Arcanum 2: Journey to the Center of Arcanum

tim-cain arcanum troika-games cancelled-games game-development rpg

Abstract

Problem: What happened to the planned Arcanum sequel, and why was it never made?

Approach: Tim Cain shares firsthand details from the original design document he still possesses, covering the game's story, mechanics, technology plans, and the business circumstances that killed the project.

Findings: "Journey to the Center of Arcanum" was a planned 3D sequel using Valve's Source engine, featuring underground exploration inspired by Jules Verne. It was shelved when Sierra ran into financial difficulties, leading Troika to split their team between Temple of Elemental Evil and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines instead.

Key insight: The sequel would have introduced an ore that allowed blending magic and technology into the same item — resolving Arcanum's core tension — but ambitious plans collided with publisher instability, a recurring theme in Troika's history.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTQzNiXH56U

Background

Troika Games was founded by Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason Anderson on April 1, 1998. Their first shipped title was Arcanum (2001), built on a custom isometric engine. Even before Arcanum shipped, the team was already brainstorming sequel ideas and planning a jump to 3D.

Tim still has the original design document and describes Troika as having a "kitchen sink" philosophy — if anyone had an idea, it went in. Fake newspapers, fate points, procedurally generated world sectors — Arcanum had it all, whether it needed it or not.

The Sequel's Design

Story

The sequel was directly inspired by Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. The plot centered on Franklin Payne — the Big Game Hunter from the first game — who has gone missing. His wife hires the player to find out what happened.

Payne had built a giant boring machine to dig deep underground, searching caverns for remains of a previous civilization. The player descends through the shaft left by the machine, encountering:

  • Ruins of ancient civilizations
  • Cavemen
  • Dinosaurs ("we had magic and tech, you might as well throw dinosaurs in there")

The Magic-Tech Ore

One of the most significant design ideas was a penultimate discovery: an ore that allowed the player to blend magic and technology into the same item without conflict. Items crafted from this ore could be used independently of the player's magic/tech alignment bar — a fundamental evolution of Arcanum's core system.

3D and the Source Engine

The sequel was planned as Troika's first 3D game. They were in talks with Valve about using the Source engine, facilitated by Scott Lynch — the former Sierra VP who had originally signed Troika for Arcanum and had moved to Valve.

The team was especially excited about indoor exploration: caves and large underground areas, a major departure from Arcanum's predominantly outdoor environments. They also planned to redesign the system mechanics for 3D, adapting the isometric ruleset. Tim notes that Bethesda did essentially the same thing eight years later when converting Fallout 1 and 2's mechanics into Fallout 3.

Why It Never Happened

Despite discussions dating back to 2000 (a year before Arcanum shipped), the sequel was never greenlit. When Arcanum was finished in summer 2001, Troika pivoted to a Lord of the Rings RPG demo for Sierra instead. Sierra then hit financial difficulties, reclaimed the Lord of the Rings demo, and there was no publisher support for Journey to the Center of Arcanum either.

This forced Troika to seek other contracts. They landed two projects nearly simultaneously — Temple of Elemental Evil and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines — which split the team. Tim worked on Temple; Leonard and Jason worked on Bloodlines.

Tim's Reflections

Tim says he doesn't regret that the game wasn't made and claims not to regret anything in general. However, he is "slightly sorry" that they announced it and talked about it publicly, raising fans' hopes for a game that never materialized.

The Valve relationship, while it didn't produce an Arcanum sequel, ultimately led to Troika using the Source engine for Bloodlines — so the connection bore fruit in a different form.

References