The Saints Row franchise of games are probably some of the wackiest video games to ever exist, so maybe it’s no huge surprise that a former developer of the series recently admitted his company was once in talks with comedian Dave Chappelle to be a writer on the original game.
Although often compared to Grand Theft Auto, the Saints Row games take the idea of being a crime lord up a notch and are so over the top that many consider them a parody of the Grand Theft Auto games. Not only do the Saints Row games allow players to run around stealing cars in wacky costumes (furry cosplay anyone?), but it also created gameplay that involved beating enemies over the head with giant sex toys and quests that involve players throwing themselves in front of cars at busy intersections to collect insurance money and extra experience points, known as respect in the game.
If that sounds like perfect fodder for a comedian, it is. GameBrain posted a video of an interview with former Saints Row developer Christopher Stockman, who revealed that the company he worked for approached Chappelle about writing for the hilarious title. This makes sense considering Chappelle was at the top of his game at the time, which is about when the highly popular Chapelle’s Show aired on Comedy Central. The Saints Row development company had recently fired a previous writer, who it felt just wasn’t working out in terms of the vision the developer had about the game.
When asked about approaching Chappelle himself, Stockman confirmed that there had been some talks with the comedian. It seems, though, that Chappelle demanded the game become something that was specifically his, which is when discussions broke down.
“We went on in search of a new writer and there was initial talk about partnering up with a Dave Chappelle-type or a celebrity type to lend their creative weight and writing style.”
The Saints Row franchise still managed to spawn five games, including the last in 2015, an expansion called Saints Row: Gat out of Hell. At one point, the series was one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. However, it seems that time has mostly forgotten the series; there are no current plans for future titles in the franchise.
No one can deny that Chappelle is a funny guy and probably would have lent even more humor to Saints Row, but as a writer, would that have changed the game beyond recognition? As it never happened, gamers now only can imagine what Chappelle’s Saints Row might have been like.
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Source: Game Brain
