Agartha Dreamcast Concepts, Artworks, and Photos: A No Cliché Survival Horror
This article, [Agartha Dreamcast and Its Prototypes: Discovering the Spiritual Successor to Alone in the Dark], dedicated to Agartha on Dreamcast, attempts to uncover the mysteries surrounding this Unreleased title developed by the French studio No Cliché. It traces the origins of this Survival Horror, the behind-the-scenes story of its development, its original concept, oppressive atmosphere, and musical dimension, illustrated with Concepts, prototypes, and, above all, testimonies from members of the Lyon-based studio. Continue your Agartha experience with this companion page, bringing together additional Artworks from the game created by the Game Artists at No Cliché, including some shared by Didier Chanfray and Didier Quentin.
Didier Chanfray: « As I remember it, Agartha is more of a secret underground world (rather than a city). There are several entrances to this world, one of which is located near a mountain village in the eastern part of the Carpathians (we never really specified which country: Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania…). We didn’t want to pinpoint the exact location of the village, in order to preserve an element of mystery. »
Welcome to Săpânța, Where Agartha Takes Place
Since the release of Alone in the Dark on PC in 1992, its creator, Frédérick Raynal, had wanted to revisit the experience by creating a new Survival Horror that would stand apart from the horror games of the time. SEGA eventually gave him that opportunity following its acquisition of Adeline Software International in 1997.
However, the project is temporarily put on hold. For their first title to be released on Dreamcast, No Cliché, the studio’s new name, is tasked by the blue hedgehog company with creating a multiplayer-focused game that would become Toy Commander.
A Video of Agartha in Action
Hmm… What’s Going to Happen on This Butcher’s Workbench?
After the development of Toy Commander, during a visit to SEGA of Europe’s offices in London, the executives asked Frédérick Raynal what his next game, and that of his team, would be. Seizing the opportunity, he naturally replied: a Survival Horror. To his great surprise, SEGA welcomed the idea enthusiastically and even encouraged him to make the scariest game possible!
The project was given the name Agartha, with a release planned for October 2001. An unrealistic deadline, as approximately 18 additional months would have been needed to complete development based on the progress No Cliché had made before the project was cancelled.
Frédérick Raynal: « To me, Agartha was an adventure game, just like Alone in the Dark. Having weapons and all that was meant to make the player believe they were going to be powerful with them. It was really designed as an adventure game, with the pacing that comes with it. »
Kirk Armed to the Teeth
The development of Agartha began alongside that of Toy Racer and the technical support for the Online mode of Quake 3 Arena in its PAL version. Its storyline draws inspiration from the Hollow Earth theory, while the action takes place in Romania during the interwar period. The concept behind Agartha is built around an alignment system for its protagonist, Kirk, who can shift between “Good” and “Evil”.
The discontinuation of the Dreamcast and SEGA’s withdrawal from the hardware market definitively sealed the fate of Agartha and No Cliché in 2001. The game then joined the graveyard of Unreleased titles alongside other iconic unfinished projects for the console, until its rediscovery in 2017 through technical demos that offered a glimpse of its potential.
The cancellation of Agartha, one of the greatest disappointments in Dreamcast history. What a game it could have been, and yet so little playable content!
The Magic of Agartha Through Drawings and Models
Monstrosities Straight from the Imagination of the Game Artists
The Typical Architecture of This Remote Region of Romania, from House Design Sketches to Their In-Game Modeling
Welcome to the Hunter’s Cabin, a Few Meters Past the Administration Building
The Earthquake at the Beginning of the Game Triggers an Avalanche That Sweeps Away a House in the Village of Săpânța
From the Layout of the Rooms in the Administration Building to Exploring Them In-Game (the Town Hall and the School). Going Upstairs Is Not Recommended—Enter at Your Own Risk!
A hunter who can hunt without his dog is a...
Infected Villagers: Heal Them… or Kill Them?
Kirk’s Sister (The Only Known Visual)
An Underground Factory with No In-Game Equivalent (Beyond the Mines)
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Part of this Sketch Corresponds to the Lava Cave
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Agartha’s Puzzles Explained Through Level Layouts and Maps
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A Few Photos of Agartha Offering a Glimpse into Its Art Direction and Debug Menu (Not from the Original Development Period)
The Interior of the House Along the Road Leading to Săpânța
Kirk perched on the edge of the lava cave amphitheater
A demon lurking in the shadows, waiting to face Kirk
A monumental statue carved directly into the rock, deep within the lava cave
The School Inside the Administration Building — Where Are the Children?
How do you cross this chasm in the mines to reach the other side…?
The Underground Lake Deep in the Mines, with a Boat Waiting for Kirk
The book of Sir Holliser Crawley, also known as Edward Alexander Crowley
I would like to thank Frédérick Raynal, Didier Chanfray, Didier Quentin and Philippe Vachay for their time, kindness, and for sharing conceptual material from Agartha on Dreamcast. Their testimonies have helped shed more light on this cancelled Survival Horror, which was highly anticipated in the early 2000s!
I would like to thank the entire No Cliché team involved in the studio’s various projects, including Agartha (MobyGames – Toy Commander on Dreamcast).
Acknowledgements:
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to Sadako Playerone.tv for proofreading and correcting the French text
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to Neil Riddaway for proofreading and correcting the English version of the article
Other special pages dedicated to a game, featuring Artworks, Storyboards, etc.: Vectorman PlayStation 2 (Unreleased) - Evil Twin Dreamcast - Jekyll & Hyde Dreamcast (Unreleased) - Propeller Arena Dreamcast (Unreleased) - Fear Effect Inferno PlayStation 2 (Unreleased) - Quark Dreamcast (Unreleased) - Thingumajig PC/Dreamcast (Unreleased) - Agartha Dreamcast (Unreleased) - Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon PC
The [Artwork & Concept Art Database] page lists all pages created exclusively around the concept art of a given project. It also brings together all articles related to video games covered by the site—often making-of features—that have drawn on archives of conceptual material provided by developers to support their writing.
