Steam Pipe Cave - The Dark Prophecy - Legacy of Kain: The Lost Worlds

Steam Pipe Cave

article by Divine Shadow

Media

Screenshot [1/4]

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Description

Four screenshots show us a large veering cavern. In a number of the screenshots we can see what appears to be a disused and dilapidated wooden cart track, and a number of box-shaped objects that could be upturned carts or crates. There are also numerous pieces of wooden debris of various sizes scattered throughout the area, with some appearing to be fragments of large wooden planks.

In the path of one of the tracks is a large rock, its colouring different from the rest of the cave floor. It appears to have landed directly in the path of the track. In one screenshot, light appears to be seeping into the cave from an unseen hole in the ceiling.

Beyond this cart area, a thinner cave has large fungi growing in its walls, and just above this is what appears to be small sewer pipe, its waste frozen on its edge in an icicle. At the center of the thin cave area is a rust-coloured pipe entering the chamber horizontally through the cave wall, and making a right-angled turn downwards into the cave floor. The pipe is surrounded by steam, and appears to have a control valve positioned just before the angle section.

Beyond this the path comes to a stop, with two climbable wall surfaces (using the texture seen in the Soul Reaver games and Defiance) facing each other. In between these are three thin rusted vertical pipes, one of which appears to be leaking more steam into the area.

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Story Speculation

We can assume that Kain accesses the Hallway Elevator through a door in the Inner Bastion area, and descends to a series of caverns beneath the Bastion. One of these would have been the Steam Pipe Cave. The light shining in through an (unseen) crack in the cave ceiling would suggest that the area is not too far underground.

The debris and broken wooden tracks seem to hint at the history of this place. Perhaps in the distant past this area was a fully functional mine, possibly even the source of the vast materials used in the Bastion's construction. If we consider that there are now holes in the roof, and large chunks of rock scattered on the ground (of a contrasting colour to the rest of the cavern floor), it could be that the mining operation eventually greatly weakened the stability of the cave. It is notable that one of the rocks seems to have fallen directly onto the track, rendering it useless. There are also remnants of large wooden planks, perhaps evidence of scaffolding that was once erected to try and stabilise the cavern ceiling.

The pipes in this area are leaking steam, though it is uncertain if they are carrying steam as their content, or if they contain another hot substance that is heating the ice and moisture in the area and producing steam entirely incidentally. The rusted condition of these pipes and steam leakage does suggest they are both old and in a bad state of repair. We know that beneath the caves, the Soul Machine and the Dragon Statue Reaver Forge are buried, so we can speculate that the pipes could be ferrying something between these subterranean locations and the Inner Bastion, far above. Perhaps the devices in the Forge and Soul Machine complex need steam to function?

Another possibility is that the Bastion itself is powered with geothermal energy, and that deeper underground the increased temperature is evaporating water into a network of pipes channelling the steam upwards into the main building. This idea would be supported by the numerous pipes seen in The Bridge area, which were possibly channelling this steam up through the height of the Bastion.

It seems likely that Kain would have passed through this area, possibly using the valve to deactivate the steam coming from the central pipe. He would have then likely progressed, climbing up the two climbable wall surfaces. It is unclear if this area is encountered before or after the Headless Statue Chamber.

Speculative Map

Speculative arrangement of this area in relation to others

Speculative progression through the game world

Source

The screenshots discussed here were discovered on the official website and portfolio of Aaron Hausmann in 2008. Shortly after they were added to his site, the images were removed, but fortunately had been saved and preserved for the purposes of this essay.

Aaron Hausmann's Portfolio

Aaron's LinkedIn page confirms that he was employed as an artist at Ritual Entertainment between December 2003 and January 2007, and now works for Nerve Software.

Some very limited description was provided on Aaron's site, now removed:

Environment Artist on Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy - PS2, Xbox, PC CANCELLED

LEGACY OF KAIN: CANCELLED SEQUEL

Modelled and unwrapped props to hand off to texture artist.

Modelled, mapped, and lit environments based off of designers' layouts. Textures created by another artist.

— Methhaus.com

The name "Steam Pipe Cave" has been used based on the features shown in the screenshots. No official name for this area has been revealed.

Links

Aaron Hausmann's Official Portfolio Site, where some of the attached images were originally discovered. They have since been deleted from the site.
The Linkedin page of Aaron Hausmann, confirming he was an artist at Ritual Entertainment during the development of Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy.
The discussion concerning this concept art that took place at the Nosgothic Realm forum.
The discussion concerning this concept art that took place at the Official Eidos Forums.
The discussion concerning this concept art that took place at the Neogaf forums.