Stampede!

Stampede! is a cancelled Dreamcast and PC by IO Productions. It's a herding game but with wacky animals.

Gameplay
You would control the human Farmer Blow, and the dog Shep. Use various music to herd different animals. Different settings would have included Egypt, an icy wonderland, an airport, and more.

The aim is to guide the animals to each of the 50 level's exit point. There is a time limit per level. You would gain time bonuses at checkpoints. The more animals at the checkpoint the bigger the bonus.

There are hazards to contend with. Some levels have environmental effects, like geysers, that will disrupt the herd. Other levels have animals that can't be herded, like polar bears, throwing projectiles at your herd.

Strategy comes from prioritising animals with haste. If animals wander off it may cost too much time to pursue them. There are also puzzles to solve involving the herd, such as switches and seesaws.

The levels have powerups to collect. These would include bonuses to:
 * the time limit
 * super jumping
 * speed boost
 * the herd's affection to you
 * low gravity

Development
In 1998, Nick Slaven made Come Baa, a sheep herding game for the Net Yaroze. He entered the game for the Games Developer UK 1998 Competition. He didn't win but Sony was impressed, and introduced him to IO Productions.

IO Productions was founded in early 1998 by John Chasey, Glenn Broadway and Andy Bain. They too were working on a herding game and sought inspiration from Nick Slaven. Slaven joined the team and worked on their herding game project: Stampede!

The publisher Infrogrames made lots of changes, which confused the team. The game was a clunky mess with no clear control scheme.

Cancellation
Stampede! was cancelled in 2001 to save on resources. IO Productions then became IOMO and made mobile games until its closure in 2007.

Prototype
A prototype exists and is owned by an ex-member of IO Productions. Unfortunately the prototype is tied up by legal redtape and cannot be legally uploaded.