Unused Mortal Kombat concept art shows grittier take on the series @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on November 20, 2009

News: Former Midway artist Vincent Proce shows off some awesome MK concept art.

Back when Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe was still known as Mortal Kombat 8, series creator Ed Boon revealed that his plan for the game at the time was to make it look "gritty" and that the series would receive a "down and dirty" overhaul inspired by Gears of War. Boon is now making similar claims about the currently in-development Mortal Kombat 9. But this time he may be onto something as former Midway Visual Creative Director Vincent Proce has revealed some concept art from a Mortal Kombat pitch he made in 2008.

First posted to his blog back in September, the concept art depicts Scorpion, Raiden, Sonya and Kano like you've never seen them before. For example, Scorpion is described as "a wraith wearing the yellow blood of the demon that helped him resurrected to exact his revenge against his mortal enemy."

Proce's design for Raiden looks very similar to the character's original concept, but it definitely more closely resembles the "Three Storms" from Big Trouble in Little China, which served as the inspiration for Mortal Kombat's Thunder God...

Proce made more radical changes to Sonya and Kano, desrcibing Sonya as "the daughter of a Texas Ranger who's sex appeal weakens her opponents while her Special Forces training kicks their asses." While Kano is no longer a svelte Australian gangster, but a hulking "half Japanese, half US military bad ass."

According to Proce, his designs were not chosen for use in any future Mortal Kombat project and now that he's no longer with the company, "the game idea isn't going to happen now." But if this is the new direction Ed Boon plans to take the series to make it darker and edgier, sign me up.