistoryOfHalo|URL=https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history|Site=Vice|Page=The Complete, Untold History of Halo|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}}}}

'''''Gypsum''''' was the codename of a cancelled video game project that was worked on by [[Bungie]], from the start of [[2003]] until June of that year. It was to be a free-roam [[Wikipedia:Virtual camera system#Third-person view|third-person]] [[Wikipedia:Action game|action]] [[Wikipedia:Beat 'em up|beat-em-up]] with a setting that blended [[Wikipedia:Myth|mythology]] and [[Wikipedia:Fantasy|fantasy]].{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}{{Ref/Site|Id=IGNGypsum|URL=https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/21/canceled-bungie-game-gypsum-revealed|Site=IGN|Page=Cancelled Bungie Game 'Gypsum' Revealed|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}} ''Gypsum'' was being developed using Bungie's in-house [[Blam engine]].{{Ref/Site|Id=TigerEngine|URL=https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022106/Lessons-from-the-Core-Engine|Site=GDC Vault|Page=Lessons from the Core Engine Architecture of Destiny|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}}

In it, the player would take control of a [[Wikipedia:Minotaur|Minotaur]] and according to [[Martin O'Donnell]] who produced sound effects and music for the game, "you ran around and smashed things with a hammer and magic stuff happened." A playable prototype of the game was produced, which O'Donnell described as "a blast".{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}} Game designer [[Paul Bertone]] compared ''Gypsum''{{'}}s gameplay to modern titles such as ''[[Wikipedia:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor|Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor]]'' and the ''[[Wikipedia:Batman: Arkham|Batman: Arkham]]'' games.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}

Despite its promise, the game was cancelled in June 2003 in response to [[Development of Halo 2|major issues]] during the development of ''[[Halo 2]]'', which required that Bungie focus all its resources on the game. In a [[2017]] article on the history of ''[[Halo (disambiguation)|Halo]]'', Bertone expressed disappointment at having to cancel the project, lamenting that it had been ahead of its time but that nobody outside Bungie had ever known about it.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}

==Development==
''Gypsum'' was worked on by a small internal team within Bungie, who had previously worked on ''[[Phoenix (cancelled Bungie project)|Phoenix]]'', another internal project that had been cancelled in late [[2002]] or early [[2003]]. However, [[Jason Jones]] had promised the ''Phoenix'' team that they would get to develop their own game. So, despite the cancellation, the team remained separate from the ''[[Halo 2]]'' team and commenced work on a new project, ''Gypsum'', in early 2003.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}} This project was helmed by two men who had previously created a mod called Chimera for ''[[Wikipedia:Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]'', a previous Bungie title.{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}}

Against the wishes of [[Joseph Staten]] and [[Martin O'Donnell]], Jones joined the ''Gypsum'' team as creative director and project lead at some point in early 2003,{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}} apparently bringing several ''Halo'' designers with him,{{Ref/Site|Id=CathedralHurricane|URL=https://medium.com/@Oozer3993/assembling-a-cathedral-out-of-a-hurricane-the-making-of-halo-2-24652d08d29a|Site=Medium|Page=Assembling A Cathedral Out Of A Hurricane — The Making of Halo 2|D=22|M=9|Y=2021}} while still moonlighting as project lead on ''Halo 2''. A number of other ''Halo'' developers also contributed to the project, including game designer [[Paul Bertone]] (who had previously been part of the ''Phoenix'' team) and composer Martin O'Donnell, who produced music and sound effects for it. The ''Gypsum'' project made significant progress in the following few months, having produced a playable prototype by June 2003. This prototype seemed to be well-received within Bungie, with O'Donnell describing it as "a blast", and Bertone saying it was "pretty cool".{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}{{Ref/Reuse|IGNGypsum}}

However, this success was short-lived, as after the famous [[Halo 2 E3 demo|''Halo 2'' E3 demo]], it became evident within Bungie that they would not be able to ship ''Halo 2'' in its current form on the [[Xbox]], because the hardware was not powerful enough to handle the [[Wikipedia:Shadow volume|stencil lighting engine]], given the scope of the game. This necessitated that the game be significantly overhauled, including a complete redesign of the [[campaign]]. Thus, all other ongoing projects at Bungie were cancelled in June 2003, including ''Gypsum'', and all employees were folded into the ''Halo 2'' team in order to complete the game.{{Ref/Reuse|HistoryOfHalo}}

==Sources==
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[[Category:Cancelled games]]
[[Category:Bungie games]]