Veteran British publisher Elite is looking to revive one of its "lost" classics, we can reveal.
Scooby Doo In The Castle Mystery was originally supposed to launch on the 8-bit ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC home computers around 1985, and was marketed as "the first-ever computer cartoon".
Described as "highly ambitious" and pushing "technical boundaries" beyond what the 8-bit machines could handle, the game ultimately went unreleased – but Elite Director and company co-founder Steve Wilcox is looking to resurrect the project 40 years later.
The game was shelved because "the 48K hardware couldn't handle the required animations, sound, and code simultaneously," according to Elite.
This is corroborated by a contemporary report published in Sinclair User at the time, which claimed the game was visually stunning but a "shambles" in terms of gameplay; lack of memory was cited as one of the major issues. Elite would ultimately archive the project and pay Gargoyle Games to produce a more traditional platform game starring Scooby Doo in late 1986.
So what remains of the original vision for Scooby Doo In The Castle Mystery? According to Elite, partial prototypes and demo code exist, and Jon Harrison (co-designer and artist), Richard Wilcox (co-designer and programmer) and Andy Williams (co-designer and programmer) are all on board to assist with its completion.
"Today, with retro gaming booming and lost titles finding new audiences, this is a unique opportunity to revive, finish, and release the game - restored, remastered, and reintroduced to fans worldwide," says Wilcox, listing PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and smartphones as potential platforms – as well as the original 8-bit home computers.
Elite is now looking for prospective publishers to pick up the game and help complete it. This will include renewing the lapsed Scooby Doo licence with Hanna-Barbera, which is now part of Warner Bros. Animation.