I have a conspiracy theory: They did it on purpose.
It goes like this. The TV producers probably thought "Nobody will care about yet another game where you jump around or pilot a spaceship... But what if the game idea is so mundane and boring, everyone will think it's impossible to make it playable? That will keep our audience eager to see what happens!"
Problem is, they were exactly right. This game idea was so mundane and boring, it was impossible to extract any playability out of this.
The developers obviously knew it was a lost case, so they didn't even try. Instead they simply opted for 3D isometric graphics and AY music, enough to make it look good for about a minute on a TV show. Mission accomplished!
