First Attempt
A company by the name of either Northstar or Microstar in northern California was the first programming house to be contracted to develop the game. However, they apparently spent the first 3 months of development watching Aeon Flux episodes and trying to interpret their meaning, and consequently got very little work done. It is rumored that this company no longer exists. Information about this happenstance was taken from a talk given by Peter Chung himself when he was touring across the United States, going to conventions. I saw Peter speak at MegaCon Orlando, in 1997.
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Second Attempt |
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Meant for Windows 95 and Playstations, and developed by Cryo Interactive Entertainment in France, for Viacom New Media. Meant to be shipped at first in December 1996, then slipping to May 1997. Now discontinued. After the merger of Viacom New Media with Virgin Interactive, the game was deemed outdated and consequently set aside. Tomb Raider was the final nail in the coffin, as it was a better game, and already released. The assets for the game engine were retooled, and the game was released with a new title and different characters. The game was called Pax Corpus.
Cryo is now, also, dead. I've heard from one or two people claiming that they had unfinished versions of this version of the Aeon Flux game, since these unfinished versions were sent to journalists as advance copies so that the magazines could in turn write a blurb and post screenshots to generate interest in their readership. Alas, none of these offers ever came to fruition.
The commercial for this game can be seen on the first Aeon Flux VHS tape, but not on the solitary DVD. Side note: Peter was autographing advertising slicks of this version of the game during his tour in 1997.
The first showing of the Aeon Flux game was at the 1996 E3 game convention. While still very early in development, it displayed the capabilities of the engine.
The game was to be based on a a loose adaptation of the TV episode, "The Demiurge," pitting Aeon against Trevor Goodchild. (see the plot synopsis of "The Demiurge" for more information about the storyline). To summarize, people who encounter the Demiurge find a sort of revelation within its gaze and are turned into blue-skinned zombie-like followers.
Part of gameplay involved requiring the player to preserve fluid samples of Aeon during gameplay, and additionally, to find the machine that allows them to create a duplicate of Aeon herself (see the plot synopsis for the "A Last Time For Everything" episode for more information about where this story element came from).
GameSpot has a nice summary of additional details about the game in their Video Game Graveyard. They had initially posted the very same text years ago when GameSpot was still called VideoGameSpot. Nearly all of the current text for the Gamespot writeup was written by Joe Fielder, in 1997, but the credit for this is indirect on the Gamespot site, being labeled on the top page of the section.
This attempt at the Aeon Flux game was going to be comprised of 35 levels, with shooting and some strategy elements employed to banish the extra-terrestrial Demiurge. More than 20 enemies (some new, some familiar) were planned, and some of the more novel missions involved sending Aeon clones purposely on suicide missions.
As suggested by the screenshots above, development was very far along at the point in time the game was canceled. Even a Strategy Guide
The following text is the original press release from Viacom regarding the announcement of this Aeon Flux game:
Subj: Viacom New Media announces development of MTV's AEON FLUX for Sony PlayStation
Date: 96-04-09 09:19:57 EDT
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 1996--MTV'S AEON FLUX, a
pulse-pounding 3-D action game featuring the leather-clad, lethal
beauty created by animator Peter Chung for MTV: Music Television, is
currently in development by Paris-based developer Cryo Interactive
Entertainment for Viacom New Media.
The game, starring the animated action heroine, is scheduled for
release on Sony PlayStation and PC CD-ROM in October 1996. Viacom
New Media and MTV are both units of Viacom Inc.
"AEON FLUX will be the edgiest action game on the market in
1996," said Michele DiLorenzo, president of Viacom New Media. "Cryo
is building a dark, dangerous world true to the exacting, exotic
vision of Aeon creator Peter Chung. Gamers will be thrilled to put
Aeon through all of the wild, provocative moves she's known for in
MTV's animated series."
Aeon Flux is a spellbinding heroine hell-bent on completing her
dangerous missions in a bizarre battle of spy vs. spy throughout a
treacherous, industrial-techno future world. As Aeon Flux, players
will dive first-person into a world of acrobatic, pistol packing,
dangerously erotic, mission-driven action to capture the Demiurge,
a supernatural being with the power to bring the dead to life.
Players will guide the queen of black leather and cold steel, a
real-time 3-D character, in six missions through more than 35
real-time 3-D levels, performing reconnaissance, sabotage and theft,
and generally wreaking havoc.
"In translating Aeon Flux from 2-D linear story to 3-D
interactive action game, we are creating a new experience that
remains thematically linked to her fast-paced, tumultuous and
enigmatic past," said Aeon creator and animator Peter Chung.
Chung is intimately involved with the development of the game
and directed the exotic Aeonesque moves during the motion capture
sessions. "In fact, the translation to 3-D action game was so
natural, that if we hadn't done it, Aeon might have just made the
leap herself."
Aeon Flux was first introduced to MTV viewers through a series
of segments on MTV's "Liquid Television" in June 1991 and debuted in
her own series in August 1995.
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc., owns and operates three
television programming networks -- MTV: Music Television, VH1 and
Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite. The network's respective logos, titles and
related characters are trademarks of Viacom Inc.
Cryo Interactive Entertainment, based in Paris, was founded in
1992 with the aim of developing A-level game software for the
international market. Cryo currently has a diverse slate of projects
in the works for a variety of game platforms, including PC and Mac
CD-ROM and Sony PlayStation. Its roster of hit titles includes Lost
Eden, Dragon Lore, Megarace and Dune.
Viacom New Media's current line-up includes STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE
NINE -- HARBINGER, the best-selling MTV'S BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD IN
VIRTUAL STUPIDITY, MTV UNPLUGGED and CONGO: THE MOVIE -- DESCENT INTO
ZINJ, all on CD-ROM, and ZOOP, the strategic action game for console,
cartridge, hand-held, PC and Macintosh platforms.
Its award-winning kids product line was recently joined by THE
INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD and NICK JR. PLAY MATH!, both on CD-ROM, and
AAAHH!!! REAL MONSTERS for SNES and Sega Genesis. This year's
schedule of Viacom New Media titles includes DEATH DROME and the
cyber classic SNOW CRASH.
"Aeon Flux," "Beavis and Butt-head," "Unplugged," "Aaahh!!!
Real Monsters," "Nick Jr. Play Math!," "Death Drome," "Zoop" and
all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom
International Inc. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine -- Harbinger," "The
Indian in the Cupboard" and "Congo: The Movie -- Descent into Zinj"
are trademarks of Paramount Pictures. "Snow Crash" is a trademark
of Neal Stephenson.
-0-
Note to Editors: Viacom New Media's World Wide Web address is
http://www.viacomnewmedia.com. The site was developed by Viacom
Interactive Services.
Viacom New Media, a unit of Viacom Interactive Media, is a
publisher of interactive entertainment software for Viacom.
CONTACT:
Viacom New Media
Laura Siegel, 212/258-6619
siegell@vim8.viacom.com
or
KillerApp Communications
John Foster, 213/938-7600
johnf@kappcomm.com