[PROTOTYPE 2] • (2010 - 2012)

Development History & Cut Content.

Introduction

In 2011, a game about Spider-Man 4 was planned, developed by Activision and Eurocom, which was supposed to be an interactive adaptation of the fourth Spider-Man film Sam Raimi, but it had to be canceled due to the cancellation of the film screening and later the project was renamed PROTOTYPE 2.

At the time of the cancellation of the game, the map was already ready, and therefore it was decided to use it for a future project.

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In November 2010, Radical Entertainment published on its website a mysterious image with a bald man standing with his back to the audience with the caption «Murder Your Maker».
Already in December of the same year, the official announcement of PROTOTYPE 2 took place at the Spike Video Game Awards ceremony, where the first trailer was shown.

James Heller Design

"We didn't seek out to start with an African American protagonist, maybe it's because we're Canadian. Where we live, it's a melting pot of different races. I'd like to think we're very colour-blind. I wish the entire world was colour-blind. I like to think our studio is, because we have male, female, every race, religion - everything together. We're just a family."

- Studio VP of technology Dave Fracchia Eurogamer

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• "We wrote a description of the character. We knew we wanted to set him apart from Mercer. So it went: scientist, military. Thinker, man of action. We went from someone with a sleeker build to someone with a more military, strong build."

- Radical Entertainment

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• "We knew we wanted it to be a father or mother with a child, so loving husband or wife, loving father or mother, and a certain age, because we wanted the child to be a little bit older so they could have interesting conversations on the phone."

- Radical Entertainment

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"I remember the first time we actually saw - and Heller wasn't even the name we had - the concept art of what is now Heller, right away it was like, oh man, look at the guy's eyes. Look at the strength in his form. He's clearly military, strong. But his face and his eyes had such expression. You could see that directness, that fierceness, but you could see the loss."

"So we shortlisted characters and did more concept art around them, and finally made our decision. Our decision for Heller was that he fit our verbal description to a tee."

- Fracchia

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• "Sgt. James Heller was a US military soldier who lived in NYZ during the first BlackLight viral outbreak and was stationed in the Middle East during the second outbreak. His wife, Colette, and daughter, Maya, were caught in the initial outbreak and killed. Since BlackWatch was claiming that Alex Mercer caused the outbreak, Heller signed up for a patrol in the infected Red Zone, hoping for a chance to murder Mercer and avenge his beloved family."

- Activision

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• "Heller has military training. Before he lost his family, Heller had a joyful life. His relationships with Colette and Amaya were close and loving. When they were killed, Heller was a man transformed: he grew grim, rude, and impatient - a dark mirror of his earlier personality. Even so, he is kinder and more sympathetic than Alex Mercer. Heller's goals rarely or even convincingly exceed his own personal desires."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Luis Guerra Design

• "Father Guerra is a devout Catholic priest who lives in his boarded-up Yellow Zone cathedral in NYZ. He once oversaw a vast resistance network that battled against Blackwatch and Gentek during the early days of the second outbreak."

- Activision

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• "Guerra is a kind-hearted badass - the classic inner-city priest who carries a sandwich for the hungry and a lead pipe for the evil. He is driven to fight evil and motivated primarily by charity and faith. He always shows concern for Heller's safety, no matter the risk to his own wellbeing."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Anton Koenig Design

• "Doctor Koenig is the chief virologist at Gentek. He oversees every single major Gentek project and is privy to the darkest of secrets within the Gentek corporation."

• "Koenig is a tottering, whiny old fool with a dose of mad scientist thrown in for good measure. When Heller is discovered to have been infected by Mercer, Koenig's role in the grand scheme of Heller's epic journey begins to unfold."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Sabrina Galloway Design

• "Sabrina Galloway is the youngest ever CFO of Gentek. A quick learner with political savvy, she climbed the corporate ladder at a staggering pace and now holds an extremely powerful position."

• "Galloway is a cold-hearted bean-counter who cares little about her company's human test subjects. In addition to her good looks and shrewd tactics, Galloway is impatient, naggy, and has a tendency to rely too heavily on manipulation and sex appeal to get her way."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Douglas Rooks Design

• "Rooks is the elite Blackwatch officer in charge of the NYZ operation. He is Heller's main Blackwatch adversary, though he is not in charge of BlackWatch / Gentek."

- Activision

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• "Rooks is tough and serious but also quick-minded and enthusiastic. He occasionally seems thrilled about the positive developments in his operations and enraged about the negative ones. This has a way of making him appear younger and more impulsive than General Randall. His weakness - family, which makes him seem more human and "real" than every other BlackWatch ever encountered. That said, he is still thoroughly committed to BlackWatch's cause; in fact, his commitment to the concept of family is merely his interpretation of BlackWatch's mission."

• "Like all loyal BlackWatch soldiers, Rooks believes that BlackWatch is the only line of defense against a biological attack on the United States. Because of his unwavering loyalty and commitment to BlackWatch's mission, Rooks was assigned to protect NYZ's three quarantine zones and to facilitate various BlackWatch and Gentek initiatives that took advantage of the quarantine. In this role, he oversaw various projects that attempted to weaponize the viral monsters known to terrorize the human populace."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Clint Riley Design

• "Lieutenant Clint Riley is Colonel Rooks' personal aide and second-in-command in the NYZ operation. He has served in BlackWatch since at least the events of the first outbreak."

• "Riley engages in several operations at the behest of Colonel Rooks. He arranges the protection of scientists, facilitates all NYZ military operations, and engages in an operation to capture James Heller."

• "Riley is quick to discipline any soldier that displays less-than-professional behaviors and attitudes. Conversely, his relationship with Rooks is extremely sycophantic. Riley jumps to do anything the Colonel asks, and to scramble and show shame when the Colonel brings him up short."

- Activision

BlackWatch Design

• "BlackWatch's chief resource is its private force of elite foot soldiers. Each soldier is chosen not only for their combat and training prowess but also for their innate belief that individuals must be sacrificed to protect the greater population. Combine that with a lucrative pay scale and a brutal disciplinary system and you get a pack of extremely loyal, fiercely idealistic and extremely ruthless killers."

- Activision

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• "Each soldier is trained in a wide variety of firearms including assault rifles, grenade launchers, and rocket launchers. Some soldiers are also trained to operate military hardware such as helicopters, tanks, and APCs."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Super Soldier Design

• "During early tests, BlackWatch discovered that the BlackLight virus could be altered to grant superior abilities to lab animals. Gentek investigated this in Project D-Code, finally replicating the effect in humans in 2009 via the Blacklight sub-strain DX-1120."

- Activision
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• "In 2012, the project was reinstated but under a classified project with additional top secret objectives. Regardless, BlackWatch's SuperSoldiers continue to show increased size, strength, fortitude, speed, and the ability to leap over and climb walls."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Infected Design

• "The standard Black Light entity is the Infected — standard human-sized and human-shaped walking dead that wander the streets mindlessly and seek to devour flesh and organs. A Black Light outbreak appears to create hordes of these creatures."

• "Infected are created when a Black Light infection does not kill a victim but also fails to activate any notable dormant DNA in the victim. The victim will awaken from unconsciousness, display the intelligence of an animal, and seek purely to kill and consume living and dead organisms."

• "Infected retain a humanoid appearance but manifest various tumors and other viral growths that tear through clothing and greatly alter their silhouette. They have average speed, enhanced strength, and can be killed the same way as a regular human."

- Activision

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Flyer Design

• "Flyers are a brand new phenomenon that have begun to appear in the skies over NYZ since the beginning of the second outbreak. Flyers are vulture-like monsters that spread the plague and attack anything that stands or flies in the open."

- Activision

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• "The origin of the Flyers has not been uncovered. Other than the Hydra, they are the only Black Light monster that does not have a humanoid physiology. It's possible that Flyers are city birds (pigeons, crows, starlings) that have been infected and mutated by the virus."

• "Flyers look like diseased vultures. They have pinkish flesh, scraggly feathers, and gnarled faces. Their wingspan is approximately two meters and they have bulk sufficient to knock a helicopter out of the sky. Their favorite attack method is to perform a high-speed dive-bomb. They mass in flocks."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Brawler Design

• "Brawlers are infected monsters that are as large as a grizzly bear and just as savage. Like Infected, they seek to devour flesh but Brawlers are much more predatory, intelligent, and dangerous. They run on all fours, leap several stories high, possess incredible strength and fortitude, and sport a pair of razor-sharp, foot-long claws."

- Activision

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• "Brawlers are born from Blacklight pustules: man-sized biomass wombs. A Brawler may merely be a base-level Infected that has entered a cocoon state, surrounded itself with a pustule, and then transformed into a Brawler. Brawlers are born fully-formed, enraged, and ready to fight."

- Activision

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• "Of all the monsters, Brawlers are the fastest and most savage. They can easily keep up with a vehicle and just as easily topple it with a shoulder-check. Their flesh is pinkish, hairless, and glows with Blacklight-infused muscle fiber. They are incredibly strong and can sustain large amounts of damage before dying. Otherwise, they are simply very large humanoids that move on all fours."

- Activision

Juggernaut Design

• "Despite having once been mere infected humans, these beasts are as large as a van and just about as hard to destroy. Juggernauts are the tanks of the Black Light legions — slow moving, powerful, and armored. They possess huge, heavy fists and are capable of deflecting almost every attack."

- Activision

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• "Juggernauts are usually grey-skinned, belying their rock-like flesh. When properly angled, their flesh deflects rockets and other powerful, high-speed attacks. Their primary attack method is simple: they smash their hammer-like fists on the enemy. Some variants of the Juggernaut can to agitate the biomass running beneath the city, summoning a wave of spikes from the ground."

- Activision

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Initial Sketches

Hydra Design

• "Hydras are three-story-tall tentacles that erupt from the ground to swat at nearby enemies. They can burrow underground to reach a more advantageous position, sometimes choosing to erupt from the ground directly underneath a tank, building, or other enemy site."

- Activision

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• "It is not known where Hydras come from. It is possible that, since the biomass trunks also erupt from the underground, Hydras may simply be animal-like appendages that extend or "bud" from the biomass itself (no biomass trunk has yet shown this kind of behavior or any kind of intelligence, even animal-like)."

- Activision

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• "Hydras are pink and red-glowing tapered worms. They are usually 6-feet wide at the base, where they erupt from the ground. Their mouths are topped with two bone-like mandibles that form a long pointed scoop. These mandibles can separate to reveal a mouth that spits out a tongue. This tongue can grab enemies and bring them closer for a titanic slap from the tentacle itself or, to be devoured."

- Activision

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Goliath Design

• "Goliath is a huge brawler-like infected creature, although much stronger. Its left hand looks like a giant shield, which it bashes into enemies to eliminate them. It can throw its full body in the air and dive to the ground, damaging a wide area. It can also use its left hand to sweep through the roads and destroy everything in its way."

- Activision

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Initial Sketch

Concept Art

Unused Content

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The Musclemass

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• More different abilities were planned for James, but due to the short release dates of the game, most of the mutations were never implemented. This also applies to armor, which could be a full-fledged ability, and not part of the DLC in the form of scenery, without advantages.

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The Hammerfists

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• Judging by the early sketches, Hammerfists could have a distinctive design from the one we already know, and had a hammer-like appearance, but for some unknown reason this idea was rejected.

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Unknown Power

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• One of the powers not included in the game could most likely be a new mutation. Their design resembles a mixture of Tendrils and Musclemass.

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The Main Character

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• Prototype 2 could have been a continuation of Alex Mercer's story, as evidenced by several artistic sketches of his combos and new improvements, but this idea was abandoned because, according to Radical Entertainment, they needed a new hero in the series who could match Alex.

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First Trailer (2010)

Pre-Alpha Gameplay (2011)

• The design of the BlackWatch differs from the final version, and some wore armor with shoulder pads.

• The BlackWatch Commanders had helmets with glowing yellow lenses.

Developer Interview (2011)

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• New York Zero.

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• Hunt. Kill. Become.

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• The Power of Tendrils.

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• The Pack Leader.

Marketing

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HELLER vs MERCER

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• Before the release of the game, Radical Entertainment played T-shirts from the collection of Heller team vs Mercer team.

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Heller’s Camaro

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• From April 5 to April 30, 2012, Radical Entertainment, together with GameStop, played the Camaro 1SS in the PROTOTYPE 2 style.

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Heller's Perfume

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ALEX MERCER SPECIAL EDITION

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• There is Xbox 360 with a PROTOTYPE 2 design made in the style of Alex.

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//BLACKNET

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• //Blacknet is a Facebook application that was released on June 17, 2011. The application is based on the communication network used by Blackwatch. Players can access the contents of Blacknet by "hacking" its files.

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[PROTOTHINGY]

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• ProtoThingy is a Facebook application. ProtoThingy allows users to create their own form of infected with different mutations. The application consists of different body parts that users can assemble and manipulate. Users can also change color palette and background image while creating a new form of infecting.

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[PROTOSLICE]

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• ProtoSlice is a free application for iOS based platforms and released on November 4, 2011. This application was created by TwitchGames along with Activision and is based on a similar application from TwitchGames, called "Slice HD". The game involves a series of puzzles where the player is to avoid the infected blade in-order to hit the "P2" panic button hidden under these blades. And in-case the player touches a sharp edge, a jarring splatter of blood splashes the screen and the puzzle will reset. Between each level of the game, a screenshot or a concept art related to the upcoming game Prototype 2 is displayed. Some of the puzzles have multiple blades that will require you to use multiple fingers to hold them each in place while moving other blades out of the way.

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Avatar Collection for Xbox 360

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• The Xbox 360 Version of the game has five avatar rewards that are included in the Radnet Access Pack.

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Promotional Posters

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• Saint Patrick's Day.

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• Halloween.

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• Mother's Day.

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• Father's Day.

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EXTRA DASHING

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• Heller's upgrade called «Extra Dashing» with a monocle and a top hat was inspired by the fan art of one person who was very familiar with some developers from Radical Entertainment.

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‎• After releasing PROTOTYPE 2 in mid 2012, Radical Entertainment started working on the third chapter of their series, hopeful to quickly releasing it as one of their last games for the 7th generation of consoles or even better as a launch title for Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Unfortunately PROTOTYPE 2 did not sell as expected: the team was already in financial difficulties and their parent company decided to layoff part of their staff, cancelling plans for PROTOTYPE 3.

"Although we made a substantial investment in the Prototype IP, it did not find a broad commercial audience. Radical is a very talented team of developers, however, we have explored various options for the studio, including a potential sale of the business, and have made a difficult conclusion through the consultation process that the only remaining option is a significant reduction in staff. As such, some employees will remain working for Radical Entertainment supporting other existing Activision Publishing projects, but the studio will cease development of its own games going forward."

- Activision

• While PROTOTYPE 3 was never officially announced by Activision nor Radical Entertainment, in June 2019 a few screenshots from an early development version of PROTOTYPE 3.

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Sketches

More Prototype Guides

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2900892589
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2966981403
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967025079
Created By: PROTO 殺

[The Viral Divinity]

Maybe somebody else could pick up Prototype 3? This game is a surprising hidden gem, even to this day so it would be depressing to watch such a unique IP just decay and wither into nothing.

[S L X R]

@wenjiejasonz , unfortunately, they don't exist. At least, I don't have any. All the art were found and taken by me from different sources and combined in one guide.

[wenjiejasonz]

thanks for sharing！can you also share the original pdf of those art books？

[⛧Alu⛧]

this thread made my monkey brain tickle i love this franchise so much i wish they didnt have any financial difficultys thank you for sharing this bless your heart hopefully all is well in life <3 :)