Gorkamorka (partially found cancelled Dreamcast/Windows racing game based on tabletop game; late 1990s-2001)

An image from the game's trailer.

Status:
Partially Found (Windows Version)
Lost (Dreamcast Version)

GorkaMorka was a tabletop "skirmish wargame" created in 1997 by Games Workshop. A racing game based on the tabletop game was set to release sometime in the early 2000s for the Dreamcast and Windows, but was cancelled shortly afterwards.

Gameplay

Gorkamorka on the Dreamcast would have been a vehicular centered combat game. The game would have pit 1 or 2 players on a team against 15 other racers (32 players in total) to win by destroying the other people's vehicles.^[1]

In the Windows version, the game was set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Players would have to recruit and muster up their own Ork army. Players could then build and customize their own battle vehicles using parts that they either begged, borrowed, or stole from in the world. Players would then battle in races against other Ork armies for "power and glory." The Windows version would be touted as the "First Combat Racing RPG for the PC."

There was supposed to be online play between the 2 platforms in North America (It isn't known if any other region would have gotten online). Players on the Dreamcast version could connect with people on the Windows version to compete in races against each other.

Production/Availability

Production for Gorkamorka started in the late 1990s by developer Realtime Associates, who made such games as Maniac Mansion for the NES, Q*bert for the Game Boy, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi for Game Gear. The publisher for the game was under Ripcord Games, known for publishing the top-down shooter known as Postal. Gorkamorka was shown at E3 2000, with a release date slated in North America by October/November of that same year (It is not known if Ripcord Games planned to release the game in other territories). During the same year, a Windows version was announced with, at that time, no release date.

By the end of 2000, the game was cancelled on both the Dreamcast and Windows. It is unknown why both ports were cancelled. It is speculated that it was due to the Dreamcast's declining sales in 2000, leading to the discontinuation of the console in March 2001.

The Dreamcast version of Gorkamorka is completely lost, as only a couple gameplay videos, a game trailer, and a few images are all that remains. The Windows port, however, isn't lost completely due to a download link to an early build of the Windows version.^[2] The game's build date is from January 24th, 2001, confirming that (at least for the Windows version) development for the game was continuing after 2000.