Dungeon Keeper 3

Dungeon Keeper 3: War for the Overworld
Developer(s)	Bullfrog Productions
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Designer(s)	Ernest W. Adams Nick Ricks Zy Nicholson Nick Goldsworthy[1]
Series	Dungeon Keeper series
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	Cancelled
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy, God game
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer[1]

Dungeon Keeper 3: War for the Overworld^[1] is a cancelled PC strategy game developed by Bullfrog Productions for Microsoft Windows. Dungeon Keeper 3 was set to be the next installment in the Dungeon Keeper franchise where the slogan “Evil is good” set the series apart from conventional games. Players were charged with managing evil creatures in an underground dungeon and protecting it against the stereotypical righteous and goodly adventurers that conventionally appear in role-playing games. The series won praise from reviewers for its innovative design and devilish humor. The sequel to Dungeon Keeper 2, it was set to lead the player to do battle in the surface realm of the goodly heroes. A short trailer for the game is included in Dungeon Keeper 2,^[2] which shows Horny the horned reaper reaching the surface world.

High-level conceptualisation and design documentation formally began after the release of Dungeon Keeper 2 in June 1999, with a small design team drawn from the same development staff. Game designer and scriptwriter Zy Nicholson resigned from the studio in late 1999 and was replaced on the project by Ernest W. Adams. Though never officially announced by publisher EA, development was acknowledged by a website update from the DK3 team in early February 2000.^[3][4] Development was cancelled in March 2000,^[1] though it was not until August^[5][6] the same year that Bullfrog Productions revealed that the game had been cancelled. At the time, Bullfrog's website explained that it had cancelled production to work on other projects:

A third episode of the Dungeon Keeper saga was underway, but opportunities to develop new intellectual properties on new platforms such as PlayStation 2 have meant that DK3 has been put on hold. There are currently no plans for another Dungeon Keeper game, however it remains an important franchise and there may be opportunities for us to pursue that direction in the future.^[7]

The projects that provoked Dungeon Keeper 3's cancellation were EA's Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings games.^[1] Though there are no plans for developing any new Dungeon Keeper games at the moment, the Bullfrog statement points out that this is always a possibility for the future.

Improvements in the economy and multiplayer aspects of the game were planned, and a new race was conceptualised. In addition, the new race, as well as the goodly heroes, were designed to be playable.

The innovative nature of the Dungeon Keeper series proved to be incompatible with EA's business model after the company acquired the rights, as the project showed to be a higher risk than EA's other titles that were based on films that were popular at the time. However, like most of the studios EA has bought and closed^[8], EA holds onto the rights to the games but won't continue to develop the franchise.

See also

• Dungeon Keeper
• Dungeon Keeper 2
• Bullfrog Productions
• Dungeons
• Community sequel

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Ernest W. Adams (August 2006). "Dungeon Keeper 3: War for the Overworld". PC Games That Weren't. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20080617105525/http://pcgtw.retro-net.de/index.php?id=games:keeper3. Retrieved 2008-06-17. 
2. ^ "10 cancelled games we wish had been released - Dungeon Keeper 3". MSN Games UK. 2011-03-29. http://games.uk.msn.com/gaming/photos/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=155264773&page=3=. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
3. ^ IGN Staff (2000-02-08). "The Demon's Out Of The Bag". IGN. http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/074/074964p1.html. Retrieved 2006-12-21. 
4. ^ "Dungeon Keeper III". Electronic Arts. Archived from the original on March 10, 2000. http://web.archive.org/web/20000311211615/dk2.ea-europe.com/uk/dk3/index.html. Retrieved 2009-11-02. 
5. ^ IGN Staff (2000-08-01). "Dungeon Keeper 3 Stuck in the Corner". IGN. http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/082/082952p1.html. Retrieved 2006-12-21. 
6. ^ Sam Parker (2000-08-02). "Dungeon Keeper 3 Cancelled". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/dungeonkeeper2/news_2610618.html. Retrieved 2006-12-21. 
7. ^ "Development On Dungeon Keeper 3 Has Ceased". Electronic Arts. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. http://web.archive.org/web/20000816062734/dk2.ea-europe.com/uk/dk3/index.html. Retrieved 2009-11-02. 
8. ^ "A look at the studios EA has bought and shuttered". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090223204438/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/02/aretrospective-look-at-the-studios-ea-has-bought-and-broke.ars. Retrieved 2011-04-26. 

External links

• Dungeon Keeper 3 at IGN