The greatest games you never played get their due in Bitmap's latest book Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. The greatest games you never played get their due in Bitmap's latest book What could have been in The Games That Weren't. Feature by Martin Robinson Editor-in-chief Published on 25 Sep 2020 15 comments Denis Villeneuve's Dune is looking just fine, but will it ever come close to what would have been Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune? You might have seen Frank Pavich's documentary on one of the great unmade movies, and one of cinema's greatest 'what ifs' - it was set to be a 14-hour epic with an all-star cast of Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger, with H.R Giger and Chris Foss on art duties, and the story of how it all came apart is probably as engrossing as the final movie may well have ended up. The Games That Weren t Author: Frank Gasking Publisher: Bitmap Books Availability: £29.99 from Bitmap Books' site There's something about the projects that failed to launch that's endlessly fascinating, which probably explains why The Games That Weren t is one of the most engrossing video game books I've had the pleasure to read. Learning about the history of games development can be fascinating enough - learning about the history of abandoned games is something else. There's an illicit thrill in hearing tales of failed projects, as well as a chance to see the challenges faced by game creators when those challenges are at their most extreme. The Games That Weren t compiles some 80 of these war tales, from 1975's Blackjack to 2014's Tony Hawk's Shred Session. It's not exhaustive - by its own admission it never could be, and you won't find big name never weres such as StarCraft: Ghost, Agent or Star Wars: 1313 here. That's never a disappointment, given what is here - unfulfilled visions that were mostly new to me, and that all deserve to have their stories told. And they're stories told with brilliant detail that's neatly imparted - I loved learning how Atari's Sebring used a VFO connected to a vertical line counter to force the illusion of perspective - and often recounted by the devs themselves. Here's Larry DeMar and Eugene Jarvis on Conquest, complete with design docs and colourful asides from Larry and Eugene. There's insight into Matthew Smith's unfinished Attack of the Mutant Zombie Flesh Eating Chickens from Mars, Sensible Software's Sex n' Drugs n' Rock 'n Roll, and here's the in-depth story behind Sandy White's Dick Special (sorry that one was too good not to type out). The anecdotes are colourful, as are the 100s of screenshots, pieces of concept art and unused promotional materials that accompany each tale. The Games That Weren t is a byproduct of a site I'm ashamed to admit had escaped my attention until now, where the book's author Frank Gasking and many others have spent over 20 years collating these tales. To see all that work distilled into one volume is a staggering thing. This not only a peek at what might have been - always fascinating in its own way - but also a series of fables about the perils and pitfalls of games development. It's a story of failures, and those kinds of stories are often the most human and touching of all - which is what makes this a video game book that's pretty much essential. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 12 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 3 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store