There isn’t a whole lot going on today in the world of gaming, outside of purely trivial things, but something mildly interesting has arisen. At this point in the current console generation Batman video games and superhero/licensed games as a whole have been redefined based on the work Rocksteady has done in Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City.
Upon playing Batman: Arkham Asylum a multitude of gamers were blown away by the quality of the game which led to one common sentiment being shared: no one else should ever create a Batman game other than Rocksteady. While I partially agree with such a notion, I must say that it would be interesting to see what other developers could do with Batman and the world of Gotham, or should I say one of the many interpretations of Gotham.
Thanks to the semi-retired Superannuation chap we have some concept screens for the video game version of Gotham by Gaslight. Not being a super comic book aficionado I didn’t know about the history or core setting of Gotham By Gaslight, but after checking things out I was surprised to learn that it takes place in a steampunk inspired Gotham City in the year 1889. The mix of Batman and an era setting has me tempted to go to my local comic shop a.s.a.p. to check out Gotham By Gaslight since it sounds amazing.
But anyway back on topic: it appears that at one point Day 1 Studios was working on a pitch or general concept to do a game adaptation of Gotham By Gaslight. Such a notion is more than confirmed in the series of conceptual images shared by artist Julie A. Farrell. The images don’t show anything major as they merely comprise of HUD and UI elements, but there is a nifty clock-work inspired Batman logo and a controller layout which gives some minimal hints as to the direction the gameplay may have gone in.
I know it may be hard to get excited about some rather straightforward concept images, but it would’ve been interesting to see a Batman video game that wasn’t based on a movie or a modern incarnation of the comic books. There’s a somewhat split attitude about Batman spin-off games such as Gotham City Impostors, but Gotham By Gaslight could’ve been something truly unique since it would’ve shown us a different aspect of Batman and more importantly it would’ve been a rare occasion in which we receive an era specific steampunk action game.
It’s unknown at this time why WB Interactive cancelled Gotham By Gaslight or if the game is merely on the backburner as of now. Day 1 recently lost one major project in the form of the unannounced Silent Scope remake which was pulled from them by Konami. But even with the loss of Silent Scope it was stated that the studio still had two major unannounced projects in the works. Having worked with WB Games in the past on F.E.A.R. 3 there’s definitely a relationship present so maybe at some point we’ll assume the cowl of Batman as he hunts Jack the Ripper.
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