Oh, one more thing. This can perhaps be seen as the start of a huge release of early development stuff I have coming in the next few months. Stay tuned 👀
dude, fuckin, bless you. I'm so glad all this stuff is seeing the light of day again. Beta/ development documentation is my absolute favourite stuff to see/ read up on, it's so fascinating seeing how everything comes together
@@christiangottsacker6932 They are, but they are overlaid on top of the original colors instead of a proper color change. For instance, the black uses the "burned Spyro" pallet (Placing a black filter over the purple to give him a singed look). The black model here looks a lot nicer.
@@captainbanjaxavalanche4313 I appreciate how polite you were. I just made the comment in case there were any kids reading. Not for turbo nerd like us. I'm actually pretty disappointed in spyro fans for the response to this. Thanks tho Nechtan.
Hey, at least we now know what a green Spyro would've looked like in-game, instead of speculative sketches. Thank you, man. You're content is genuinely the best for us Spyro fans
I can definitely see why Insomniac went with Purple for Spyro (to make him stand out from the grass and the levels) but I really liked Gold Spyro. White Spyro was putting me off, honestly.
Yeah, albino spyro did look really weird lol. I like how they made sure that spyro would stay visible even if someone was playing on a B&W TV, which I suppose is why they went with a darker color (purple) with lighter accents (yellow and red... or orange lol) so even if you couldn't see his body because of the background (like dark passage) you could still see his chest plates, horns, mohawk, and wings.
This is incredible, I can't believe you were able to find this 20+ years later! Thank you for releasing this to us, I love seeing the original Spyro alive and thriving to this day!
@@xboxed720 I will never un-hear "thank you for releasing me!" in Thor's voice after my 5 year old self finally figured out how to reach the highest point in Town Square.. I was hoping for something much more! Haha
It's a shame a lot of VHS cassettes for pitching video games eventually deteriorate over time, luckily Craig was able to save this one. 4:25, enemy reminds of the Tin Soldiers from Haunted Towers.
I still need to find someone with the equipment to clean up this 25 year old VHS and get rid of all the fuzz and the pop! I also kick myself every time I see this, for taping over the color tests with the Spyro animation tests. Sadly Spyro's orginal green color was over written by the animation tests, It never really crossed my mind that 20-30-40 years later anyone would want to see any of this stuff!!
Thanks again for sending this over! There’s really very little internal development footage of this game out there so even this VHS is an absolute goldmine. Hopefully there’s more of this sort of thing out there, one thing I’d really like to see some day would be the March 1998 “Project Pete” footage, though I don’t know anyone who kept a copy at the moment
Man, PS1 Spyro movements are just the BEST and ADORABLEST! They can't be beat! I'm glad they went with purple, but I agree with CrystalFissure. I wish the cheat codes would have given us these alternative color pallets.
1:14 Purple Spyro This is VERY similar to the final Spyro that we know and love today. The biggest difference is that the wings are solid yellow/gold! 8/10 1:32 Dark Blue/Light Black Spyro I like it, but it’s a bit dark... Kind of jarring lol. 5/10 1:49 Light Brown/Gray Spyro Ehhhhhhh... Definitely my least favorite. Very little pop, and the colors don’t match his attitude ): 2/10 2:07 Dark Green Spyro Well folks, this is one of two options that Spyro (formerly known as Pete) was originally intended to be. I am blown away. 8/10 (Edit: WRONG, neither this, nor the other green Spyro coming up were the original green design... The uploader, Hwd405, has notified me that the original design was at the beginning of this tape, but was recorded over... Very unfortunate... I hope he surfaces soon!!
This is a really interesting find! Looks like the enemy got partially repurposed into the Haunted Towers knight? (The helmet looks kind of close) Regarding the test level mentioned, I wonder if it has any relation to the demo that was a pitch for Spyro 1?
I think it was a different level, the pitch was supposedly a very small area that was repurposed into Magic Crafters whereas this one apparently had castles and huge mazes, sounds a bit larger
Yooo this is excellent! Thank you so much for sharing it, and to Craig for making it accessible, too. Super interesting to see green Pete, and teal Spyro honestly looked great. I wonder how much uncertainty there was at this stage about which color he might be? The purple model seems more refined, which could be my bias, but is the one used in all the animation tests there, too.
In the video description for the color tests that were uploaded by Gospyro, this was stated as one of the reasons they chose against making Spyro green: "Next we realized that there were already several other green colored mascot type chracters (Gex, Croc and I swear there was another), so we decided he needed a new color." What I want to know is whether that third character was Jazz Jackrabbit, who had gone through the opposite color change early in development.
You might also be thinking about Pete the dragon, as while he was the inspiration for Spyro, his copyright dissuaded insomniac against making him green, as well as the grass in the artisans worlds
2:31 - The original color of spyro?! Remember, he used to be green. (Glad he was changed into purple tho) Also, this video encapsulates this time of the 90's era. The VHS tape scuffmarks, just speaks of my childhood and with that, a nostalgia. Not to mention the purple dragon himself. :3
Definitely glad they went with the color they did, many of the other colors bring an entirely different personality to the animations. The yellow in particular. I wonder of the white was even a real consideration, or just done as a test, it seems like an unfinished texture because of how flat it looks.
2:07 and 2:30 Folks, this is what Spyro was originally supposed to be. We finally get to see it with our own eyes instead of with that watered down cheat code.......
This is really wonderful!!! thank you so much for sharing this to us, It really interesting to see development and beta test of the game that marked my chilhood and the rest of mi life.! Actually seen Spyro Green as they had say, intend of speculations, it good!!! and I don't recognise that enemy of the game?
Oh, one more thing. This can perhaps be seen as the start of a huge release of early development stuff I have coming in the next few months. Stay tuned 👀
dude, fuckin, bless you. I'm so glad all this stuff is seeing the light of day again. Beta/ development documentation is my absolute favourite stuff to see/ read up on, it's so fascinating seeing how everything comes together
@@nonsensicalfox ^^^^ the fox speaks sense
@@keepyourhornson5311 oh no, I've neglected the entire point of my existence
@@nonsensicalfox some would argue, instead, that you have transcended
Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing!
This is pure gold.
3:18 Literally :3
But no, this is honestly fantastic. I’m in disbelief...
I wish these colours could be cheat codes in the game. Proper colours.
Yep Crystal. Likewise.
Same
It is a cheat code in 2 and 3. You can be a multitude, from black to pink.
@@christiangottsacker6932 They are, but they are overlaid on top of the original colors instead of a proper color change. For instance, the black uses the "burned Spyro" pallet (Placing a black filter over the purple to give him a singed look). The black model here looks a lot nicer.
@@captainbanjaxavalanche4313 I appreciate how polite you were.
I just made the comment in case there were any kids reading. Not for turbo nerd like us. I'm actually pretty disappointed in spyro fans for the response to this.
Thanks tho Nechtan.
Hey, at least we now know what a green Spyro would've looked like in-game, instead of speculative sketches. Thank you, man. You're content is genuinely the best for us Spyro fans
In spyro 2 and 3 you can change his colors with cheat codes ;)
I can definitely see why Insomniac went with Purple for Spyro (to make him stand out from the grass and the levels) but I really liked Gold Spyro. White Spyro was putting me off, honestly.
Yeah, albino spyro did look really weird lol. I like how they made sure that spyro would stay visible even if someone was playing on a B&W TV, which I suppose is why they went with a darker color (purple) with lighter accents (yellow and red... or orange lol) so even if you couldn't see his body because of the background (like dark passage) you could still see his chest plates, horns, mohawk, and wings.
Gold Spyro is in Spyro Attack of the Rhynocs.
Black spyro is very appealing to me
I kinda liked the bluish-greenish one. Kinda gave me chameleon vibes
3:20 feels like what Spyro would look like if he was a Peace Keeper dragon.
This is incredible, I can't believe you were able to find this 20+ years later! Thank you for releasing this to us, I love seeing the original Spyro alive and thriving to this day!
"Thank you for releasing this" I see what you did there
@@xboxed720 I will never un-hear "thank you for releasing me!" in Thor's voice after my 5 year old self finally figured out how to reach the highest point in Town Square.. I was hoping for something much more! Haha
I never realized his little tootsies flippered out to the sides like that! So stinkin' cute :)
It's a shame a lot of VHS cassettes for pitching video games eventually deteriorate over time, luckily Craig was able to save this one.
4:25, enemy reminds of the Tin Soldiers from Haunted Towers.
I still need to find someone with the equipment to clean up this 25 year old VHS and get rid of all the fuzz and the pop! I also kick myself every time I see this, for taping over the color tests with the Spyro animation tests. Sadly Spyro's orginal green color was over written by the animation tests, It never really crossed my mind that 20-30-40 years later anyone would want to see any of this stuff!!
Thanks again for sending this over! There’s really very little internal development footage of this game out there so even this VHS is an absolute goldmine. Hopefully there’s more of this sort of thing out there, one thing I’d really like to see some day would be the March 1998 “Project Pete” footage, though I don’t know anyone who kept a copy at the moment
1:32 shadow spyro in the legend of spyro the eternal night
the lack of music makes it really creepy. But i kind loved browish yellow spyro.
Man, PS1 Spyro movements are just the BEST and ADORABLEST! They can't be beat! I'm glad they went with purple, but I agree with CrystalFissure. I wish the cheat codes would have given us these alternative color pallets.
1:14 Purple Spyro
This is VERY similar to the final Spyro that we know and love today. The biggest difference is that the wings are solid yellow/gold! 8/10
1:32 Dark Blue/Light Black Spyro
I like it, but it’s a bit dark... Kind of jarring lol. 5/10
1:49 Light Brown/Gray Spyro
Ehhhhhhh... Definitely my least favorite. Very little pop, and the colors don’t match his attitude ): 2/10
2:07 Dark Green Spyro
Well folks, this is one of two options that Spyro (formerly known as Pete) was originally intended to be. I am blown away. 8/10
(Edit: WRONG, neither this, nor the other green Spyro coming up were the original green design... The uploader, Hwd405, has notified me that the original design was at the beginning of this tape, but was recorded over... Very unfortunate... I hope he surfaces soon!!
I love all this Spyro food that's coming out recently. Thank you!
4:25 looks like a kirby enemy
This is a really interesting find! Looks like the enemy got partially repurposed into the Haunted Towers knight? (The helmet looks kind of close)
Regarding the test level mentioned, I wonder if it has any relation to the demo that was a pitch for Spyro 1?
I think it was a different level, the pitch was supposedly a very small area that was repurposed into Magic Crafters whereas this one apparently had castles and huge mazes, sounds a bit larger
@@Hwd405 Yeah, those two sure sound different. Even so, thank you for uploading this video!
As a huge Spyro fan I fucking love this. Thank you so much.
Y’all are doing God’s work... this is immeasurably valuable for video game history.
3:55 white Spyro is adorable :3
To think that Spyro at one point was originally gonna be green
Yooo this is excellent! Thank you so much for sharing it, and to Craig for making it accessible, too.
Super interesting to see green Pete, and teal Spyro honestly looked great. I wonder how much uncertainty there was at this stage about which color he might be? The purple model seems more refined, which could be my bias, but is the one used in all the animation tests there, too.
Thank you so much for uploading
2:26 I've always wondered what the original Green Spyro looked like. Thanks man!
In the video description for the color tests that were uploaded by Gospyro, this was stated as one of the reasons they chose against making Spyro green:
"Next we realized that there were already several other green colored mascot type chracters (Gex, Croc and I swear there was another), so we decided he needed a new color."
What I want to know is whether that third character was Jazz Jackrabbit, who had gone through the opposite color change early in development.
A lot of early Spyro levels have grass, so he also would have blended in too much if he was green
@@EpicWolfy98 yes but that wasn't the only reason according to the people who worked on it.
You might also be thinking about Pete the dragon, as while he was the inspiration for Spyro, his copyright dissuaded insomniac against making him green, as well as the grass in the artisans worlds
@@theace8502 Please read my whole comment.
Vectorman was a green character but he wasn't a mascot type character nor was he in the 5th generation
2:31 - The original color of spyro?! Remember, he used to be green. (Glad he was changed into purple tho)
Also, this video encapsulates this time of the 90's era. The VHS tape scuffmarks, just speaks of my childhood and with that, a nostalgia. Not to mention the purple dragon himself. :3
I feel like you could make a creepypasta from this.
I kind of like the tape distortion, as a collector of analog media. It adds to it, in my opinion.
thank you so much for this it’s literally gold
This is great. Some of those color schemes look similar to the baby dragons in YotD.
eerie
I like Spyro’s eyes in the test footage more than in the game. Just felt that it’s more stylized and cartoonish, and I like it.
Definitely glad they went with the color they did, many of the other colors bring an entirely different personality to the animations. The yellow in particular. I wonder of the white was even a real consideration, or just done as a test, it seems like an unfinished texture because of how flat it looks.
2:26 PETE!!
Oh wow the reds freakin gorgeous ❤
MINDBLOWING!
Teal Spyro is definitely my favorite out of these alternate colors.
Thank you
2:07 and 2:30
Folks, this is what Spyro was originally supposed to be. We finally get to see it with our own eyes instead of with that watered down cheat code.......
Apparently the original green Spyro isn’t one of those but another colour that was recorded over at the beginning of the tape
@@Hwd405 Ah, I see!! Thank you for telling me! How unfortunate that it was taped over ): I’ll update my comments regarding all of the colors then!
@@Hwd405 Dang, and here I thought that was what he really would've looked like.
Spyro is really pretty in black.
Was Spyro's base colour governed entirely by vertex colour or did his texture have the colour baked in?
His texture is coloured, the vertex colours are just to make it less uniform with stylized light
0:40 so Spyro 2 and 3's flaming animation was supposed to be there since the first game!
his eyes are modeled holy fuck
256 poly limit. they probably wanted to allocate more polygons to spyro's joints for better looking articulation
Half expecting Wario to show up and crash the program
I'm in awe
i wonder if there is anymore alpha gameplay footage of ingame levels or test maps laying around
This isn’t a color test. How did you get footage of me selecting my alternate spyro costume in smash?
3:54 Red Eyes White Dragon
Albino Spyro
3:01 Flame from Spyro: a Hero’s Tail
This is really wonderful!!! thank you so much for sharing this to us, It really interesting to see development and beta test of the game that marked my chilhood and the rest of mi life.! Actually seen Spyro Green as they had say, intend of speculations, it good!!! and I don't recognise that enemy of the game?
1:18
Now with better quality.
HOLY SHIT WOW!
Awe man I love this 😃
What date exactly is this? Looks like early 1997 for some reason
I don’t have the exact date just yet but it’s somewhere in the range of early to mid 1997 from what I’ve been told
So freakin' cool!!
To anyone curious, in Spyro 2 and 3 and Reignited, there are cheat codes where you can change spyro's color to whatever you'd like! Get toasty.🤙
The cheat codes are unrelated to the colour schemes shown in the video
@@Hwd405 I've been reading your comments section and didnt want to repeat myself. Have a nice day.