The Truth Behind the Famous “In-Game Screenshots” of the First Army Men Games
There are phrases that have become part of gaming folklore. One of the most common (and persistent) is:
“It was from a beta version…” —said with the tone of someone convinced they’ve uncovered a hidden development secret.
But when it comes to Army Men, many of those promotional screenshots were not beta versions of anything. In fact… they weren’t even screenshots.
Slightly modified screenshot of PS1 Army Men: World War used in ads all over the internet at the time
What Looked Like In-Game… Wasn’t
Back in the golden age of 3DO, when Army Men was just beginning to take shape as a franchise, the creative team had a challenge: They needed a visual way to pitch the idea before the game was even fully designed.
Veteran developer Michael Mendheim, who played a crucial role in conceptualizing the Army Men universe, would put together digitally composed images to present the tone and feel of the project.
These images were a mix of:
- Independently rendered 3D models.
- Partial engine screenshots, when available.
- Added effects like smoke, fire, and lighting.
- And of course, a healthy dose of Photoshop.
They were never meant to be real gameplay footage: they were visual mockups, created to evoke the style, mood, and action the final product was aiming for.
Slightly modified screenshot of N64 Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes used in ads all over the internet at the time
Although with minor modifications to the images, these are surely from the Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes engine for the Nintendo 64, but before going through the final version for the N64, it was actually a beta version of the levels and functions, not very different from the final version.
When Marketing Takes Creative Liberties
What’s interesting is that, even though the developers understood these images were purely conceptual, 3DO’s marketing team used them in advertisements as if they were actual in-game screenshots.
These images showed up in:
- Magazines
- Game boxes
- Promotional flyers
- Manuals
- And even official press kits
The result? Players thought that’s how the game would look. And while that wasn’t exactly true… it worked. The hype exploded. The visual concept of Army Men (green plastic soldiers fighting battles in real-world environments) instantly captured players’ imaginations, long before the games were even finished, even a few years before 1998 Army Men.
The Speculation That Never Died
Even today, many fans still insist that those images came from early builds or beta versions of the games.
You’ll still hear comments like:
“This must be from a lost prototype…”
Or comments like:
“They had to downgrade the graphics later due to hardware limitations.”
And while it’s true that Army Men underwent plenty of visual changes during development (and yes, they had to scale things down to run on systems like the PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64) those promo shots were not captured from actual working versions of the game.
People who worked with Photoshop or 3D Studio Max back then can clearly recognize the techniques used in these composites. If anything, they were stunning examples of concept art disguised as gameplay.
In a way, we wish they were real beta shots… it would’ve added an extra layer of mystique to the franchise’s development history. But no, it was just clever marketing. Fake… but effective.
Modified screenshots of the “supposed” Army Men 3D beta version for PS1, used in promotional content all over the internet at the time
Deception or Strategy?
Today, in the era of frame-by-frame breakdowns and mandatory “not actual gameplay” disclaimers, this kind of tactic would get you dragged online in seconds. But in the ‘90s, with a franchise as visually unique as Army Men, it was a legitimate (and successful) marketing tool.
Some might call it deceptive. Others see it as an effective way of presenting an evolving creative vision.
Either way, those images weren’t beta builds, they weren’t unreleased versions, and they weren’t screenshots from a hidden dev console.
They were Photoshop. Plain and simple. And in context… they were brilliant.
What Does This Say About the Toyverse?
Like many good stories in the Toyverse, this one also carries a lesson. Just as molded toys become soldiers with names, stories, and purpose, a fake image can become the spark that brings an entire world to life.
Those visuals (however artificial) were the first real representations of the Army Men franchise. Before missions, before bugs, before battlefield chaos… there was a carefully crafted picture. And it worked.
Heavily fake screenshots of Portal Runner (PS2) where they used heavy 3D CGI models to make concept screenshots that 3DO used in promotional content on magazines and all over the internet at the time
Bonus: Where to See These Images Today?
Many of these fake-but-iconic visuals still survive today in:
- Archived game magazines (GamePro, EGM, etc.)
- Scanned promotional material
- Original manuals
- The official 3DO websites via the Wayback Machine
Heavily fake screenshots of the “supposed” Army Men Sarge’s Heroes 2 for PS2, used in promotional content on magazines and all over the internet at the time
In the game’s different media promotional contents, these screenshots were used to show off the game in its Playstation 2 version. In reality, they are composites using partial images of the game’s actual stages generated in a different engine or stage editing program, along with CGI models of the protagonists and a lot of added effects, something impossible to do for the Playstation 2. These were most likely images made as concept art of how the game should have looked for its development.
And of course, at ArmyMen.com.ar, where fans are still collecting and preserving all official documentation and rare media.
True BETA with minor modifications
The last 3DO game wasn’t exempt from 3DO tactics. Although these are real in-game images from the game engine (Zero Engine), they have minor additions, such as some soldiers, tanks, and explosions. And these, as they didn’t report, are images from the actual beta, up to the point where 3DO worked on it, before Global Star Software took over and finished the game.
Epilogue: Not Real Gameplay, But Still Part of the Game
And óo players ever got to take control of Sarge.Because sometimes, a fake image contains a very real truth: The spirit of a franchise that helped shape an entire generation’s imagination.
This are some of our own “fake” promotional images. We usually use them for our video thumbnails… but from now on we’ll be using them to promote older 3DO games a little… excessively.
