Deep Down

ARCHIVES OF THE UNRELEASED #1

Panta rhei - everything flows...

About 10 years ago Capcom's Deep Down was announced.

When the trailer dropped and when Yoshinori Ono presented the 30-minute gameplay at Tokyo Game Show 2013 I was very excited. In fact, the gaming industry was very excited. Battling draconic monsters in dungeons filled with traps and treasures, all very cinematic, all very graphically gorgeous. It would be an understatement to say that - at the time - it turned heads. Deep Down looked beautiful, it looked innovative. PS4 wasn't even out yet, and there we were, watching TGS gameplay & imagining how awesome next generation of consoles will be. It was going to be online title only, free-to-play as well. I was convinced that this is the future. That's how we're all going to play games now, constantly connected. No single, only multi. This is it. The future.

Deep Down was presented alongside a new game engine called Panta Rhei, an engine that was going to replace Capcom's MT Framework used at the time (and still used, up to this day I believe). A lot of funds went into the development of both the engine and the game, and at one-point Capcom even announced that AMD's Mantle API technology was being incorporated into the game engine. It was going to be the next best thing - however as impressive as it looks on that Deep Down gameplay video below, Capcom's plans regarding Panta Rhei never came to fruition.

It was clear that Capcom was trying to jump on the bandwagon called Souls-like and even though it hasn't been openly admitted, stylistically Deep Down wasn't far off Miyazaki's games - it was hard not to see the resemblance. But that's okay. When gameplay dropped we were already living in a post-Dark Souls II world, so there were bound to be similarities. At the time everyone was using From Software's pot of ideas as an inspiration. Deep Down's locational damage mechanic however, seemed unique and looked really good, very reminiscent of Capcom's another own title - Dragon's Dogma. Even climbing on top of the beasts felt like taken from the aforementioned title (although this mechanic we have to thank Team Ico for in the first place). The promise of a 4-player online co-op mode, to aid player in tackling large monsters sounded great. Deep Down established itself very early on during its development as a ground-breaking & revolutionary title, at least that's how Capcom made it look and sound.

It was not meant to be. As with every announcement of such magnitude, there were more questions than answers and no one seemed to be addressing the former. Initially slated for release in 2014, it was delayed. I knew that something was up when Kazunori Sugiura in one of his interviews said: "[...]vision for the game had expanded since its initial 2013 reveal, to better appeal in the long term to players, and so the development timescale had been extended". As it later turned out, it had been extended indefinitely. Shortly after, Deep Down entered development hell.

Now, having a wider perspective on things, while analysing the data and information behind Deep Down, this chain of events isn't that surprising. It tried to borrow a lot of things from other titles, perhaps a bit too much - the plot synopsis is ridiculously similar to the one in Ubisoft's AC franchise: "The player perspective for Deep Down begins in New York City in the year 2094. The story focuses on a member of a group known as the "Ravens" who has the ability to recover historical memories by touching ancient objects. This 'Raven' is brought into contact with excavated objects from a mysterious civilization in Bohemia (Czech Republic) dating from the 15th century and are asked to use their abilities to explore the city and discover its secrets."

Perhaps hardware limitations were also an obstacle - Deep Down running on Panta Rhei engine looks like a PS5 game - and when it was presented, we were still 9 months away from PS4 being released in North America. Technical challenges, shifting priorities at Capcom and constant changes in gaming industry trends all contributed to the fact that Deep Down will most likely never see the light of day. Especially with Ono's departure from Capcom in 2020 and From Software continuous success. With it now being considered vaporware, although not officially cancelled, its future is rather clear. Has Capcom Online Games chewed on more than they could bite? The question remains unanswered, but it would be safe to assume so.

It's ironic how the name of a game engine, synonymous with Heraclitus saying has become a subtle explanation for Deep Down's demise. Panta chorei - everything moves, panta rhei - everything flows. Heraclitus is seemingly suggesting that not only the river is constantly changing, but we do as well. And so does the gaming industry and its trends. The more time you spend developing a big budget game with innovative and ambitious ideas, the bigger the probability that you're going to end up playing catch up with the industry and direct competition. It's a constantly evolving market. Now more than ever. Panta rhei - everything flows...