History Trivia / Blood

** Min-Woo Hyung [[https://blood-wiki.org/index.php?title=Priest admitted in an interview]] (published in Vol. 3 of the Tokyopop release) that ''Blood'' had a significant influence on ''Manhwa/{{Priest}}'''s characters and premise.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://www.blood-wiki.org/index.php/Main_Page The Blood Wiki]].

** Ports for the Usefulnotes/PlayStation and Sega Saturn were planned but not completed. This was likely due to the complications after the game was sold to GT Interactive.

** Ports for the Usefulnotes/PlayStation and Sega Saturn were planned but not completed.

* ContentLeak: One of the employees who worked on ''Blood'' leaked the Alpha and its source code to a computer repair shop in 1996, which angered Monolith Productions. Monolith later made it policy that if any employee went to a computer repair shop, one of the staff had to go with them to prevent another leak. Said leaked beta was ultimately the basis for unofficial modern source ports (as Atari refuses to release the source code of the game) as it had the source code intact - albeit nowhere near as complete as the final game's code would be.
* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: [[https://web.archive.org/web/19980423223132/http://gamespot.com/features/blood2/index.html This GameSpot preview]] of ''Blood II'' delves into "backstory info" on the Chosen that appears to have been completely made up and based solely on their appearances in ''Blood II'' (most obviously with Gabriella, who was born male but whom the writer assumed was a cisgender woman). While some of it could have come from earlier drafts, Caleb's and Ophelia's profiles contradict what info the first game's manual gave on them and how they met. (In short, Caleb was always a gunslinger, not a disgruntled would-be gold prospector, and he and Ophelia couldn't have engaged in an actual affair because her latter's husband was ''dead'' when Caleb came across her.)

* DuelingWorks: ''Blood II'' went up against ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' and ''VideoGame/SiN'', setting itself apart by its ScienceFantasy elements (combining near-future technology and alternate-universe shenanigans with some of the old Wild West mysticism from the first game) and by use of a unique in-house engine (''[=SiN=]'' and ''Half-Life'' were both derived from versions of the ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' engine); ''Blood II'' was the last out the gate, coming out almost three weeks after ''[=SiN=]'' (which, ironically, came out the same day as ''Blood II''[='=]s demo) and a single day after ''Half-Life''. It was, unfortunately, the true loser of the duel - in hindsight, going up against the massive SleeperHit that was ''Half-Life'' would have doomed ''anything'' except maybe the version of ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' demonstrated in its 1998 trailer, but ''[=SiN=]'' - while receiving a similar mixed-to-negative critical reception to ''Blood II'' for [[ObviousBeta many of the same reasons]] - still at least managed an AnimatedAdaptation and a sequel on top of the obligatory expansion pack (which also came out several months sooner than ''Blood II''[='=]s). On the other hand, Ritual went the way of the dinosaur shortly after that sequel, whereas Monolith was able to bounce back with several unexpected hits like ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'' and ''VideoGame/Tron20'', and is still making games to this day.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** ''Blood'' was initially to be published by [[Creator/ApogeeSoftware 3D Realms]]. According to [[http://web.archive.org/web/20060617091607/http://www.avault.com/featured/blood2/interv1.asp an interview]] with Jay Wilson, poor communication, a too-small budget, and demands that left the development team confused and scrambling to adapt caused Monolith to split from 3D Realms and partner with GT Interactive to publish the game.
** GT Interactive demanded Monolith to not only make ''Blood II'' in the first place (at that point everyone wanted to focus on the [=LithTech=] engine and ''Shogo'') but also complete the game's development within ''11 months'' thanks to both GT's deteriorating financial situation and the impending releases of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject'' and ''VideoGame/SiN''. The developers were forced to rush the game to meet the strict deadline, cutting a number of features at the last minute and having to release the game as an ObviousBeta. GT's buyout by Infogrames also meant that Monolith was not able to get the funds needed to patch the released game to the state they wanted to, and were only even able to get a patch out at all by putting out an expansion pack with it.
** Atari did not allow Night Dive Studios access to the original game's source code for the UpdatedRerelease of the first game, ''Fresh Supply''. This forced Night Dive to hastily rebuild the game's code into their proprietary engine, resulting in a rough launch for ''Fresh Supply''. Atari then pulled the license away from Night Dive after the release of the 2.0 patch, leaving future updates and bug fixes for ''Fresh Supply'' in question.
* FranchiseKiller: The middling reception and low sales of ''Blood II'' killed any chance at a third game. With Monolith now under the wing of Warner Bros. and Atari apparently uninterested in pursuing any opportunities with the license,[[note]]they only own the rights to the games; Warner Bros. owns the trademarks and IP as those were retained by Monolith[[/note]] any attempts at reviving the franchise are unlikely to happen.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Atari's legal grip on the series[[note]] well, technically only the games themselves, as Monolith retained the IP and trademarks which are now owned by parent Warner Bros.[[/note]] means any official source ports or remakes are unlikely. Former Monolith CEO Jason Hall attempted to negotiate with Atari for an UpdatedRerelease of the original game around 2012, but was flatly refused. Devolver Digital and Night Dive Studios expressed interest in picking up the rights, but Devolver claimed that Atari demanded an [[https://twitter.com/devolverdigital/status/410867780443836416 unreasonable cost for the license]]. Atari only finally agreed to let Night Dive remaster the game in [[https://gematsu.com/2018/12/horror-first-person-shooter-blood-remaster-announced-for-pc late 2018]], and even then they were forced to rebuild the game from the ground up on their in-house Kex engine because Atari actively refused to let them use the source code, and then tore the rights away before it even finished fixing all of the issues brought about because of that.
* TroubledProduction:
** The creation of the first game was fraught with difficulties. The development team had a number of inexperienced members and was given only a small budget, which left the team struggling for funding. The Build engine the game was being designed for was still being worked on and left the team working with both a game engine and tools that were incomplete through much of development. Assets and source code from an early build of the game were stolen from a PC left in a computer repair shop and posted online, which led to a lawsuit that Monolith settled out of court. ExecutiveMeddling from and CreativeDifferences with 3D Realms, who would leave the team to their own devices for months on end before coming in to check on their progress and arbitrarily demand major changes, led to Monolith splitting from them five months before the game would release and signing up with GT Interactive to publish the game. The fact that the game was finished, let alone a success, under such conditions is regarded as an extraordinary accomplishment by the team.
** The second game didn't have it much better, thanks in part to the fact that it only even happened because GT insisted on a sequel, and then demanded it by fall 1998. To give an idea on what sort of issues the team had to deal with, the official plan of development was to get the concurrently-developed ''VideoGame/ShogoMobileArmorDivision'' - the game they actually wanted to make after ''Blood'' - out the door [[ChristmasRushed as quickly as possible]], so its team could be folded back into the ''Blood II'' team to share assets and help finish its development. Considering ''Shogo'' only came out just shy of two months before ''Blood II'', it didn't help all that much. The problems didn't even end there, as GT's buyout by Infogrames right after the game launched meant that Monolith only even got patches out by piggybacking them on an expansion.

** A feature cut late in the first game's development was a "Bloodlust" meter that would have transformed Caleb into a Beast after taking severe damage or killing enough enemies, making him faster and doing more melee damage. It was cut after the developers felt it was more tedious than enjoyable due to limiting the weapons the player could use while transformed. Sprites intended for the melee attacks can still be found in the files, and mods exist that allow it to be used in place of the Pitchfork. The concept of the "Beast" would also be revisited for one of the expansion packs, where the final boss, a Priest, transforms into a werewolf-esque creature upon taking enough damage.
** It was planned that each member of the Chosen was going to be playable characters in the first game (and it's been theorized that the bosses of the first three episodes were repurposed from their intended Beast modes). This was cut down to just Caleb due to time and budget constraints. The concept would be revisited in the sequel, which allows you to play as any of the four Chosen across both single- and multiplayer, though again time constraints mean only Caleb sees cutscenes, so the other three don't get the full experience.
** The leaked alpha build of the first game has a vast number of differences compared to the final, such as several weapon sprites having different color schemes or designs, enemies having unused sprites suggesting different attacks or behaviors, and a large amount of unfinished items that would be cut from the final game.
** Even long after release, the website for the second game went off of an entirely different concept for the story, in which the game began with Caleb resurrecting the other three Chosen and bringing them together to help him take over the Cabal, with gameplay that would have allowed for either a proper campaign as any one of the four Chosen or a full four-player co-op game. Jarringly, Ophelia would have rejected Caleb for [[CameBackWrong resurrecting her in an unfamiliar body]], a plot point that persisted all the way to the back of the box; in the final, she still cares for Caleb and only gets irritated with him once near the end.
** The manual for the second game likewise makes several claims that are not true in the finished version, such as that the MAC-10's SecondaryFire is a three-round burst (in-game it's slower and more accurate full-auto), the M16 can be used GunsAkimbo (complete with concept art showing Caleb's in-game model with two assault rifles; ''Extra Crispy'' re-adds this), that the knives used by the individual Chosen become more powerful the more you kill things with them (no such mechanic exists), that the flashlight and [=NVGs=] can be [[InfiniteFlashlight active indefinitely]] (the flashlight only lasts a minute and a half, and the [=NVGs=] don't even last one full minute), and something about the Life Seed being unable to boost a player's health past 250 without a "Constitution Binding" (Constitution Binding doesn't exist, and your max health is based solely on your character's strength stat).
** A second expansion to ''Blood II'' titled ''Revelations'' was in development, which would have seen Caleb taking control of the Cabal and having to deal with a RenegadeSplinterFaction called the "Krest"; it would have been twice as long as ''The Nightmare Levels'' and added several new weapons like a stronger pistol and a tranquilizer gun, as well as changing existing weapons (such as letting the MAC-10 use secondary fire with two guns, making dual shotguns fire one at a time to pump out a more constant stream of buckshot, and giving the Orb a less-Focus-intensive melee attack as its secondary mode since Caleb can't even use the secondary mode it has in the base game). It was cancelled after Infogrames saw the poor sales of the base game and its developer, Tequila Software, went under after trying to continue the expansion as a free project. In 2015, a number of assets and prototype levels meant for the expansion were released by former developers to the community for use in mods and fan projects.
* TheWikiRule: [[http://www.blood-wiki.org/index.php/Main_Page The Blood Wiki]].

* ActorInspiredElement: Caleb's habit of singing show tunes and the idea of his [[Creator/ClintEastwood Eastwood]]-like voice came from the input of Caleb's voice actor Stephan Weyte.

** [[Anime/{{Hellsing}} Alucard]] could also be seen as an expy of Caleb, being a snarky, trigger-happy BloodKnight who wears a cool long coat and wide-brimmed hat and is heavily associated with a pair of guns [[GunsAkimbo used together]].

** The second game didn't have it much better, thanks in part to the fact that it only even happened because GT insisted on a sequel. To give an idea on what sort of issues the team had to deal with, the official plan of development was to get the concurrently-developed ''VideoGame/ShogoMobileArmorDivision'' - the game they actually wanted to make after ''Blood'' - out the door [[ChristmasRushed as quickly as possible]], so its team could be folded back into the ''Blood II'' team to share assets and help finish its development. Considering ''Shogo'' only came out just shy of two months before ''Blood II'', it didn't help all that much.

** ''Blood'' was initially to be published by [[Creator/ApogeeSoftware 3D Realms]]. According to [[http://web.archive.org/web/20060617091607/http://www.avault.com/featured/blood2/interv1.asp an interview]] with Jay Wilson, poor communication and demands that left the development team confused and scrambling to adapt caused Monolith to split from 3D Realms and partner with GT Interactive to publish the game.

** A second expansion to ''Blood II'' titled ''Revelations'' was in development, which would have seen Caleb taking control of the Cabal and having to deal with a RenegadeSplinterFaction called the "Krest"; it would have been twice as long as ''The Nightmare Levels'' and added several new weapons like a stronger pistol and a tranquilizer gun, as well as changing existing weapons (such as letting the MAC-10 use secondary fire with two guns, making dual shotguns fire one at a time to pump out a more constant stream of buckshot, and giving the Orb a less-Focus-intensive melee attack as its secondary mode). It was cancelled after Infogrames saw the poor sales of the base game and its developer, Tequila Software, went under after trying to continue the expansion as a free project. In 2015, a number of assets and prototype levels meant for the expansion were released by former developers to the community for use in mods and fan projects.