Splatoon

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Splatoon.

Early Development2009-2013. The most innovative of ideas. Later Development2013-2014. Bunnies? Astronauts? Squidkid Hybrids?

2014#

June#

E3 2014#

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Title Screen

E3 2014	Final

Lobby

E3 2014	Final

Loading Screen

E3 2014	Final

Results Screen

E3 2014	Final

Screenshots

Trailer

Watch on YouTube

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this. Specifically: Compare boxes with final game would probably help.

Splatoon was shown off for the very first time at E3 2014. While the foundation for the game was settled down, it was only "10% complete". It was very well received by the crowd even though it was still in development.

Main Differences

• The song playing in the trailer is an early version of Splattack!. It can be found as a bonus track in the official Splatune video game soundtrack.
• The "Booyah!/Nice!" and "C'mon/To Me!" icons were simply called "Signal".
• On the D-Pad, there was a function to "signal" your teammates, it has the normal function of the D-Pad in the final game except it doesn't display a message.
• The gamepad screen originally had a button to toggle gyro controls on and off on the fly. This is in a different menu in the final game.

Visual Differences

• Some of the clothing worn in the trailer received some minor changes:
  • The White Tee had a slightly different design, with the Inkling language resembling これ (kore) instead of いか (ika). The pink tag wasn't present either.

• The icon of the Inkling splatted is absent and shows how many points goes towards the inked turf.
• The ink Tank Icon looked taller and had a different animation for being filled up.
• Some of the background rooftops had white textures, and were most likely placeholder graphics.
• Originally inklings had a different model for when transforming out of squid form. It also took longer to become their human-like model.

Early	Final

• The ink had different lighting effects, in the final game it looks more watery.
• Certain graphical effects like moving through ink were more simple.

Map Differences#

Urchin Underpass This was the only playable map in the demo.

It had some unfinished areas of the map blocked off by oil pumps, there is a placeholder striped floor in the blocked off sections when the map is shown from above in the results screen. The map was also unpolished, with the glass floors being completely not opaque. There was also slight changes - some platforms were only reachable by going up steep ramps etc.

Arowana Mall

• Arowana Mall was originally long and narrow and mostly white background textures.

Early	Final

Early	Final

Saltspray Rig

• Saltspray Rig featured an entirely different lower half, and the upper half had different textures and slight other differences.

Early	Final

Early	Final

Early	Final

Walleye Warehouse

Early	Final

• Walleye Warehouse originally had moving platforms that went horizontal in the middle of the map.
• The containers could be climbed on from the side.

Other Differences#

• The voice when a female Inkling does a Super Jump sounded more human and higher in pitch.

Kiosk Demo#

Watch on YouTubeWatch on YouTubeAt E3 2014, various people could try out the demo of the video game.

• There were warmup sessions before the actual match, giving a tutorial on Urchin Underpass.
• There were two rounds, which also appeared in tournament builds similar to the Testfire.
• The lobby's background is blue and purple. The Global Testfire demo also used this, but neither Turf Wars nor Ranked Battles in the final game use this scheme.
• The music used for the last minute of a Turf War match was completely different, compared to Now or Never! as used in the final version.
• The orientation on Judd during the results is angled more up instead of straight on. His animations are also different, in which he would lean directly to the winning side.
• The victory and/or defeat animations seem slightly unpolished, as there was no animation for the Inklings' mouths at this time. While the defeat aninations were retained in the final, they are reserved for Charger-type weaspons instead.
• The font for "Splatted _____!" was different.

November#

Nintendo Direct Footage#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EXKQQmm9EE The game was shown off again, this time at the Nintendo Direct. Two new stages, which were the Blackbelly Skatepark and Camp Triggerfish were shown off along with the Octo Valley campaign.

General Differences

• The Inklings' voice clips now matches that of the final.
• Tentacular Circus sounds almost exactly the same, with the exception of the ending part. Though, it was likely made for the trailer.

Stage Differences

• Camp Triggerfish's layout was different in terms of aesthetical detail even though it had a lot minor layout changes.
• Blackbelly Skatepark, however looked more closer to the final product.

Octo Valley Differences

• A lot of the Octo Valley stages had some minor adjustments while they were still being developed.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/05/nintendo-offers-glimpse-into-splatoon-single-player

2015#

March#

https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/23/splatoon-making-messy-mischief-in-nintendos-new-shooter

April#

April Trailer#

Watch on YouTube The video to the right showcases a few of the changes from the April Trailer.

• We get our first look at Blackbelly Skatepark and Camp Triggerfish, both which have many differences.
• The inklings still used their transformation model from E3.
• Checkpoints/ Spawn Points didn't have the two rotating arrows in the middle.
• An inkling is shown idling at spawn with a Dynamo Roller early on, roller head unfolded, and not slung behind the back; unlike in the final game where the roller head folds when standing or running in humanoid form.
• The Rapid Blaster is shown having the bottom part of the Rapid Blaster Pro. Presumably this was removed to make it easier to tell the difference between both guns.
• The Classic Squiffer had Burst Bombs in place of Point Sensors initially.
• Gushers are missing their spigots.
• Captain Cuttlefish's entrance to the single player mode was in a different position and had a non-grated cover.
• Captain Cuttlefish was originally meant to appear in person in one of the game's story missions. In the final game, however, he is only seen in-person in the final mission and in the hub of Octo Valley.
• Level 5 had a completely different, red background, contrary to the blue one in the completed game.
• Footage of what appears to be a retro-styled platformer appears for a brief second, although it is just as possible it never was a game to begin with.
• Octolings wore what would eventually become the Moto Boots, along with armor on the rest of their legs. They also don't appear to be wearing a belt as they do in the final game.
• There was originally hooded Octarians, nowhere to be found in the finished product. They may have changed to Octosnipers.
• Sunken Scrolls were changed from white sheets of paper to stained brown scrolls, presumably to give it a more ancient appearance.

Resources#

Exhibitions

• 2018 Tower Records Collaboration
• 2019 DesignPlayDisrupt Exhibition
  • Prints
    • https://twitter.com/PixelSquid_/status/1038473335712227328

References#