Gods (Amiga)

Gods
Also known as: Gods: Into The Wonderful Developer: The Bitmap Brothers Publisher: Renegade Software Platform: Amiga Released in EU: March 1991 This game has unused areas. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused text. This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article

Oh dear, I do believe I have the vapors. This page contains content that is not safe for work or other locations with the potential for personal embarrassment. Such as: Hidden rude words.

Gods is the Bitmap Brother's classic Hellenic epic. Warning: Game not suitable for minotaurs.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Unused Graphics

This appears to be a version of the Bird Familiar without its armor. It's likely this was its original form, with the Power Claws and Magic Wings upgrades intended to change its appearance to the version used in the final game.

An unused scorpion enemy found in Level 1's tiles. This sprite is visible in early magazine coverage of the game.

The hero's face/helmet design used for the lives counter and extra life bonus differs from that of the in-game sprite. Pre-release screenshots reveal this is actually because the hero's design was changed late into development, and in fact the lives counter is the original character sprites' face graphic.

(Source: jotd)

Cut lamp/torch graphics

Strangely, at one stage the game featured flaming torches/lamps throughout its walls, which were almost entirely all removed for the final game for reasons unknown. These graphics remain in the finished game and can even be seen in their original positions in the "B" map version of the start of the first level (see below). Even stranger, these are present and fully working in the Atari ST and DOS demos of the game, but not the Amiga one. They can also be seen throughout the pre-release coverage of the game. Once the levels (and particularly the first level) were redone for the final game, these seem to have all been cut, save for a pair of unique flickering candle graphics at the very start of level two.

Flaming Torch tile graphic	Flaming Torch combined with sprite from demo

There is a second cut lamp graphic, this time a small bowl-like oil lamp. A similar graphic seems to be visible in the pre-release screenshot of the dragon boss fight at the end of the second level included in the game's advert. However, the graphic in the final game is baked into the stone tiles which show it was specifically intended for the first level of the game. The lamp in the advert screenshot also seems to have a bigger flame sprite.

Unused Text

The Objects file lists all item names and descriptions for each map, including the shop items. There are remnants of the following deleted (and quite rude) item descriptions visible in a hex editor for the Starburst and Familiar items when browsed in the shop:

starburst        t goes zzzzap 
familiar rot     e is a cunt ggery

There's also an unseen description for the hint item because, well, picking one up only shows you the hint!

tablet           reveals clues

There are also some unseen/deleted texts in the weapon descriptions file:

time bomb        0 goes bang   apon
flame o bollock  efugee from xenon ii
throwing star    s used by japanese

Unseen Areas

It seems originally the game's levels were each contained in a single map file. However, at some point each level was split into two different map files with half the "worlds" of a level taking place on one map, the rest on the other for that level (presumably for performance reasons). However, the complete map is still present in both map files, merely with no enemies or scripting present in the unused areas. The end result of this is earlier versions of each level are sometimes visible in the inaccessible part of each map file. This reveals slightly different level layouts, and different item and puzzle placements. The third party tool Gods Viewer was used to create the following maps that show each map file including item placements, with red blocks indicating tile data missing from that version of the map, which broadly also can be used to see which areas of the map are out of bounds in actual gameplay.

Level 1 - The City

Map A

Map B

Note the otherwise unused wall lamp decorations at the start of the map in the "B" version, the different rewards inside the first treasure room before the end of World 1, and the missing tower below the gold plates on the secret invisible platform in the sky. The large area at the top middle of the map with a row of pillars is also unused in both versions of the level. There are extensive pre-release screenshots of the early version of the first map visible here demoed extensively in various games magazines of the time.

Level 2 - The Temple

Map A

Map B

Note the first level lever graphics in the out of bounds area of each map, suggesting these were in use originally until dedicated themed switch graphics were drawn for this level. The leap over the pit with a spike trap to the ladder at the start of the second world has been made easier by extending the platform to the left of it in the final game.

Level 3 - The Labyrinth

Map A

Map B

Note the large room at the very bottom right of both maps is not actually accessible in either version of the map, it's totally unused. Note also the unused room in the very middle of the A map, with the ladder leading down into a room with three trapdoors on each side.

Level 4 - The Underworld

Map A

Map B

Note the room used for the final boss (at the top-middle-right) has a door in it in the "A" map, in the actual boss fight in the "B" map there's a platform here. Perhaps originally this had to be exited through in order to complete the game?

(Source: Kroah posting on English Amiga Board)